Explore The Lore, a Tasting Menu Restaurant Unlike Any Other

1. The space is special.

The Lore is located deep in the Financial District, in a former night watchmen’s quarter located right above the legendary Irish pub Harrington’s Bar & Grill. Fully wooden walled from floor-to-ceiling, it feels like you’re in someone’s cool cabin deep in the woods. Stowaway learned about the space from his opening director of operations at Osito, Lucia Camarda, who now co-owns Harrington’s.

“When I first saw the space, I told Lucia ‘I feel like it’s supposed to be mine,’” says Stowaway.

There are a couple different origin stories to the space. One is that it was built by a Vietnam War vet as a means to recovery and therapy, while another account is that it was built by a famous drunkard from the neighborhood, who happened to be an incredible craftsman.

The varying accounts are why Stowaway named his new concept The Lore. “There’s a magic and mystery to the space — there’s a lot of history there, and the history is lore.”

2. The food is ambitious and creative.

The tasting menu at The Lore is a natural evolution of Osito and a culmination of the hundreds of dishes Stowaway created there in four years.

“The food is a picture of coastal California through the lens of fire, preservation, and seasonality, which is the thing I’ve tried to hone over the years,” says Stowaway.

Expect 18-20 bites over the course of about three-and-a-half hours.

The first six courses are small bites served one-by-one, starting with things that are raw, like a cured beef tartare tartlet with a savory bagna cauda base seasoned with preserved anchovies topped with a thin clear sheet of preserved pear liquid. (See how he takes the preservation part seriously?)

The next wave of dishes are seafood-centric and get larger, like a mussel and clam porridge or a Dungeness crab-studded flan topped with caviar topped with a bright green English pea mousse, a dish that screams spring.

There’s a meaty main of Stemple Creek New York strip gently grilled over oak and served with a mole made from dry chiles and salted medjool dates, a little spoon full of smoked eggplant puree spiked with pureed porcini, and a raw green chile oil. Eat by itself and sop up the sauce with fresh made flour tortillas made a la minute by his sous chef, Izzy De La Rosa.

The above are just examples of what you could expect, of course, as the menu changes as often as the seasons do.

3. The wine is indeed fine.

The tasting menu is paired with pours picked by The Lore’s experience and beverage director Wilmer Ruiz, who also helped with the beverage program in the Osito days. He has access to a private collection on consignment.

The parings lean Old World. Think things like Champagne that flows in the first wave and dry Riesling to go with some of the seafood. But there’s also some New World good old Napa Cab that goes wonderfully well with the beef course, of course. There are currently six wines in the pairing in total; you won’t be thirsty.

Should you choose to go the non-alcohol route, Stowaway has crafted his own n/a program of creative concoctions featuring syrups, shrubs, and tinctures made in house. Think a shaken tea of seaweed and pineapple weed sweetened with fermented honey — it’s light, refreshing, and “tastes like the ocean air,” according to Stowaway.

4. More than a restaurant, it’s a tasting salon and events space, too.

The Lore isn’t exactly a restaurant — it’s a “tasting salon.”

Currently, it’s open for dinner three days a week with just one seating for 10 guests. Dinner is $500 per person, all-inclusive of beverage pairings. (Members receive preferred pricing of $400 per person; more on that below)

Stowaway eventually plans to add Tuesday and Wednesday, and will start hosting events as well — think special dinners with your favorite winemakers and spirit makers, or talks with different artists. Stowaway is thinking beyond just feeding people and hoping to build regulars and community inside a third space.

 5. And there’s a membership option.

If you really want to be a regular, you can join The Circle, a special membership that comes with special access. You’ll get two tickets to The Lore each month, plus priority access to preferred reservations before seats are released to the public. Members will also receive special invites to members-only events, as well as special access to book Stowaway to be your personal private chef at the comfort of your very own home. See here to learn more.