Mister Jiu's - San Francisco, CA

I expected good things from my dinner at Mister Jiu’s, since it was selected by Bon Appetit as a Hot 10 restaurant of 2017, but even so, it was a surprisingly fantastic meal.

I didn’t plan far enough ahead to get a reservation, but I read they had bar seating open first come first serve., so I was hopeful it would work out. We arrived about 15 minutes before opening to a small crowd around the door. I was unsure if these people had reservations or if they were all waiting for bar seats, but that became clear pretty quickly when the doors opened and the majority were ushered to tables in the back. So we had no problem getting seats at the bar.

The signature cocktails are named after things like Happiness, Courage, and Vitality. Our selection for the evening were Renewal and Wealth (with the most fabulous ice cube ever!). I was pleasantly surprised to come across an article in Sunset Magazine shortly after the trip, which featured a recipe for the Curiosity Cocktail, although I would probably never make it myself…

In addition, the bartenders were very chatty and enhanced the bar experience.

Beef tendon from the charcuterie menu wasn’t my first choice, but I’m so glad we ordered it. The tendon was slightly chewing and the sauce was a bit spicy and it was a great combination.

Pork potstickers came with really pretty purple wrappers.

We also ordered a generous portion of steak fried rice with exceedingly tender chunks of wagyu beef.

And for dessert - Frozen Whipped Honey. I had no idea what to expect, but it had white chocolate and tuiles and pineapple and it was fabulous.