Hi everyone. Long time reader, first time poster. I’ve been inspired to post about my favourite restaurant, Manresa, as I’m forever sad about it closing. Before the announcement of David’s retirement, it was fairly easy this year to get a reservation through Tock. Once the announcement came, the Tock waitlist for any given night is now well over 1000.
My favourite part of the restaurant isn’t the food. The food is very important, yes, but the welcoming vibes and level of service are what make it a full experience. Cheers to the front of the house: the reservationist (Melisa), the service directors (Jenny and Christopher), the captains (Shea and Bryan), the wine director (Jim), and the servers (Kenny rules). Cheers to the back of the house: David and Nick (of course), the pastry squad (Courtney and Mike), and the rest of the dream team (Noam, Emmy, Tony, Kaloana, and Elizabetta to name a few).
If you’re not familiar with Manresa’s menu, their tasting menu follows a pretty standard format. There’s a few small bites (petit fours, a granola crisp with goat cheese, and sashimi/oyster), an uni or sashimi dish with sauce, “into the vegetable garden” salad which changes daily, a supplemental caviar or truffle dish, a seafood course, a poultry course, a beef course (which sometimes is substituted for another seafood course), two dessert courses, and finally dessert petit fours and bonbons.
I have never had a bad experience, and it would be silly if I wrote “wow this was so good!” for each dish. But yes, everything was so good.
Highlights from late March 2022:
Supplement - Spaghettini with Caviar.
Cuttlefish with sugar snap peas and grilled cauliflower mushroom.
The cuttlefish ink in the sauce rounded out everything on the plate.
Wagyu with asparagus, onion and shiso.
The shiso chiffonade made this dish.
Highlights from early July 2022:
Aji sashimi and melon.
Into the vegetable garden.
Uni in bavarois with geoduck clam.
Isaki with okra, haricot verts and chanterelles.
Kitchen view: Chef Kinch monching on something at the back while Chef Nick inspects something Chef Emmy has in a pan
Highlights from July 17 2022 (Four hands dinner with Anne-Sophie Pic):
I was extremely lucky to have had the chance to go to this dinner to celebrate Manresa’s 20th anniversary. Food was insane.
Les berlingots with cheese, matcha and watercress. Anne-Sophie’s trademark dish.
Abalone, fermented truffle, onion and cabbage, shellfish jus (Manresa)
“Charolles AOP” Beef with ebony spices, black garlic, smoked vanilla, Gedeo coffee and leeks (Anne-Sophie Pic)
Raspberry, barley, whisky and summer savory (Anne-Sophie Pic)
Chocolate, yuzu and chicory root (Manresa)
Highlights from September 2022:
Supplement: Caviar with spiny tail lobster
Wagyu with lobster mushroom and black garlic and a ‘tater tot’
Chocolate, marsala and buckwheat
Courtney’s bonbons
Highlights from November 2022:
Supplement: Caviar with Nantucket Bay scallop
Turbot with collard greens
Guinea hen with matsutake mushroom and onion
Wagyu with cauliflower mushroom and coffee potato
Chocolate bread pudding with apple and vanilla
Highlights from early December 2022:
Supplemental: Tagliatelle with white truffle
Kinmedai
Chocolate with rosemary and chestnut
They will close at the end of this month and I hope that some of you can find your way there to try this magical place before it closes. By no means have they ever took their foot off the gas this year. Every visit has been outstanding and deserving of 3 stars. Thank you for looking.
