Fleur de Lys (restaurant)

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San Francisco's Fleur de Lys is one of the premier French restaurants in the United States.

[edit] History and description

The windowless 75-seat restaurant occupies an unobtrusive mid-block storefront on Sutter Street near Jones Street in the Tendernob neighborhood of San Francisco. The restaurant first opened in the late 1950s. Maurice Rouas, then Maître d', purchased the restaurant from its original owner in 1970 and remains active today. In 1986 he brought Hubert Keller as chef from the now-defunct Sutter 500 restaurant nearby.^[1] The restaurant was destroyed by a kitchen fire in 2001, and was closed for more than a year due to difficulty obtaining rebuilding permits. Keller spent the time opening other restaurants in Las Vegas, Nevada. The renovation, designed by Keller's wife Chantal, eventually cost more than $4 million.

Fleur de Lys in San Francisco has been ranked as one of the top 40 restaurants in the United States in 2004, 2005, and 2006 by Gayot restaurant guide[1], and was awarded one Michelin star in 2006 (a rating local critics consider unduly low). It is one of seven restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the San Francisco Chronicle's highest four star rating,^[2]which it has maintained for many years. Fleur de Lys has also been ranked as one of the top 25 restaurants in the United States by Food & Wine magazine.[2] The fixed-price cuisine is classic French, meaning innovative dishes using French techniques based on Keller's Alsatian sensibilities, as opposed to old standards. To suit local tastes the restaurant cooks with reduced fat, offers vegetarian and no-fat dinners, and features seasonal California ingredients.^[1]