Gibson SF Hires Chef Louis Maldonado from Planned Restaurant With Mourad Lahlou, Amara | Eater SF

"Inside the Hotel Bijou’s art deco–inspired dining room, I find Gibson to be an elegant, approachable and lively restaurant in the heart of San Francisco; Louis Maldonado has taken over the kitchen and is serving a French-inspired menu that makes use of the restaurant’s wood-burning oven at the center of its open kitchen. His opening offerings include smoked duck breast and leg with crispy almonds, honey, and slow-roasted stone fruit, and a chicken schnitzel with Nardello peppers, tomato, romesco, basil, and filet beans. The restaurant closed for two weeks while Maldonado assumed the role and reopened for dinner last night; cocktails from bar director Adam Chapman (including several Gibsons) and the earlier work with chef Robin Song have been particularly well-received. Maldonado says he hopes the atmosphere will feel like “the best dinner party guests have ever attended.”" - Caleb Pershan