When I arrived for a recent early dinner reservation at Marlena, a Nirvana song was playing over the speakers. I immediately felt at ease. 

The restaurant is housed at the base of a 100-year-old Victorian building, although its interior is all modern with cool tones, a curved kitchen counter and black-and-white art. But with sunlight streaming through the windows and dogs playing at Precita Park across the street, the vibe is warm and casual. 

Marlena opened in the summer of 2020, the brainchild of fine dining power couple chef David Fisher and pastry chef Serena Chow. They met working at Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City before both landing at Bird Dog in Palo Alto.

The couple debuted Marlena with the goal of creating an approachable fine dining restaurant — their starting menu was just $40 for a three-course prix fixe. It paid off: In September 2021, they earned their first Michelin star, and Chow was named Best Pastry Chef in America by Esquire Magazine that same winter. 

Marlena may be several degrees cheaper than many of San Francisco’s other Michelin-starred restaurants, but the service is certainly on par. It’s the kind of attentiveness I’ve only ever seen at restaurants like Californios, which has 2 Michelin stars: fresh plates and silverware in between each course, your napkin neatly folded on the table for you the second you get up to use the restroom, not to mention very friendly and knowledgeable servers. 

Now to the menu. On my visit, the tasting menu was bursting with spring, all tender green asparagus and blushing strawberries. For $75, you get to choose between two dishes for each of the four courses, with supplemental courses such as roasted lamb loin available for an additional cost. 

But in my opinion, you need to add only one thing: the Marlena milk bread with cultured butter for an additional $2.50 per person. The little buns are lightly sweet and pillowy, sprinkled with flaky salt and served with a quenelle of butter so decadent I could have eaten it on its own. Our bread was even replenished once for no additional cost. 

If you’re going to Marlena with a guest, the pro move here is to order a different option for each course and then share so you get to try everything.

I was a fan of both starters: the farro verde, its toothsome grains served with sliced asparagus and chives and smothered in a surprisingly light ramps hollandaise; and the Hokkaido scallops, served raw with a chilled Coachella corn sauce, jalapeño granita and sea grapes. 

The farro verde with California green asparagus, chives and ramps hollandaise; the Hokkaido scallops with chilled Coachella corn, jalapeño granita and sea grapes. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)
The farro verde with California green asparagus, chives and ramps hollandaise; the Hokkaido scallops with chilled Coachella corn, jalapeño granita and sea grapes. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)

While the farro was more of a savory crowd-pleaser, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the unexpected combination of textures and temperatures in the slippery, oceany scallops paired with the cool sweet corn and the icy jalapeño.

Next up was the pasta course. The Provençal white asparagus risotto with green strawberry, sunflower sprout and nasturtium felt a little repetitive after the farro asparagus starter, although the addition of strawberries was a welcome twist. I preferred the more deeply flavored charcoal cavatelli, with little hot dog bun-shaped pasta pieces swimming in a smoky burrata sauce with apricot and spring onion.

Some people might be fed up with seeing burrata on restaurant menus, but I can never get enough — especially when pasta is involved. 

Then came the main course. I can’t speak for the grilled sakura pork collar with creamed fava leaf, fava bean and potato terrine (I’m pescetarian), but my dinner companion reported that the meat was perfectly cooked. I had the seared black cod, served with artichoke, tarragon and an English pea sauce. When I tell you I could not stop eating this pea sauce, I really mean it. 

The cod was immaculately cooked, crispy on top and moist inside, but the pea sauce was on another level. I probably would have licked the plate clean if we weren’t at a Michelin-starred establishment. 

Seared black cod with artichoke barigoule, tarragon and English pea; grilled sakura pork collar with creamed fava leaf, fava bean and potato terrine. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)
Seared black cod with artichoke barigoule, tarragon and English pea; grilled sakura pork collar with creamed fava leaf, fava bean and potato terrine. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)

Finally, it was time for dessert. This was the most beautifully plated course of the bunch, particularly the colorful early-season Glenn cherry. A sort of deconstructed cake, it featured chunks of zingy sour cream lemon sponge, a buttery pistachio crumble, fresh ume and, of course, tart cherry halves. 

The other dessert was the chocolate rye with a similarly artful presentation: a mound of devil’s food cake, seeded rye shortbread crumble to add textural contrast and fresh blackberries to cut through the sweetness, topped with dollops of whipped cream and a squiggle of chocolate frosting. 

Both were fantastic displays of Chow’s award-winning pastry skills. It really just depends if you’re more of a chocolate dessert or a fruit dessert person, which are categories I firmly believe exist (if you must know, I’m fruit). 

The entire meal clocked in at under two hours and left me pleasantly full. With the addition of the milk bread and a glass of wine each, plus sales tax, an included 20% gratuity and an SF mandate surcharge, it cost $251.20, or about $120 per person. If we’d skipped the wine and the bread, the cost per person would have barely topped $100. 

(Top left clockwise) The kitchen staff at Marlena; chocolate rye, with devil’s food cake, seeded rye shortbread and blackberry; the interior dining area at Marlena; early-season Glenn cherry with sour cream lemon sponge, pistachio crumble and fresh ume. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)
(Top left clockwise) The kitchen staff at Marlena; chocolate rye, with devil’s food cake, seeded rye shortbread and blackberry; the interior dining area at Marlena; early-season Glenn cherry with sour cream lemon sponge, pistachio crumble and fresh ume. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)

While Marlena did not serve the most astounding fine dining meal I’ve ever had in San Francisco, the courses were still fresh, delicious and elegant. I’d go back in a heartbeat — not just for a casual Tuesday but even for a special birthday dinner. And at a fraction of the price (and the time commitment) of other Michelin-starred tasting menus, it tasted even better. 

It’s no $6.50 pork chop lunch, but for the accessible taste of luxury it provides, rest assured: Marlena is a steal. 

Marlena, 300 Precita Ave, San Francisco. Open Monday through Thursday 5:30-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5-10 p.m., and Sunday 5-9 p.m.