Located near San Francisco's Moscone Center, Luce is the flagship restaurant of the newly built Intercontinental San Francisco. A sleek glass-encrusted structure located south of Market, a private restaurant entrance from the street ushers in a local crowd of curious foodies typically apprehensive to hotel eateries. The interior dining room is a towering space of dangling gold light fixtures above a beige-and-black marble floor with low banquette and tabletop seating. The restaurant features a lively bar area as well as a communal chefs table adjacent to the glass-enclosed kitchen.
The Food
At the helm of Luce is chef Dominique Crenn, a native French chef heralded by Esquire Magazine as America’s “Chefs to Watch.” Crenn delivers a seasonal California-Italian menu with organic influences demanded in a San Francisco kitchen. The surprisingly understated menu delivers savory surprises from land and sea to produce impossible dishes like Black Ink Trofiette Carbonara (squid in black ink with a poached egg, pancetta, and Parmesan), Seafood Tartare with layers of mussels and sturgeon, and an Aged Rib Eye delivered with four different salts topped with braised oxtail and date-reduction. Michael Mondavi creates the wine list, Robert Mondavi’s son, delivering a powerful food and wine punch to local SF dining.
Last Word
Intercontintael eatery proves that fine dining isn’t immune to hotels.
