Celebrated a birthday at TFL during a week long trip to Napa. Absolutely loved every single aspect of this dinner. Arguably the best meal I’ve had in my entire life. I was tentative about the experience base on some reviews online and here on this subreddit saying it was past its prime. Thankfully I’ve never been so had nothing to compare it to, and TFL delivered on every single level. Service was warm and friendly but not obtrusive. We did the chefs tasting menu and both opted for the A5 Wagyu supplement (which was my second favorite course after the oysters and pearls) and my wife had the Mac and cheese supplement which she thought was her favorite. I loved the oysters and pearls because it was so cool to finally try such a famous dish. The variation in temperature between the sabayon, caviar, and tapioca was very interesting. The butter poached oysters were incredibly tender. I did the wine pairing and my wife just had an extra glass of the plinth sauv blanc. All of the wines were extraordinary and the staff topped off my glass several times between courses. The Kenzo Rindo which we enjoyed a FULL HALF BOTTLE of with our wagyu course was insanely good. The menu lists it for $250 and the pairing costing ~$350 so a no brainer IMO. There isn’t a listed pairing and the somm will happily tailor the pairing based on your price point and preferences. They usually recommend the pairing start around the price of the food menu. All of the dishes were phenomenal, I can’t really point out a weak spot in terms of flavor or plaiting. We were so full after the desserts but enjoyed all of them. I would do the entire menu again tomorrow if I could. Absolutely incredible experience. 1,000,000/10
by fastspanish
12 Comments
People love to say shit like “I was there when it was good” sadly. Glad you had a great experience!
Oysters and Pearls seriously looks more gorgeous every time I see it. Absolute bucket list dish, at a bucket list restaurant. Glad to hear you had a phenomenal experience, and got to check those big ones off!
Love TFL, it is my favorite dinner of all time and quite an adventure to get a reservation. Congrats and happy bday.
Looks like a total vibe glad you enjoyed!!
It’s the Olive Garden of Michelin star dining!
Looks wonderful, thanks for sharing
It looks amazing. I really appreciate your thorough write up and photos!
We loved the oysters and pearl dish so much that my husband recreated it at home for one of our Thanksgiving courses. He just used TFL cookbook and sourced a similar caviar. It was awesome and great that it can be done at home. We also found similar serving vessels. That helped too.
Edit to add: happy belated birthday! 🎉
TFL isn’t about innovation anymore. They are about legacy. Salmon Cornets and Oysters and Pearls in your first 2 pictures, those are legendary.
What Thomas Keller and team do is put up an exactly perfect experience every night for the past 30yrs. They are in my opinion simply the best. When I go there I know exactly what I am going to get. It’s like buying a Big Mac. Q
I don’t want new. I want oysters and pearls. In fact if I could get 12 courses of just oysters and pearls I would. Their menu is legacy. Their service is legendary. Sometimes consistency is the win.
🥇 🏅 🏆 TFL 🏆 🏅 🥇
Fun fact: when they bring those chocolates out at the end, you can take as many as you want and they don’t care.
Kenzo has some good shit 🍷
These fonts are classy