Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn
San Francisco, USA
1 StarGreen Star
The Experience
From Michelin Guide
Nestled next door to Atelier Crenn, this counter experience offers an elegant interpretation of bar dining. Seated at a sleek marble countertop, a select handful of diners per evening receive a custom menu that carries the team's commitment to pescatarian-focused, dairy-free cuisine. Diners get a bit a show, as many of the courses are plated right at the bar. The beverage program is well-thought out, and selections pair perfectly with the clever creations, such as a salt-brined beet tartare crowned with caviar that's matched by a Mendocino sparkling rosé. The procession sings to the seasons, as in a springtime meal that included seafood sausage-stuffed morel mushrooms, clay-baked white asparagus, and halibut dressed with ramp beurre blanc.
From Visitor Experiences
Distinctive details
- A counter-only format, with a custom menu served to a small number of diners each evening.
- Many courses are plated at the bar, part dinner, part demonstration.
- The kitchen runs a dairy-free, pescatarian menu and ties sourcing to a sustainable, regenerative farm program, with composting of produce waste.
From Visitor Experiences
Signature Ingredients
- Caviar, used as a high-saline accent in multiple bites.
- Abalone, grilled and served with its own liver.
- Burgundy truffle, paired with shellfish and au poivre sauce.
- Buckwheat, used as a pretzel base for a snack course.
From Visitor Reviews
Le Comptoir is Bar Crenn’s counter experience next door to Atelier Crenn, a small, custom menu served at a marble bar with much of the plating done in front of guests. The cooking is contemporary French in style, built around a dairy-free, pescatarian menu.
Examples from recent service include a buckwheat pretzel with mustard, caviar and mornay sauce, grilled abalone with its liver, Burgundy truffle and an au poivre sauce, then a cantaloupe popsicle and a Paris-Brest to finish.