Since first visiting Michelin-starred, intimate fine dining gem Sons and Daughters (S&D) when it opened in 2010, I named it one of the top 10 new restaurants of the year. Visiting the tasting menu-only restaurant from owner and lauded chef Teague Moriarty a few times over the decade, my experiences were always rewarding in this cozy Nob Hill spot a short walk from Union Square. But I hadn’t been back in a good five years.
January 2023 ushers in a whole new era for S&D as Moriarty announced new executive chef Harrison Cheney, who came on board October 2022. For the first time, Moriarty has stepped away from the kitchen completely, though remaining at the helm of the restaurant. I was immediately excited when I heard Cheney came from years at my favorite restaurant in Sweden, two Michelin-starred Gastrologik in Stockholm, as well as The Ledbury and The Square in London and San Francisco’s three Michelin Quince.
Cheney certainly brings Nordic influence but also London’s savvy globalism and Quince’s Italy-meets-SF impeccable technique and purity of ingredients. Now in the birthplace of the “farm to table” trend over 50 years ago, his style seamlessly melds with locally sourced, seasonal SF Bay Area cuisine — and with decades-long Bay Area ethos of sustainability via local growers, farmers and purveyors. Cheney also has a heightened focus on minimizing food waste, utilizing all parts of a product and composting.
This aligns with Moriarty’s focus as S&D was closed during pandemic, reopening in fall 2020. Besides a major remodel of the kitchen and dining room, he implemented a sustainable, humane business model; in 2021 compensating a tighter team with higher salaries, benefits, paid vacations, unlimited sick pay, fully-paid health insurance and 50% split of the profits. He replaced tipping with an 18% service charge and has set S&D up for another decade as it passed the 12 year mark.
As someone who has dined at over 13,000 restaurants and hundreds of the world’s best fine dining restaurants (been to all of them locally), how does the experience at the reborn Sons and Daughters hold up?
On a recent February night, my partner Dan (“The Renaissance Man”) and I cozied up in S&D’s booth facing the snug open kitchen in a restaurant that seats 16 across three mini-rooms. This is only chef Cheney’s inaugural menu, but it was already clear he and the kitchen staff were working harmoniously together in a tight space as the courses hummed out at a steady clip without lagging, the way they can at many tasting menu restaurants.
As amuse bouche were served, including a creamy melange of shredded brussels sprouts and kale in dehydrated white miso, cooked in scallions and shallots, in tiny cracker sandwich form, or a kusshi oyster cradled in a daikon “shell” with preserved rosehip and roasted kelp, I knew we were in for an intriguing palate adventure. Each of the three bites was as delicious as it was creative. As I always say, I love molecular and fine dining experimentation if it’s good food first. It should be delectable, even when esoteric. And Cheney’s amuse bouche hit on each cylinder.
Course one kicks off with the blessedly ubiquitous (in this town), best-trout-ever: NorCal Mount Lassen trout, silky in its own roe and a cold, smoked reduction of preserved veggies and herbs. After these clean yet layered bites, a rich bowl of leek and buttermilk “soup” utilizes all parts of the leeks: white parts in a creamy broth and green oil from leek tops exuding nutty notes. I’m a fanatic about all members of the allium family so all about a dish centered around leeks and leek parts. Topped with Caviar d’Aquitaine Perlita’s unpasteurized caviar from France and paired with the rare, crisp NV Vilmart & Cie, Grand Cellier Brut Champagne, this leek-caviar round was one decadent and waste-free course.
While each course held its pleasures, one of the most memorable was toasted and sprouted buckwheat with raw walnuts and yellowfoot chanterelle mushrooms. It was the least striking visually but most nurturing to taste. Natural age and sprouting of the buckwheat married fermented vibe with earthy nuttiness. A pairing of 2017 Nervi-Conterno Gattinara Nebbiolo red wine adds herbaceous layers of cherry, mint and licorice to the dish.
Unique, “using all parts” courses weave from Laurentine rutabaga in noodle form, lush in cured wagyu fat, dill and a sauce of fermented vegetables, on to poached skate, a fish brightened with raw gooseberries, stone crop (a succulent plant common in Hungary) in roasted skate bones butter with Meyer lemon.
San Francisco has long been the bread capital of the U.S., including the last 20 years’ renaissance of ancient and forgotten breads from Tartine Bakery’s Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt, who sparked a global baking revival, so a stellar house-made bread course is a standard I have grown to expect (but don’t take for granted) the last couple decades in SF. S&D had two bread courses (yes, please): laminated truffle brioche, happy with pressed yogurt and lemon oil; and a warm toasted cornmeal sourdough, which does not disappoint, even in a city silly with the best sourdough anywhere since 1849. Slathered in cultured butter, fennel pollen and city-sourced Ocean Beach sea salt, S&D’s version is a sigh-inducing few bites.
I can weary of tired meat courses that feel like they have to be in a fine dining tasting menu for diners to get their “value”… I often get more excited about creative produce and seafood dishes. S&D’s grilled duck breast from Corvus Farm in nearby Pescadero is some of the most tender, gristle-free duck I’ve had in years. In parsnip skin foam with parsnip liver sausage, whey, duck bones and acidic verjus, it’s also one of the better duck courses (out of hundreds) in recent years. A double-duty wine pairing of two different Syrahs from the same producer intrigues (likewise, a strip loin course is paired with two stylistically different Napa Cabernets from Larkmead). The duck was partnered with a smoky, rich, yet balanced 2019 Pierre Gonon Ardeche IGP ‘Les Iles Feray’ Syrah and an inky, fruity, gamy 2019 Pierre Gonon St-Joseph Syrah redolent of black olives.
Sons & Daughters’ team already has the talent of 2022 StarChefs-winning pastry chef Michelle Fried since 2021, who has cooked at the world’s-best likes of Eleven Madison Park and Saison. Also sous chef Carlos Andrade and GM George Cole. While the informed waitstaff served our wine pairing the night we dined, S&D’s nearly five year beverage director Lorraine Castillo oversees their extensive menu of New and Old World wines. The wine pairing didn’t reveal a lot of surprises — unexpected regions or varieties — and even had a couple wines I’ve enjoyed before, but pours were quality and well-matched.
Our pairing was entirely wines, but the team tells me sake often makes a showing. The sake section in the leather-bound drink menu is short, but contains a few sakes I love, like Ten to Chi “Heaven and Earth” Junmai Daiginjo and Fukucho “Moon on the Water” Junmai Ginjo. On the equally short but thoughtful beer list, there are gems like Cellador ales ‘Moshi Mash’ rustic wild ale with Burgundy plums from Los Angeles.
Chef Fried’s koji ice cream with passionfruit, pink peppercorn and crispy shiso leaf over breadcrumbs already feels like a Fried signature. Paired with one of my longtime dessert win efavorites, Donnafugata ‘Ben Rye’ Zibibbo from Pantelleria, Sicily, it’s the epitome of happy ending.
The $225 per person, two-and-a-half hours tasting menu — with optional beverage pairing at $165 per person — is certainly a pricey night out. But as I reflect on similarly (or higher) priced menus I’ve had in the past year alone in other states and global cities, many did not match the quality and creativity already inherent in Cheney and team’s new menu. The tight service and timely pacing also surpass many. In SF, however, there is stiff competition and much excellence at this price point… or lower.
But at this early stage, I already taste chef Cheney’s European-influenced perspective, which seamlessly fits in SF. Partnered with S&D’s cozy space and service, it’s a romantic and memorable night out. The most promising tastes, which included the amuse bouche bites, showed a thoughtful focus and a holistic vision that incorporates old world techniques in forward thinking combinations with crucial environmental rigor. I am eager to see and taste how chef Cheney and team’s cooking evolves.
// 708 Bush Street, www.sonsanddaughterssf.com
