Co-Owners Emily Summers and Chef Adam Hornbeck opened Radish in the Mission a little more than two years ago. With a name like Radish one would expect them to be focused on healthy organic fare, maybe even vegetarian. Radish does focus on seasonal locally sourced organic ingredients; however, the food leans Southern, which makes sense since Chef Hornbeck is from Tennessee.
Apart from the color of the restaurant interior, which runs more crimson, no radishes are actually featured on the menu, other than as thin slices on a salad. But the real draw here is that most of their items are made from scratch in-house, including sauces and condiments, along with some amazing baked products such as breads and cakes (with the exception of gluten-free bread). It’s become a regular spot for the occasional dinner and for weekend brunches, where they pour very popular bottomless mimosas.
The reasonably priced wine list is fairly small but well curated, with most of the wines available by the glass. We almost always order the Evohé Garnacha Viñas Viejas from Spain, made with 100% Grenache grapes. Deep red in color, it has an intense berry-like nose with mild tannins and just enough acidity to pair with our meal:
Available as an order of three or four, the Shrimp Corndogs with Honey Mustard is a great starter. With more minced shrimp meat than corn batter, these corndogs beat the traditional version any day:
The Fried Chicken dinner used to be featured as a special item, but it has thankfully made its way onto the permanent menu. The excellent half chicken comes in a huge Southern-style portion accompanied with a small green salad with sliced radishes, a delicious house-baked flaky biscuit and tasty fries (we subbed for the mashed potatoes):
The Braised Pork Shoulder, sweetened with a diced apple gastrique, was accompanied by a creamy bacon cheddar polenta (grits), sautéed kale and another one of the excellent flaky biscuits. The tender pork easily pulled apart with no knife needed:
The dinner portions were so large that we ended up taking home some leftovers. We were also too full to eat dessert, but we had seen someone else down the counter order the carrot cake, so we ordered one to go and we were not sorry. This might be one of the better carrot cakes we have ever had — the cream cheese frosting had just the right amount of sweetness:
We return for brunch quite often, so here is the view of the fewer than 30-seat restaurant:
To make sure that we are functional for the rest of the day, we always stay away from the bottomless Mimosas and opt for glasses (or sometimes the bottle) of a crisp French Sauvignon Blanc instead:
Fried Oysters can be ordered as a Po ‘Boy sandwich or as a scramble. Three crispy plump and briny cornmeal crusted oysters come with the gravy-topped eggs, accompanied by tasty twice-cooked potato hash and a biscuit:
The Shrimp Po’ Boy is served on a soft baguette with plenty of cormmeal crusted shrimp and fried tasso ham bits, dressed with pickled carrot, romaine lettuce and garlic aioli. It normally comes with a side of vegetable chips, but French Fries are available for a slight up-charge:
We like their biscuits so much that on weekends we like to get the Biscuits and Gravy. The house-made flaky biscuit is stuffed with pork sausage patties and smothered with comforting white gravy. Not sure why they serve it in a small bowl, since it’s much easier to eat on a plate. Just to make it a bit healthier and cut down on the richness, a mixed-green side salad is also served. To make it a complete breakfast meal, we ordered a side of two perfectly poached eggs to eat with our sausage and biscuits:
As has become our custom, we always get one of those delectable carrot cake slices to go:
Radish is a restaurant that tends to fall under the radar as a dinner destination since it is much more popular as a brunch spot. The wait for brunch requires a little patience and can go anywhere from 30 minutes to more than an hour. We’ve never had to wait for dinner since they offer reservations, and the bar counter always seems to have openings. It’s a great place for Southern-inspired food, reasonably priced, with huge portions. Oh, and it’s an excellent place for carrot cake.
BarFlySF 