HEIRLOOM >

When you’re at Heirloom Cafe, you feel as if you were in the home of Matt Straus, the ownerchef-wine director of this Mission District den. That’s not only because of the yellow wallpaper, dim chandeliers and bare-bones, open kitchen. Nor is it only because of the homey, nourishing fare: for example, fettuccine with chanterelles ($23) and bacon and onion tart ($13). It’s also because you’re drinking from Straus’ personal wine cellar, a collection of wines he amassed over decades before opening Heirloom.

Who is this restaurant for? Ostensibly everyone, in the sense that it serves well-made food in a familiar California register with comfortable, unfussy service. But secretly, Heirloom is really for wine geeks eager to raid Straus’ cellar — especially those who want to drink properly aged older vintages, which are becoming harder to find on the shorter wine lists in vogue at many new restaurants.

Pro tip: Get on Straus’ email list. He’ll often alert restaurant regulars to special, informal lunches or dinners he’s spontaneously throwing on nights the restaurant is closed.

Order: Mussels in sherry broth ($15), bacon and onion tart ($13), black cod with couscous ($33). Or opt for the three-course prix fixe with wine pairings ($85). Wise diners will order a bottle of wine, perhaps from one of the wineries that Straus has developed a particular affinity for, like Paolo Bea, Luigi Ferrando, Clos Saron, Jacques Puffeney or Philippe Foreau.

2500 Folsom St., San Francisco. 415-821-2500 or www.heirloom-sf.com. Dinner Tues.-Sat. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

— E.M.