Fine Dining in Jackson Square: Quince's Friday Lunch Seats

Quince serves lunch only on Fridays and Saturdays, with reservations in the dining room and the Bolinas Bar from 11:30 am to 1 pm, and that is the most relaxed way into a three-Michelin-star room in San Francisco. Michael and Lindsay Tusk's restaurant at 470 Pacific Avenue in Jackson Square opens Tuesday through Saturday, and its tasting menu costs $390 per person. For anyone weighing fine dining near me in the Financial District, the first decision is lunch versus dinner.

Quince was founded in 2003 in Pacific Heights and has been in Jackson Square since 2009. Michelin awarded a first star in 2007, a second in 2014 and a third in 2017, and in 2020 Quince received one of the first Michelin Green Stars for sustainable cooking. The SF Standard reported in June 2026 that Quince remains a three-star restaurant in the 2026 California guide.

Michael Tusk, the chef, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific in 2011 and the Outstanding Chef award in 2026. He owns the restaurant with Lindsay Tusk, and the couple also run Cotogna next door. The restaurant closed for about 11 months for a full renovation and reopened in the spring of 2024, and it is a member of Relais and Châteaux.

The produce story is the reason to book Quince over other tasting rooms. Fresh Run Farm, in Bolinas on the Marin coast, is a partnership between Michael Tusk and first-generation farmer Peter Martinelli, and it grows more than 40 varieties of organic fruit, vegetables and flowers for the Tusks' restaurants alone. That direct line from one coastal farm explains why the menu shifts in step with the season.

Dishes that have appeared on recent menus show the range: white asparagus tortelloni with caviar in the spring, and, in the cooler months, a risotto with cardoons, porcini and white truffle. The whole roast duck for two, with black garlic and greengage plums, is the large-format dish to ask about when you book.

In the dining room, the Gastronomy Menu runs eight to 10 courses and costs $390 per person, according to a June 2026 review on Food Gal. Beverage pairings come at four levels: Wines of California at $325, Rare and Unique at $550, Art of Wine at $1,225, and a seasonal non-alcoholic pairing at $150. Those prices do not include service.

The Bolinas Bar serves the California Coast and Valleys menu, a shorter, four-course format the restaurant describes as a celebration of the state's terroir. It is the better pick for a first visit or a weeknight, because four courses give you the farm cooking and the room without a three-hour commitment.

Quince adds a 22 percent service charge to all food and beverage sales, plus a 6 percent surcharge that the restaurant says helps cover employee healthcare and benefits. Do the math before you book: a $390 menu becomes nearly $500 before tax and wine. All reservations are final and non-refundable, though the restaurant allows one reschedule.

Requests for menu changes because of allergies or dietary needs must reach the restaurant seven days before your reservation, and restrictions cannot be combined. Children under 10 are not admitted, and children 10 and older must order the full tasting menu. Tables are held for 15 minutes past the booking time, so plan around the downtown traffic.

Reservations are made through SevenRooms, linked from the restaurant's website, not Tock. Dates open on the 1st of the month for the following month, and main dining room bookings run from 5 pm to 8 pm. Friday and Saturday lunch tables are less contested than dinner, so try them first if you are flexible.

Our honest advice: skip the top two pairings unless wine is your reason for coming. Art of Wine at $1,225 per guest is built for collectors, while Wines of California at $325 already shows off the Tusks' best-known strength. Groups up to 16 can book the private dining room, and the full restaurant is available as a buyout.

The dress code is cocktail attire. Jackets are recommended but not required, and the restaurant lists athletic wear, loungewear, hoodies, shorts, T-shirts, short sleeves, baseball caps, sneakers and flip-flops as not permitted. That is stricter than most San Francisco restaurants, so pack accordingly if you are coming from a casual day downtown.

The renovated dining room has only 10 tables, set wide apart, with blond oak furniture in an art deco-inspired setting. The space between tables is the luxury you notice first, and it makes the room quiet enough for real conversation. Large windows bring in the light at lunch, which is one more reason the Friday and Saturday midday seatings feel less formal than dinner, even with the same dress code.

Jackson Square is one of the few downtown districts that survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Before lunch, walk the blocks of brick buildings around Jackson Street, including the A. P. Hotaling building, a former whiskey warehouse that is part of the last remnant of the old Barbary Coast.

Cotogna, the Tusks' rustic Italian sister restaurant, sits right next door on Pacific Avenue and makes a good plan B if Quince is full. From the restaurant, the Embarcadero waterfront is a short walk east, and the Muni 12 bus runs along Pacific to Chinatown and the Embarcadero.

Address: Quince, 470 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133. Open Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. Dinner reservations 5 pm to 8 pm. Lunch Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to 1 pm in the dining room and Bolinas Bar. Bookings on SevenRooms, released on the 1st of the month for the following month.

Prices: Gastronomy Menu $390 per person, pairings $325, $550 and $1,225, non-alcoholic pairing $150, with a 22 percent service charge and a 6 percent surcharge added. The nearest BART stations are Embarcadero and Montgomery. Ask the Karpo APP for a wine bar in Jackson Square if you want an aperitif before a 5 pm table.