One of San Francisco’s Only Three-Michelin-Star Restaurants Is Closing Temporarily

Anyone hoping to experience a meal at one of San Francisco’s premier dining destinations before the summer will have to act fast. James Beard award-winning chef Michael Tusk and his wife Lindsay Tusk plan to temporarily close their three-Michelin-star Jackson Square restaurant Quince by the end of January for about six months. During that time, the couple will redesign the restaurant with the goal of making the space lighter and brighter, a spokesperson shared with Eater SF via email.

Design details are scarce, but the plans include replacing the existing storefront with a series of floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open onto tree-lined Pacific Avenue. They’ll also re-orient the room to create more space between tables, decreasing the total number of seats and giving diners a more intimate experience. A couple of other big changes will also come with the reopening: Quince will add an a la carte menu (currently, the restaurant only serves a $360 8 to 10-course tasting menu) and lunch service.

In a written statement from Michael and Lindsay Tusk, the couple notes the restaurant’s “exciting new chapter” coincides with Quince’s 20-year anniversary. The duo opened Quince in 2003 in a small Victorian townhouse on Octavia Street in Lower Pacific Heights, before relocating after six years to the restaurant’s current home, a “historic 1907 brick and timber building” in Jackson Square. The James Beard Foundation named Michael Tusk “Best Chef: Pacific” in 2007, and the restaurant earned its coveted third Michelin star in 2017.

Quince is currently accepting reservations through Saturday, January 21, and is expected to reopen in summer 2023. While Quince is closed, the Tusks will continue to host private events at Verjus and Cotogna, which remains open and is also available for catering.