Accolades

Bauer Upgrades Benu to Four Stars

The dining room at Benu.
The dining room at Benu. Photo: Brian Smeets/Grub Street

A year after he first reviewed Benu and gave it three and a half stars, and four months after it earned two stars from Michelin, Michael Bauer returns to the restaurant to give his updated thoughts. He writes that in the last year, chef Corey Lee has “sharpened his point of view, and the Asian side of the menu emerges even more strongly.” He cites a number of dishes that wowed him, and says overall that each dish contained some “breathtaking twist.”

He especially loves, as many people have, Lee’s foie-gras soup dumplings, which he calls a “rousing success” and “exciting.” Furthermore, he says that Lee uses modern techniques “in all the right ways — they surprise but never distract from other elements.”

His only criticism is that the ultra-minimal interior “hasn’t worn all that well” in its first eighteen months, and you can already notice scuffs and wear patterns in the carpet. But nevertheless, it’s a four-star rave, making Benu the eighth Bay Area restaurant to join Bauer’s four-star club. (If you need a refresher, here’s the full roster.)

Benu, chef-owner Corey Lee rise to four-star level [Chron]
Earlier: Fourteen More Awesome New Desserts: The Best of the Rest in San Francisco
Benu’s Corey Lee Responds to the Journal’s Compliments, and David Chang’s
Benu, Not Surprisingly, Earns Three and a Half Stars from Bauer

Bauer Upgrades Benu to Four Stars