Sorrel, San Francisco

Sorrel, San Francisco-9/23/2022

Sorrel is a 1 Michelin star restaurant located on Sacramento street in the Pacific Height neighborhood. The menu is market-driven and is characterized as seasonal Cal-Italian with ingredients sourced from local purveyors and then transformed into modern dishes using classic Italian techniques. Executive Chef Alex Hong, Chef de Cuisine Felix Santos, and Pastry Chef Nasir Armar work collaboratively to create offerings that combine their unique culinary approaches in a seamless dining experience and rather than offering rich, traditional Italian meals, Sorrel's cuisine reflects a city that is known for its diversity and light, fresh produce. Also, the kitchen places a heavy emphasis on sustainability and reducing waste wherever possible.

Among the many changes the Sorrel team has made since COVID is the transformation of outdoor dining space. The restaurant was fortunate to get permission for a charming parklet which enabled them to transform their sidewalk giving it a cozy, whimsical atmosphere.

Outdoor dinning area.

Store front.

Logo on main door.

Entering the restaurant.

The dinning room is in a rectangular shape with hanging light fixtures with giant Edison bulbs creating a nice and warm atmosphere.

The central table acts as a room divider, making the smaller tables on either side feel more intimate

Wood tables and floor with huge floral arrangements that are lush, and dim lighting combine to create a refined, yet unpretentious dining room.

Our table is against the wall (on the right) in the middle of the room and the kitchen is visible behind glass is located at the far end of the room.

In the back of the room is a giant open kitchen.

Close up view of the oversized Edison bulbs that hang from a wooden fixture attached to the ceiling

When got there the dining room was half full so I was a bit surprised because I had to reserve our table a month ahead to get a spot.

After talking to our waitress she told me that in order to take care of their customers they have to stage it out and let people in every 15 minutes until 8:45pm which is the last reservation.

Our reservation is at 7:15Pm and by 8:00pm the whole dinning room was full.

View of the dinning room from our table.

A large floral arrangement and a large tree in the center of the dinning room to create a lush environment.

The partially open kitchen allows the diners to view the chefs working with precision and dedication. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, chef Hong trained at Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York and Quince in San Francisco before starting a pop-up called Sorrel. For three years, Hong ran the pop-up, cooking over 135 sold-out dinners, honing his skills and developing the dishes for what is now Sorrel, his first brick-and-mortar.