Thinkin gof Gary Danko

[redstickboy]

My wife nad I will be in SF in late April. A friend recommended GD's place. What would be appropriate dress for the place. I know that appropriate dress color is "GREEN$$$" but what else?

[AManHastoEat]

We had two of our best meals ever at Gary Danko's.

We were paying with a Relais Chateaux gift certificate and had money left over that they could only give us back in Danko credit. The maitre d' was incredibly accommodating and was able to make us reservations for the following Sunday before our flight back to NY.

The first night we ate there I wore a suit. The second night I just wore a nice shirt. I did not feel over or under dressed either time.

We did the full tasting menu one night and got the small the second.

Enjoy,

James

[redstickboy]

Just got off the phone with the reservationist at GD. We're on for Apr 26 at 8PM. Thanks for all of the feedback.

[Judith]

I really like Gary Danko, and have always found the service warm and gracious and not at all condescending, unlike some other pricey places where you feel like they did you a favor letting you come in. I think anything that's a cut above blue jeans and a t-shirt would be fine, which by local standards, is actually pretty dressy. If you look at the intro on their website, you'll see photos of guys with jackets but no tie. We certainly never order high on the wine list . . . I seem to recall prices as high as $3000 a bottle. I did, however really enjoy a glass of the Billecart Salmon sparkling rose, and I thought it was wonderful, actually memorably so.

[redstickboy]

Thank you for the reply and advice. We are thinking of going with the wine pairing to simplify the choice of wine. Is this a good idea? We enjoy wine but are not very knowledgable on the subject.

[Judith]

We've never done the tasting menu, because there are too many cool choices and I love driving myself crazy making a selection. They have half bottles, and In my experience they're good about offering advice. Still wine pairing in most good places is a nice way to go, because it does simplify things, and you get to try several wines that you might not otherwise get to know about. BTW, as others have said, whatever you do, include the cheese course. It's a definite wow.

[grishnackh]

Its a quite dark restaurant, so wear dark colors and a collar and you'll feel fine. I usually wear a black jeans and a nice collar shirt under a sweater when I go there.

[redstickboy]

I was planning to bring a sportcoat or blazer anyway since I assume it will be cool at night. Probably go with standard grey slacks and French Blue button-downed. No tie,though. I hate to have to eat wearing a tie.

[Scott M]

My advice is to concentrate on the seafood items. I was just there in November and the appetizers which contained seafood along with the fish and seafood dishes outshined the meat and game bird items.

They let you choose dishes from any categories so you don't have to pick one from each category. My next visit I am going to pass on anything from the meat and game birds.

[redstickboy]

I intend to eat seafood the entire 3 days we are there!LOL

[lexdevil]

You should know that you need not order one of each course. You can, if you choose, double up on a course and skip another. It is technically possible to order 5 courses of dessert or 5 courses of seafood. I usually double up on appetizer or seafood and skip dessert, ending my meal w/ the cheese cart.

Apps: Currently, I like the look of the cauliflower soup w/ Dungeness crab. The glazed oysters are a GD classic, and reliably good. And though people love it, I think the seafood gets lost in the Risotto appetizer (though it has the advantage of being an elephantine serving).

Seafood: The roast lobster is always good. Bass has been great every time I've had it at GD. But skip the Horseradish Crusted Salmon. I think it's a dead bore. And it has been cooked more than I like when folks I've dined with have ordered it.

Meat: You could skip it and double up on seafood. I probably would, though the quail and beef are very nice. The guinea hen sounds the most tempting of the current list to me.

Cheese: If you like it, it should not be missed at GD. They do a nice job.

[rworange]

link

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Gary Danko
800 N Point St, San Francisco, CA 94109

[Robert Lauriston]

They ask for "elegant, dressy," which is a pretty open dress code for San Francisco. I'd wear a nice shirt and a nice sweater. Tie ... only if it's a wedding dinner or a wake.

I know a guy who ate there in T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes, and they treated him well.

[Scott M]

I would say something along the lines of business wear: slacks, button down shirt, sport coat. In my opinion a tie is more optional or just wear a suit.