Californios
Fine dining restaurant · South of Market ·
Inventive Mexican tasting menus with small-batch wines
Inventive Mexican tasting menus with small-batch wines
"Chef Val Cantu’s temple to California Mexican cuisine, Californios, ranked No. 14." - Dianne de Guzman
"San Francisco’s Californios was listed as another restaurant that points to Mexican culinary influence, contributing to the prominence of Mexican cuisine on the roster despite Mexico itself being on the Latin America list." - Matthew Kang
"Dinner at this fine dining Mexican restaurant in SoMa is an extravagant and seamless production. Servers move around the room like they share a single brain to bring you precisely plated dishes while you soak in the all-black, cathedral-like space. Grilled banana is topped with caviar and served with savory dulce de leche, the entire taco course includes a tlacoyo wrapped in hoja santa and grilled squab on a sourdough tortilla, and a tiny masa chip topped with sturgeon cream and sturgeon caviar. At $307 a person, this is a place you should reserve for very special nights." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong
"Chef Val M. Cantu’s California Mexican restaurant Californios continues to impress in its much-larger home in SoMa. (2 stars)" - Eater Staff
"For the most dramatic tasting experience in the city, go to Californios in SoMa. You’ll feel like you’ve scored VIP tickets to your favorite band every time you go here—which might not be often, since the 16-course menu is $325. The high-ceilinged walls are painted all-black, a thick booklet details the entire night ahead, and the well-choreographed staff switches plates and fills wine glasses in sync, like they share a single brain. The dishes at this fine-dining Mexican restaurant are designed to rewire your brain—chicharrones are covered in a cloud-like bed of truffle shavings that dissolve in your mouth like snow, a caviar-topped grilled banana is served in a pool of slightly salty dulce de leche, and the chilapita has a fat swirl of sturgeon cream and sturgeon caviar. Dining at Californios might be a one-time thing—which is why you’ll want to soak up every minute of your meal." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez
