Osito

Finally able to eat at osito! I was amazed by the decor, so beautiful inside with warm woods, beautiful plants, and an amazing staff. Chef Seth was there and so inviting! I could not smell smoke from the outside which impressed me the most. I asked chef Seth about the smoke and the neighborhood and he said he spent a lot of money on a machine that cleans up the air before if goes out and it's always tested by the city. I say all this because he cooks by fire and it's so amazing! Truly deserving of his Michelin star! The dessert was done with the smoke of the fire. Everything tasted so good from the kanpachi, trout, steak, sourdough bread with caviar and tobiko *chefs kiss* My compliments to the chef and staff! I highly recommend!

I'd been looking forward to trying Osito and made a reservation for my husband's birthday. I reserved a table at the bar for dinner. In the booking system it said we would be able to "create our own journey' for dinner with access to their a la cart menu.When we arrived, we were given their Bar Bites menu. It turned out that "creating our journey" was really just a fork in the road. We had the option of ordering one appetizer and one dessert from their menu. I was confused as I'd booked a dinner reservation. I asked the server whether we could order dinner a la carte menu. He checked with the chef and returned to say that we could only order from the Bat Bites menu.We seemed to be the only people to whom this rule applied. The other couple in the bar were being entrees. I think the experience would have been better had they said that our reservation was for appetizers and drinks in their reservation system. That would have tempered my expectations rather than mid-leading us to say we'd booked a reservation for dinner at the bar. We wound up ordering both the appetizer and the desert. The food was creative, but we would have enjoyed them more had we been given napkins as the appetizer were five one-bite finger foods. We were provided napkins after we'd finished our food and asked for them. When I got the bill, I was surprised that the $100 deposit I'd made wasn't automatically applied to my bill. I had to remind the staff to get a corrected bill, which seemed strange at it's a requirement to make a deposit when you book the reservation. On the positive side, I enjoyed the atmosphere. It reminded me of a warm sauna. And the staff was friendly. But we have a lot of options in the Bay Area and I just don't think Osito is worth it. It felt like I was attending the soft opening for a restaurant ironing out their kinks rather than an established restaurant with a Michelin star.

*This is a review for the booking only*I scheduled an advance dinner reservation for a birthday celebration. Later, I was informed that they didn't offer that Tasting Menu on that day, even though it was still available on Tock until the day of the reservation, so another special menu was offered. I then asked details about that special menu and after a few communication they completely went silence.With that experience, I told Osito to cancel the reservation, since I want the dinner to be at a certain time. Didn't receive any responses until the very day of the reservation. Osito asked will I still be attending to my reservation which I told them I had to make last minute arrangements after having difficulty to make rearrangement with Osito team.Osito offered a complimentary meal on the very day which of course it wasn't feasible as I already celebrating the birthday at another venue. Rather I told them I'll visit at another available date.By the time I reach out again to arrange for a reservation, another silent treatment from Osito. After a few attempts, it completely not worth all the time I've spent, and left it as it.A very unsatisfactory customer experience encounter with a One Michelin Star restaurant.

Rounded up to 3 stars. Dinner at the bar: think Nordic/Japanese minimalism--concrete and wood, sleek but cold. The bartender was friendly, cocktails were tasty, and the food? Slow. The sea urchin with almonds and mushroom foam was the fave, but the pigshead leaned fat-on-fat with not enough citrus to cut through. Radicchio salad? Tasty but familiar flavors, tricky to eat. Crudo was generous pieces though poorly trimmed. The clay-baked trout was creamy and delicious but needed some crunch or something to complement. Fermented pana cotta style dessert? My wife nailed it: "different but wouldn't get it again."Service was poor, especially for a restaurant of this caliber: a forgotten drink, our main served to our neighbor then removed and served to us, a 20-minute wait for the check, and needing to ask for silverware--twice. We both noticed upon exit not feeling completely full. For $300 pre-tip, any number of others favorites at this price point call much louder: Rich Table, Liholiho, San Ho Wan, Cotogna, Angler... considering the $200 for Osito's tasting menu, alternatives like Anomaly, Merchant Roots, Niku spring to mind. Maybe it was an off night for service and the kitchen, but it's certainly not tempting me back.

Came here for dinner with a friend and had a great time. Everything was so nice and the staff was so friendly.The food was good - the beef tongue and squab were the best dishes.

Beautiful Wood interiorscozy smoky wood smellThey keep you hydrated! Super attentive service Nice sharp flavors in the profiteroles and urchins

Osito restaurant, which made their ambitious debut in 2021 as a 100% live fire and fine dining restaurant, recently introduced a more accessible $90 weekday four-course tasting menu, as well as an all a la carte reservation. Gone is the massive central communal table, replaced by numerous smaller tables which opens up the space nicely. I was a big fan of their adjacent sister bar Liliana before its closure, which offered strong la carte dishes from the same kitchen. They've essentially folded Liliana into Osito now, offering diners more flexibility in the same warm space with a view of the open kitchen.Chef-owner Seth Stowaway excels at making his elevated dishes fun and welcoming, and this new arrangement allows his vision to shine more coherently. On my last visit, I enjoyed the meat-focused shorter tasting menu with la carte seafood supplements. It was a quiet weeknight, and not only were the food and drink plentiful, but we also enjoyed stories told with Stowaway's infectiously jolly and real energy.The first course was a cured pork belly-wrapped savory profiterole filled with Harbison cheese. The delightful bite came out on a bed of smoldering fragrant pine needles, a wonderful welcome for all five senses.We moved onto some oysters and crudo from the a la carte menu. These were subtle in flavor, and paired nicely with our bright, citrus-forward cocktails.The next course on the tasting menu was a rabbit roulade, accompanied by a rabbit offal-stuffed morel, which further exaggerated the impressively sized mushrooms. Surrounded in a bowl of chicken fish consomme and a dollop of miso, there was much to love in this umami-forward dish.In a nod to his Texan roots, Stowaway served a saucy smoked brisket as the main course on the shorter menu. The familiar, yet elevated preparation was plated with early season grilled peach, potatoes, and basil. The fancy summer BBQ I didn't know I was craving.Next up was a large-format dish from the a la carte menu, a shrimp and squid claypot rice assembled table-side and topped with a generous amount of whipped chili butter. This was one of my favorites, bursting with layered flavors and textures.Dessert was inspired by the Southern hoe cake, a cornmeal pancake of sorts. This version came with blueberry almond sauce, plus crème anglaise spooned table side. Another great example of elevated comfort food that Osito does so well. And at $90 for the four-course tasting, this might be the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurant in the city.

We tried Osito for the first time during restaurant week in SF early April 24'. The service was immaculate- I don't think we had to wait a single beat for our food because we reserved the 5 course menu ahead of time. Chef Stowaway really started with a bang on this one with a pair of profiteroles being smoked on a bed of pine needles! This one had me smiling- all of the california campfires in my past brought to the forefront of my memories. The only reason I have to minus one star is because I could not eat one of the dishes that had pecans (and because we cannot give half stars). Otherwise this was a beautifully crafted menu. Wildly rustic and amazingly charred- I could still taste and smell the oaky goodness after the meal.

Cute space. The seats are at a large communal table. Loved the plates and ceramics. Overall the food was good. Food:Trio of amuse bouche - delicious Scallop - goodOyster - goodCaviar with funnel cake - very goodCrab and truffle farro - delicious Short rib - goodPear sorbet - okArroz con leche - one of my fave dishes of the night

Great dinner there yesterday, the stand out for me were the various sauces that accompanied some of the dishes. I was particularly blown away by the Pink Lady apple caramel sauce that accompanied the sourdough French toast, caviar, & butter, the combination was just amazing. The other stand out for me was the squash sauce that accompanied the sea urchin, it complimented the sea urchin so unexpectedly making it so smooth & almost buttery. The sauce for the trout was also amazing, love all the mushrooms & herbs that go with it too. The profiteroles with ham and pickles were delicious as well, my mouth is watering just recalling it!Service was wonderful, staff were all very welcoming & personable, you knew you were in a fine dining establishment because everyone was so attentive, but it didn't feel stiff & formal, in fact there was almost a casual feel about the place so that you could relax and just enjoy your meal. I really like how the dining room is set up, it feels very open, & there was so much spacing between each table that you almost feel as if you were dining in a private room. Watching the chefs working in the open kitchen was also a great experience, they all seem very relaxed and synchronized, and there seemed like a lot of room for them to work around each other. The chef/owner came out to speak with us towards the end of our meal which was a nice touch. This is a restaurant that is worth returning. We did the classic tasting menu with caviar addition, but they do have a price fixed 4 course menu option as well as an a la carte menu.