Petit Crenn

We came to Petit Crenn with high expectations, and left sorely disappointed. The food and service were both quite a let down, especially considering the price point.
Our party of 4 had reservations for the 8:30 PM seating on a Friday night. We found nearly every course unimpressive. The oysters were overly salted. The gnocchi was good, but not great. The broccoli rabe was ok. The fish was bland and boring. (Also, were were shocked that they originally told us the fish was from Massachusetts, and later told us it was from Virginia… you’d think they’d have their facts straight about their main course!). The dessert tart was the only dish I got a little excited about.
In addition, were weren’t impressed with either of the bottles of wine that our waitress indicated would pair well with the menu.
Also, it was quite hard to see the menu on the chalkboard — it would have been nice to have printed menus on the table.
The décor and lighting made for a cozy, elegant setting. On the other hand, the place was shockingly too warm for a chilly SF winter night.
Overall, this was a mediocre dining experience. We’ve gone to Atelier Crenn before and came in expecting something equally high caliber (if more casual) — Petit Crenn is not anything like it’s big sister.

What a delightful dinner!
We went for a 8:30 seating. Apparently they only have 2 seatings per night. It was really fun, since all the tables start and finish at similar times, we get to see the kitchen bring out their huge fish to show us what we were going to eat as our entrée.
This place is French country style, so you really feel like you’re visiting someone and eating a meal with a family. There’s an oyster appetizer, a first course of pan-​fried gnocchi, and then three things together, the main dish (for us it’s the big fish that I forget the name of), a smoked vegetable that is wonderfully bitter and sour with amazing flavor, and baked white beans. Then it ends with a salad, and a dessert. We shared a wine pairing which turned out to be quite good also.
As you see from what I described, the food isn’t fancy. But it tasted very home-​style, with top-​notch cooking skills, so it’s extremely delicious for this style of food. I can see this is sort of an experiment for Chef Crenn, and it seems from the other reviews that people either love it or hate it. I wouldn’t compare it to a more «standard» tasting menu since the food isn’t as delicate.
My only complaint is that I really didn’t like the dessert we had that day. Otherwise, it was a wonderful evening.

I invited my wife to Crenn for her xxx birthday. We liked the food, the ambience, the service and the acceptable noise level. What we liked most was that they only serve fix price ($ 79), fix time (6 or 8:30) and fix menu dinners including the tip.
The main attraction became a tile fish caught the same day in the Atlantic and served with a generous number of side dishes. Before served the fish was shown at every table — nice gesture we know from Europe.

Excellent experience! We had overseas guests in town and were a party of four looking for great food, wine, and an environment to catch up. Petit Crenn was everything we wanted and more. The restaurant is small to mid-​sized, with an open kitchen and perfectly prepared food. The preset menu meant no time was lost choosing — we got everything in perfect timing which left plenty of time for catching up! While its not the place for large groups, it’s perfect for 4 or less. HIGHLY recommend Petit Crenn.

I really really wanted to like this place. I’d been looking forward to it since hearing about the place opening. But sometimes when your expectations are super high, the reality disappoints more than when you had mediocre thoughts going in.
We had a reservation which meant the tasting menu and we decided to add two extra items from the a la carte menu. Those two extras (scallops and uni) were the bright spots of the night. Mussels were meh, not unique or creative, but I guess you could tout that as being traditional. The rest was good but not stand-​out, which I would expect at these price points and the chef’s klout.
If you’re going to go with a reservation, go with more than 2 people because there is a serious portion problem – Brittany food is pretty heavy and their idea for family-​style for two people is far over what one could/​should eat. For example, we were served a mountain of sunchoke mash as a side. And that was with a whole brussel stalk and a whole fish too. I’m not sure if it’s a Brittany tradition to serve salad so late in a meal, but that’s what they do here and it feels awkward and misplaced.
I’m not sure I would go out of my way to go back, but if we happened to walk by and there were openings at the counter it might be worth a peek to see what you could order a la carte so you wouldn’t have to commit to the tasting menu.

I am very disappointed at Petit Crenn. Understandably that this restaurant is a different style than her other restaurant. The food is just very mediocre and the tastes on the plate doesn’t go together. The French bistro in our neighborhood tastes way better (and a lot cheaper). We sat at the chef’s counter that night. In the beginning of the meal I was disappointed that we can’t order the pre fixed menu. At the end of the meal, I am so glad we couldn’t order that. Luckily we didn’t order much because all the dishes are so disappointed.
Fried oysters with charred romaine lettuce — none of the flavor goes good together. The oysters are overlooked and sorry but I don’t quite get a half limp lettuce with a flavorless dressing.
Petit Crenn omelette — the idea of a fluffy omelette sounds good but please put some salt in. The dish is one dimensional — bland.
Abalone — a $ 22 dish with a tiny abalone (diameter of a ping pong ball?) — there is no flavor profile
Wood fired grilled fish — another one dimensional over cooked fish. It is dry and salty. The foam they put on top of it is tasteless.
Chef Crenn is very good at mixing flavor and texture in her flagship restaurant. I was hoping she will bring that to French home cooking.
I asked myself, if it is another chef will I provide the same comment — the answer is yes, the place is really not good at all
p.s — We saw a cook dipped his finger in the sauce to taste it and then wiped his finger on his apron. If you are doing that, I don’t want to see it!

I’ve discovered yet another overrated, over-​priced, mediocre-​to-​terrible «fancy» restaurant in SF! Beware — this place is nothing like Atelier Crenn (nowhere near Atelier’s price range either, haha!).
Prix-​fixe menu. Started off with raw oysters, two per person, tasted pretty good. Next came a pot of mussels. The mussels did not taste fresh (not-​fresh mussels usually have a slight stink to them, and these mussels had that stink), and the garlic bread was burnt along the edges. There was a dish with a full fish (head and bones included) that was difficult to eat and tasted okay. The brussel sprouts on the stock with the sun-​chokes dip tasted pretty decent. The salad was bland, the cheese that came with the salad was pretty nasty (don’t eat the rind). The dessert, which was a traditional pancake sorta thing, tasted awful and bland. There was too much food, in my opinion, an attempt to make up for the poor quality and bad taste.
Ambiance is a typical, trendy, chic, French bistro style. Service was nice. The seats (bench along the wall) is hard and uncomfortable (pretty much sitting on concrete).
Way over-​priced ($ 79 per person) for mediocre food. Never again. I would not recommend this restaurant. Go to Clementine on Clement if you want good French food (with affordable prices if you do the early-​bird special).

Petit Crenn doesn’t take reservations for breakfast or lunch, so it’s a bit of a gamble to trek to Hayes Valley not knowing how crowded it gets on a weekday, or how much space there is to accomodate diners. We were able to score one of the last tables available, and although there was never a line outside the small restaurant, the tables were never empty.
Lunch menu is insanely simple. Just look around your neighbors’ dishes — those are your choices. I had the mushroom tartine with a salad for $ 15.
The menu might be simple, but the food is delicious and well-​edited. Mushrooms were nicely flavored but not overly marinated/​cooked. Bread was hearty and dressing was light and refreshing.
The little cream puffs that resemble an adorable snowman was a perfect way to end a savory lunch.
I am surprised at the fact that they are willing to serve breakfasts and lunch. I am surprised that the food was so simple but elegant. I am also surprised that the last time we ate at her restaurant (Atelier Crenn), we spent literally 10 times the money on two of us instead of four people this time, and although obviously the dining experience was totally different, they could both be so satisfying.

I’m putting the disclaimer out there that I did not eat at the restaurant. Why am I reviewing this restaurant then? Read below.
My bf and I were supposed to eat here the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was in town from LA for the weekend, and he had wanted to try this restaurant for a while now, since it had recently opened, and we’ve had great experiences at their other restaurant, Atelier Crenn. So, he had booked the reservation 4 weeks to the day through SeatMe, to ensure that we would have a table for this particular weekend. It was to celebrate our 7.5 year anniversary. He had received the email confirmation through SeatMe, a few days before the reservation, and another text message an hour before our reservation.
All was going well, until we arrived at the restaurant, and it was CLOSED.
We left 2 phone messages. I gave them until Monday to return my call, since it was Thanksgiving weekend and all. That should have been plenty of time for them to return my call. They never called back to apologize — not to my boyfriend nor me! A week following the reservation, my boyfriend emailed them saying how disappointed we were with our experience. Her response:
«I am very sorry for the frustration and disappointment that this caused you and your girlfriend. We no longer use Unilocal SeatMe as a reservation platform. One of the reasons is because there were frequently mistakes like this. We have transitioned recently to Resy, which we believe is much more reliable.
I hope that you will consider joining us in the future. If I can ever be of assistance in making a reservation or for anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at _​_​_​_​_​_​»
To be honest, if they knew that SeatMe frequently makes mistakes, they should be especially careful to prevent these mistakes from occurring!!! I don’t know why that had to be their excuse. Or if it was their excuse, restaurant credit encouraging a second visit would be appropriate. This is especially disappointing, since their sister restaurant Atelier Crenn is a Michelin-​rated restaurant. One would think that they would have their service down pat. Nope.
They made it loud and clear that they did not want our business there. Will not be returning.

Went here for lunch on a slow Saturday, one of four tables in the restaurant. Service was SUPER SLOW. 15 minutes for a drink, over an hour for food, which they screwed up. A few other tables that arrived were served and almost done before we even got our food.
The worst part was, the manager nor the waitress offered an apology.

It’s a cool nice «neighborhoody» spot. I use quotations because it’s not a total comfort spot because there is still an air of elegance but yet atmosphere of hustle and bustle. There are two seatings so everyone is getting served the same thing at the same time.
This is the same chef as Atelier Crenn (one of the best dining experiences in SF in my opinion) and she’s made this a much homier feel.
If you don’t eat seafood, this isn’t the place for you because the substitution for the fish (main dish) is a small plate of mushrooms. Just a warning. It should be labeled as a seafood restaurant.
The best part of the meal was probably the little puff pastry with gruyère cheese and pickled shallot on it. I could eat a dozen of those little things.
Meal started with a huge oyster (I got a little piece of omelette instead).
Then a squash soup that was tasty with uni (i got brussel sprouts instead).
Side dishes of sunchoke mash and brussel sprouts on the stalk came out — very tasty. I had no idea sunchoke tastes that good.
Fish was raw and didn’t come off the bone. I was a little surprised the fish was so raw. But when I looked at our neighbors, their fish was perfectly pink and cooked well. They offer to debone the fish for you at the table (I don’t know why you wouldn’t say yes!) and they do a good job in general. I think our fish was just too raw.
Timanoix cheese was great. Never had this kind of cheese and I don’t normally like cheese, but this was a highlight. But I have no idea how to find it again. It was served on the side of a really bitter salad.
Salted caramel is well, they do it really well!
I wish I could give it more stars but it wasn’t an enjoyable meal for me, but it’s worth a shot. Oh they have a chef’s tasting for 6 people also that gets slightly different food — the big difference we saw was a huge octopus.
Main reasons why it’s not for me:
— hustle and bustle of the assembly line service and overall rushed feeling
— tightly squeezed tables make the dining room feel like you’re sitting on your neighbors
— substitution for seafood was limited — I was hungry after nibbling on that little plate of mushrooms.
— our trout was cooked raw and deboned extremely messily
Why it’s worth a try:
— I love Atelier Crenn
— See ^^ but don’t feel like an extravagant meal all the time
— It looks like the seafood is probably good
— Our trout was cooked poorly (or not cooked) but it looked like other fish were actually cooked well
— Booking on Resy is easy and awesome.

Innovative Brittany-​influenced cuisine de grand-​mère in a minimalist space.
Walking into Petit Crenn, diners encounter an open kitchen surrounded by a curved bar, stark white walls adorned only with ceramic art inscribed with cute French phases, and a pair of chalkboards that proclaim the carte du jour. It is clear from the décor that the food is meant to be the star. And, at Petit Crenn, it is.
Dominique Crenn now mans (womans?) the front of the house, while Aaron Thayer, previously sous chef at Atelier Crenn, minds the stoves. The prix fixe menu ($ 72) concentrates on the freshest of vegetables and shellfish, and there are two seatings per night (6:00 and 8:30).
Elegant without being ostentatious, the parade of dishes started with gougères, baked savory choux pastries filled with creamy sheep’s milk cheese. Lighter than air, they were delicious. Next came briny miyagi oysters topped with smoked tomato gelée. Escargots bathed in mushroom broth and garnished with chanterelles follow. Earthy, yet light, the dish is a winner. A roasted trout, unfortunately served whole, was flaky and moist. Cauliflower gratin with smoked breadcrumbs was lush and rich. Dessert is a tangy orange and Meyer lemon mousse piped into the peel of a large orange. Cool.
In an interesting switch, servers rotate from kitchen to table, presenting dishes they have prepared. In general this works, except when a junior server is tasked with the complex task of denoting a whole fish. Right spirit, not-​so-​great execution. Other that this one slight mis-​step, servers are pleasant and seem honestly interested in guest enjoying themselves.
The wine list has ample selections by the glass and by the bottle. Not surprisingly, it focuses on French offerings: Burgundies, Bordeaux, and Champagnes are all represented. Well-​priced for The City, it offers something for everyone.
In a city with many choices for fine cuisine, Petit Crenn is a must try. And, and must return.

I had high expectations, but they were sorely not justified. The place is cordial, but super overly crowded. Mixed review on the staff, various levels of clarity about what was being served.
But the main issue is the food. 2 diff vegetables served were extremely undercooked. The fish was deboned at the table and deboned poorly. Then a foam was placed on the fish, hiding the bones remaining, making it almost impossible not to eat bones.
Also, there was no option to make substitutions in the menu, even though there were extra dishes on the ‘specials’ list.
I would certainly not eat there again.
The wine pairings were very nice, and the desert was quite pleasant.

Very elegant restaurant and a wonderful dinner.
I did appreciate the pre-​fix menu. Today they served trout and oh, boy, It was cooked so well! Course after course my hunger disappeared in roasted carrots with peanuts (!), scalloped potatoes, oysters, mussels, dessert, cheese and salad. Delightful.
I did not enjoy the apple pie (?) kind of chewy, not as flavorful. But I don’t eat carbs, so it did not matter.
Service was very attentive and very friendly.
Also Lionel F. the reviewer from 10÷30÷15 already mentioned red wine served cold… I never really had it like this, but I let it sit and warm up a bit, and it opened up and I was able to appreciate it even more.
We did take the last dessert course to go (chocolate truffles, sugar cookies and caramel candy) — the right decision. We walked to Absinthe and ate all the sweets there while sipping on Laphroaig and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

I enjoyed dinner at Petit Crenn and would eat here again.
First of all, I was relieved that the menu was not a cryptic poem and instead wonderfully straightforward. If you have a reservation, you will be served the $ 72 per person tasting menu. The price includes tip but not tax. There’s an optional wine pairing for $ 50 per person, but you can also order drinks a la carte. There are a few optional add-​ons as well.
The menu changes daily, but here’s what we had:
1. AMUSE-​BOUCHE: Gougères with sheep’s milk cheese and pickled shallot gelee
Savory goodness! There was a table of no-​shows next to us, and I was so tempted to reach over and steal their gougères.
2. APPETIZER: Somerset oysters with grains of paradise + candied fennel mignonette
2 per person. The toppings were very tasty, but I thought there was a bit too much crunchiness for the dainty little Somersets. The pepper + mignonette on a larger oyster would have been perfect.
3. ADD-​ON: Petit Crenn omelette ($ 18 add-​on)
Cooked in a tamago pan with dashi and fresh fines herbes. This was suuuper silky and delightful. It looked like a very delicate version of a hua juan (scallion roll).
4. APPETIZER: Mussels with leek cream sauce, Josey Baker bread, Breton butter
5. ENTREE: Wood fired whole trout with cider saboyan
Beautifully presented and filleted at the table.
6. SIDE: Cauliflower gratin
7. SIDE: Roasted carrots with carrot top yogurt + hazelnut crumble
8. SALAD: Butter lettuce, radicchio, shaved permission, beets, radish, sheep’s milk cheese.
The greens were a little bitter, and the dressing was a bit watery. This was a good intermission. Served with a small optional wedge of a funky walnuty cheese.
9. DESSERT: Far Breton aux pommes with candied Valencia oranges and spiced mousse
A cross between a custard and an apple pie served lukewarm. This was my least favorite course and the only one I didn’t finish, but I don’t like desserts much.
10. DESSERT: Mignardises (butter cookies, dark chocolate truffle, salted caramel)
There are only 2 seatings a night for dinner, at 6pm and 8:30pm. Therefore, I expected the pacing of the courses to be a bit better, but maybe our fellow diners ate at wildly different paces and made things complicated.
From my seat facing the kitchen, I definitely noticed some moments of staff confusion where a server would walk towards a table carrying a dish then suddenly turn back towards the kitchen (to get serving utensils? to confirm where the dish should go?) then back again. No harm done though.
Most of the staff were very friendly and welcoming.
The restaurant’s décor was very white. I would describe the look as space age meets rustic.

Delicious dinner with friends.
Seafood-​centric meal, loved everything we had.
Tender smokey grilled octopus.
Whole grilled trout. Superb de-​boning at table side.
Oysters were so fresh and clean.
All were hits for me, except the honey crisp apple tart.
But many accompaniments to more than supplement for one miss.
Get the add ons. We ordered the mushrooms and also the razor clams. Both were nicely done and well executed.

The food was good but it didn’t blow me away. It’s very rustic and homey. Nothing like Atelier Crenn. There are only two seating times, 6pm and 8:30pm. While I like the idea of everyone eating at the same time, it just doesn’t quite work. We all eat at different speeds so the people who are quicker end up waiting uncomfortably long for the next course since we are waiting for the people who don’t eat as fast. This uncomfortable wait happened several times during our meal. Also being in the first seating, when the next seating group started to arrive, all we got was stares. While I understand what it’s like to wait, it’s not our fault that the food is coming out slow.
I’m glad they got rid of the communal sharing plates idea. Food is now only shared among your own party. Tables are all two tops, not communal either.
The service was ok but slow. There were times I think they could have paid more attention to us. I had to ask for water refills several times.
Street parking in the area can be hard but not impossible.
There are some extras you can order on top of your set meal. Tips are included as well but tax is not.
I’m really glad they have a housemade soda for people who don’t drink. I just wish they have more flavors to choose from.
Overall a good meal but bring your patience with you.

When you walk in and see Dominique Crenn smiling and greeting people at tables, you know you’re in for a treat. The restaurant is like walking into someone’s living room, bright and welcoming with pillows along the long benches that you sit on against the wall. We were lucky enough to score a reservation on their first Saturday dinner service to celebrate my friend’s birthday. As soon as we were seated, Chef Crenn came and jokingly asked if we’ve been there before and then said, of course not since they just opened.
If you love vegetables and seafood, you are going to love dinner here. Right at 6:00 sharp, all the tables started being served a few amuse bouche from the kitchen: an omelet, some anchovies and a wonderful gougeges. Chef Crenn served a couple of them personally! We then went right into the first course, oysters with smoked tomato gelee on the half shell. Bread and salted butter was brought to the table as well. Next was escargot, with an Asian inspired onion pancake and mushrooms. I’ve seriously never had escargot before, and this was just delicious — great combination of flavors and texture. Soon arrived the cauliflower au gratin and grilled cabbage. The sauce with the cauliflower was rich, and yet light at the same time. I love cabbage so I really was excited to eat a good wedge. The piece de resistance was the roasted trout, deboned tableside, with a cider sabayon. It was perfectly cooked, and the lemon really brought out a wonderful taste. Dinner ended with a light salad and more bread, then nicely transitioned to a light citrus mousse, along with some caramels and cookies.
All in all, the service was professional with a slight casual touch. Even though it was their first week, they were all coordinated in making sure we received the right amount of attention at the right time. The best part of the night was when Chef Crenn photo bombed my friends while I was taking a picture of them. She came across as very fun and friendly, as well as proud of her restaurant, as she should be.
I like that the service is included in the prix fixe menu. Broken down, it’s like a 20% tip on a $ 60 dinner. I loved the cider we had with dinner, but next time I really need to try something from their wine list. This is a great place for going out to dinner with a few friends. If you’re pretty social, going out as a couple is good too, but expect to sit with another couple as she really does try to make this like a dinner party atmosphere.
Start booking those reservations. You’ll want to add this place to your list of special places you’ve dined at that you can brag about.

Was so excited to try Dominique Crenn’s new restaurant, and it didn’t disappoint. I loved Atelier Crenn so couldn’t wait to try this new sister restaurant with a different concept. Set menu for $ 75 with a communal dining experience where you will most be sharing some dishes with people at the same table unless you book your reservation for party of 4+ and the table only fit that many people.
Two seating of dinner at 6pm and 8:30pm so it’s best to arrive on time to arrive nice pacing of food and adequate time to enjoy the food. Walk-​ins are taken at 5pm and you get seated at the counter.
My husband and I had a 6pm reservation and arrived on time, waited for our other two friends whom had requested to be seated with us. They were a bit late so we had an extra cheese course before they arrived. Dinner for us ended at 8:15pm where most of the other 6pm tables left and staff are busy preparing settings for the 8:30pm seating.
Food/​Drinks– The menu changes so I’m not going to go into detail on each item. My favorite items that night were the oysters (I love oysters) and whole trout. Other dishes were solid and they nicely accommodated some for no dairy. However, for the cheese course with salad, they did not offer me a substitute and no substitute for the nibbles/​treats of caramel and chocolates at the end either. It would have been nice to also get something rather than watching others at the table slowly savor those treats. Wine was tasty, good selection.
Ambiance/​Décor– brightly lit and nicely decorated yet simple. Two large menus of the day posted on the walls. Seating a by the wall could be a bit cozy especially if you have a large coat or purse as I didn’t see any place to store them but by my side.
Service/​Staff– professional, I wouldn’t say they were
Super friendly, but nice enough. Quite attentive as they came to check on us multiple times for drinks while we waited for our friends. Dishes came right away one after an other. One waitstaff brought me the dessert with dairy, but caught himself right after he set it down in front of me. He returned with my non-​dairy dessert a bit later.
Overall, good place for dinner to have solid/​good food and a new dining experience if you sit/​share dishes with strangers, which could be fun! Portions are reasonable and I was quite stuffed so boxed part of the trout home to fit in other courses into my tummy. I was already happy before I had any food because I got to shake hands with Dominique. She’s so cool! ;)

What can I say? I’ve been following chef Crenn around San Francisco for a while now. Since day 1 at Luce at the Intercontinental, many years of Atelier and now Petit Crenn, So you could say there is some bias here :)
Not the lush money forward hotel restaurant that is Luce, nor the focused fine dining workshop that is Atelier, Petit focuses on the simple but delicious elements of seaside life in Brittany, The focus is the bounty of the sea and vegetables of the land. For now it’s a 2 seating set menu for dinner but at a future time breakfast and lunch bites will be available from an a la carte perspective.
The soft opening menu went as follows:
–Classic radishes and butter
–Gougeres filled with cheese
–Oysters with smoked tomato gelee, sea bean
–Escargot in mushroom broth, chantrelle, buckwheat crisp
–Classic omelet with cheese and fine herbs
–Grilled cauliflower gratin, mournay, smoked bread crumbs
–Grilled cabbage, crispy onions, grilled leeks vinaigrette
–Whole fire roasted stuffed trout, cider vinaigrette
–Salad of little gems, anchovy caper sauce, heirloom tomato
–Fromage from Breagne
–Valencia orange mousse, lemon granite
–Brittany cookies and caramels
Everything was fabulous and very filling. The bowl of cauliflower gratin could have been a meal in itself. But as a family style meal shared across many diners it was interactive and a great way to have conversations with your neighboring diners. Service is still getting its foothold but we were well taken care of. the space is sleek yet somewhat rustic with the main shades of white throughout. Minimalist art and subtle aesthetic touches. Certainly cant wait to try the set menus as they evolve and definitely looking forward to what the other mealtimes will offer. A great start!