This week we’re visiting the upscale dining world of classic SF chef Michael Mina. See our Good Taste writer Tamara Palmer’s peek into the chef’s new PABU-Chan tasting bar here.
A trip to the Westin St. Francis off Union Square always comes with a shot of nostalgia, an irresistible jolt of American mythology that covers more than 120 years. The storied walls hold pictures of visiting dignitaries like Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and, in a gloriously chaotic (and age-gap scandalous) photo from the 1960s, newly married Latin music sensations Xavier Cugat and Charo.
Display cases feature exquisite antique place settings, grand serving dishes, and intricate menus from the reign of Victor Hirtzler, the legendary St. Francis chef who’s credited with elevating local cuisine to French standards—and whose complex, cream-laden concoctions sound as alien to us now as they did in the 1910s, when they needed a printed diners’ guide to explicate them. Even if you may not be staying or dining, it’s always worth a pop into the opulent hotel for some warm San Francisco history fuzzies.
The ongoing, click-baity “Is Union Square back?” discourse has never really held my interest—back for who? Why not try something completely new?—but the cultural symbolism of classic chef Michael Mina’s return to the St. Francis can hardly be denied. He’s probably the one celebrity cook most identifiable as Hirtzler’s descendent, steadfast in elevated European-influenced dining, through contemporary waves of hyperlocal-focused California cuisine and the latest onslaught of pricey fast-casual dining.
As Chef Mina said about his return: “I’ll never forget the first time I came to San Francisco as a child. It was the first time I saw diversity and numerous cultures coming together in one vibrant setting. I dreamt of living here one day, and I am beyond blessed to have defined my career as a chef and launched my company in the city that means so much to me. The Westin St. Francis especially holds significance as my first restaurant to receive Michelin Stars, Michael Mina, was here.”
Mina was a fascinatingly ingenious figure when he debuted in San Francisco as executive chef at Aqua at the turn of this century; when he opened his namesake restaurant opened in the Westin St. Francis, it helped define class and elegance in a tumultuous local atmosphere of tech booms and busts, as old money melted into new. Over the past 20 years, his Mina Group has exploded into a global empire of restaurants and partnerships, including several in SF—Bourbon Steak San Francisco is the steakhouse re-establishing his presence at the St. Francis, unsurprisingly one of 12 Bourbon Steak locations around the world (not counting the new Bourbon Pub that opened in SFO’s spiffy Harvey Milk Terminal).
The Union Square Bourbon Steak opening follows on the heels of Mina’s venture with Ayesha Curry, the grill-focused International Smoke near the waterfront, and Curry’s husband Stephen has opened Bourbon Steak-adjacent bar Eighth Rule. Mina says about the new restaurant: “As I have reimagined Bourbon Steak over the years, I believed that this historic landmark [St. Francis] would be the perfect location, and I can’t wait for people to get a look at what we’ve created. I don’t say this lightly, but it is one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever built. Opening alongside Stephen is the icing on the cake. We believe in San Francisco, and we are committed to continuing to provide spaces where people can come and eat, drink, celebrate, and feel welcome in one of the best cities in the world.”
With all the concepts, cross-promotions and expansions, the current flavor of Mina himself can be somewhat hard to grasp; he’s recently brought some welcome focus back to his Egyptian roots, bringing his own story to the fore in a more identity-driven dining scene. While there’s no obvious trace of that at Bourbon Steak, other than his My Egypt cookbook displayed on the staircase, the new restaurant resolutely presents itself as a classic American steakhouse with elegant twists—and that means there’s just one essential story that needs to be told: meat. Which Mina executes in his typical flawless fashion, mingling extravagance with tradition.
I was invited to dine at Bourbon Steak by Mina’s team on a recent Tuesday night, so why not get fancy and see what he’s been up to? The large packed restaurant at 7pm (alongside the whirling skating rink and brightly lit Macy’s at Union Square itself) certainly gave one firm “yes” to whether Union Square was “back” in the sense of a buzzy vibe. The restaurant space is cavernous and gorgeous, its Art Deco arches echoing with voices from the Bourbon Lounge bar at the entrance. As we took our table, Hunky Beau and I marveled at the next table’s enormous “40oz salt-baked and bourbon-flamed Australian Wagyu tomahawk,” served indeed aflame, which resembled a gargantuan baked alaska and looked like it could feed 12.
We put ourselves in the hands of the kitchen, and the first thing that came out to us—well, after a French fry sampler trio that firmly placed us on US terrain (BBQ sauce included), a half-dozen PNW oysters and deconstructed shrimp cocktail which came with their own tiny bottles of tabasco, and a warming cup of luscious mushroom soup—was the lauded Mina caviar trio. This include his signature “twinkee,” of red onion, egg, chive, yuzu crème fraîche shaped, yes, like the Hostess treat in miniature. The other two dishes were an exquisite little caviar parfait, based on something which Mina once whipped up for his new wife on their honeymoon as breakfast in bed, and a melt-in-mouth chilled caviar and tuna toro with gold leaf that felt like an obscenely luxurious ice cream.
A meal highlight followed, served alongside a crisp apple salad: burrata agnolotti with sunchoke and black truffle butter. It’s rare to see a near-perfect pasta on the menu of a steakhouse, but this more understated dish so far stole the show, with pillowy, cheese-filled crescents soaked in a delicately fragrant sauce. Then came a pair of shared mains. Kona kampachi was braised in ginger-garlic soy sauce, which was unusual in that most kampachi is served as sushi here. Bright ginger enveloped the buttery fish like a halo, cleansing our palates for the Main Event.
That would be the 6oz A5 Japanese Wagyu rib cap from the Miyagi prefecture in Japan, its deliciously thick slices cooked medium rare, just enough to melt the ribbons of fat throughout the cut into an Impressionist scarlet mosaic. It was accompanied by adorable “three little loaded baked potatoes” and sautéed broccoli, which grounded us again in the traditional steakhouse experience. Wines throughout were fab, from a light and dry 2024 Berthiers Pouilly Fumé served with the seafood to a lively, sweet Kracher Burgenland Cuvée Beerenauslese from Austria, which set off a chocolate-spiked, deconstructed root beer float dessert. (Not the easiest pairing, kudos to the smart sommelier.)
Service all ’round was sweet, attentive, and fun—the manager kindly brought over a touch lamp so we could better read the menu and see our food, and the maitre d’ effortlessly held down a crowded room. Here’s hoping that Mina’s next venture dives into pasta after that heavenly burrata agnolotti; for now it’s comforting to have him back at SF’s fancier end, in a familiar yet new space, serving up Wagyu and caviar parfaits.
