Ox & Tiger
Filipino restaurant · Tenderloin ·
Filipino-Japanese fusion tasting menu with chef-told stories
Filipino-Japanese fusion tasting menu with chef-told stories
"Up the block from the legendary Shalimar, San Francisco’s top Japanese and Filipino restaurant lies in plain sight: a pop-up-turned-restaurant from EJ Macayan (who cooked at Rich Table) and Hitomi Wada that pairs top-tier cooking with friendly, small environs. On Sundays and Mondays there are two seatings for three-course prix fixe menus ($108), with reservations on Tock; convenient for the decision-paralyzed, your only real choice is whether to add $23 chirashi bowl-inspired dishes of hamachi and coconut (definitely should). The dishes work best for those with few dietary restrictions—think beef cheek doused in nasu miso and nori- and grape-topped ice cream—though there is a pescatarian version. Sake pairings are worth the extra $23, with three half-pours of cloudy and sparkling sakes; to order any sakes on their own is $15 per glass, so make the smart move at the top of the meal. The mains are meaty, saucy affairs. The vibe is hella homey and welcoming, like your friend is cooking for you at the kitchen island, doting on you with a drink while they flit to the stove and back. After the two took time off to have their first child, Mamushi, the return menu’s theme is "OnlyFam," each course an homage to their young family, with local print copies of Filipino newspaper Mahalaya and Bay Area art on the walls. Insider tip: park in the garage across the street; for a special affair, spending another $20 for essentially valet is smart, and leave your foodfluencing aspirations at the door—the space is so intimate you’ll feel silly setting up the tripod." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Japanese and Filipino restaurant Ox & Tiger is back with three-course prix fixe menus on Sundays and Mondays to start, with reservations on Tock; owners EJ Macayan and Hitomi Wada took time off to welcome their child Mamushi, and Macayan cut his teeth at Rich Table prior to the pop-up turned restaurant." - Paolo Bicchieri
"San Francisco is a tasting menu town, and Ox + Tiger’s six-course dinner is one of the most exciting. The constantly changing $95 menu is a mashup of Japanese and Filipino flavors, and all of the dishes taste genuinely different and new. Grilled strip loin is topped with peanut sauce and served next to a beautiful panko-crusted fried eggplant. Salmon tataki and a creamy coconut mango sauce arrive alongside a bagoong tare-topped seared green mango. The eight-seat spot is run by a two-person team who prepare, serve, and reveal their personal connection to each dish like they’re your closest friends. For an intimate special occasion dinner, Ox + Tiger is it." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez
"A Filipino-Japanese fusion restaurant offering a four-course prix-fixe menu with unique dishes like pork cheek and bagoong burger."
"Ox + Tiger is one of the many sub-$100 tasting menus in town—but it’s the only one in the city focusing on a mash-up of Japanese and Filipino flavors. The $95 dinner, which ranges from four to six courses, includes things like a grilled strip loin topped with peanut sauce or salmon tataki alongside a bagoong tare-topped seared green mango. There are only eight seats available nightly, so it’s easy to make conversation with the chefs across the counter as they reveal personal anecdotes behind each dish." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez