Who’s behind it: After years of research and development, sommeliers Daniel Jung and Jason Jacobeit opened their first restaurant this week, an hour south of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley. Café Vivant in Menlo Park, Calif., backed by a 3,000-bottle wine list, complements the second location of their wine retailer, Somm Cellars Wine & Spirits, which debuted over the summer. (The first location opened in New York City in 2021.)
Jung and Jacobeit first met each other working the floor at the beloved wine destination and Wine Spectator Grand Award–winnner Tribeca Grill, which shuttered earlier this year. Rather than open a combination wine retailer and wine bar, the two opted for a full-service restaurant because they felt it’s what Menlo Park really needed. “There’s this incredibly charming and intimate community feel to this particular stretch of Menlo Park. We continued to hear the voices of our friends who said, ‘We would love to have a great place to eat closer than Palo Alto,’” Jung told Wine Spectator in an interview.
“Daniel and I spent our careers in Grand Award restaurants … we were never really in any restaurants other than the most ambitious restaurants,” continued Jacobeit. “I think, subconsciously, we were really trying to recreate the kind of environment that we were used to working in for all those years.”
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/restaurant-news-cafe-vivant-menlo-park-daniel-jung-jason-jacobeit-103025_1600.jpg] [credit= (Jim Sullivan)] [alt= Daniel Jung and Jason Jacobeit opened their first Somm Cellars location in 2021][end: article-img-container]
When it opened: Oct. 28
The menu: The headliner on the Café Vivant menu is a simple, yet complicated one: Heritage chicken. Jung and Jacobeit spent years researching heritage chicken breeds, hoping to replicate the experience of eating poulet rôtie in simple brasseries across France, particularly Burgundy.
“The genesis of this concept was us sitting at [Grand Award winner] le Bistro de L’Hôtel in Beaune and basically saying, ‘Why does this chicken not exist in the United States?’” says Jacobeit. “It’s what we want to eat every time we come here. It works great with white and red wines. Everything about this is perfect, but it doesn’t exist.”
Part of what makes European chickens so appealing is the appreciation of lineage. Quickly, Jung and Jacobeit found that traditional sourcing methods from the U.S. poultry industry wouldn’t enable them to support these breeds at scale. They needed to open their own farm. “Daniel and I had lunch about two years ago, and we said, ‘This concept is going to die on the table if we can’t figure out how to produce the birds ourselves,’” says Jacobeit.
The two found a local farmer, who specialized in game, to take on this project and help raise the chickens. The 80-acre regenerative farm not only pasture-raises two distinct heritage breeds of chickens, but also guinea fowl, pigs, sheep and rabbits in an effort to sustain a closed-loop ecosystem. To make the most of this effort, Jung and Jacobeit enlisted beloved Chicago chef Jared Wentworth, previously executive chef for the Dining Room at Moody Tongue.
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/restaurant-news-cafe-vivant-menlo-park-lounge-103025_1600.jpg] [credit= (Vivian Johnson)] [alt= The interior of Café Vivant in Menlo Park, California][end: article-img-container]
Under Wentworth and his partner and chef de cuisine, Emily Philips, the bounty of the Café Vivant farm is fashioned into decadent, wine-friendly bites such as crispy fried buttermilk-brined quail, rabbit pâté paired with Chicago-style giardiniera and duck with confit pavé potatoes and chestnuts. The star of the show is chicken for two ($48–$64 per person), served with foraged mushrooms, roasted vegetables from the farm and a lemon thyme jus. (Not in the mood for a whole bird? Their heritage chicken also comes as chicken nuggets.)
What’s on the wine list? Straight out of the gate, Jung and Jacobeit created an incredibly ambitious cellar—offering over 3,000 different selections. The bulk of their collection is made up of wines from California, with over 700 selections dating from before the 2020 vintage. This includes over 120 bottlings from Ridge Vineyards (including many from the 1970s and a 1968 Monte Bello), a vertical of Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve spanning the 1950s to the ’80s and a vertical of Opus One dating back to 1979, its first vintage.
The cellar also pays attention to wines from the area surrounding Café Vivant; Jung and Jacobeit claim to have built the most comprehensive collection of Santa Cruz Mountain AVA bottlings. Outside of California, the cellar is filled with options from across France, with landmark producers from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhône.
Tribeca Grill was a guiding light for Jung and Jacobeit, who want to meet the guests where they’re at, with multiple aged selections at affordable prices. “What makes a great program is not the number of offerings, but that people can actually order wine from the list,” says Jung. “I really love the philosophy of Tribeca Grill. [Longtime wine director] David Gordon was saying, ‘Let’s make this thing affordable, so that many people—not just billionaires or millionaires—can open these beautiful wines, but we still can make reasonable money.”
“The great thing about Tribeca Grill was that the restaurant built its reputation entirely on the basis of its wine program,” Jacobeit continued. “The food was solid, the burger was great. But the program was able to really lead the day. I met all of the wine people that I now know at Tribeca Grill because they wanted to drink off the list. Rather than starting with financial benchmarks, we really started with that very, almost- childlike question of: ‘What would we want this page to look like if we sat down here together?’”
The design: Café Vivant is located next to the West Coast location of Somm Cellars, which debuted over the summer. The 5,000-square-foot interior was designed by Studio Banaa, with floor-to-ceiling wine storage decking the walls.—Julia Larson
Bourbon Steak Makes a Star-Studded Return to San Francisco
Who’s behind it: The saying “you can never go home again” doesn’t apply to Michael Mina. This month, the celebrated chef and restaurateur, who first made a name for himself in San Francisco, brought his Restaurant Award–winning Bourbon Steak concept back to its original location at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square, nearly a decade after it shuttered.
“It’s not often you get to revisit somewhere that has been so special to you and do something even more exciting,” Mina told Wine Spectator.
Adding to the excitement of Bourbon Steak’s return is Mina’s partnership with Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who is taking his first stab in the hospitality sector with the Eighth Rule—a reservation-only bar that sits outside the Bourbon Steak dining room, but is operated by the Mina Group.
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/restaurant-news-bourbon-steak-san-francisco-seafood-tower-103025_1600.jpg] [credit= (Michelle Min)] [alt= A seafood tower and glass of white wine from Bourbon Steak San Francisco][end: article-img-container]
“When Stephen started Gentlemen’s Cut [whiskey], I knew it would only be a matter of time before we would find an exciting way to work together,” said Mina, who had previously partnered with Curry’s wife, Ayesha, on the restaurant International Smoke. When the opportunity to return to the Westin St. Francis arose, he added, it just made sense to collaborate. “Stephen and I are both passionate about celebrating our city. We are excited to do this together. We both love bringing people together around food and drinks, and these two concepts were such a great way to bring it to life.”
This marks the eleventh Bourbon Steak, seven of which are Best of Award of Excellence winners. A twelfth Bourbon Steak is set to debut at The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, N.C., in 2026. Mina’s growing restaurant portfolio also features other Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners, including his namesake restaurant in Las Vegas and the multi-location Mediterranean concept Orla.
When it opened: Oct. 10
The menu: Bourbon Steak staples like Mina’s tuna tartare and lobster pot pie are on offer, as are butter-poached and grilled steaks. Tableside presentation remains a large part of the program. “We focus on the best ingredients, use techniques that celebrate and enhance flavors, and find ways to innovate,” said Mina.
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/restaurant-news-bourbon-steak-san-francisco-dining-room-103025_1600.jpg] [credit= (Michael Weber)] [alt= The interior of Bourbon Steak San Francisco.][end: article-img-container]
Given the restaurant‘s proximity to the Pacific Ocean, Mina is introducing an array of seafood offerings. “I’m so excited about our market fish cart. It’s a bit of a nod to Aqua, my first restaurant in San Francisco,” says Mina. “We have some of the best fish offerings here in the Bay, and our market fish selection will change frequently.”
Diners can expect an array of cold and hot shellfish and caviar bites, as well as a whole Dungeness crab served with fregola risotto and uni butter. “I’m also excited to share that we’ll have an ‘experience menu,’” said Mina, highlighting two exclusive nightly reservations for a six-person, large-format dining menu featuring seasonal dishes and tableside presentations. “Bourbon Steak San Francisco was built for celebrations, so we want to create different ways to enjoy it and for people to come together.”
What’s on the wine list? The impressive list opened with approximately 1,000 wines, including some old treasures that had been in the Westin St. Francis’s cellar since Bourbon Steak’s closure in 2016. “It’s been untouched—we essentially have 2,000 bottles, many of which were previously selected by Raj Parr, including Château Cheval Blanc from 1950 and 1955,” said Anthony Attanasio, director of beverage for the Mina Group. Mini verticals of Cabernet-based reds like Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 and Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, as well as Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1979 and Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1945, are among the riches inherited.
While the usual steak house hearty red wines and Champagnes are prevalent, Attanasio plans to adjust the menu as they discover their customers’ interests. “We have the privilege of carrying some luxurious bottles to match the identity of the restaurant,” he said, but he aims to provide a diverse list, with unique and accessible offerings on both the bottle list and the by-the-glass program of 30 pours.
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/restaurant-news-bourbon-steak-san-francisco-steak-103025_1600.jpg] [credit= (Michelle Min)] [alt= A tomahawk steak from Bourbon Steak in San Francisco][end: article-img-container]
As for the Eighth Rule, the 40-seat, reservation-only lounge offers a limited selection of spirits, primarily bourbon and whiskey. Guests can order cocktails, wine and beer à la carte or opt for the Gentlemen’s Cut cocktail tasting menu ($145), featuring over six “courses” of half-sized cocktails using Gentlemen’s Cut products. This includes a “mid-course” of Gentleman’s Cut bourbon, vanilla ice cream and fresh truffle, a reference to the traditional palate cleanser of granita. “It’s shaken to froth and poured over shaved ice, then served with a spoon and straw,” added Attanasio.
The design: Mina enlisted AvroKO, the design team behind Bourbon Steak New York, as well as Mina’s Orla restaurants in Las Vegas and Santa Monica. The 120-seat restaurant blends seamlessly with the architectural legacy and Beaux-Arts feel of the Westin St. Francis, built in 1904 and featuring marbled columns and molded ceilings. The luxe environs are grand and welcoming, with elegant emerald-green and brass accents and tropical touches inspired by the hotel’s early days. The Eighth Rule stands in contrast to the vibrant, ornate vibe of Bourbon Steak. The lounge is stylishly moody and suggestive of whiskey culture, with leather furnishings and brown and crimson hues.
“Every night is a party! That was the vibe before, and that is what we’ll be doing here again,” said Mina, noting that the restaurant will feature live music and events throughout the year. The restaurant also features a private dining room with flexible configurations that can seat parties of 24 to 48.—Aaron Romano
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