Celebrated a birthday at TFL during a week long trip to Napa. Absolutely loved every single aspect of this dinner. Arguably the best meal I’ve had in my entire life. I was tentative about the experience base on some reviews online and here on this subreddit saying it was past its prime. Thankfully I’ve never been so had nothing to compare it to, and TFL delivered on every single level. Service was warm and friendly but not obtrusive. We did the chefs tasting menu and both opted for the A5 Wagyu supplement (which was my second favorite course after the oysters and pearls) and my wife had the Mac and cheese supplement which she thought was her favorite. I loved the oysters and pearls because it was so cool to finally try such a famous dish. The variation in temperature between the sabayon, caviar, and tapioca was very interesting. The butter poached oysters were incredibly tender. I did the wine pairing and my wife just had an extra glass of the plinth sauv blanc. All of the wines were extraordinary and the staff topped off my glass several times between courses. The Kenzo Rindo which we enjoyed a FULL HALF BOTTLE of with our wagyu course was insanely good. The menu lists it for $250 and the pairing costing ~$350 so a no brainer IMO. There isn’t a listed pairing and the somm will happily tailor the pairing based on your price point and preferences. They usually recommend the pairing start around the price of the food menu. All of the dishes were phenomenal, I can’t really point out a weak spot in terms of flavor or plaiting. We were so full after the desserts but enjoyed all of them. I would do the entire menu again tomorrow if I could. Absolutely incredible experience. 1,000,000/10
by fastspanish
27 Comments
People love to say shit like “I was there when it was good” sadly. Glad you had a great experience!
Oysters and Pearls seriously looks more gorgeous every time I see it. Absolute bucket list dish, at a bucket list restaurant. Glad to hear you had a phenomenal experience, and got to check those big ones off!
Love TFL, it is my favorite dinner of all time and quite an adventure to get a reservation. Congrats and happy bday.
Looks like a total vibe glad you enjoyed!!
It’s the Olive Garden of Michelin star dining!
Looks wonderful, thanks for sharing
It looks amazing. I really appreciate your thorough write up and photos!
We loved the oysters and pearl dish so much that my husband recreated it at home for one of our Thanksgiving courses. He just used TFL cookbook and sourced a similar caviar. It was awesome and great that it can be done at home. We also found similar serving vessels. That helped too.
Edit to add: happy belated birthday! 🎉
TFL isn’t about innovation anymore. They are about legacy. Salmon Cornets and Oysters and Pearls in your first 2 pictures, those are legendary.
What Thomas Keller and team do is put up an exactly perfect experience every night for the past 30yrs. They are in my opinion simply the best. When I go there I know exactly what I am going to get. It’s like buying a Big Mac. Q
I don’t want new. I want oysters and pearls. In fact if I could get 12 courses of just oysters and pearls I would. Their menu is legacy. Their service is legendary. Sometimes consistency is the win.
🥇 🏅 🏆 TFL 🏆 🏅 🥇
Fun fact: when they bring those chocolates out at the end, you can take as many as you want and they don’t care.
Kenzo has some good shit 🍷
These fonts are classy
Yeah, it is so easy to get a reservation. Absolutely Olive Garden level.
Wow that all looks incredible! It sounds like a perfect meal.
That’s gonna sound so stupid but I’m glad not to see those little bubble plates from Bernardaud. Literally every post has one.
Also, happy birthday.
We were there in June for my wife’s 50th and our experience mirrored yours. A truly perfect evening. We loved everything about it.
I was at per se this week (same ownership) and I recognise at least half those courses from my meal. I find that interesting.
We’ve seen this meal posted a couple times recently and it looked kinda tired, but somehow your photos make it look fantastic! Maybe you caught them on a great night or it’s better than everyone says. Glad you had an awesome time.
Pretty sure my basic ass pallet would not enjoy most of these foods 😂
Wouldn’t know. Impossible to get a Reservation.
I went on 7/29 for the first time and loved it! We were celebrating my dad’s upcoming retirement, so our server, Patrick, greeted our table with “Congratulations,” and handed us custom menus with a special message for my dad.
I loved Oysters and Pearls too! Although Mac & Cheese may have been my favorite. Everything was incredible.
We did a customized wine pairing which was absolutely perfect. There was a mix of half bottles and standard formats. It was a lot but not too much (maybe too much for other people haha).
My husband and I work at wineries in Napa so, after a brief walk through the kitchen, our server took us on a tour of the cellar after dinner.
We also got a printed list of the wines we enjoyed with dinner, and an autographed menu signed by the big man himself.
The whole experience lived up to our expectations, and they did a wonderful job making it feel really special for our family.
Got to try the oysters and pearls once when Thomas was guest chef here for a night in Minneapolis. One of those dishes you’ll never forget.
I will just have Chili’s
Thank you for your review. Every time I read someone’s gushing review of TFL, it brings me back to my own first time there. 🙂 It’s just THE gold standard of New American dining, and every time I dine at another Bay Area starred restaurant helmed by TFL alums I can feel Keller’s legacy.
The kitchen all gets matching yetis? That’s cool.
Is picture 13 a pistachio cheesecake?
Are the dishes warm?