Parallel 37 has been forging new ground for The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, where formality once ruled the dining room. These days, guests and locals are invited to pull up a chair in a contemporary setting that marries casual décor with sophisticated and globally inspired California cuisine.
Since arriving in January 2013 from his post as executive chef at the iconic (and now closed) Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, chef Michael Rotondo offers a globally inspired, creative menu utilizing hyper-seasonal ingredients. Whether choosing à la carte or indulging in the eight-course tasting menu, rest assured that meals are expertly prepared and presented with an artistic savoir-faire worthy of San Francisco’s demanding palate and the Ritz-Carlton name.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- The Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star restaurant’s curious name pays homage to the geographic latitude that runs near the culturally rich and diverse Bay Area including through California’s most celebrated food and wine regions such as Napa, Sonoma, and Russian River Valleys.
- This restaurant still offers the refined experience expected from the luxury resort chain but in an atmosphere more simpatico with California’s laid-back attitude.
- In Parallel 37’s bar, well-known mixologist Camber Lay (of Town Hall and Epic Roasthouse fame) handcrafts vintage classic cocktails such as Manhattans, Martinis and Sazeracs as well as inventive new concoctions using ingredients such as pear green tea, nutmeg, and housemade hibiscus bitters that pair expertly with Chef Rotondo’s fresh California spread.
- The wine menu has a wide selection of California’s finest but a handful of international labels will enrich your wine tasting passport.
Things to Know
- Just a hop off San Francisco’s historic California Cable Car line and tucked between the city’s swank Nob Hill and the deal-sealing Financial District, Parallel 37, which sits in the recently redesigned and modernized lobby of The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco (600 Stockton Street), is an edible oasis for lovers of fine California fare.
- Parallel 37 is open for breakfast daily and dinner Tuesday through Saturday.
- San Francisco is an anything-goes fashion town, and Parallel 37's relaxed dress code echoes this ethos.
The Food
- Michael Rotondo revamped the menu to showcase locally sourced meat and seafood, as well as market-inspired, seasonal agricultural bounty.
- Breakfast and brunch are divine. The eggs Benedict come on a San Francisco sourdough muffin and there is a Dungeness crab omelet. Other specialties include an offering of Chinese dim sum and avocado toast with Easter egg radishes and sprouted quinoa.
- At dinner there are oysters on the half shell, hand cut linguini with sea urchin, chicken with herbed polenta, and a superb bone-in ribeye with whipped potatoes, wild mushrooms, and cipollini onions.
Getting There
Stories
