Verbena Blooms on Polk Street in San Francisco
Aged Mangalitsa ham flavored with house-made shoyu at Verbena in San Francisco.
Fans of Gather restaurant in Berkeley have even more to rejoice now with the opening of Verbena in San Francisco.
When Gather opened five years ago, it celebrated vegetables prominently by assuring that 50 percent of its menu would always be devoted to vegetarian selections.
Verbena continues that thread of giving star treatment to veggies, but goes even further. It’s Gather’s more ambitious young cousin.
A dramatic back-lit wall stacked with jars of house-made pickles attests to that. Executive Chef-Partner Sean Baker has a penchant for preserving. He makes his own kimchi. And miso. Plus shoyu and even fermented black beans.
Pickles as wall art.
The dining room and bar.
Parking is at a premium in this neighborhood. So are seats at this bustling six-month-old restaurant, as I found out when I was invited to dine as a guest a few weeks ago on a busy weeknight.