The Progress Restaurant Just As Spectacular As Sister Restaurant State Bird Provisions

As a local San Francisco Foodie (self-proclaimed, but if you check my Instagram, Twitter or American Express for that matter they’ll agree with me) it’s nearly impossible to compete with one of my favorite local restaurants State Bird Provisions.  You can imagine my excitement when I heard Stuart Brioza and his wife Nicole Krasinski were opening a new sister restaurant, The Progress. I was thrilled!! Within the first week of the opening I was planning to visit with girlfriends.  It was super exciting getting to experience The Progress just after they opened and see how well prepared, organized and perfect the team was. No surprise if you know how strong of a team State Bird Provisions has. However, typically the first week or two of an opening there are still kinks to work through. That was not the case at the new Progress Restaurant.

Upon arriving we were seating at our table on the second floor with fabulous views of the main floor dining room.  Talk about a killer view. I felt like queen of the restaurant. Kidding, but it felt pretty great being on the upper level overlooking the open kitchen, the dining room and all of the excitement! Emily, a familiar face from my many visits next door at State Bird Provisions (which is literally next to The Progress) greeted us and explained the menu and what we were in store for.  The menu is choose your own adventure family-style menu where you select 6 dishes to share. We landed on 5 and asked for Emily’s suggestion on the 6th. Everything we ordered was wonderful.  We started with a dish compliments of the Chef (1st food plate below) then we had a few salads, a few entrees and of course saved room for dessert. I have since returned to The Progress a second time which was equally as amazing as the first visit. The only change is the menu has evolved so a few of my favorites like the naan and a beet/ricotta salad have already moved on replaced with new exciting options.

You may be wondering, what is it about The Progress that’s so great? Well, aside from the fresh, delicious, inventive food the atmosphere and the service complete the experience. Service is a huge part of your dining experience. So when a staff is attentive, on it, knows the menu, and can answer any question no matter how odd it is I am impressed. I also appreciate when the team keeps an eye on my water, wine (#1 priority), and ensures that the entire visit is seamless. That is exactly what the team at The Progress does. And the best part is, they’re not in your face about it, it’s subtle but well done. As evident, I highly recommend you check out The Progress for yourself. The food is just as amazing as you’d expect from the State Bird & Provisions renowned Chefs Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski with a killer team, amazing atmosphere, and overall just fabulous! 1525 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA. 94115. 415-673-1294. 

Views of the main floor dining room and open kitchen

Sommelier Betsy who is amazing, extremely knowledgeable and super sweet!

A huge thank you again to talented Chef Stuart. You truly are amazing and each time I visit your restaurants I fall more in love with the food, your team and everything you all do!!

One of the Chef’s & my pal Emily

The surprise starter (courtesy of the kitchen) from my second visit including Tuna, Beef Jerky (my fav), salted radish, a tasty toast with a fabulous sauce

The surprise starter (courtesy of the kitchen) during my first visit

Polpette of rabbit and pork with blood orange & castelvetranos

The naan (from the 1st visit) which I loved. Sadly, it wasn’t on the menu for my second visit but was amazing.  This is a must try if you see if on the menu again!

A fabulous salad with watermelon radishes, colorful beets and ricotta cheese. Beyond delicious and smooth.

Local kiwi salad with super-fresh ricotta, almonds & pickled sunchokes. Super light, fresh and tasty!

 A tuna tartare salad with riccotta

Dungeess crab & lobster, bok choy & tofu “stir fry”. This dish was a bit milder so if you want a simpler, light sea food dish this is perfect

The amazing Treasure Chest Soup.  A must try at The Progress (just like State Bird’s “State Bird” dish, you haven’t experienced the restaurant until you’ve tried these dishes)

Grilled five dot ranch beef with mustard-miso oyster sauce

Dessert. We were torn on what to order so Chef Stuart sent everything out. Thanks Chef, we loved them all, kudos to Chef Nicole on the fabulous assortment. Delicious!!