There’s only one item that’s available at both Rich Table (opens in new tab) and its cozy, 6-week-old sister restaurant, RT Bistro (opens in new tab): a bowl of porcini doughnuts. At the former, the lightly fried beignets, dusted with fine umami powder, are $13 and come with a whipped raclette. But at RT Bistro, they’re far more luxurious: For $39, they’re accompanied by five spoonfuls of Kaluga caviar over an eggy, Douglas fir ranch.
The distinction is a bit of a surprise considering that owners Evan and Sarah Rich have billed the bistro as the more casual spinoff of Rich Table, one of the most beloved New American spots in San Francisco for more than a decade. Factor in RT Rotisserie (opens in new tab), their fast-casual project with two nearby locations, and it’s tempting to use the old Goldilocks analogy, placing RT Bistro in the “not too hot, not too cold” middle.
“I mean, that’s kind of the basic idea,” Evan says. Though, he adds, they didn’t intend to create some middlebrow version of their flagship. “It’s mainly doing what we’d want to eat.”
From left, chefs Evan and Sarah Rich and GM Jonny Gilbert. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
RT Bistro occupies the former O-Toro Sushi on Oak Street, adjacent to Rich Table. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
Is that answer honest or flippant? The Riches are serious chefs who have always been guided by nonchalance and the maxim “go to the market and see what’s good.” But installing a wood-fired oven, as they’ve done at RT Bistro, is a major investment. They also own the building, where they’ve found a novel use for some of the upstairs apartments: housing employees (opens in new tab) who would otherwise have long commutes at off hours. RT Bistro is not merely another way to maximize available space or capture Rich Table’s overflow.
However, in other ways, the two restaurants can be hard to tell apart. Rich Table and RT Bistro serve similar food in à la carte format, although the former’s menu changes more frequently. With the bistro, the Riches haven’t chosen to break the mold but stick to an established recipe for success. It’s not a bad idea considering that after more than 13 years, it can still be hard to get a seat at Rich Table.
Still, there are compelling reasons to choose RT Bistro over the original. These begin with a gingery, garlicky kanpachi crudo with Taiwanese five-flavor sauce, and a mushroom-forward, deconstructed Dungeness “thermidor” presented inside the crab shell — much cleaner to eat, especially in close quarters. “You see those shells come back, and they’re licked clean,” Evan says.
An open-faced, broccoli-rabe-driven Cali “croque” is fine. But duck à l’orange, with mandarin sweet-and-sour sauce and a sidecar of crisped Luna Koshihikari rice, is superb, as if Julia Child staged at Mister Jiu’s (opens in new tab).
Hamachi crudo in a garlicky, gingery sauce is among the many reasons Rich Table fans have to give RT Bistro a shot. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
The flip side of going to the market to see what’s good is that fresh produce can feel almost gratuitous. Pomelo chunks on the crab thermidor and radicchio atop the rice come across like the kitchen is trying to find a home for all that bounty.
But the best argument for Rich Table may be the burger. Of all San Francisco’s cult burgers, this $29 entrant may be the fanciest.
Adapted from Rich Table’s long-running off-menu sensation, it’s a thick patty with caramelized dill-pickled onions and Parmesan-tickled cheddar on a heavy-duty bun flecked with white and black sesame seeds. There are no visible pickles, because they’re mixed into the slightly spicy sauce. The accompanying wedge fries are cooked in beef tallow — something that, for all its association with RFK Jr., is simply too delicious not to applaud.
At RT Bistro, the famed porcini doughnuts are served with caviar and ranch dressing. | Source: Courtesy Robbie Gomez
Better yet, RT Bistro has a $25 rotating “burger pour” of red wine. During my visit, the sommelier had opened a magnum of big, hot Napa Valley merlot — the perfect accompaniment to a juicy puck of beef.
For more than a decade, the Rich Table burger wasn’t just a fun secret for those in the know — it was almost a badge of honor. Ordering one was a way of signaling belonging in the rustic-chic revolution, when fearless creativity swept over 2010s San Francisco. Going to the market every day wasn’t just bold but practically revolutionary. It made every day an adventure for the kitchen and diners alike.
Today, off-menu or not, a burger is no longer available at Rich Table. But next door at RT Bistro, chef de cuisine Bill Wang’s version is listed on the menu, any pretense to secrecy abandoned. Consider this availability a declaration of independence from the 13-year-old mother ship, which casts a long shadow.