Ever since we learned in April that the replacement for longtime Hayes Valley neighborhood favorite Bar Jules would be a new casual spot from chef Dominique Crenn, called Petit Crenn, I've been eager to know more about what to expect. Today we get some further details from Eater, about the menu; the innovative, all-day, European neighborhood-spot format with a family-style prix fixe at night; and the opening timeframe, which will be "early August."
Crenn says she's looking to make of the small restaurant something a little different than was there before, and more like "a big dinner party" with more family-style service and casual food than the dinner-party-esque format of Lazy Bear. But like Lazy Bear, there will be just two seatings every night, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Everyone will pass dishes around the room, helping themselves, with cooks delivering the food themselves. The menu will change daily, and will be a hearty five-course affair.
Also, this is going to be an all-day restaurant, with French pastries and egg dishes served starting at 7 a.m., salads and tartines in the afternoon until 4, and there will be an a la carte bar menu for walk-ins starting at 5:30 p.m. featuring oysters and a few other items.
The dinner menu, directed by Crenn and executed by executive sous chef Aaron Thayer, will make wood-oven-roasted fish and vegetables the star, which Crenn says is "an homage to the cooking of my mother and grandmother, really." (Crenn's family comes from Normandy.)
She's brought in former Dry Creek Kitchen wine person Courtney Humiston to direct the wine program, which will lean in a French direction and feature a big selection of rosés and Champagnes.
Get excited!