New restaurant reviews

By Josh Sens, Susan Bryan, and John Birdsall

Fish & Farm, Union Square
This eager little restaurant sticks to an established radius, drawing most of its ingredients from within 100 miles of its home, adja­cent to the Mark Twain Hotel. Like our own imperiled planet, the menu is based largely on water: It’s far heavier on fish than on farm. While some dishes sparkle—like grilled squid enlivened with green garlic and chilies, and Alaskan halibut, its sweet meat freshened by pea pesto and fava beans—there’s no way to escape without stumbling on some duds. Seafood chowder stocked with oysters, clams, and smoked bacon backs down blandly on its lively promise; and duck confit, with endives and green len­tils, turns out as dry as a dammed riverbed. The service is adroit. But the murky lighting, as well as the pale blues and browns of the decor, are downers. Ultimately, the virtuous concept arouses more good feeling than the res­taurant itself.—Josh Sens 339 Taylor St. (bet. Ellis and O’farrell Sts.), S.F., 415-474-3474 $$$ DRVW, ★½

Jin Sho, Palo Alto
If you think the toro tartare looks suspiciously like something out of the Nobu cookbook, you’re right. Jin Sho’s chef-owners are veterans of the famous New York restaurant that pushed sushi in new directions, and their left-coast menu is full of beyond-the-bento-box creativity. Crunchy sheets of corn tempura taste like exotic popcorn, especially with green-tea salt. Seviche mixes crunchy apple sticks with seafood tidbits in lemony dressing, and rock-shrimp tempura splashed with chili mayo is another playful must-try. There’s also traditional sashimi featuring prized Japanese species rarely sold in the U.S. But if the kitchen gets frenzied, disasters can happen, such as a Kobe beef toban injured by overcooking and too much salty sauce.—Susan Bryan 454 S. California Ave. (at El Cam­ino Real), 650-321-3454 $$$ RW, ★★½

Mono, Oakland
Jack London Square is still struggling to find itself. Where family eateries and expense-account lunch places of the martini-and-scaloppine variety once thrived, Oakland’s new class of loft dwellers is hungry for downtown hangouts with a morsel of style. Now they have it in Mono (pronounce both o’s long), a compact, concrete space partially open to the sidewalk. The room is awash in black, with blond wood and a semicircular bar. Todd Wilson’s mostly seafood menu alternates between Spanish and Asian flavors. The kitchen can cook: The grilled, miso-brushed lamb chops are rich and velvety, while pan-fried halibut with orange jus has a gilt-crusted sweetness. Vegetable dishes can disappoint—like an enormous, spiky grilled artichoke oozing water—but hardly enough to douse Jack London’s hopes for urban cool.—John Birdsall 247 4th St. (at Alice St.), 510-834-0260 $$$ RW, ★½


D= Dinner only
R= Reservations recommended
V= Valet
W= Wheelchair accessible