Can we talk duck soup?

Because we must.

The kind redolent of star anise plus a pop of chili. The kind with an aroma that tantalizes with warm spices from the first whiff. And the kind that soothes, satisfies, and lingers on the mind and palate long after the last slurp.

I’m talking about the superlative duck soup at the new Third Floor Restaurant and Lounge, which opened late last year inside San Francisco’s 25-story Jay Hotel near the Embarcadero.

It’s the first hotel restaurant by the Omakase Group, the force behind such celebrated establishments as Niku Steakhouse, Omakase, and Dumpling Time.

What was formerly Le Meridien hotel has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation that includes a sleek contemporary yet soothing pale earth-tone interior design by AvroKO, which also did SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg. The look was inspired by the organic and natural sculptural style of the late-great Ruth Asawa.

I was invited in as a guest of the hotel and restaurant two weeks ago. Follow the name of the restaurant and take the elevator up to the third floor to find the check-in lobby, along with the dining room, as well as the bar-lounge that was abuzz with a business crowd on a Wednesday night. There’s also an outdoor terrace with fire pits and heaters.

The restaurant is overseen by Chef Michael Magallanes, who hails from the Proper Hotel, Aziza, and Mourad, all in San Francisco.

While the Omakase Group is known primarily for its Asian-style restaurants, the offerings at the Third Floor have more breadth, spanning not only Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese influences but Mediterranean ones.

Settle in with a Plea Deal ($17), an invigorating cocktail with bright citrus, ginger and salinity thanks to vodka, lemongrass, ginger, pear brandy, and sherry.

The petite seafood tower ($55) is plenty big despite its name. Arrayed over a bed of ice and seaweed were half a dozen Miyagi oysters on the half shell underneath a cloud of Champagne foam, half a dozen poached shrimp, and squid salad covered in a smoked-filled cloche that was lifted at the table. Accompanying everything were cocktail sauce, aioli, and a zesty apple mignonette.

Half a dozen skewers are also on the menu. A few people sitting near us even made an entire meal of them. The coconut pork belly skewers ($10 for two) featured juicy, wonderfully fatty slices with crispy edges that were finished with a lemongrass coconut sauce. The king trumpet mushroom skewers ($8) were meaty, smoky, ever so sweetly glazed, then finished with a creamy avocado sauce. The tender octopus skewers ($14) also included creamy potato pieces, with everything slathered with a smoky, fruity, peppery Moroccan chermoula sauce. It was a fun way to let your taste buds travel from Asia to North Africa on one plate.

Magallanes has mentioned that his personal favorite dish is that Liberty Farm Duck Soup ($23). I can’t blame him, since it was what I honed in on immediately when I first looked at the menu. It’s not easy to find duck soup even on a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant menu. So, to see one on a hotel menu stopped me in my tracks. It’s so irresistible that a woman dining alone at table next to mine dug into a bowl while on a business conference call on her laptop.

This duck soup features housemade noodles, duck leg meat folded into juicy wontons, and the rosy breast meat arrayed in slices overtop everything. Shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy are also afloat in the broth that’s so intensely duck tasting with a drizzle of chili oil for a hit of heat. It’s a dish that’s so comforting and deeply flavorful, and one that you will surely crave again and again.

The crispy chicken sandwich ($21) gets a Japanese treatment with a crunchy and light panko breading, then finished with tonkatsu sauce, pickled cucumbers, and a crunchy cabbage slaw. The accompanying fries are thin and crispy throughout.

For dessert, there’s a Japanese-style cheesecake ($12) that’s light, fluffy, and barely sweet. It’s adorned with crunchy almond tuiles, a cinnamon-y persimmon compote, and a breezy shiso ice cream.

Back in our room on the 24th-floor room, we took in the up-close views of neighboring skyscrapers on a rainy day.

The room was done up in blonde wood, milk chocolate accent walls, and an airy wood divider that separated the bed from a cozy sitting area with cream-colored chairs and sofa.

A door-stopper of a tome on San Francisco was propped on its own separate table, while a copy of “The Life of Ruth Asawa” was thoughtfully perched on a shelf.

Like much of San Francisco, the Embarcadero area hasn’t quite returned to its once robust self. But slowly, it is showing renewed vitality. That should continue with the opening later this spring of Sage on the hotel’s ground-floor. Also by the Omakase Group, it will be an ambitious, fine-dining restaurant.