Quince

Quince is what happens when a chef’s love of Italy collides head-on with the produce of Northern California. Chef Michael Tusk and his wife Lindsay opened it in 2003 and settled it into a handsome 1907 brick-and-timber building in 2009, and a good chunk of the menu rolls in from their own farm up the coast in Bolinas. The pasta is the part to get excited about — delicate agnolotti, folded by hand, changing with the season — backed by a caviar list that means business. Three Michelin stars and a 2026 James Beard award for Outstanding Chef later, the smartest move is simple: show up hungry and let the tasting menu wander.