LORD STANLEY >

From a distance, Lord Stanley could look like your run-of-the-mill New California cuisine outpost: There’s a scallop appetizer, steak tartare, a fancy mushroom preparation. But in the hands of chef-owners Rupert and Carrie Blease, these modern San Francisco staples become quirky. Seedstudded tuilles might form the foundation for a deconstructed tart that accompanies a duck breast, their crunchy texture and earthy flavors amplifying the fat-bordered segment of meat. The richness of a salt cod beignet is countered by a spicy, creamy kimchi dip. For dessert, Carrie Blease might fill a tart crust with pungent blue cheese, pickles and black olives. It can get weird — and it takes chefs like these to pull it off. The other cool thing: Lord Stanley doesn’t always advertise it, but it has what is probably San Francisco’s most uncompromising natural wine program. Wine director Louisa Smith insists on serving only wines made from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, made without additives, including yeast, and with minimal (or preferably zero) added sulfur.

Favorite detail: Lord Stanley is bringing back the sparkling-wine coupe. While these days many sommeliers turn up their noses at these shallow, wide-mouthed glasses (and don’t even get the somms started on flutes), this restaurant has sourced a collection of beautiful vintage coupe glasses, no two the same.

Order: The eight-course tasting menu ($105; add $75 for the beverage pairing) is almost entirely different from the a la carte selections, and sometimes omits a couple of the Lord Stanley classics, like the translucent orbs of onion petals filled with Sherry vinegar soubise ($5) and the crispy grilled hen-of-the-woods mushrooms swimming in a creamy, nutty dip ($7).

2065 Polk St., San Francisco. 415-872-5512 or www.lordstanleysf.com. Dinner Tues.-Sat., plus the last Sunday of every month. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

— E.M.