Single Thread Joins Upper Echelon of Bay Area Fine Dining Price Tags

Single Thread, the premium farm-inn-restaurant destination from Kyle and Katina Connaughton, has now released its highly sought after tickets via reservation service Tock for December through February 2017. Reservations, which must be fully paid for in advance, are clocking in at $294 per person, thrusting the restaurant immediately into the ranks of The French Laundry, Benu, and Atelier Crenn. (See infographic below for full comparison of Bay Area fine dining prices.)

The price does not include beverages, options for which include a non-alcoholic pairing for $71.78 per person, a wine pairing for $202.28 per person, or the reserve pairing for $384.98 per person. (Drinkers who aren’t interested in committing ahead of time can opt to speak to the sommelier upon arrival about drink choices.) The price does, however, include service and tip.

Recently, SF Chronicle critic Michael Bauer questioned the skyrocketing fine dining prices of Bay Area restaurants; however, his pushback wasn’t focused on the general pricing, but when a restaurant earns the right to charge certain prices. Some, like SF’s Mosu and Hashiri, opened with astronomical prices that weren’t befitting of their station or menus, in Bauer’s opinion. Meanwhile, Single Thread’s high-end price tag requires a trip to Sonoma, but does not include a night at the inn. (Rates can be found here, and range from $800 to $1,350 per night, depending on the season and room.) It’s worth noting that this will likely be as cheap as the restaurant will ever be; historically, tasting menus have a way of creeping up as the accolades roll in.

The restaurant will open mid-November, boasting an all-star team of cooks, sommeliers, and other industry professionals, and serving a menu of dishes influenced by chef Kyle Connaughton’s travels in Japan and around the world, with produce grown on the property. Given the pedigree of everyone involved, as well as the extremely rarefied location, it might just be worth it.

• When Can a Restaurant Raise Its Prices? [ESF]
• Single Thread [Official Site]
• Single Thread Reservations [Tock]