Minimalist SoMa spot featuring innovative, ultrapricey American cuisine and renowned tasting menu. Based on 558 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.7 stars. Price $$$$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ No takeout ✔️ No delivery
Address:
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 685-4860
Website: http://www.benusf.com/
Hours
| Friday | 5:30–8:30 PM |
| Saturday | 5:30–8:30 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | Closed |
Menu
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Menu Photos
Photo Gallery
Order and Reservations
Reservations: benusf.comexploretock.com
Reviews
Yolanda Zhou
I had a great experience at Benu. Everything I tried was delicious. I loved how small the portion sizes were so that I could try more things. Even though they recommended against sharing our mains, my friend and I ordered different ones and found that there was more than enough food for us to both try both. Also, the infusions were free (and tasted amazing).
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Carolyn Feng-Friberg
Sadly fell short of expectations. For the price point – aka monthly rent in most cities – the service and experience were lacking. There was only one server at a time so dishes were set down in front of diners at different times vs the timed orchestrated moves in comparable Michelin restaurants. Servers presented dishes with a perfunctory explanation of ingredients, but didn’t really get a sense of the chef’s vision or philosophy. The dishes themselves had no awe or delight as they were just elevated fairly typical Asian dishes with familiar flavors (albeit nicer ingredients). And several seemed like they been on the menu for a while.
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Metinee Ding
Phenomenal fine dining experience. Every dish was so inventive and so delicious – nothing was what we expected, in the best way possible! Chef Corey Lee is so talented and the Korean flavors and ingredients really shine through in all of the dishes. Some of our favorite dishes were the tempura fried veggies/shrimp, the crispy fried frog leg covered in chillis, and the quail that came with the most amazing steamed bun I have ever tasted in my entire life. I was also really impressed by the lamb, which didn’t taste gamey at all, and I usually don’t eat lamb.
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Christopher Frey
Ben
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JMCD
The best meal we’ve ever had! Each dish was incredible and perfectly portioned, the progression between courses was thoughtful, the balance between traditional and fusion was surprising, the staff set a wonderful tone and provided great insights….. I could go on and on! We found it pointless to try to pick a favorite dish because everything complemented everything so well.
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Ilya Grigorik
Asian-California-Korean-flavored fusion that won’t disappoint. Enjoyed every bite, with a numbers of wow moments along the way. The flavors are well balanced and more tame than you would expect if you know their ‘authentic’ versions, but that’s not a criticism: very well balanced and enjoyable experience end to end.
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selena sensanith
Had an amazing time at Benu!! My boyfriend had reservations for our anniversary and informed them about my allergies. They customized our menu by adding a happy anniversary at the top and changed my menu a bit by removing the shrimp/prawn platter – replaced it with something else.
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Charles Lee
This is one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. It should be on your bucket list of restaurants to visit. The food looks like candy and tastes so delicious. The food is so flavorful yet complex and distinct. Flavors explode in your mouth and you taste all the different flavors that blend so well. There is an Asian Korean twist to many of the bites which at additional complexity. The service here is excellent. The people are so well trained I’m very professional. This is a must restaurant to visit but you must Reserve months in advance. One of my favorite restaurants of all time.
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Eric F
I believe this was the best value I ever had in a three Michelin star restaurant. When we went I think we paid a little over $250. We went to Saison the night after and paid around $400 for a lesser meal. I have not been there in a few years but next time I am in San Francisco I will make sure I have reservations at Benu. They are, and Meadowwood if they ever rebuild.
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May Bresler Herzog
Having been to my fair share of Michelin star restaurants, Benu is certainly one of the good ones. The food is adventurous, and there are more than a few things on the menu I never tried anywhere else. The highlights for us were the acorn “taco”, pork 2-way dish, the lobster dumplings and the desserts (omija and pudding). That said, we found the experience good but not memorable… The decor is very minimal, I loved seeing the kimchi pots outside but sadly that doesn’t reflect indoors and it’s very plain. The experience doesn’t feel “private” since acoustics are weird, you can hear every other table well, but the waiting staff whisper the dishes descriptions to you to not disturb others, which makes it hard to hear. Would be fine if the menu stated what the small bites were, but it doesn’t… Overall, good food, exactly what you would expect from a restaurant with 3 stars, but unfortunately, not very memorable for us.
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