#tasting-menus

#tasting-menus

The tasting menu format has gone in and out of fashion at different times in our recent food culture, but it is very much alive and well around San Francisco in 2025. Restaurants where your only option is a single, often fairly expensive fixed-price tasting menu remain somewhat prevalent around the Bay Area, where there are plenty of well-off people who seek out such experiences for more than just special occasions.

"The personality you see on Instagram, in confirmation emails, in the food, and the dining room is all the same. I'm a human, you're a human, and let's communicate like that. I mean it's not too long before the robots take over."

At Marlena, hyper-local ingredients dictate a frequently changing four-course menu that impresses without the pretension typical of fine dining.