Trestle

oooohhhh i love this place.
such a wonderful menu and creative with friendly staff
great décor and a nice wine list too
3 course– meal was perfect!
definitely taking out of town friends here! a great representation of SF food!

I was so excited to try this place because everyone on my Facebook said its the next big thing and they had a great experience. I made reservations, celebrating my friend birthday. It a 3 course dinner. A choice of 2 appetizer, 2 entrees and 2 desserts. They also have a pasta dish for $ 10 dollars if you want to try a little more. It’s hard to get a reservations, I made reservations one month before dining there. The menu is slightly different daily, there I guess the day we came it just wasn’t that great.
Falafel Salad — Not a fan, not much favor. Maybe its suppose to taste like that but not something I would order again.
Potato Soup — The soup was good. Very flavorful. It was pretty heavy, therefore the portion they gave us was enough.
Mushroom Risotto — Risotto I love, worth the extra $ 10 dollars, especially the mushrooms gave it a great taste in flavor. Yum!
Pork Schnitzel — Nothing special. Pork Katsu taste way better.
Crispy Branzino — It was too dry for me. The veggies on the side was good but the fish lack in flavor but it was crispy. But I think they over cooked my fish.
Pumpkin Cheesecake — I love pumpkin and this was yummy. So glad it was pumpkin season.
Pot de Crème — Too rich. It was okay but won’t be able to eat too much of it. We had more than half left even with 2 people sharing it.
I understand it is a pretty good price for a 3 course meal but even with the price, I was hoping it was better. I do hope to come back and try the other things on the menu. Hopefully the day I do come back, the menu will be different.

daily rotation $ 35 3 course menu with $ 10 additional small pasta courses
we decided to get 1 of everything so we can try it all, we opted to get both pasta dishes and the waitress looked at us like we were crazy bc it was too much food. honey, we eat a lot. we can handle it no problem
menu:
–little gem and avocado salad: picked red onions, cucumbers, citrus vinaigrette. the dressing tasted like hot pot– odd but yum
–butternut squash soup: sage cream, candied walnuts, pears. really good soup and i loved the crunch from the nuts. we should’ve ordered 2 of these instead of the salad
–wild mushroom risotto: good
–garganelli bolognese: standard
–pan seared striped bass: i liked the addition of the oranges
–pork schnitzel: first time having schnitzel ever. the schnitzel with the sauce tasted exactly like katsu w katsu sauce you would find in a japanese bento box or hawaiian bbq place
–huckleberry coffee cake: espresso streusel, vanilla ice cream, mint. i liked this dessert a lot better than the custard. wish it was bigger!
-‘hot cocoa’ custard: salted pretzel, marshmallow cream, candied kumquats. ok
the soup, risotto, and huckleberry dessert were my stand outs
with all this food, i still left a little hungry! and im a small girl. my friend left just the right amount of full but thats because they had half a shawarma before dinner.
i’m still going to go back with the hope they’ll offer the better menu next time (i’ve seen pics/​reviews of others lucking out with scallops, pork belly, duck, even stuffed quail as their second course choices! i was hoping we’d get one of those instead)

Situation: After reading about Trestle, I jumped on Opentable and scored a reservation for four. The bf and I invited another (lucky) couple to join us.
Order: The hardest decision you have to make here is what to drink! With a simple 3 course menu for $ 35, you can spend more time catching up with friends. Since there were two choices for each course, each couple ordered one of everything. As for the pasta courses, we ordered both and shared among all 4 diners — This was the perfect amount for us.
The best dishes were the carrot soup (all 4 of us agreed this was the best), the pork schnitzel, the ravioli, and the chocolate brownie dessert. Overall, we didn’t love every dish, but they were creative and locally sourced we enjoyed the atmosphere and trying different dishes. The service was excellent and our total tally (with 1 – 2 drinks each) came out to less than $ 70 each.

Trestle is a hot new restaurant in SF that is definitely worth checking out. Very few restaurants are able to beat the price at $ 35 a set menu. Reservations are hard to come by but just keep an eye out for cancellations, or if you’re willing to wait until past 9PM for dinner, then this place should work for you. I had a blast dining here, and love the modern Scandinavian furniture that they used to design this place — BUT portions were pretty small. Given that this is a three course meal, I was still full at the end, but I would have preferred our main dish to be larger, and our dessert to be a smaller portion.
Keep in mind, I dined back in December but never got around to writing my review. They change up their menu daily so some of the items may not be around anymore. Though I do see that they tend to keep their more popular items :)
I went w/​a friend & we both got the little gem salad (ironically my favorite part of the meal, it’s hard to make salads delicious! The fruit and avocado were fresh and pretty large). I got the pan seared trout, and my friend got the duo of chicken. I usually am more impressed with the seafood but this time I was more impressed with the meat dish — don’t miss out on this one! The chicken mean is super tender, all the flavors used to make this dish mix in extremely well together. For dessert, we got one of each — earl grey chocolate ganache tart and the fuyu persimmon cake. I was really excited for the earl grey chocolate ganache tart because I love anything earl grey … but this turned out to be more chocolate rather than earl grey. I feel they could have done more mixing of the two flavors. the dessert turned to be a bit nauseating sweet towards the end.
Overall, a ⁴⁄₅ stars for Trestle. I was considering 3.5, but quality of food and service bumped it up to 4.

Amazing concept behind Hi Neighbor’s new (ish) Trestle — $ 35 for three delicious courses!!! Unheard of and very much appreciated. In terms of ambiance, I’m actually a bigger fan of Stone’s Throw. Trestle is smaller and feels a little more claustrophobic by comparison. We came on a Sunday night and ended up ordering the entire menu between all of us. Standouts for me included the duck confit and mushroom risotto, which I added the white truffle to… It was amazing. I also highly recommend adding the pasta courses (they’re good for sharing). The menu rotates very frequently and I already see new items that I need to come back for. Be sure to check out the NON-​insane markup on their wine. What I love most about Trestle is that they could be charging a lot more, but don’t. They stay true to their mantra — enjoying a family gathering style, proper meal.
Jason — another amazing meal, thank you so much! I’ll be sure to bring Serena back soon :)

Can’t go wrong with $ 35 per person prefixe menu! Delicious food and amazing service!
The waiters will present each dish with a detailed description in front of you. The waiters were very attentive through out the night and also kept filling up my cup with water. Great service!
From the menu, there are just 2 choices for each appetizer/​entrée/​dessert. We had to try all the foods so of course we ordered different dishes from each other. They also offer pasta dishes that are +$ 10.
Appetizers: roasted carrot salad (raisins, nuts, lime) and cauliflower soup /​/​both appetizers were so good! The carrots were tender and the soup was creamy and delicate! Both were very flavorful! YUM!
Pasta ($ 10 supplement): pappardelle carbonara (crispy prosciutto, poached egg, mushroom purée) /​/​the waiter told us to first break the poach egg in the middle. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was creamy. Really good!
Entrée: duo of chickens and Arctic char /​/​the fish was super moist and the skin was perfectly crispy. I really enjoyed the fish… Also came with pieces of calamari. As for the chicken, I thought the chicken tasted just alright. It was slightly over cooked. Flavors were ok. Thought the wine in the beets was a little overpowering.
Dessert: grapefruit panna cotta (champagne gelee, honey granola, Greek yogurt) and chocolate rum cake (mango, macadamia nuts, finger lime, lemongrass) /​/​The panna cotta was very refreshing and light. The chocolate rum cake was not too dense. You can definitely taste the rum. Didn’t really taste the lime or lemongrass in this dessert
Overall, we enjoyed the visit to Trestle and would definitely come again! Yummmm!

I left feeling hungry still. Our waitress assured us the portions were huge but it wasn’t.
Had the soup, arctic char, and chocolate rum cake. Added on the pappardelle and risotto.
The soup was good.
The skin on the fish was crispy but the fish seemed overcooked and tough.
The rum cake had weird tart flavors mixed in and the cake was dry. I still ate it, but no one finished the panne cotta. The others told the waitress why they didn’t eat it.
The pasta add ons were delicious. Poached egg on the pappardelle. Cheese on that risotto. Mmmm… It’s one of those scenarios where you do not want to share with others. (Read below for my disappointment. #hangry)
Granted, $ 35 prix fixe isn’t bad and neither is a $ 10 pasta add on, but don’t tell us the portions are huge when they aren’t! The entrée is small. And the pasta add ons are even smaller. Splitting among 5 people was not enough, unless you don’t eat much. We each only had the tiniest tastings of each pasta dish.
My friends liked it, but just saying. This is not a SFYELP 4.5 star restaurant. Everything better be amaze balls for that kind of rating!

So happy to finally try this restaurant! I made reservations a month in advance and it was well worth the wait. (And trust me, the restaurant is tight and packed so you definitely want to make reservations before coming in.)
The staff were all friendly and attentive and everything that came out the kitchen was delicious. For $ 35, you get to choose from a prix fixe of three courses and an optional pasta course for an extra $ 10. Plus, you can also ask for the Firebrand bread– which I would highly recommend. All the ingredients were fresh and made to order and nothing was left on our plates.
There’s a slightly different menu every day and you leave feeling completely satisfied. Definitely come with a friend so you can choose both the options per course.

My family lucked out and got a reservation the night of for dinner. I was super excited to try this place given the high reviews. Unfortunately I was super disappointed and very let down. I think it’s the first time a 4.5 star rated Unilocal restaurant didn’t pan out for me!
Since the menu is fixed, my bf and I decided to divide and conquer to try everything. We ordered both appetizers, main entrée, and dessert options. We also did a pasta add on.
Potato garlic soup w/​egg yolk: pretty good the first few bites, but lacking in anything unique afterwards. It got a bit too creamy/​cheesy by the time we got to the end of the bowl.
Carrot salad: this was the better appetizer hands down. The carrots are soft and flavorful.
Short Ribs: well cooked meat but way too over flavored/​salty! Also honestly nothing exciting with the flavors; it’s pretty straightforward.
Sea bass: also lackluster. It’s a pretty thin piece of fish and was a bit dry for me. I also felt like it was pretty bland. I think having recently eaten the sea bass at the House, I might be holding extra high expectations. If you want fish, I’d highly recommend going there instead.
Butter squash risotto: this came with rock shrimp and a creamy sauce. My bf really disliked how much heavy sauce was in this dish. Basically you have risotto and shrimp making up of like 30% of the bowl and everything else is sauce. Too heavy for our liking. Definitely not worth the extra $ 10 add on.
Chocolate Tart: this was delicious! Order this for dessert.
Grapefruit panna cotta: I think this would’ve tasted better if they didn’t overdo the granola topping over the actual dessert. Each bite was basically me struggling to avoid getting too many crumbs stuck between my teeth.
I’m not sure if it was just this menu or if we caught them on an off day. Service was super friendly and attentive but the food was not up to par. :(

I wanted to wish you all a very healthy and happy dining experience at Trestle.
There are many reasons for making this one of my favorite places to eat in SF, but also the perfectly priced prix fixe (for only $ 35 per person). You can choose from appetizer, entrée, and dessert, you can add a supplement ($ 10), and depending on how many people dining with you, can get everything on the menu to try.
Above and beyond the delicious food was the stellar service. Always super attentive and very friendly. Not to mention, great space, great ambiance, and great date night. They exceed my expectations. I highly recommend this place.
I hope you give this amazingly delicious and affordable place a try. Cheers!
The simple things in life.

I’m not convinced that Trestle is «all that».
However the combination of ambiance, service, and scene. not to mention a pretty extensive wine list requires a pretty good 4 star Unilocal rating.
To truly review Trestle one would probably have to dine here 4 – 5 times as the pre-​fix meal (well pick from column A or B appetizer, entrée, and dessert) doesn’t really give you the full range of what the kitchen can do.
On my visit service was pretty stellar: We were seated promptly even without our friends arriving… don’t you hate when they make you wait for everyone to arrive before seating???
All help is pleasant and efficient.
So the basic premise of Trestle, as you have already surmised, is a prefixed menu of three courses for $ 35 dollars… a take on Tom Keller’s Ad Hoc concept.
The food, on the night I dined there, was good but not great… but for 35 dollars in SF… that is a miracle. Think about it… employees, rent, insurance, food, energy, equipment etc etc…
I started with the White bean soup with spicy chorizo. It was a nice touch to serve the plate with only sausage and than pour the soup at table side. It was a good dish a bit clunky but I loved the spicy chorizo.
My main was the pork schnitzel. As others have attested to this is more a pork tonkatsu. My Father was German and they sure as heck did not use panko crumbs on their schnitzel. The portion was pretty small but the taste was good. Not much of anything to go with it… just a smattering of spatzel. Not at all like the pictures from Mr. Bauer’s reviews.
Dessert was a nice slice of Pumpkin cheesecake that was arraigned artistically with various other components. It tasted wonderfully with care and good ingredients.
My friends had the smoked Salmon starter which looked amazing and they raved about. The crispy skin Sea Bass also got rave reviews although the piece was very small.
Where Trestle makes coin is the add ons… and they are quite good. We ordered both pasta dishes. The killer was the Pappardelle ‘Carbonara’…amazing. Lovely runny soft poached egg on top and a rich lovely sauce… Please just give me a large bowl of this.
The other was so so Ricotta Gnudi: Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts, Sage. Four pieces it was and tasted great but for 10 dollahs???
Very extensive wine list of good to very good wines pretty reasonably priced.
What everyone really liked was the Atmosphere here… the buzz of people having fun.
So for a $ 35 (your a better Unilocaler than me if you can get out for that) Trestle can’t be beat.
Go!!!

Very happy with my experience here. It doesn’t have the emotional connection that I like for 5 stars, but shoot, i’ll round up.
Was fortunate to be able to make a reservation for Sunday night at 5:30 on Sunday morning — a stroke of luck I think. Definitely don’t come without a reservation. It got crowded. It was well managed, but still crowded.
I love set menus. They make things so much easier. Their set up is simple, but still has flexibility. $ 35 — Choice between two of appetizer, main, and desert. Add pasta for $ 10. Perfect for two people, right? You get everything.
Appetizer: Sunchoke Soup and Beet Salad were both good, but the Sunchoke soup wins. Just perfectly balanced and creamy.
Pasta: A bolognese which really was quite nice.
Main: Braised Beef Short Ribs. Wow. So melty. So flavorful. How do they do that?
Desert: Pumpkin Cheese Cake and Devil’s Food Cake with Honey and Pear. Both were really good, but the Devil’s food/​honey/​pear combo was so spot on. And the cake it’s self was so rich, yet not heavy.
We got a bottle of Gamay, which wasn’t bad at all. I really like Gamay, but often don’t find it on menus so that was exciting.
Everything was really well timed. Also really liked that they asked if there were any allergies they should know about when they took our orders.
A great date night, FANTASTIC food, and all and all reasonably priced for a fancy dinner.

I heard such good things about Trestle from a huge foodie friend when they first opened and knew I just had to try it. I was told that it was hard to get reservations at a prime time so made them over a month in advance. I’m not clear how often they rotate their menu but between my two roommates, we ordered all 6 items. We opted out of the pasta option though.
Trestle is kind of hidden and it took a little bit of looking around to notice the glass door. The décor is trendy chic and great for a date or business meeting. It’s a fairly small space and some of the tables in the middle of the room were placed a bit too close. We had a table along the wall but I saw two separate couples seated within like 6 inches of each other, so try to grab a booth is possible.
The options in our menu included the little gem salad, clam chowder, pan roasted salmon w/​polenta, thyme & garlic roasted stuffed chicken, salted caramel brownie, and blackberry hand pies. The service was great and the food high quality but very little of the meal jumped out in terms of flavor, complexity, or innovation. The most notable for me was the clam chowder and the blackberry hand pies.
Clam chowder: Not your typical New England style. Instead, this was lighter but still maintained that creaminess that makes good chowder. The clams were also fresh and served in the shell. My roommate claimed that it was the best part of the meal and that she really enjoyed the different take on a very classic soup.
Blackberry hand pies: Two hand pies drizzled in lime icing with a dollop of fresh black pepper cream. Each of the elements within the dessert were just okay independently. The black pepper cream alone was like a kick in the face and the hand pie crust to filling ratio was a bit off causing it to be a tad dry. However, a bite of all components combined was like an evolving palate of flavors. The lime cut into the sweetness of the blackberry which was further complimented by the spice of the pepper. It just all worked.

Excellent food. Excellent service. Excellent price.
Make a reservation and go and enjoy :)
I could describe the three courses and tell you how delicious they are all. But it’s $ 35 for 3 courses. Menu changes often. It’s delicious. Check out my pictures for the menu and food I tried tonight. Get the short rib if they have it. Yum. Yum. Yum.
Good place for a date– not first date, it’s kinda loud. Good place to impress a friend for $ 35. Really one of the best meals I have had in the Bay Area for a while. Great job Trestle.

I’ve been to Trestle three times now, and I’ve enjoyed every single experience. Only once has an item ever repeated itself on the menu, and it was a killer dish (the pork schnitzel). I think they have a lot of freedom to be fun and playful when only having to make two options for every course and I continue to enjoy seeing what they come up with.
My favorites over the multiple visits have been the tomato soup with burrata, the falafel, the pork schnitzel over «melted» cabbage, the garganelli bolognese and the banana bread with peanut butter ice cream.

Really nicely curated menu that runs a very reasonable $ 35. The décor is lovely, European, and feels very polished, which a girl can appreciate. I went with a girlfriend but it looks like an ideal date spot actually.
The menu rotates on a regular basis but you get your salad/​soup course, main course, and dessert, with an option to add pasta for $ 10. You can also replace a main with a pasta if none of the mains strike your fancy, which is exactly what I did.
I went with the parsnip purée soup with manila clams, butternut squash pasta, and a yuzu persimmon cake. I really enjoyed the sweet savory pasta which was perfectly cooked and had a divine sauce, and the cake was wonderful as well, very moist, flavorful, with lots of fruit garnish. Pro-​tip: ask for the bread, they make it in-​house with a delicious whipped butter.
I would imagine the food can be a bit hit and miss depending on what is on their menu, but I think it’s a great experience. I would definitely go back again to try some of their other seasonal offerings.

She was running late, more than usual. He was getting antsy. This restaurant gets booked up quickly, and often the only seating time one could get is 5:30 PM. You get the staggering effect, and when you don’t show up, it messes up their seating schedule. He was nursing a glass of red wine when she arrived. Ever a bit of irritation shown on his face. The waitstaff asked what she wanted to drink the moment she sat down. She opted for water to save time.
The rest of the decision was quite easy to make. This was the new 3-​course tasting menu trend, if you arrive in a pair, you could just each order one thing off the menu, down to the dessert, and viola you are done. No thinking involved, no decision needs to be made. Everything made fresh and served quickly and yet not too rushed.
Tomato soup was one of his favorites. She knew because when they went to Café Prague, he ordered that too. The falafel salad was quite delightful. Squid and salmon with micro greens. Beef had a nice flavor to it. Completely perfect. Right amount of time in between each course, polished servers checked in sometimes but not too over intrusive.
He opened his birthday presents. She and he met every year for each other’s birthdays. But they did not otherwise see each other much these days. For this birthday, where he was turning a milestone age, among other things, she bought him a piece of drift wood, with an old fashioned bike etched onto the wood. He biked to work often. Over bread pudding with chocolate and peach panna cotta, he became more relaxed and smiled more. She liked his bright smiles. Always did.
Then just like that, he said what he wanted to say to her for a while now, «you know, I wish that we never stopped dating.» He looked almost solemnly. She looked around, there were a lot of couples around them that night. Perhaps it was the wine, or perhaps it was this pretty, romantic restaurant that made him say such things. She smiled, while gently touched the back of his left hand, and then said, «And yet, we did.»
The waitstaff took their photos sitting together. Later, he’d write to her, while looking at those photos, «we looked like a couple, don’t you think?»
The food, tasty. The restaurant, atmospheric. The story, unfinished.

Biggie got it right when he said it, «Mo Money, Mo Problems». Keeping things affordable is always great.
Trestle has got the fine dining model right, by providing a fine dining experience for those who are on a budget. I made reservations with Christine C. and Allen C. months in advance to secure a premium 6 pm time slot on a Friday. The wait list can attest to their popularity.
As we walked through the doors of this fine establishment, I knew we were in for a treat. The interior had a rustic feel with trestles running along the brick walls up to the roof. Looking further on the white walls, there are elegant gold foil patterns that compliments the flower arrangements at the center of the room. Loving this place already.
The menu is simple. A $ 35 prix fixe meal for an appetizer, main dish, and dessert. There is also a $ 10 pasta course addition for the carb lovers and diners who have a larger stomach. There are only two choices for each dish, but the menu changes daily, so you’ll have a different food experience every time. We got at least one of every dish since we couldn’t decide.
/​/​Appetizer
— Falafel Salad: the Falafel was fried nicely and most inside. It felt more like a deconstructed Falafel sandwich with out the pita than a salad, but the fresh vegetables and tzatziki made this dish great.
— Carrot Ginger Soup — this soup screamed carrot from the carrot purée soup base, to its carrot cake croutons and carrot top pesto. If you are in love with carrots, you will fall in love with this soup.
/​/​Pasta
–Mushroom Risotto: We only ordered this dish to make sure we had room for the other dishes. This dish was made with king trumpet Mushrooms, upland cress and shaved Parmesan. I could not get enough of this dish! This is a must have if you are a fan of savory.
/​/​Entrée
— Braised Short Ribs: A melt in your mouth shortribs Braised in a delicious sauce reduction over a bed of farro and broccoli rabe.
— Pan Seared Scallops — these were the star of the night! Two big Scallops pillows with crispy leeks, vadouvan, and squash. Trestle does seafood right.
/​/​Dessert
— Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake: Honey Milk Chocolate Pudding, Honey Combs and black mission figs. This cake is rich ($$$$). This is only for those who have a big sweet tooth.
–Huckleberry Coffee Cake: Espresso Struesel, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Mint. This is a refreshing touch to the end of the meal. Loved everything about this dish.
The night was perfect. We received Michelin Star service for a fraction of the price. The staff was very attentive and made sure nothing was out of place the entire night. I can’t wait to be back!

Reservations are a must for Trestle, which is why Allen C., David C., and I made our 6pm dinner on Friday reservations a month in advance. (You could probably get away with 2 – 3 weeks in advance.) Opened 5 months ago, Trestle has been pretty popular because of the great food they serve with their $ 35 pre fixe menu. They rotate the items on their menus daily, so check their website the day of if you are going to dine there!
For each person, you get to select one of two choices for the three categories: appetizer, main entrée, and dessert. For an extra $ 10/​order, you can also order pasta. Between the three of us, we ordered a pasta dish and were perfectly full. However, we were all wishing we had room in our tummies to try the other pasta dish…
APPETIZERS
— Falafel Salad: crispy lavash, cucumber, tzatziki, and mint. This dish was fresh and light. It definitely made me excited for the rest of my meal!
— Carrot-​Ginger Soup: carrot cake croutons, carrot top pesto.
PASTAS
— Mushroom Risotto: king trumpets, upland cress, and shaved parmesan. SO FREAKING GOOD! Why do I have to share???
— Anson Mills Polenta Ravioli: with crispy prosciutto and charred scallion salsa verde. It looked so colorful and beautiful. I had to wipe the drool off my face when I saw the table next to us eating it. :3
ENTREES
— Braised Beef Short Ribs: broccoli Di Ciccio, farro, gremolata, and horseradish. Pretty big portions for the boys!
— Pan-​Seared Sea Scallops: lentils, delicata squash, vadouvan, and crispy leeks.
I love, love, love scallops, so I was pretty disappointed when I saw Trestle was serving salmon for most of the week. (Yes, I was stalking their website for a whole week before dining there.) Since I was pretty busy at work on Friday, I wasn’t able to check the website. But when we got to the restaurant, David and Allen excitedly told me they were serving scallops. The stars aligned for me! :) Although there were only two pieces, the scallops were so freaking bomb. They were perfectly seared and were moist and plump inside.
DESSERTS
— Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake: honey milk chocolate pudding, black mission figs, and honeycomb.
— Huckleberry Coffee Cake: espresso streusel, vanilla ice cream, and mint.
The coffee cake was plated beautifully and tasted bomb with the ice cream, and the boys said my dessert was better. :) I guess it pays off to be a chocolate hater sometimes!
The service at Trestle was A+, so it’s perfect for any special occasion or if you just want to splurge a little. It’s always a fantastic time trying out new restaurants with these two.