Benu is a three-Michelin star New American restaurant located in the

SoMa Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

district of downtown

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opened in 2010 by chef Corey Lee, the former

Chef de cuisine A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

at the

French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

. Benu made the list of

The World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

in 2019.

Restaurant

Corey Lee was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea and moved to the United States at age five. Prior to opening his restaurant, he was the head chef at

The French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

, working for

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Founda ...

at both The French Laundry and Per Se for a total of nine years. At Benu, he serves a set tasting menu that features a wide variety of seafood and vegetables, a few meat courses, and some sweets. Lee draws from many different cuisines, including

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

. He states that “Benu is open to the influence of all different kinds of cultures. We have Asian influences, of course. We have Western influences. We have influences that are technique-driven. Some are flavor-driven. Some are ingredient-driven. But it accepts all those things and it defines the kind of food we serve.”

Master Sommelier The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwid ...

Yoon Ha is the restaurant's beverage director. In addition to the tasting menu, Benu offers an optional beverage pairing that includes beer, wine, and sake. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Benu is housed on the ground floor of a historic building that dates the back to 1922–originally the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of the San Francisco Newspaper Company.

Crown Point Press Crown Point Press is a long-established printmaking workshop, primarily creating and publishing etched, intaglio prints. Located in San Francisco since 1986, Crown Point Press was first established in 1962 in Richmond California by Kathan Brown. ...

, an art studio, gallery, and bookstore, now owns the building and resides directly above the restaurant. In 2015, Phaidon published ''Benu''–a collection of recipes and essays that explores the restaurant's food, influences, and collaborators–with forewords by

and

David Chang David Chang (Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaur ...

, designed by Julia Hasting.

Awards and honors

* Benu currently holds the highest Michelin Guide rating possible: three stars. * 4 Stars, ''

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'' *

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* 2017 Best Chef: West,

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

* 2019 Outstanding Wine Program,

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38 Icon (Named one of America's 38 Essential Restaurants for five consecutive times) * On the 2019 list of

* The 40 Most Important Restaurants of the Decade, ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' * The Most Important Restaurants of the Decade, ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'' * 5 Stars,

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Gallery

File:Benu - barbecued quail.jpg, barbecued quail File:Benu - mussels stuffed with glass noodles and fine vegetables.jpg, mussels stuffed with glass noodles and fine vegetables File:Benu - persimmons drying in the courtyard.jpg, hoshigaki

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in San Francisco Restaurants in San Francisco Michelin Guide starred restaurants in California New American restaurants in California

Restaurant

Awards and honors

Gallery

See also

References

External links