Cafe Majestic Restaurant

By GraceAnn Walden

Café Majestic 1500 Sutter St. (at Gough) in the Hotel Majestic San Francisco (415) 441-1280

Cuisine: Contemporary cuisine.

Pluses: Beautiful, sophisticated interior; quiet dining room; lovely combinations.

Minuses: It's in a hotel; sometimes lacking in customers because it is off the beaten track.

Don't Miss: The layered Dungeness crab salad or the mushroom soup with puff pastry top; honey ice cream. Prices: Appetizers $7-14; entrees $17-29

Overview: Chef Ian Begg is in a hotel, and unfortunately, that means a lot of people won't find him. This restaurant is like restaurants used to be – a place to be "restored." The colors are restful and you can have a civil conversation.

Beef tartare is jazzed up with chili oil, pickled mushrooms and a quail egg yolk for a touch of satin. A raisin sauce naps the foie gras appetizers and the oysters are expertly shucked. Try the heavenly sautéed potato gnocchi, which features a roasted garlic cream.

In entrée-world, chive oil brightened the crispy-skin black bass. The venison with blood orange endive marmellata and pine nuts was a lovely dish.

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