Close-in counters: Take a front-row seat at these San Francisco restaurants - Brief Article

Sunset, Jan, 2002 by Chiori Santiago

Dining at a restaurant counter is not for the timid. Let others huddle around the table, safe in the companionable crowd. At a counter you'll find independent folks who enjoy being close to slinging hash, feeling the heat of the grill, and watching the transformation of ingredients from raw state to dinner plate. At five San Francisco eateries, take a front-row seat to see a riveting choreography of cuisine.

A steamy drama unfolds on the other side of the counter at Ella's, where a fast-stepping staff prepares fixings for the evening meal while you're chewing breakfast. Peer over your plate to see the deft hands of prep chef Samuel Ramirez shape cornmeal-molasses dough into fat hamburger buns. Behind him, fellow cooks pull some of the 22 chickens for tonight's pot pie from a boiling vat.

At Swan Oyster Depot, the lunch line stretches up the block as seafood fans wait for a coveted seat at the long marble counter. Hulking guys serve up platters of prawns, steamed crabs, and just-shucked oysters glistening in brine. If you have a soft heart, be forewarned: The food's so fresh that your lobster will wave goodbye as it heads to the kettle.

St. Francis Fountain in the Mission District serves a scoop of nostalgia with your banana split. Aside from the prices, hardly anything has changed since it opened in 1918. Your root beer isn't poured from a can; it's mixed individually with a squirt of syrup from the silvery array of dispensers behind the laminated counter. Even the cash register is hand-cranked.

Blue Plate offers classic diner dishes with a nouvelle twist. A six-seat counter puts you inches from the kitchen; you'll feel the same inferno blast that chef-owner Cory Obenour experiences every time he opens the oven for a tray of rosemary flatbread or meatloaf. "You can tell me exactly how you want your food; there's nothing between the cooks and the customer," he says.

Sushi counters are everywhere, but a particularly memorable one is at Chaya Brasserie. Most diners opt for a table, so those who walk up can generally find a seat at the sycamore counter. Watch sushi chefs slice rectangles of hamachi into artful bites while you contemplate a view of the Bay Bridge and blue water.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pull up a chair.

You won't need a reservation to sit at these counters, but on busy weekend evenings (or anytime at Swan), you may have to wait for your ringside seat. Blue Plate. 6 P.M.--1 P.M. Mon--Sat. 3218 Mission St.; (415) 282-6777.

Chaya Brasserie. 11.30--2:30 Mon--Fri, 5:30--10 Mon--Wed, 5:30--10:30 Thu--Sat, 5--9 Sun. 132 Embarcadero; (415) 777-8688.

Ella's. 7 A.M.--9 P.M. Mon--Fri, 8:30--2 Sat--Sun. 500 Presidio Ave.; (415) 441-5669.

St. Francis Fountain. 7--6 Mon--Fri 8:30--6 Sat--Sun. 2801 24th St.; (415) 826-4200.

Swan Oyster Depot. Clam chowder all day. 8--5:30 Mon--Sat. 1517 Polk St.; (415) 673-1101.

Shrimp is served with a smile at Swan Oyster Depot.