The Chef Behind This Long-Running Fine Dining Pop-Up Is Opening a Pac-Heights Restaurant

Diners have gotten acquainted with chef Mike Lanham’s post-modern American cuisine through his fine-dining pop-up Anomaly, which took up residency in spots like Serpentine, Stable Cafe, and Mansion on Sutter since 2018. Now, Lanham is preparing to welcome customers into a space of his own, with the December 14 opening of Anomaly in its new Lower Pac Heights home at 2600 Sutter Street.

Anomaly’s tasting menus offers 10 courses of seasonal ingredients transformed into artfully plated dishes incorporating dramatic elements like dry ice or foams. A favorite dish at Anomaly, for instance, is Lanham’s “egg snack” with puffed rice placed into an egg-shaped vessel, with a dashi foam piped on top and an egg yolk jam placed onto the center. Zucchini basil soup, a featured menu item during the summer, featured “Parmesan snow” — a dry ice mixture that sends whisps of vapor outward, creating a hot-and-cold juxtaposition of temperatures. As for drinks, wines, beers, ciders, and sakes will be available for pairing with the menu or by the glass, with the wine list featuring “a strong emphasis on California” and priced under $200, a press release states.

Anomaly

Anomaly

Lanham has been offering guests this style of modernist cuisine since Anomaly’s start, showcasing his style of experimentation and technical cooking skills. It’s also worth mentioning that the menu, despite being very technical, can be adjusted to accommodate vegetarians, pescatarians, vegans, and those with gluten allergies. This new space is Lanham’s first restaurant; he previously worked at Auberge du Soleil and SolBar, Spruce, Commis, and Bird Dog in Palo Alto.

Anomaly (2600 Sutter Street) opens on December 14. To find out when restaurant reservations go live, sign up for the mailing list on the website, anomalysf.com.

Anomaly