Benu

Chef Corey Lee spent nine years with Chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry — eventually as head chef — before opening Benu in 2010, and in 2014 it became the first restaurant in San Francisco to hold three Michelin stars, making Chef Lee the first Korean chef anywhere to earn them. The fixed menu is his life's work: French technique carrying the Korean and Cantonese flavors he grew up around, heavy on seafood and vegetables, served in a spare, calm room. He's been known for years for a faux shark's-fin soup convincing enough to fool the experts, and for a thin-skinned soup dumpling that shifts with the seasons. Three Michelin stars held for over a decade, a James Beard award, and a place on the World's 50 Best since 2019. Book ahead — though they do keep a few tables for the spontaneous.