Fifth Floor

Last night we joined our friends Amanda and Mike for a great dinner at the Fifth Floor. The restaurant is located on the fifth floor (of course) at the Palomar restaurant in downtown San Francisco. Chef Laurent Manrique has recently joined the restaurant to try to bring it back to its former prominence.

The interior is nice, elegant, and simple. A common look in fine dining experiences as compared to a Kuleto restaurant like Epic Roasthouse which, we believe, over designs their locations with a focus on a less sophisticated diner who is coming into the big city for their one night of year of luxury. However, the only downside is that it is very loud, most likely as a result of having hardwood floors. The noise definitely does not match what looks to be a much more intimate setting.

We were there for a special fixed menu, "A Gascon Hunter's Feast" brought to us by Zagat and the Chef as this is his home region. We started with an amuse bouche consisting of a cracker made with duck fat, some deviled chicken and a really nice fruity mold wine of sorts (Kelly to provide better explanations). The menu consisted of aligot (potato soup with truffled brie, celery and black truffle salad), an Octopus confit Salad and cheuvreuil (venison loin, fennel and venison croustillant roasted with salsify, juniper berry and citrus jus). For desert we had apple icecream with an apple tart. All was fantastic. Mike chose a great wine. Laurent Tardieu, Vacqueyras, Vielle Vignes 2004. Lovely.