LORD STANLEY

Rupert and Carrie Blease have created one of the most exciting small restaurants in the Bay Area, with a four-star food sensibility in a modest corner location. The exposed storefront windows overlook the busy corner of Broadway and Polk, but the white and gray color scheme ensures that the food is the focal point. The chef has a knack for reimagining simple ingredients on the 17-item menu. He places a slice of charred sweet potato on the plate with yogurt and a hefty dose of horseradish and adds black trumpet mushrooms and wide ribbons of fried sweet potatoes. Roasted lamb is brilliantly showcased with black olives, sea beans and an intense pool of pureed lemon. Ingredients are respected, but the imaginative preparations raise them to a new level. Carrie Blease creates among the best desserts in the city, such as rhubarb and elderflower tart, or dozens of crepes layered with candied citrus, sliced and placed in a cool pool of Chantilly cream.

Cuisine Northern Californian | Specialties Onion petals with sherry vinegar; charred sweet potato with horseradish; chicken liver parfait puffs; smoked and poached trout; roast suckling pig | Seats 40| Prices $26-$36; 7-course tasting menu $87 | Noise rating AAAA | Parking Street, difficult; Walgreens lot $10 after 5 p.m. Vitals 2065 Polk St., San Francisco. (415) 872-5512. www.lordstanleysf.com Dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Beer and wine. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Pan-fried cod at Lord Stanley, which has a four-star sensibility in a modest storefront.