Gary Danko

(Fisherman's Wharf)
800 North Point St.  
415-749-2060 Map it
www.garydanko.com

E + D Award Winner; Dinner only
$$$$
Contemporary American
dine at the bar, notable chef, notable wine list, open 7 days, prix-fixe menu, quiet, romantic, valet parking

2008 EAT + DRINK AWARD: Best Overall / Best Service
2007 EAT + DRINK AWARD: Best Overall / Best Service / Best Maître d’

SCENE: Occupying the ground floor of a small building a block from Ghirardelli Square, this special-occasion spot is marked by a discreet awning and a pair of velvet ropes. Inside, elaborate floral arrangements, blond wood and acres of white linen crank up the glam quotient, and the black-glass windows add a dash of Vegas. Taking advantage of the fact that seats at the bar are saved for walk-ins, well-off Russian Hill dwellers have adopted the place as their local. Why? There’s not a whiff of snootiness in the service; here, the customer is invariably right.

EATS: The menu avoids that current SF cliché, the exhaustive pedigree for every scrap of produce or protein. Not that the ingredients aren’t worthy of such celebration, but the few so singled out hail from well beyond our locavore borders. (Think black truffles from the Périgord and Maine lobsters.) Danko’s French-inspired cooking may be relatively traditional (no litsea cubeba, no test tubes), but it’s not boring: Those lobsters appear in a salad with persimmons and pomegranate seeds; scallops are seared and served with braised celery. The cheese cart is (rightly) famous.