my first meal at benu many years ago i thought was very good but wasn’t very memorable, however my recent dinner here blew me away and was one of the best i’ve had in a long time. the words that keep coming to mind when thinking back are, deliciousness, technique, precision, execution, and service. truly a three-star restaurant, unfortunately nothing even comes close to this level in la.
Service
Professional, warm, and friendly. There’s a mandatory 20% service charge but no bullshit surcharges and no extra tip line which was refreshing.
Highlights
mussel
squid
shrimp
truffle, iberico taco
chicken wing
bread and butter
the fucking uni
quail
veal short rib
thousand-year-old quail egg, potage and preserved ginger
oyster, pork belly, kimchi
mussel, glass noodles, fine vegetables
the most tender and flavorful mussel i’ve ever had. the noodles and vegetables provided a nice crispy texture contrast.
squid, soondae, sesame leaf
chef lee’s take on a stuffed squid, really liked the herbal sesame leaf to cut the richness.
jellyfish-wrapped shrimp with kamtae
the sweet, plump shrimp couldn’t have been fried any more perfectly
from the oak - acorn, black truffle, iberico ham
the best taco i’ve ever had and another umami explosion.
chicken wing stuffed with abalone
the wing was deboned, stuffed with abalone, and grilled to give a nice smoky flavor. delicious.
“shark fin”, dungeness crab, steamed custard
reminded me of a crab chawanmushi
orange blossom ginseng honey
butter x2
so good i had to ask for seconds
bread x2
lobster coral xiao long bao, homemade soy sauce and vinegar
perfect used-baby-diaper droop
sea urchin marinated in fermented crab sauce
fuck this was so good. take some uni, rice and crispy nori and this was flavor explosion in your mouth. best bite of the year. @chowseeker1999, @Hungrydrunk, @thecookie, @beefnoguy
green onion short grain rice with rock seaweed
nori
spicy caviar and egg yolk
use whatever leftover rice you have left to soak up all of this sauce
summer chrysanthemum tofu soup, baby corn and winter melon
nice and delicate but still flavorful, great way to reset the palate.
barbecued wolfe ranch quail
this is getting ridiculous, best quail i’ve ever had. the meat was unbelievably moist, tender and flavorful. and eating it with the xo sauce and black truffle butter just took it to another level. fucking #epicquail
xo condiment and pickles
steamed bun with black truffle
charcoal-grilled veal short rib
radish and pear kimchi
kohlrabi kkakdugi, scallion salad
tomato meju with lettuces
loved all the banchan and the lettuces to make your own ssam. again the meat impossibly so tender and flavorful.
omija and olive oil
nice palate cleanser that was sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter all at the same time.
milk pudding, salt, smoke, peat
thick and smooth with a salted caramel on the bottom.
ginkgo chip
tasted just like a fried sesame ball
I forget what this was but it reminded me of a vietnamese che dessert.
mint
toto
benu
22 Hawthorne St
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 685-4860
I was so tempted to order a 2nd helping of that Bread & Butter but I was already getting full. 
