Love Michelin-quality tasting menus but can’t shell out the $150-$250 per person average of the many Michelin restaurants around? Enter brand new 7 Adams.
Marlena was a special neighborhood restaurant that charmed us for its affordable tasting menus and cozy vibes. Husband-wife chefs David Fisher and Serena Chow Fisher earned a Michelin star for Marlena, which sadly closed in June 2023 around owner conflicts. Thankfully, the Fishers have returned swiftly with a whole new concept, debuting November 1, 2023: 7 Adams in the Fillmore. The Fishers opened the restaurant with Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group (The Madrigal, Trestle, The Vault Steakhouse, The Vault Garden, Mama Oakland).
There are Marlena echoes on 7 Adams’ reasonable $87 five-course menu showing off David’s savory dishes and pastas and Serena’s beloved milk bread and desserts. But the 52-seat space is a whole new bag. I immediately like it better than their former space, though Marlena benefited from its scenic perch on Precita Park. 7 Adams just glows. It’s cozier, with an almost Scandinavian feel, mid-century touches, walnut wood paneling, soothing neutrals and an intimate, vine-covered, heated back garden. Key to the space’s warmth is recessed lighting shaped to recall passing clouds and sconces echoing billowing boat sails tribute San Francisco’s waterside spirit.
There were crowds outside on the cool November night I dined, waiting for their reservations or looking to snag a seat at the small, marble chef’s bar with custom butcher’s block. Five-courses starts with a choice of seafood starters, a veggie course, three choices of modern-creative pastas, three main options with sides for the table and two dessert options. There were supplements on a couple courses to upgrade with caviar or A5 wagyu beef. Serena’s fluffy, warm milk bread comes free with 72-hour cultured butter, making me quite full by meal’s end, though courses look small to start.
Beginning with kombu-cured kampachi crudo or a Dungeness crab and caviar, we chose one of each, naturally. The kampachi fish was lean and silky, swimming in nutty sesame dashi brightened up with yuzu citrus, a kick of horseradish and shiso Japanese mint oil. The crab is an umami bite over crab gelee, it’s bright moment being makrut lime. A $16 supplement of Baika caviar adds briny decadence, even if the slightly fishy note of the crab that night clashed just a touch with the caviar.
Charred broccoli di ciccio with pickled kolhrabi root and mullet roe came next, in a classic French gribiche: hard-boiled egg yolk, mustard, pickled cucumbers, capers, parsley sauce. The earthy char of the broccoli with oceanic whispers from the roe and perky pickled notes made this a standout despite being “just” the veggie course.
I appreciate three choices of pasta. Much as I adore tagliatelle noodles, braised lamb ragu sounded pretty straightforward. So we opted for the more unique red kabocha squash caramelle pasta in a confit of chanterelle mushrooms, toasted sunflower seed pesto and smoked chive and basil oil. The other pick was ricotta gnudi in chestnuts, Parmesan and Burgundy truffles, an $18 supplement. I’ve had fluffier, more melt-in-the-mouth gnudi from SF to Italy, an eternal favorite. But this was still a comforting rendition, while the caramelle captured the season, a fall-into-winter rusticity fitting the drizzly night we dined.
While A5 wagyu ribeye and beef tongue in green garlic miso and bone marrow sauce sounded richly gratifying — and I always love me some marbled, silky A5 beef perfection — it’s a $40 supplement and I was most drawn to the roasted black cod in mussel butter anyway. As with the two starter dishes and even the broccoli, the sea blessedly plays prominent. But it’s the lush add of creamed brussels sprouts and the caviar-lime citrus pop of finger limes that impart this cod dish with welcome contrast.
Though the cod was my entreé of choice, juicy, cage-free chicken breast stuffed with farce, or “forcemeat” stuffing, under the skin is a good choice. Since stuffing equals Thanksgiving for me, that was a welcome addition with salsify, a root stock, all poached in chicken jus. Chef David’s hometown of upstate NY is tributed in a Buffalo sauce chicken wing that adds some spicy fun to the dish. Two sides arrive for the table. First, farro verde and another favorite taste of the night that slipped in there quietly: glazed arrowhead cabbage topped with slices of Lucy Rose glow apples. The apple is so floral it tastes like delicate rose petals, hence the name.
As expected with Serena’s pastry chef skills, dessert is a highlight here and features some of her new, locally made Jack & Remi ice cream line, reviewed here. On the initial menu, we tried one of each. Hoijicha opera sponge cake is layered with coffee butter cream and chocolate with compressed pear, tasting like winter. I especially loved her spiced apple crumb cake, also of the season with those gorgeous aforementioned Lucy Rose glow apples, satsuma citrus snow and herbaceous-citrusy Jack & Remi orange bay leaf ice cream.
Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group’s beverage director Steve Izzo created the wine menu, heavy on Old World France and Italy alongside New World California, Oregon, New Zealand and Argentina, and small, sustainable producers. Thankfully, 12 wines by the glass offer enough pairing options. I wove from always-the-right-choice Chablis and Champagne to the dark chocolate fruit of 2021 Te Mata Hawkes Bay Syrah from New Zealand.
The name of the restaurant 7 Adams tributes David’s childhood home in Upstate New York where he first fell in love with cooking growing up in the restaurant industry with his family’s still-going-strong diner, Fisher’s Family Restaurant. While there are some flow issues with reservations were happening as the night wore on, it was opening month. The staff’s chill presence and the familial feel to the warm space quickly make you feel taken care of. And on the value front, this could eventually be another Michelin neighborhood spot costing less than half of what an upscale tasting menu typically costs.
// 1963 Sutter Street, www.7adamsrestaurant.com
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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