Classic French cuisine has gone out of vogue with some international restaurant traveler types I interact with on the regular around the globe. “Rich, heavy, overly-sauced” are complaints I hear often from hardcore diners around French cuisine. For some, it feels like the “stuffy, old guard” with more exciting things happening elsewhere in the mashup of global cuisines. For others, they’re finally discovering or falling in love with the nuances of wide-ranging cuisines of Asia, Latin America or Africa, which have become more “mainstream” (they always were to those of us who grew up in regions like LA and NYC).
Obviously, every cuisine and country holds its culinary riches and France, as godfather of upscale dining, certainly has informed food and cooking techniques the world over, and its traditional dishes and roots should never be “at fault” for the overexposure. But of the few hundred new openings I visit each year, rarely are they French anymore.
La Société Bar & Cafe, opening August 2022 inside the recently expanded Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, may seem like a new restaurant for tourists, slowly returning conference go-ers and downtown workers. But despite being inside a downtown corporate chain hotel, this modern French brassiere featuring California ingredients is a worthwhile meal for locals, too. I’ll explain.
La Société is the first San Francisco project from recently launched TableOne Hospitality, a spinoff of MINA Group from restaurateur Patric Yumul, chef Michael Mina and Highgate. The group plans to open and run food and beverage concepts with established and rising star chefs, starting with La Société.
Partner/chef Alexandre Viriot’s thoughtful approach to French classics is the first reason I am drawn here, then secondly because of waitstaff who care and show it. Chef Viriot’s cooking experience runs from Las Vegas to Macau, Hong Kong and Qatar, immersed in French cuisine in his various roles as sous and executive chef for none other than three French masters: Guy Savoy, Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse. He returned to the U.S., moving to SF in spring 2022.
On a cozy October night checking out La Société, I was extremely jet-lagged, having just returned from Korea, but was immediately comforted by Dutch crunch gougeres oozing comté cheese and black truffle, alongside deviled eggs topped with The Caviar Co. reserve kaluga caviar. Paired with a glass of Duval Leroy Pinot Noir/Meunier/Chardonnay Champagne, I felt in my own skin again, despite having been awake all night.
A key section of Viriot’s menu is rich, beautiful patés and mousses, best shared among a few. A Firebrand Bakery epi baguette with salted French butter starts things off as the receptacle for heritage pork paté with jimmy nardello peppers and Fallot dijon mustard, Liberty Duck liver mousse with red flame grape gelée, toasted marcona almonds and a winning garnish of crisp red flame grapes, or, my favorite: smoked salmon rillettes dotted with horseradish, everything bagel spices and trout roe. These spreads with a bottle of wine feel like a decadent picnic (in fact, leftover spreads made a fine picnic the next day).
While a smart leeks and burrata dish wasn’t as vibrantly layered in flavor as I hoped (being a leek fanatic), further French comforts abound, including onion soup gratinée lush with aged comté cheese, roasted bone marrow and oxtail ragoût.
While I would normally breeze over yet another ahi tuna dish, Viriot’s ahi tuna carpaccio à la niçoise is a smart play of cool sheets of tuna in niçoise salad flavors: picholine olive vinaigrette, tomatoes, bright with white wine, vinegar and blissful anchovy notes. It’s my favorite dish: light yet bold, partnered with a glass of Terra Vita Vinum Terre de 3 Chenin Blanc from Anjou, France. Even the mussels and frites — Saltspring mussels (from B.C. Canada) and duck fat-fried pommes frites — gain further nuance from being cooked in French butter, saffron and a welcome anise-laced whisper of absinthe.
The beverage program was created by TableOne director of beverage, Phil Collins, with San Francisco bartender Carlo Splendorini. Wines are heavy on France and California, including welcome CA regions like Santa Lucia Highlands in the mix with more popular Burgundy or Sonoma. Seven draft beers thankfully include local Almanac and Offshoot from Placentia (in Orange County/SoCal) alongside bigger beer brands.
I’ve written about Splendorini’s cocktails for roughly 15 years, and his drink creations (though not executed by him personally) continue to walk the fine line of balance and crowd-pleasing it takes a longtime pro to pull off. 20+ years into this, I need something more nuanced than standard classics I can make just as well (often better) at home. I found a couple winners: Monsieur Lapin feels like the signature cocktail, deftly blending reposado tequila, mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, carrot and orange bell pepper in a way that tastes almost healthy but not like you’re just drinking spiked carrot juice as many carrot cocktails do. Chartreuse herbaceousness and subtle mezcal smoke still come through.
Enchante!, a tall refresher of St. George Green Chile Vodka, fennel, cucumber, basil, white peppercorn and tonic is savory, vegetal and crushable. Featuring my beloved r(h)um agricole, Le Fin was maybe my least favorite of the three cocktails I tried only because its combo of winning elements — local Brucato Chaparral amaro, pear brandy and lime — seemed a bit muddled vs. having a distinct play between grassy agricole and amaro bitter. There are worthwhile sips here and companions with the food.
I always wish for more almondine, aka amandine, a crust/layer of almonds over the likes of green beans, potatoes or fish. Historic in both France and the U.S., I’ve most commonly had almondine in New Orleans or at home in SF. Viriot’s version is petrale sole almondine, nutty, crispy fish partnered with sautéed bloomsdale spinach and pommes purée (silky mashed potatoes). It’s a filling, comforting dish without feeling overly heavy.
Roasted duck a l’orange is a classic French dish we see too little of these days. Especially done well. Using our local, incomparable Liberty Duck meat, Viriot cooks it to unctuous perfection, while the aromatic orange duck feels somehow lighter with a puree and slivers of thumbelina carrots and subtly bitter grilled chicories.
There is no room for dessert, unless you’re a creme bruleé fan, then you should try Viriot’s (again) lighter, fluffier version. You can always slip in some ice cream; here, local king Humphry Slocombe by the scoop, or desserts like a spiced rum caramelized Valrhona milk chocolate banana with banana mousse (though I only do dark chocolate).
Corporate hotel dining isn’t exactly a San Franciscan’s typical night out, unless it’s for work. And modern French brasserie cuisine isn’t the hottest thing people are flocking to these days. But we could only wish for more places that do French cooking with as much classic, true-to-source, yet also light, local, modern ethos, as chef Viriot and team are doing it with at La Société.
// Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, 50 Third Street; www.lasocietecafe.com
