By Virginia Miller
Chotto Matte is a rooftop restaurant with a wraparound outdoor terrace and massive indoor space running from plant-lined bar and DJ lounge to massive dining room, so it could easily be dubbed “sceney.” It’s the kind of place you’d find more in LA or Miami than quality-before-scene SF.
The Bold Italic visited recently for a quick tour and menu sampling, then sent me back in for a deeper dive. I don’t dine at or review chain restaurants typically unless local-only chains, but this buzzy newcomer is taking the city by storm, already booked up weeks ahead with 1 a.m. weekend hours furthering its hotspot cred. Was it worth the hype?
I headed in to dine in the middle of APEC madness, with armored cars and security circling the area and dramatic 4.1 mile laser beams shooting down Market Street, visible from Chotto Matte’s eighth floor perch. The place was packed on a Thursday night, from sushi bar to outdoor seating, clearing outdoors only a little as rain came.
Cultural cuisine inspirations
Serving Nikkei, essentially Peruvian Japanese cuisine with roots in Peru since the 1800s, Chotto Matte also serves a bit of Peru’s Chifa cuisine, a Chinese-Peruvian style with deep roots in the Chinese immigrant culture.
Chinese and Japanese immigrants flocked en masse to Peru in the 19th and early 20th centuries, forming their own “fusion” cuisines as inherently Peruvian heavily shaped by Asia. Lima’s beloved La Mar has been serving both these cuisine styles in SF for 15 years, while Peruvian neighborhood spots from Bernal Heights to Noe Valley have cooked authentic Peruvian food even longer. Big SF Peruvian newcomers include Kaiyo Rooftop and Jaranita.
What’s on the menu
Chotto Matte’s menu is extensive, running six sections: bites, small plates, sushi, robata grill, raw bar and Nikkei tasting menus, including vegetarian. Dining with a vegetarian friend, I dug deep into that side, from aji amarillo chile-charred Brussels sprouts — one of Peru’s most beloved and ubiquitous peppers — to uber-fresh guacamole scooped up with Peruvian purple and yellow corn chips. King Oyster mushroom tostadas taste meaty and hefty in smoked aji panca chilies.
A fascinating yin-yang combo came with seafood and veggie versions of Chotto’s signature ceviche, a staple of Peru. Peruvian ceviche differentiates from Mexican or other styles often with its lightly creamy Leche de Tigre or Tiger’s Milk broth. It’s the marinating liquid of the fish typically laced with lime and coconut milk. Chotto’s version is raw sea bass, teeming in leche de tigre and chive oil with the classic contrasts of sweet potato, large Peruvian corn (aka choclo) and cilantro. It’s fresh and bright as you’d expect. Vegetarian lychee ceviche may lack the unctuous depth the fish imparts, but lychee slivers mimic the texture of classic ceviche with all the other same ingredients, tasting like a sweeter, softer version.
Tiradito, essentially Peruvian sashimi or crudo — think raw fish in lime or passionfruit juices, chiles and the like — is at first glance not on the menu. Tiradito is my favorite Peruvian dish just before the fluffy potato softness of causas, also not on Chotto’s menu. But their “Nikkei Sashimi” is essentially tiradito: yellowtail fish with cherry tomatoes, jalapeño and cilantro in yuzu truffle soy sauce. I may prefer tiradito at the aforementioned La Mar and other international restaurants, but it’s a stronger dish here.
So is salt-and-pepper crispy squid. The plump calamari is flamed in sake. Hell, yes. Wok-tossed with garlic, green onion, radicchio and yuzu citrus, it’s appropriately peppery and savory. “Jungle Salad” is for green papaya salad fans out there, although as someone who has long been an “acid hound” — to the point of sucking on lemons as a kid and chasing high acid wines as an adult — this salad was so sharply acidic as to almost be off-putting. Could have been an off-night. Or is this the standard? The salad is refreshingly packed with mango, daikon, red onion, pomegranate seeds, cashews and furikake in an aji amarillo yellow chili dressing.
You’ll find better sushi rolls in town aplenty, including at spots like La Mar, where there is more range and raw fish delicacy vs. fried rolls. But Chotto’s rolls are still comforting, with vegan options like El Jardín packed with sake-soy bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower and pea purée. One of the best dishes is a seemingly obvious miso black cod, but marinated in aji amarillo yellow chili miso with a hit of yuzu citrus. The Peruvian pepper and yuzu “twist” subtly set it apart from the common dish long ago made popular by famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The cod is as dissolve-in-the-mouth as you’d expect. Supreme o-toro (tuna belly) nigiri is as beautiful as you’d expect and my top sushi bite here.
Who’s in the kitchen and behind the bar
I was pleased to find some super talented local restaurant staff on the team, including sommelier Madison Morgan who more recently came from Michelin-starred Osito. General manager Adam Chapman, who I wrote this Haute Living feature on in 2019, is a true innovator in the drink space.
What he’s done combining spirits and wine I’ve still yet to see anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, he’s not behind the whole cocktail menu, but is crafting a few drinks, like subtle but nuanced Sakura cherry blossom gin and Ford’s Gin lush with yuzu oleo saccharum, dry with Prosecco. Other cocktail menu fun includes The Story of Jade, a vegetal mix of Tanqueray London dry gin, junmai sake, cardamom, wasabi, curcuma, cucumber, lemon and ginger ale.
Sampling a couple off-menu treats from Chapman, we got his unique wine-spirits treatment with a delicate-bitter blend of freeze-distilled Italian Alabarino white wine, a play off a Boulevardier cocktail with clarified Japanese whisky, soju and Amaro Montenegro. An earthy, almost cigarette ash turn on the once again hot Espresso Martini starts with a Japanese whisky base, nitro coffee, tawny port and Cocchi Americano, with a sweet-tart hint from candied kumquat. Here’s hoping for more from Chapman on the cocktail list and to dig into wine pairings with Morgan in future visits.
My verdict
Would I welcome a future visit given my 600+ restaurants-a-year dining schedule globally? Well, it’ll be tough to return soon, but all-day, lunch hours and late night make it more likely. I certainly have preferred favorite Peruvian restaurants in the world and in Peru. But Chotto Matte’s energetic vibe, the views, our delightful server, Meg, the solid food and an array of sections and vibes brings something different, ambitious, global in mindset though with smart, world-knowledgeable locals on staff. Alongside other new spots like Corzetti, Chotto’s downtown Union Square location also continues to buck the exaggerated and uninformed doom loop.
// 50 O’Farrell Street, https://chotto-matte.com/sanfrancisco
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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