Coi is Chef Matthew Kirkley's acclaimed modern seafood restaurant located on Broadway and Montgomery, thereby straddling the Financial District and North Beach neighborhoods of San Francisco. An unassuming façade, the dark stucco exterior is contrasted nicely by a light wood door at the far right of the building.
Stepping inside, one finds a variation on this same theme. Walls feature a light tan fiber wainscoting, band of darker brown accented by a yellow-hued light, following by a stone gray wall up to the ceiling. The ceiling itself features a 3D relief of brown squares, with small puck lights providing that subdued ambiance. Entering the establishment, one enters a corridor along almost the entire width of the building, opening up to one of two main dining rooms. Where the corridor meets the first dining room is located a host station, and I was greeted by the maître d'hôtel.
The party before me was just finishing up, so I was offered a seat at the front of the front dining area to wait it out. They offered me a choice of still or sparkling water, so with my glass of bubbly water I soaked in the ambiance and collected my thoughts prior to dinner. Only waiting a few minutes, I was led down the length of the front dining hall, and to the right where the back dining hall curls towards the front of the building. Directed to a lovely two top along the wall with bench seat, I sat and tonight's odyssey commenced.
The first touch of pure class was when one of the many servers brought me a glass of water, which to my satisfaction, was sparkling water similar to what I requested during my wait. Clearly the staff was in communication on even the smallest details, which really boded well for the remainder of the evening. Another server arrived with the menu, which I promptly waved off to order the tasting menu with accompanied wine pairings. The die had been cast, so let's begin!
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| Radish tartelette 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Before any food was delivered, Coi's wine director stopped over to offer a glass of sparkling wine from northern California. It provided crisp, buttery notes with a slight acidity and touch of dryness. A very drinkable wine, especially for it being only their second vintage!
The first amuse-bouche to arrive was a radish tartelette, with maître d'hôtel (herb) butter and fleur de sel. Taking the little treat in one bite, I was impressed with the various flavors. The radish provided nice earthy tones, contrasted nicely by the creamy fresh flavors of the herb butter. The bit of salt sealed the deal, really allowing the different flavors to pop.
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| Mussel cannoli 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
The second and final amuse-bouche was a cannoli, filled with mussel mousse, and garnished with bacon, Parmesan, and parsley. The cannoli was not fully sealed at the middle, but cut throughout the entire top. This allowed the garnish to be inserted in a vertical position, really drawing the eye to the dish's aesthetics.
The flavors were outstanding. Similar to the radish tartelette, I gently placed the entire delicate pastry in my mouth, and took in the various flavors. The mussel mousse offered rich, saline flavors, while the bacon pieces provided complimentary sweet and fatty notes. The Parmesan flakes yielded subtle undertones, while the parsley leaves rounded out the dish's flavor palette with nice fresh herb tastes. Incredible that all these flavors could be derived from such a small dish!
With the amuse courses done, the wine director returned with a glass of Champagne: 2006 A.R. Lenoble 'Cuvee Gentilhomme', Blanc de Blancs. On its own, the wine had a nice dryness, with toffee notes that were not overly exposed. When paired with the cannoli, the dryness did a nice job of cutting the richness, while the toffee notes made their presence known without throwing the overall flavor profile out of kilter.
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| Nootka sound oyster 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Next came two takes on oysters. On the right, resting on half an oyster shell, is a raw oyster topped with a Meyer lemon jelly, truffle shavings, and a small fried puff (made from the same dough as the upcoming ravioli). To the left, one finds a oyster ravioli topped with sea lettuce mousse and black truffle.
The raw oyster featured fresh, brine flavors, which were refreshed by the Meyer lemon jelly offering slight citrus notes. On the other side, the ravioli offered a richer flavor, which was contrasted nicely by the earthy tones of the truffle.
Similarly to the cannoli, the Champagne did a nice job of working with the rich flavors of the dish. Furthermore, it's own subdued toffee flavors expanded on the dish's flavor profile.
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| Fluke 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Our next wine for the evening was a glass of 2012 Weingut Jäger Riestling Smaragd 'Reid Achleiten' from Wachau, Austria. On its own, this Riestling offered sweet notes of oak and citrus overtones.
The next course was fluke with lemon confit, osetra caviar and buddha's hand (a type of fingered citron variety). The fish was delicate, with sweet lemon notes intertwined with the fish for a fresh, clean taste. This paired nicely with the rich and creamy flavors of the lemon confit, while the osetra caviar added beautifully contrasting saline qualities. The wine paired nicely, offering complimentary citrus notes, while also yielding contrasting oak nuance to expand the flavor palette.
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| Dungeness crab 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
With the fluke plate retrieved, and the previous Riestling consumed, I was presented next with a glass of NV Pierre Morlet 'Grand Reserve' Brut Champagne. Not much of a Champagne person, I enjoyed the buttery undertones and hint of sweetness.
The dungeness crab course was next offered, with the crab set on top of a mousse bars featuring a layer of jelly (of what sadly I cannot recall). This is accompanied by bits of dried seaweed, fresh herbs, pieces of grapefruit, and what seems like a meringue puff.
The crab offered its signature sweet flavors, contrasted nicely by the rich mouse foundation, briny flavors of the dried seaweed, and tart notes of grapefruit. The puffs were sweet, yet finished with a tart flavor, which contrasted nicely with the marine flavors of the rest of the dish. Finally, the Champagne did a nice job of complimenting the marine notes by yielding hints of butter and sweetness.
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| Stuffed shells 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Next up for wine was a glass of 2010 Albert Seitz, Sylvander 'Vieilles Vignes' Grand Cru Zotzenberg from the Alsace region of France. This was paired with shells stuffed with a turbot mousse, finished with a bone marrow consommé and garnished with rosemary and romaine lettuce.
The turbot mousse was exceptional, with suble saline flavors that were accentuated by the rich bone marrow flavor of the consommé. The lettuce was a nice touch, breaking up the texture profile of the dish by adding a little crisp to the softness of the pasta. The Alsatian wine was a nice pairing, with its sweet undertones redirecting the palette from the richness of the bone marrow.
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| Turbot 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Our penultimate main course soon arrived, which featured turbot, topped with root vegetable scales, and served above a root vegetable beurre cancalaise. This was served with a glass of 2013 HdV 'Hyde Vineyard' Chardonnay from the Carneros region of Napa Valley.
The turbot was perfectly cooked, with a firm yet flaky texture and nice subtle flavors. The scales yielded nice contrasting earthy tones from the various root vegetables, while the beurre cancalaise offered a nice rich flavor, subdued slightly by finely diced root vegetables that furthermore offered a nice texture differential. The Chardonnay was a nice addition, imparting undertones of oak and fruit to compliment the butter, earthy and saline notes of the dish.
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| Maine lobster 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
Tonight's final entrée was a Maine lobster, served with lobster roe, foie gras, red cabbage, nori and a red wine reduction sauce. Accompanying this dish was a glass of 1997 Domaine Louis Jadot Musigny Grand Cru Burgundy.
The lobster was cooked perfectly, with its rich buttery flesh underpinned by subtle briny flavors. The foie gras added additional rich earthy tones, while the nori and cabbage lent distinctive flavors that did a nice job balancing the richness of the two main features.
The red Burgundy wine did a nice job complimenting the rich features of this dish. Subtle notes of currant balance the rich flavors, while not being overpowering themselves or clash with the dish's overall flavor palette.
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| Pistachio 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
The cake bottom layer offered nutty, buttery flavors, which paired perfectly with the rich and creamy middle gelato layer. The white chocolate disk added further sweet creamy flavors, while the fennel imparted refreshing undertones to round out the desert. The sparkling wine did a nice job of redirecting the palette from the nutty sweet and creamy flavors of the desert, to the delicate sweet and fruit flavors of the wine, all the while subtly reducing the richness of the desert.
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| Pralines in space 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
The final desert had even more artistic flair, entitled "pralines in space." Going counter-clockwise from largest to smallest, this desert featured a hazelnut chocolate planet filled with praline cremeaux, then smaller orange cremeaux sphere topped with chopped pralines, followed by a small hazelnut gelato sphere, and finally dashes of mandarin orange jelly. Served with this was a glass of Lustau 'East India Solera' sherry from Jerez, Spain.
Both main planets were balanced nicely on to themselves. The sweet nutty flavor of the chocolate hazelnut exterior balanced the rich cremeaux for the first planet, while the nutty praline flavors paired nicely with the refreshing orange cremeaux notes. The hazelnut gelato and mandarin orange added nice side flavors, while balancing each other. Finally the sherry worked well with this dish, as the dry toffee flavors complimented the chocolate and nut undertones.
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| Mignardises 2017 Coi. San Francisco, CA |
With the final desert course under my belt, not to mention glass number nine of wine for the evening, I was stuffed and ready to wave the white napkin of defeat for the evening. Of course this is the moment when every good restaurant finds an array of little mignardises to offer their guest. Coi was no exception, and so after being presented with 4 small boxes of little confections, I ordered decaf coffee and took it in stride.
Starting from the top, working clockwise: chocolate truffle bon-bons, candied orange, coconut cream bite, and lemon tartelette. Combined, their flavors balanced nicely. The bon-bons were sweet and rich with chocolate overtones. The candied orange were sweet with tart citrus flavors, while the lemon tartelettes were creamy with tart citrus flavors. Finally, the coconut cream bites were creamy and with subtle coconut flavor. What a way to cap off an evening.
Overall, Chef Kirkley and his team have an amazing offering at Coi. Each dish was meticulously crafted, offering various dimensions of flavors and textures to truly showcase their artistry. As wine director, Courtney Olson did a magnificent job selecting wines that both contributed, and complimented each dish's flavor profile. The front of the house was exceptional: pleasant in demeanor, and thorough in their communication and execution to ensure an amazing evening. This package definitively establishes Coi at the top echelon of San Francisco's culinary scene.
Dining date: March 4th, 2017
Dining date: March 4th, 2017
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