Michael Mina Brings Back The Famous Trios

You know a Chef is pretty damn confident about his work when he names the restaurant entirely after… himself.

Cue: Michael Mina… of, yep, Michael Mina restaurant.

This Chef is nothing short of amazing. And his self-titled restaurant does not disappoint.

The coolest part about the menu? Everything on it comes out in threes (they also have signature dishes which are bigger portions). And you know the saying… All good things come in threes. For example:

Big eye tuna, Chu Toro, O toro.

Appetizer, entree, dessert.

Shower, sex, sleep (Jk. Kinda).

Michael Mina takes one main ingredient and presents it three different ways- as in three totally different dishes! Such a fun foodie experience.

Think: Pork three ways. LOBSTER three ways. And dessert… three variations of dessert! *Mouth drool* It’s almost like getting a nine course tasting menu that you get to customize around your favorite dishes. Genius.

Along with their famous trios (that they recently brought back), you can also order signature items on the menu like the FAMOUS tuna tartare, Wagyu Shabu Shabu, and more.

So here was my experience and top menu picks:

For the first course, we ordered the Sashimi Tasting- Spanish blue fin tuna with fresh wasabi and aged soy salt, Medai with uni, and geoduck with melon and umeboshi. Am I at Pabu?

This tuna tartare features some very unique ingredients and has a nice balance of flavors and textures. Comes with mint, scotch bonnet, nectarine, sesame, pine nuts and garlic (mouth drooling yet?).

This trio features slow- cooked baby pig in a perfect tortellone with caramelized corn and maitake mushrooms; crispy pork with peach and summer peppers; and a square of pork belly with vegetable crudite and salsa verde.

The middle was my favorite. It had an extremely thin layer of fat and the meat was so tender- that it practically melts in your mouth.

This trio features Liberty Farms Duck and Foie Gras – This was one of my favorite dishes of the night featuring a Sebastopol blackberry sauce; then with bacon and huckleberries; and a seared foie with nectarine and yuku kosho sauce.

Don’t worry if you don’t eat meat.

The fish trio was JUST as delicious as the crispy pork and duck trio. I can’t remember exactly which is which (sorry guys!) you’ll just have to take my word for it.

The cod was my favorite- the outer layer was perfectly crisped, while the freshness of the fish was not overcooked or overpowered by the flavors. Overall, a very balanced dish.

So to sum it all up:

This is a fun, 1-star Michelin dining experience that you don’t get anywhere else in San Francisco. For $105 a person, you get the best bang for your buck compared to other places of this caliber.

Side: Everything was so good the first time, that I thought it had to be a fluke. Second time around (Yes I went back the week after) and everything was JUST as good, if not better. Awesome job Michael Mina!

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