Restaurant Information:

Hours

Mon-Sat 5:30pm-10:30pm

Chef Roland Passot's venerable, festive shrine to nouvelle cuisine.

The Scene
Gone are the marionettes and other whimsies from this Russian Hill institution. Celebrity foodies, chefs, and the cream of the neighborhood crop are now greeted by two soaring, opulent rooms. The front dining area is a grand, rose-hued box accented with copper-colored drapes, warm wood and white-topped tables. A second ''green room'' features velvet upholstered walls, a high, marbled ceiling with peaked skylights, and elegant cream, violet and emerald accents.

The Food
Passot's admirers include the late Julia Child for his refined California spin on traditional French cuisine. Three- to five-course prix-fixe options allow for adventurous grazing. Foie gras saturates the menu, including a quail leg ''lollipop'' stuffed with the rich liver. Frogs legs, warm pig feet, stuffed rabbit and fat, braised sweetbreads delight intrepid carnivores, while seasonal ''jardiniere'' (garden) selections are lively and exquisite, including a multicolored, layered tower of roasted beets and goat cheese.