The Fifth Floor

124th Street
San Francisco, California
415.348.1555
fifthfloorrestaurant.com

The year 2008 brought major changes to one of San Francisco's shining stars with the arrival of Laurent Manrique, the culinary director who saw magical parallels between the Bay Area and his original home in France's southwest. With the blessing of owner Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Manrique refocused the cuisine with a rustic, Gascony flavor and re-imagined the décor, now a mélange of ocean blue, wine red and toasty beige. In spring of 2008, Emily Wines, wine director, was awarded the supreme distinction of Master Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Such expertise is backed up by Executive Chef Jennie Lorenzo, who uses the bounty of local ingredients to make dishes, like Entrecôte de Marichard paired with a Clos Cannon 2000, come alive.

The Stats
Number of selections: 1,400
Bottles in inventory: 10,000
Number of wines by the glass: 25
BYO: Yes. Corkage Fee: $35 for first two bottles; $65 thereafter
Wine list highlights: Emphasis on Burgundy, the Rhône, Bordeaux and Gascony. Substantial collection of California Pinot Noir. Deep verticals of Bordeaux dating back to the turn of the century. Hard-to-fine Gascon wines. White Burgundies from Dominique Lafon and Raveneau. A horizontal of Bordeaux from 1928 (Cantenac, Mouton, Lafite). Huge selection of white Burgundies from Domaine Leflaive.