"In a city famed for its location by the bay, you’d think there’d be little space for a new seafood-focused restaurant to feel truly unique. But Le Fantastique, the stylish seafood-wine bar from the restaurateur couple behind Palo Alto’s Bird Dog manages quite well. Sure, there’s enough caviar to appeal to even the bougiest of diners, including hefty quenelles atop gorgeous eclairs, but it’s chef Robbie Wilson’s knack for turning pristine pieces of fish into bite-sized flavor bombs that really makes the meal. There are chamomile-kissed slices of ivory hirame, brook trout swimming in dill-infused pine nut milk, and fatty squares of big eye tuna piqued with barbecue flavor. But if you’re lucky enough to catch the hyper-seasonal firefly squids while they’re on the menu, don’t hesitate. Wilson explains they’re only available for a few weeks a year from Japan and are prized for their texture: custardy heads, rich as a jammy egg yolk, with tiny tentacles grilled to the ideal delicate crunch. You can wrap them up in nasturtium leaves with tiny flower-shaped cucumber cutouts if you want — or maybe more accurately, if you have enough patience to not inhale them on sight." - Eater Staff
