Elite Traveler May-June 2017

INSPIRE TOP 100 RESTAURANTS

Quince San Francisco, US Head Chef: Michael Tusk

94 Sat Bains Nottingham, UK Head Chef: Sat Bains Contact info@ restaurantsatbains.net, +44 115 986 6566 restaurantsatbains.com New Entry « 95 Quince San Francisco, US Head Chef: Michael Tusk Contact info@quincerestaurant. com, +1 415 775 8500 quincerestaurant.com New Entry « 96 Joël Robuchon Las Vegas, US Head Chef: Christophe De Lellis Contact +1 702 891 7925 mgmgrand.com/en/ restaurants/joel-robuchon- french-restaurant.html 2016/94 ▼ 97 Sepia Sydney, Australia Head Chef: Martin Benn Contact info@sepiarestaurant. com.au, +61 292 831 990 sepiarestaurant.com.au 2016/99 ▲ 98 Kohaku Tokyo, Japan Head Chef: Koji Koizumi Contact +81 352 250 807 2016/100 ▲ 99 Spondi Athens, Greece Head Chef: Angelos Landos Contact +30 210 756 4021 spondi.gr/spondi 2016/98 ▼ Athens, Greece Head Chefs: Georgianna Hiliadaki, Nikos Roussos Contact info@funkygourmet. com, +30 210 524 2727 funkygourmet.com 2016/83 ▼ Funky Gourmet

88 Cosme New York, US

Head Chef: Enrique Olvera Contact Hernan Martinez, general manager, info@

cosmenyc.com, +1 212 913 9659 cosmenyc.com

2016/71 ▼ 89 Mélisse Los Angeles, US Head Chef: Josiah Citrin Contact general manager, james@melisse.com, +1 310 395 0881

melisse.com 2016/84 ▼ 90 ABaC Restaurant Barcelona, Spain Head Chef: Jordi Cruz Contact info@abacbarcelona. com, +34 933 196 600 abacbarcelona.com 2016/86 ▼ 91 Marea New York, US Head Chef: Michael White Contact Sean Smith, general manager, info@marea-nyc.com, Head Chef: Kwong Wai Keung Contact tlhkg.tang.court@ langhamhotels.com, +852 2132 7898 langhamhotels.com 2016/88 ▼ 93 Caprice Hong Kong, China Contact Jeremy Evrard, restaurant manager, caprice. hkg@fourseasons.com, +852 3196 8860 fourseasons.com/hongkong 2016/93 +1 212 582 5100 marea-nyc.com 2016/87 ▼ 92 T’ang Court Hong Kong, China

10 MINUTES WITH Michael Tusk

Clockwise from left: Michael Tusk; Quince's caviar; beautifully presented squab

and 30 different types of tomatoes! It was just a revelation to a young aspiring chef. It was hard to go back to having less with so much here to offer. What trends do you see emerging within the fine dining world, particularly within San Francisco? There are a lot of pop-ups merging into full service restaurants. It’s hard to get open and stay open in a fairly tough marketplace, so finding their own way to do that is very impressive. You recently opened an Italian restaurant, Cotogna, adjacent to Quince. Do you plan on opening another? We do! We have another project that will be a little more casual than Cotogna. It’ll be different to what we already have, including different sources of vegetables and dairy products that are on the menu right now. We’ll feature some of our art and photography collection. What are your plans for this year? I’mworking on a book for 2017, and we’re always fine tuning the restaurant, be it design changes or

Michael Tusk’s culinary career has gone from strength to strength. The chef and owner of San Francisco’s Quince is featured in our list for the very first time. Congratulations on being named within the Elite Traveler Top 100 Restaurants. How does it feel? It feels great! At the end of the day, our guests are the most important thing. It means a lot to be recognized in this way. What was the last place you visited? How did it inspire you? The last place I visited was Tokyo in November for a Relais & Châteaux conference. That’s always a very inspirational place, certainly for anyone who loves to not only cook but to dine. Their presentations are sophisticated but very simple, so I try to take that back with me. You’ve contributed to some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s greatest successes. What drew you to theWest Coast? Coming from the East Coast, I was suddenly able to try different foods I hadn’t seen earlier in my career. There were four different types of turnips

adding new chairs. By Zahra Al-Kateb

Photos Aya Brackett