Summer is all about getting out and about to explore new places and new experiences! If you're headed to San Francisco for a vacation (or "staycation") or you're looking for a unique summer date-night idea to wow your SOS (someone special), you have come to the right place!

Instead of heading to the same 'ol bar or re-watching an old rom-com, take it up a level by stepping foot into a BRAND NEW Michelin star chef restaurant, One65 and take a seat at the stunning Herbst Theater to watch a World Premiere Opera called If I Were You.

Scroll below to find out more...

Click to RSVP for our Curated Night Out to One65 and Jake Heggie's If I Were You Opera on August 6th!

Last week we had the pleasure of experiencing One65 first-hand to taste their delicious modern French cuisine, crafted cocktails, and desserts. What's unique about this restaurant is that it's stacked with four different floors that offer different food selections and ambiances making it ideal for every taste, every hour, and every occasion.

Floor 4: Claude Le Tohic - Experience Claude Le Tohic's personal menu based on the elements of water, fire, and earth

Floor 3: Elements Bar & Lounge - When you want to take it up a level and explore specially-crafted cocktails and bites

Floor 2: Bistro & Grill - The perfect level for a contemporary California/French dinner (that doesn't take hours to prepare), perfect before a performance

Floor 1: Patisserie & Boutique - Because hey, there's nothing wrong with eating dessert first and grabbing a coffee for the road







For our date night out, we started the night on Floor 2 (the Bistro & Grill) and wow - were we completely impressed! We had the opportunity to sit next to open-kitchen where we could see our dinner being made and we met the head chef, Claude Le Tohic who has Michelin-star experience and a James Beard Award among many more.

Born into a restaurant family in northern France, Le Tohic specializes in preserving, advancing and perpetuating the tradition of French cuisine. And now, at One65, he is combining French food and fresh California produce with a dose of flair!

Scroll below to see some of the exquisite dishes that we were able to taste...!

Click to RSVP for our Curated Night Out to One65 and Jake Heggie's If I Were You Opera on August 6th!

The food was spectacular and the presentation was breathtaking. We were in absolute awe by the level of details that went into each dish and impressed how quickly each dish was made.

Our favorite part of the meal was watching how each dish was cooked by sitting near the open kitchen. It's easy to go into a restaurant, order your food, and go. But when you think about everything that goes into a meal, it is truly amazing and humbling. Creating meals at this level is an art in itself and we are so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented chefs that can orchestra a symphony of flavors.

Some of the dishes that are on our "ooohh... let's get that again list!" are... Salted C, Crispy Onion Tart, Marget Duck, and their Half-Smoked Salmon. You just can't go wrong with any of these dishes.







When you go, make sure to save room to treat your sweets to a sweet! All of their pastries, macarons, pastries, bread, and chocolates are made in house. They are so beautiful that it was almost a shame to bite into them. Our favorite was their vast selection of macarons. They had every flavor imaginable, like birthday cake, rose lychee, cotton candy, cookies and cream, raspberry tart, and the list goes on...

Overall, we highly recommend checking out One65! It's a place that you could visit again and again while always getting a unique experience because of the unique layout of the multi-level restaurant. Last but not least, it's only 1.5 miles away from the arts district of SF in Hayes Valley so it's the perfect restaurant to go to before or even after a performance!

Click to RSVP for our Curated Night Out to One65 and Jake Heggie's If I Were You Opera on August 6th!

Don't just stop with dinner, make an evening of it, my heading out to a live performance at the theater! This summer, Merola Opera will premiere a brand new opera called, If I Were You at the Herbst Theater on August 1-6, 2019. This opera is on our radar because it's composed by one of our favorite modern-day composers (who is also a Bay Area local!), Jake Heggie. You may remember him from his opera It's A Wonderful Life that was on SF Opera's stage last winter.



What we love about Jake's operas is that they are made for modern-day audiences. No, we aren't talking about "abstract modern art". We're talking about modern productions that are written with a young audience in mind that crave a faster pace storyline that feels current and has a more playful approach to opera sprinkled with 'broadway-esk' choreography, relatable characters with a dose of humor.

If I Were You is loosely based on the novel Si j'etais vous by the French-American writer Julien Green. It follows the journey of a young man that feels like he has to 'be' and 'look' a certain way to gain the affections of his desired lover. He thinks that if he were someone else (hence, If I Were You), then life would be easier or better.

Jake chose this storyline because he felt that a lot of audiences could relate to this today. We are often bombarded with ads, social media or television shows that can make us feel like we have to 'look' or 'be' a certain way to be defined as beautiful, successful or even happy. But when it comes down to it, it's up to us to define our own truth and in that is beauty, success, and happiness.

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On Tuesday, August 6th, we are excited to curate a special evening for you to experience both One65 and Jake Heggie's Opera, If I Were You. Ticket holders will receive complimentary bites at ONE65, complimentary drinks crafted by William Grant & Sons and tickets to see the performance with our group!

CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR TICKETS!

 

Thanks to Tiffany Lai for these awesome photos!

Thank you to the chefs and staff at ONE65 for the amazing food and drinks!