Lewis richly reinvents Bacar

Bacar, much heralded as the quintessential 21st-century South of Market wine bar and restaurant when it opened seven years ago, has a serious new chef in Robbie Lewis. He is transforming the food in this smartly converted brick warehouse, from quirky, fusion-y and inconsistent to luxurious, California-French and rigorous. Lewis, whospent the last four years as chef at Jardiniere, is taking Bacar upscale.

Tables in the multilevel, skylit space are now covered in heavy white linen and menus are bound in thick leather folders — no more breezy metal clipboards. The famous list of 100 wines by the glass has been cut to a mere 60 and the live jazz has been moved from the bar to the downstairs wine salon to ease conversation in the dining areas.