Pinoy tasting menus<\/a> are Ox & Tiger, a Japanese-Filipino spot in the Tenderloin, and a handful of popups, such as Kapuluan. Naides is the first dedicated restaurant to take up the mantle in the Bay Area, and the timing feels right: The most prominent Filipino fine dining restaurant in the country, Kasama in Chicago, which became the world\u2019s first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in 2022, set another benchmark last year as the first to have two Michelin stars.\u00a0<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re just one small ingredient to this movement, and we believe it will get big,\u201d Gabon said. \u201cWe\u2019re just playing a small part.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Sinigang;]()
![\"Tusok-Tusok;]()
<\/p>\n
Left: The sinigang, with barbecued abalone, dry-aged beef broth and a yam leaf emulsion, is a distinctive highlight on a menu filled with dynamic dishes.
\nRight: The tusok-tusok, featuring duck leg & thigh, grilled pineapple and sabayon, is one of two preparations of duck served for an entr\u00e9e course.<\/p>\n
Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Above: The sinigang, featuring barbecued abalone, dry-aged beef broth and a yam leaf emulsion, is a distinctive highlight on a menu filled with dynamic dishes.
\nBelow: The tusok-tusok, with duck leg & thigh, grilled pineapple, and sabayon, is one of two preparations of duck served for an entr\u00e9e course.<\/p>\n
Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
When tasting menus treat cultural influences like a flourish, a tasteful dusting of spice here or a fastidious herb garnish there, it can have a diminishing effect on the cuisine. Naides channels the full spectrum of Pinoy cuisine. Every dish on the 8-course tasting menu ($205) emphasizes ingredients native to the Philippines, such as pili nuts, grown in the Bicol region. To honor this commitment, Naides skirts the Californian convention of seasonality \u2014\u00a0 it informs the menu but does not define it. The menu, provided at the end of the meal upon request, is in Tagalog, and includes a pronunciation key.<\/p>\n
The first official course, a marinated fish dish known as kinilaw, paid homage to Sons & Daughters, where Gabon cooked for more than a year as sous chef. However, it quickly took on a shape of its own with an accompanying sauce of fermented coconut water freshened by pine, which lended a sweet, mellow funk to the cured, fat-streaked trout. Gabon said he included the nod because Sons & Daughters partially inspired Naides with its New Nordic style, distinguished by a \u201clighter\u201d and \u201csimpler\u201d approach to complex cooking and its focus on ferments and vinegars \u2014 two points of overlap with Filipino cuisine. The ensuing course featured bagoong, an aged, salted shrimp condiment, which formed the base of a sauce that was cut and thickened with cream. The deeply pungent sauce, turned green and peppery by moringa leaf, was spooned over chayote, duck cracklings and caviar.<\/p>\n
![\"Sous]()
<\/p>\n
Sous chef Tesio Martinez plates okoy, a mung bean fritter, with prawn\u00a0tartare and pickled wild roses for one of the opening bites in the procession of dishes at Restaurant Naides.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
An interpretation of the sour soup known as sinigang recalibrated my sense of what was possible within the fine dining palate. Consisting of abalone showered tableside in a sinigang made of tamarind and dry-aged beef stock \u2014 instead of the typical pork \u2014 the sourness was so piercing it haunted me for weeks. This is exactly what I want from a tasting menu: something daring but rewarding that creates new paths of appreciation. I\u2019ve never had a sinigang like this, yet somehow it\u2019s the sinigang I\u2019ve been searching for all my life.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Naides might offer the most interesting bread service in San Francisco, or at least certainly the one with the most perspective. The restaurant skipped the usual crusty sourdough or glistening milk bread served with butter in favor of pandesal \u2014 plush Filipino rolls topped in breadcrumbs, accompanied by lush liver pate, bright pickles and well garlicked chicken sisig, prepared with even more livers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the 18-seat space is intimate, Wuu, who previously ran the floor at Benu, acts as both sommelier and front of house manager, and has a talent for making every meal welcoming. A gifted conversationalist, Wuu exhibits the kind of hospitality that creates loyalty; she\u2019s attentive and receptive to questions, but, most of all, her passion is palpable. This is especially true when discussing the restaurant\u2019s forward-thinking non-alcoholic pairing ($110), which is far more than dressed-up juice. Just when you feel overwhelmed by, say, the sinigang, fret not, for a refreshment of tomato water, raspberry vinegar and guava leaves will set you right. It borders on integral to the experience, especially in the main course. (Consider the novel 50-50 pairing, if you want the best of both worlds.)<\/p>\n
![\"Celine]()
![\"Non-alcoholic]()
<\/p>\n
Left: Celine Wuu, who manages the front of house and acts as sommelier, previously ran the floor at the three-Michelin-starred Benu.
\nRight: The non-alcoholic beverage pairing ($110) is an integral part of the experience at Restaurant Naides.<\/p>\n
Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Above: Celine Wuu, who manages the front of house and acts as sommelier, previously ran the floor at the three-Michelin-starred Benu.
\nBelow: The non-alcoholic beverage pairing ($110) is an integral part of the experience at Restaurant Naides.<\/p>\n
Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Perhaps there is a secret law that mandates duck be served at every tasting menu, but Naides slightly pivots, offering the waterfowl two ways. The first was a duck breast, tingling with fall spices, bathed in soy sauce-spiked jus; it was a spot-on medium rare, dense but tender, with taut, slightly crisped skin. The subtleties were made more apparent by the non-alcoholic pairing, a drink assembled from pomegranate juice, cascara (dried coffee fruit) and a heavy hand of black pepper. It drank like a red wine, but the seasoning accentuated the warm spice profile of the duck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second duck preparation drew inspiration from the skewered street snacks called tusok-tusok, a lacquered grilled thigh and a meatball, both grilled over coals and accompanied by pineapple aioli. This preparation was juicier, more satisfying and twice as charming.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The biggest surprise was saved for the dessert course. I am hesitant to describe it because I think it must be experienced spoiler-free. But it consists of a key ingredient in Filipino cuisine, which fans of Pinoy food may have noticed as unmentioned in this review. So I\u2019ll just say it\u2019s a cold dish that tastes like the most luxurious buttered popcorn imaginable.<\/p>\n
![\"Restaurant]()
<\/p>\n
Restaurant Naides offers an 8-course tasting menu for $205. The menu, provided upon request, is in\u00a0Tagalog.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Naides establishes a model of Filipino cooking at the highest rung of fine dining in the Bay Area, and it does so without sacrificing what makes the cuisine so dynamic and thrilling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
708 Bush St., San Francisco. restaurantnaides.com<\/a><\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Hours: 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday<\/p>\n
Accessibility: There is a small staircase to get to facilities and two steps by the dining area on the right of the entrance. Wheelchair accessible tables.<\/p>\n
Noise level: Quiet, music (the 1970s band America’s greatest hits) kept an easy listening level.<\/p>\n
Meal for two, without drinks: More than $500.Tasting menu is $209 per person, plus taxes, fees and a 20% service charge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meat-free options: No modifications to the menu are allowed, but if your party has dietary restrictions, reach out to check how it might affect the menu.<\/p>\n
Drinks: Wine pairing ($145), non-alcoholic pairing ($110) and a 50-50 pairing ($125). Wine and beer available by the glass.<\/p>\n
Best practices: Ask Celine Wuu about her process for making the non-alcoholic beverages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The tasting menu at Restaurant Naides, an ambitious new fine dining restaurant, has an eye toward avant garde…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[413,412,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-231175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-food","9":"tag-restaurants","10":"tag-san-francisco","11":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","12":"tag-san-francisco-news","13":"tag-sf","14":"tag-sf-headlines","15":"tag-sf-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}