Grub Street broke the news in June about the new seasonally driven restaurant AQ coming to a formerly non-restaurant space near 7th and Mission, but details at the time were scarce and there was not yet a chef on board. The Scoop now finds that first-time owner Matt Semmelhack has brought on chef-partner Mark Liberman, who was formerly chef de cuisine at La Folie and has previously worked with Daniel Boulud and Joel Robuchon, notably as a participant on the American team in the 2010 Bocuse d’Or competition. The name of the restaurant, AQ, is a reference to the abbreviation often seen on menus related to seasonally or daily changing item prices for things like seafood. But Liberman assures us this won’t be your standard farm-to-table thing, but it will be affordable, innovative California cuisine.
We’re thinking they may be looking at Commonwealth as a model, and kudos to them if they can pull it off. Looking at the draft menu below, especially the entrées (priced at $24 across the board), they could be well on their way to doing some similar magic in what’s otherwise a dining wasteland in SoMa.
Liberman says they’re aiming for an early October opening, but given all the unknowns here we’re going to put this somewhere more like November. See the sample menu for autumn below.
Mark Liberman discusses AQ Restaurant & Bar, due this fall on Mission [Scoop]
Earlier: Coming Soon to 7th & Mission: AQ Restaurant [Grub Street]
