Taksim — Restaurant in San Francisco

Photo & write up from SF Chronicle’s Janelle Bitker:

“The team behind popular Mediterranean brunch spot Lokma is stepping into fine dining with Taksim, a modern Turkish restaurant opening Thursday in San Francisco.

It takes over the former Cockscomb space at 564 Fourth St., near Brannan Street. The huge, two-story restaurant has 90 seats, two bars and private dining areas. Owners Serkan Sozen, Birkan Dogan, Emre Kabayel and Neslihan Demirtas tapped Daniel Gribble, formerly a chef at three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, to lead the kitchen.

With Lokma, Kabayel said he wanted to show that Turkish cuisine is much more than kebabs. Now, he’s taking that idea further — “fine dining with Turkish influences,” he said.

His favorite starters include butter-poached shrimp ($18) wrapped in crispy, shredded phyllo dough and served with muhammara, a smoky-sweet dip of roasted red bell peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. There’s also stuffed peppers ($15), inspired by dolmas, with a filling of wood-fired eggplant and manchego cheese.

Main dishes include a spin on a traditional Turkish white bean stew called kuru fasulye. Instead of serving primarily beans cooked with a little meat, Taksim’s version stars a massive lamb shank ($34) with beans, sun-dried tomatoes and lamb jus. A twist on Italian risotto ($28) employs wheat berries instead of rice, Turkish raki instead of wine, and aged kasseri cheese instead of Parmesan.

Cockscomb’s wood-fired oven will be put to use for breads such as bazlama ($6), a Turkish yogurt flatbread served with sumac-tinged butter, and pita ($8), available with cheese, roasted garlic or za’atar.

On the beverage side, the wine list includes a mix of funky natural wines and classic European bottles, with a few options from Turkey. Raki flights — paired with feta and grapes — are available, and the alcoholic drink, made with grapes and anise, makes its way into cocktails like a pomegranate martini ($13). Several cocktails highlight Mediterranean ingredients like black urfa chile and carob molasses.

The restaurant is named after a district in Istanbul that’s full of 19th century architecture and international chain stores — a mix of traditional and contemporary that Taksim hopes to show through its food.”

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7x7 write up: “Chef Daniel Gribble, formerly of French Laundry and Atelier Crenn, takes a modern approach to Mediterranean classics at his new SoMa restaurant, Taksim. The industrial-chic space revolves around a wood-fire oven that turns out savory meats, seafood, and breads. Grab a seat at the bar for a range of mezze, including three varieties of kebaps; bazlama (Turkish flatbread) with sumac butter, perfect for dips; and pepper stuffed with eggplant and manchego. Mains include roast chicken with tabbouleh salad, quail egg, egg yolk mousse, and homemade sausage with truffle; Anson Mills polenta with ratatouille and herbs; and branzino with anchovy rice pilaf, grilled seabeans,...

Taksim is a modern take on traditionally Mediterranean foods and techniques -- with a particular focus on Turkish cuisine. Just like its converted airy modern-industrial setting, the food invites you to enjoy its novel-yet-familiar character while imagining its original inspirations.

After eating through an array of starters and mains, it's clear that each item on the menu has been carefully thought out. I'd definitely recommend sharing food family-style, as an efficient way to try a bit of everything! Cocktails here were also tasty and creative.

Particular highlights for me were: Lamb Carpaccio: I found the flavors of the various ingredients here to work together very well. King Shrimps: The shrimps used in this appetizer were shockingly fresh, and the crunchy texture from the kadaif pushed the dish into "wow" territory. Branzino: The fish was fresh and well-prepared (notably, flesh was not dry while skin was crispy), and the portion was generous. But besides that, the naturally-salty sea beans and the anchovy rice pilaf both complemented the branzino nicely to produce a well-balanced entrée. Turkish Donuts: This dessert actually has chocolate prepared 5 different ways. The donuts themselves were not that sweet, but were still chock full of chocolate flavor.

Overall, this was an enjoyable dining experience, and I'll definitely be back to try the items I didn't/couldn't get...

Super cute little restaurant with delicious cocktails and vaulted ceilings.

Came in for dinner around 5:30 and we were the only table seated. Dinner crowd started rolling in at 7:30ish.

What we ordered: All the dips - I love dips and bread so this was a fun way to dine with a group. Big fan of the tomato marmalade.

Veggie kebaps - accompanied by sauces and pickles and a wonderful rosemary salt. These are simple grilled veggies. Nothing special.

Lamb - paired with a roast pepper sauce and dumplings. The dumpling skins are doughy and a bit tough. The lamb was perfectly medium rare. However I like my meats slightly charred (the kitchen is open and there’s a giant wood fired oven!) so was disappointed that this was a super simply prepared lamb. Not very gamy. Halloumi layered at the bottom. Everything on the plate was relying on the flavor of the ingredients itself.

Chocolate doughnuts - surprised that the doughnut and dollop of cream had almost no sugar? The chocolate ice cream was sweet. So you really had to eat them together.

Pudding - yummy, rosy, nutty.

Lemon meringue sponge cake - like a mini version of a very good lemons meringue cake.

Overall, liked the atmosphere, drinks were good, service was friendly, and the food was fine. Personally, this is a good place to stop for...