On our last date night, Dave and I headed westward to Outerlands, the nearly seven year old critic darling out in the Outer Sunset. It was one of the most relaxing, delicious meals we’ve had in San Francisco.
Originally envisioned as a coastal soup restaurant by a woman who handed food out to surfers from her cottage window, Outerlands has grown to an epicurean wonderland of rustic, flavorful food. If you also haven’t been there yet, I’d highly recommend it for your next splurge meal. This would also be ideal for travelers to San Francisco seeking a different, more intimate side of the city. An evening here would be a taste of pure San Francisco.
The Outer Sunset has seen a bit of a hipster resurgence in the past few years. Shops have popped up selling geometric necklaces and asymmetric pottery. Judah has maintained its easygoing vibe, regardless, and one of the joys of eating at Outerlands is the chance to take a little stroll around the quiet, sleepy streets before dinner and maybe even take in an Ocean Beach sunset if the timing is right.
Inside, the restaurant is an undulating wave of reclaimed wood. The wood travels across the ceiling in crests and troughs, down the walls, meeting up with the floors. Tables cantilever out of the walls, with seating around the periphery. The heart of the restaurant is given over to the chefs and bartenders — literally, the center is a flurry of chef’s coats, fire, and light glinting off all the glass. It is a warming, moody respite from the sun (or fog) and sea outside.
Outerlands often gets branded as the antynomic “urban rustic,” but that nearly precisely describes the vibe and the food. As Dave and I plowed through our courses, we remarked that Outerlands makes you feel like you’re in Sonoma, close to farms and soil, fresh air and quiet, and of course, world class sultry wines. (Or, as Dave more accurately noted, Outerlands is what you wish every restaurant in Sonoma was like.)
My first course — smoked salmon, potatoes, apples — seemed like it might be boring and when it arrived, it did indeed look like a pile of food heaped in a bowl. But, the incredibly smoky, tangy mustard laying underneath made the dish come alive. A rustic-looking dish with a very modern, flavorful sensibility.
Each subsequent course went the same. The house-made bread was airy and elastic with a thick, blackened bitter crust, deliciously paired with goat gouda and candied walnuts. By the time dessert came around, I had misgivings about pairing butterscotch pudding with gingerbread and persimmon, but I shouldn’t have. The sweet salty buttery flavors complimented the spicy cake beautifully.
A woman waiting in line for the restroom paused for a moment before gasping, “So, what did you order? Wasn’t it FANTASTIC?” We had both ordered the trout. We spent the next several minutes sighing dramatically about how good everything was. This doesn’t happen in most restaurants, but Outerlands is the kind of place that breaks away the city pretension and serves up tasty food that you can’t help gush over with strangers standing in line for the restroom.
After dinner, we took a quiet stroll through the Outer Sunset’s fog-immersed, empty streets and peeked in on Ocean Beach to be enveloped in the absolute black of the Pacific, bright stars suddenly apparent above our heads. We looked back at the city glowing orange behind us, picked out a few constellations, and walked back through the cold sand hand-in-hand to call a cab.
———————————————————————————————————————————
Judah Street and 45th Avenue
(415) 661-6140
Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch
