Chef Robin Song’s new restaurant, Gibson, opens this week in Hotel Bijou, a boutique hotel at 111 Mason St., just steps from the Powell Street BART station.
As we previously reported, the restaurant is focused on “live fire cooking,” with charcoal-grilled sourdough bread a staple of the menu. The bread is offered with an assortment of spreads and, like much of the rest of the menu, is intended for sharing.
Song—most recently the chef-de-cuisine at Hog and Rocks in the Mission—is working with many local and sustainable food suppliers, including San Francisco-based, woman-owned The Caviar Company.
Gibson will also serve several larger plates, ranging from $12-$18 for vegetarian and fish dishes to $19-$24 for meat offerings. A ribeye for two or more to share is $75, and diners can also choose a selection of today’s menu for $85 and add a wine pairing for $65.
The restaurant’s name is in part an homage to cartoonist Charles Dana Gibson, whose famous drawings of "the Gibson Girl" epitomized the concepts of beauty at the start of the 20th century.
It also refers to a classic cocktail: a dry martini served with cocktail onions, instead of olives. According to local legend, Walter D. K. Gibson reportedly created the drink at the Bohemian Club, just a few blocks up the hill at Post and Taylor streets, in 1898.
The new restaurant’s beverage director, Adam Chapman, is also a professionally trained chef who previously designed bar menus for high-end restaurants with the Daniel Patterson Group and Chez Papa Resto.
Chapman and Song collaborated on the drinks, which include many housemade ingredients that compliment the food menu.
One part of the cocktail menu is named for Gibson illustrations, including the soubrette (sherry, sweet vermouth, floral digestif and fermented cider) and "a profound regard" (bitter berry tequila, sweet vermouth, herbal digestif and blood orange oil).
Before opening day, the new restaurant is still hiring for positions, including line cooks.
Gibson will open October 5th and serve dinner from 5:30pm to 10:30pm daily.
