Nestled in San Francisco’s Letterman campus, you’ll find Sessions at the Presidio, a restaurant that opened late August 2015. “Our food is focused on a seasonal menu and encourages small plates for sharing,” says chef Michael Bilger. Partnering with Skywalker Ranch here in Marin, Sessions features locally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and even Skywalker’s own olive oil and wine. “LDAC (Letterman Digital Arts Center and our landlord) picked Chef Bilger and I when they were deciding what concept would work best in this space,” says owner Evin Gelleri, “and it made sense that we use Skywalker produce, olive oil and wine in our restaurant.”
On another note, Sessions is one of the first restaurants in the Bay Area, and west, to embrace the tip-free restaurant vibe, popular in the east coast. According to Gelleri, Sessions is pioneering the no tip method in the west coast by including a 20% service charge in the bill. “We felt that transparency was a better choice as we are on the forefront of the tipless system that is broken. We knew that doing this was a huge business risk but we both feel that it is the responsible thing to do,” says Gelleri. “The server gets a 10% commission of their sales and the other 10% is used for hire wages and health care.” sessionssf.com
Vibe: Casual
Address: 1 Letterman Drive, Building D, Suite 150 in San Francisco
Hours: Weekend Brunch: 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Lunch: Tuesday – Friday: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Limited Menu: 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Dinner: Sunday and Tuesday 5:30- 9:00 p.m.; Wednesday – Saturday 5:30 – 10:00 p.m.
Reservations: Yes
Delivery: No
Take-out: Yes
Credit Cards: Yes
Parking: Street or private garage on Letterman ($5 flat fee on the weekends and after 6 p.m. Mon-Fri its $6/hr until 6 p.m.)
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Family friendly: No
Space for large group: Yes
Alcohol: Yes; craft beer, extensive draft wine and beer list, house cocktails
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Wi-Fi: No
Dogs allowed: Yes, on patio
