The other night, I dined on oysters and black truffle in a dimly lit dining room, leisurely making my way through a two-Michelin-starred tasting menu. For an experience like this in San Francisco, you’d normally expect to pay an exorbitant amount of money.

But at Saison, you can indulge in a five-course bar experience for $78 per person. 

It was, of course, my first time dining at the highly acclaimed China Basin restaurant. With a starting price of $328 per person, Saison’s typical prix fixe is one of the most expensive menus in the city. But since launching the bar experience last year, it’s opened up one of San Francisco’s fanciest dining rooms to people like me who love to cosplay as bougie but actually shudder when a restaurant bill exceeds $100. 

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Interior views of Saison in San Francisco’s China Basin neighborhood on Jan. 21, 2025.

From the moment the host offered to take my coat, I knew I was in for a luxurious evening. I was also thrilled to be offered a purse hook to stash my bag comfortably at the edge of the six-seat bar. Once I was sitting down, I swiveled my head around to peek at the open kitchen adorned with bundles of hanging flowers and herbs and the taxidermied deer head mounted on the brick wall. My view straight ahead was pretty great, too: I had a front row seat to all the gorgeous craft cocktails being made at the bar (drinks, however, are not included in the price of the bar menu). 

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