The Moss Room

For a restaurant buried down in the murky, fern-riddled basement of kid heaven, a.k.a. the Academy of Sciences, there’s not much here for children – just plenty of sharp-cornered tables and an open-top fish tank brimming with plump specimens.  Still, the discrepancy, while odd considering the droves of half-pints pouring through the building’s hallways from open until close, won’t bother most adult diners in the slightest.  The food is very good, if somewhat unmemorable in the big scheme of things, with great emphasis placed on the striking Cal-Med flavor combinations conceiver-in-chief Loretta Keller has done at Coco500 to great critical and popular fanfare.  On a recent visit, the simplest dishes were most successful:  absurdly fresh raw oysters, creamy quivering globs, crisp and wine-y in flavor, sweet, dense salt-cod fritters, and a whole herb-roasted sea bream. It’s the best restaurant in Golden Gate Park.

The Moss Room at the Academy of Sciences

55 Music Concourse Drive

San Francisco, California

415-876-6121