Eight Awesome and Affordable Tasting Menus in San Francisco

You know the husband-and-wife chef duo David Fisher and Serena Fisher from their Michelin time at the bygone Marlena, but they’re back with 7 Adams, showcasing their talent through a five-course menu for $87, a seven-course menu for $127, and a chef’s counter menu for $157.

Blink and you might miss Mr. Pollo on Mission. This tiny, 12-seat restaurant features an ever-changing $49 four-course tasting menu. The restaurant has switched chefs over the years; currently at the helm is Graham Bellefeuille, who used to cook at the now-closed Spanish gem Contigo. Here, his menu leans South American, and of course there’s still the famous arepa on the menu, a nod to Mr. Pollo’s origins as a Colombian restaurant.

We love Besharam on any day of the week for any occasion, whether you’re stopping by for a quick bite or for a special occasion. But we especially love the tasting menu ($98) — a generous tour of everything that makes Heena Patel’s Gujarati cooking so magical and unique.

Nari’s chef’s pick menu ($145/person) always changes and is served family-style. The meal always starts with a couple of small bites, like gaeng gradang tod (pork croquettes with a northern curry paste), then proceeds to dishes like wraps and salads (we love the stone fruits during the summer), before moving on to the main courses, usually a curry of sorts, perhaps a stir-fry dish perhaps, a wok-seared cabbage vegetable side, and rice. Finish with a couple of icy desserts to cool your palate.

Practice your Italian with your loved one as you make your way through antipasti, insalata, primi, secondi, and dolci at SPQR. Alongside the normal menu, the talented Matthew Accarrino is doing a multi-course $102 menu with options for each course, such as king salmon with legumes and vermouth butter or potato gnocchi with sunchokes and guanciale. The choice is yours and it’ll all be delicious.

And pro tip: On Wednesdays and Thursdays, you can have the option for the SPQR pasta tasting menu (five course, $69).

The three-course $75 “formule routier” is ever-changing at Routier, the bistro from John Paul Carmona, Belinda Leong, and Michel Suas. Recently for late summer, it was beets with peach and pumpkinseed, followed by duck leg confit, and ending with a roast peach bavarois.

Prubechu’s fiesta table set meal ($96/person) comes in three waves. The first is small and snacky. The second is where the party really gets started and includes red rice, vegetable sides, a signature pickle salad, and two larger protein-based dishes like a roasted pork shoulder with onion soubise, plus all the dipping sauces your heart desires. The last wave is dessert, of course, either a sorbet situation or bunelos aga, a.k.a. banana donuts. A bubbly bottle makes a great pairing.

Our absolute favorite way to experience Flour + Water is without a doubt their pasta tasting menu ($139/person). It comes with two antipasti — a crudo and a vegetable dish or two — a parade of seasonal pasta dishes, and the good ol’ budino for dessert. The wine pairing is a worthwhile addition.