Rooh is located in the South Beach neighborhood of downtown San Francisco, only a few blocks away from AT&T Park. In fact, something to consider if one wants to visit during baseball season; the area backs up considerably when the San Francisco Giants play home games. The restaurant is located on the ground level of a renovated warehouse building.
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| Interior of Rooh from my table 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The right side of the dining room, again along the front all, features several two-tops situated parallel with the outer wall. Along the inner wall, a bar area dominates the space, offering high-top seating for those looking for a bit more casual element.
The color palette of the restaurant is fresh and vibrant, yet not to an obnoxious extent. Chairs are of a nice green leather, while the fabric of the bench seats along the walls are a delightful canary yellow. Tables are of a darker wood, with legs of lighter wood. Finally, accents of curtains in reds, along with lighter tans of the ceiling piping, offer nice color accents that really round out the space.
Tonight I was meeting up with my colleague Subba, who I have worked with for around nine years now, and hails from the subcontinent (specifically, Mumbai). While obviously I enjoy his company, I secretly was excited to get his take on the dishes with the context of growing up in India. He arrived slightly late, having gotten bogged down in the aforementioned baseball traffic. When he arrived, I had already sat down and analyzed the menu. We both opted for the $80 tasting menu, skipped the optional $40 wine pairings and instead each ordered a drink, and with that our evening commenced.
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| Pani puri (left) & Burrata bon bon (right) 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
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| Liquid egg bhurji 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The final canapé course was liquid egg bhurji, sporting a bottom layer of dehydrated garlic chutney, and a salicornia pakoda (fried salicornia, also known as samphire or sea asparagus). The liquid had a nice creamy consistency, paired nicely with the savory elements of the dehydrated garlic on the bottom (just make sure you make an effort to get some of that goodness with each spoonful). The fried salicornia was a new and interesting addition, providing a nice texture differential, while also added complimentary salty and fried buttery notes.
Moving on from the canapés, we arrive at a bridge course before the start of the entrée service. Here we have a green pea kulcha (Indian leavened bread) filled with a fava purée, goat cheese and truffle. Masala (spice blend) is then added as a finishing touch for flavor.
The kulcha itself came out piping hot, and a perfect soft texture that wasn't too fragile to break and empty its contents on the plate. Goat cheese and fava bean purée add creamy texture along with their own earthy flavors, capped off by the truffle. Finally, the masala adds a nice savory/spicy element to round out the flavor profile.
This leads us to our first entrée course, consisting of fresh oyster served with pink guava and chili granita, lemon foam and pickled turnip. The oysters themselves were served ice cold, over top a plate of crushed ice. Visually the dish's various colors offered a nice aesthetic; an excellent departure from the traditional platter of oysters seen at your typical restaurant.
The oysters offered fresh, saline flavors that were expected by a restaurant of this caliber in San Francisco. Pink guava adds a touch of sweetness, while the chili lent contrasting pepper notes, and radish sharp earthy flavors.
Moving away from the sea, our next course consists of crispy lamb ribs with an apricot- chili marmalade, and served with a radish and yogurt chutney. The lamb itself was cooked perfectly, with the meat falling off the bone.
In general, the ribs offered a delightful rustic Indian flavor. The marmalade lent sweet flavors that paired nicely with the various spices used in the lamb preparation. The radish and yogurt chutney did a nice job of offering complimentary flavors. The radish provided its signature sharp, earthy flavor, while the yogurt lent its creamy elements.
Having cleared the lamb ribs course, and after a refreshing palette cleanse of sorbet, I was next offered a sea bass dish. Agave and madras curry, served with savoy cabbage foogath and sunchoke salan. Cabbage foogath is a traditional Indian preparation where cabbage is steamed with some spices, while salan is a curried chili pepper preparation.
The seabass itself was extremely moist and flaky. Over top was sprinkled a masala that offered a savory, rustic flavor and a hint of toasted sesame. The savoy cabbage offered a nice texture component, while soaking up the amazing sunchoke salan. Speaking of the salan, jalapeño yielded both spice and smokey elements, which paired nicely with the nutty undertones of the sunchoke.
The final course for the evening consisted of a short rib vindaloo curry, served with baby turnip, garlic mash, and masala marrow khurchan. Vindaloo is one of the standard curries from the Goa region of India, and is made with vinegar, sugar, ginger and spices. Khurchan, which is short for khurachna ('to scrape'), is a sauce/gravy typically used in conjunction with leftover food like paneer (fresh cheese popular in cooking throughout the Indian subcontinent).
The gravy itself was not overly heavy or full of ghee (clarified butter used in Indian cooking), but had great vindaloo flavor along with a balanced amount of spice. The short rib was tender, with rich beef flavor. Finally, the dumpling took the cake, with rich beefy flavor from the marrow intermixed with the masala spices. A great finish to the dinner courses.
Our final course tonight was in the form of a traditional halwa cake (Indian carrot cake), served with cardamom and pistachio kulfi, and milk skin crisp. Kulfi is a traditional Indian ice cream, oftentimes served in cylinder form instead of scoops. Starting with the cake, it was cooked to a firm but moist center, and provided a nice foundation of rustic of cardamon and other spices. Dollops of raisin purée offer balanced earthy sweet notes. Milk foam provided a sweet and creamy element.
Bridging the rustic cake with the milk foam was both the ice cream and milk skin. The milk skin added some nice caramelized milk notes, while the kulfi ice cream, offered creamy elements accented by cardamom flavors. Finally, crushed pistachios offer nutty flavors that do a nice job balancing out the sweeter elements of this desert, while not being obscured by the spices in the cake and ice cream.
And with the final bite of desert, our gastronomic journey through India ended and we were back in San Francisco. Speaking with my colleague, he was most impressed with the marriage of traditional Indian flavors - flavors that he remembered growing up and in dishes his Mom prepares - with modern forms of preparation and presentation.
For someone whose Indian food experience is really based on many meals in London's famous Brick Lane, I found the menu to be a nice departure from the typical dish after dish of thick curry. Flavors were fresh and vibrant, yet balanced to not overwhelm the palette. The atmosphere was equally as vibrant, and the service excellent.
Rooh offers a marriage of modern preparation and presentation, with traditional flavors, in a fun atmosphere. For those new to Indian cooking, one is given the opportunity to take a crash course in Indian gastronomy. To those who are experienced, it begs you to marvel in the interpretation of classic Indian flavors from chef Sujan Sarkar.
Dining date: April 25th, 2017.
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| Green pea kulcha 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The kulcha itself came out piping hot, and a perfect soft texture that wasn't too fragile to break and empty its contents on the plate. Goat cheese and fava bean purée add creamy texture along with their own earthy flavors, capped off by the truffle. Finally, the masala adds a nice savory/spicy element to round out the flavor profile.
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| Fresh oyster 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The oysters offered fresh, saline flavors that were expected by a restaurant of this caliber in San Francisco. Pink guava adds a touch of sweetness, while the chili lent contrasting pepper notes, and radish sharp earthy flavors.
 |
| Crispy lamb ribs 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
In general, the ribs offered a delightful rustic Indian flavor. The marmalade lent sweet flavors that paired nicely with the various spices used in the lamb preparation. The radish and yogurt chutney did a nice job of offering complimentary flavors. The radish provided its signature sharp, earthy flavor, while the yogurt lent its creamy elements.
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| Seabass 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The seabass itself was extremely moist and flaky. Over top was sprinkled a masala that offered a savory, rustic flavor and a hint of toasted sesame. The savoy cabbage offered a nice texture component, while soaking up the amazing sunchoke salan. Speaking of the salan, jalapeño yielded both spice and smokey elements, which paired nicely with the nutty undertones of the sunchoke.
 |
| Short ribs vindaloo 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
The gravy itself was not overly heavy or full of ghee (clarified butter used in Indian cooking), but had great vindaloo flavor along with a balanced amount of spice. The short rib was tender, with rich beef flavor. Finally, the dumpling took the cake, with rich beefy flavor from the marrow intermixed with the masala spices. A great finish to the dinner courses.
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| Carrot halwa cake 2017 Rooh. San Francisco, CA |
Bridging the rustic cake with the milk foam was both the ice cream and milk skin. The milk skin added some nice caramelized milk notes, while the kulfi ice cream, offered creamy elements accented by cardamom flavors. Finally, crushed pistachios offer nutty flavors that do a nice job balancing out the sweeter elements of this desert, while not being obscured by the spices in the cake and ice cream.
And with the final bite of desert, our gastronomic journey through India ended and we were back in San Francisco. Speaking with my colleague, he was most impressed with the marriage of traditional Indian flavors - flavors that he remembered growing up and in dishes his Mom prepares - with modern forms of preparation and presentation.
For someone whose Indian food experience is really based on many meals in London's famous Brick Lane, I found the menu to be a nice departure from the typical dish after dish of thick curry. Flavors were fresh and vibrant, yet balanced to not overwhelm the palette. The atmosphere was equally as vibrant, and the service excellent.
Rooh offers a marriage of modern preparation and presentation, with traditional flavors, in a fun atmosphere. For those new to Indian cooking, one is given the opportunity to take a crash course in Indian gastronomy. To those who are experienced, it begs you to marvel in the interpretation of classic Indian flavors from chef Sujan Sarkar.
Dining date: April 25th, 2017.
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