Birdsong

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Heritage Cuisine Rooted in Place and Responsibility

Birdsong opened in 2018 as Chef-Owner Christopher Bleidorn's fullest expression of a deeply held philosophy: that food is a conduit of values, wisdom, and tradition. Located on Mission Street in SoMa, the restaurant frames its Pacific Northwestern cuisine around a single, quietly radical idea — that knowing your context in place and time should shape everything that happens in a kitchen.

Bleidorn's path to opening Birdsong reads like a tour of American fine dining's most demanding rooms. He began as a sous chef at Nine-Ten in San Diego, then moved to Chicago to work alongside Grant Achatz at Alinea. San Francisco followed, with stints at Benu, Atelier Crenn, and Saison — three restaurants that collectively define the city's reputation for serious, ingredient-led cooking. Yet it is at Birdsong that his own voice finally takes center stage.

A Kitchen Built on Whole Ingredients and Seasonal Rhythms

The menu philosophy is stated plainly on the restaurant's own pages: ingredients in the most whole form that can be found, grown and raised by producers who understand the rhythms of the ecosystems they inhabit. Local vegetables and whole animals are not a marketing angle here — they are a moral position. "We respect and carry the weight of that responsibility," the kitchen writes, quoting conservationist Michael Frome to frame the stakes.

Birdsong's Pacific Northwestern cuisine is executed by a kitchen team that reinforces this ethos from multiple directions. Chef de Cuisine Bergen Bowne, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who sharpened his craft at Cotogna and Angler, brings a finesse and precision to seasonal produce that he describes as rooted in love of craft. Chef Zoee Wong, trained at Le Cordon Bleu London and with experience across Saison, Nobu, and Restaurant Nouri in Singapore, brings a fluidity that allows for less conventional paths to execution — her Malaysian-Chinese heritage threading quietly through the work.

Two Tasting Menus, One Coherent Vision

Guests choose between two formats. The Discovery menu — available Tuesday through Thursday at $275 per person — distills the kitchen's approach into a streamlined experience suited to early evenings. The Journey, available Tuesday through Saturday at $325 per person, is designed for full immersion, typically running three and a half hours. Both menus champion Bay Area producers and whole-ingredient preparations without deviation.

The beverage program holds to the same standard as the food. The wine team seeks out producers rooted in tradition, farming in harmony with nature and making classically-styled wines that, in the restaurant's own words, "connect our present with the natural habitat of the past." Reserve pairings spotlight iconic vineyards and library wines; zero-proof options include a botanicals pairing of kombuchas, tonics, and infusions. Wine Spectator recognized this commitment with its Best of Award of Excellence in 2024 — a distinction that reflects the program's depth and coherence rather than mere breadth of list.

For private events, a dedicated dining room extends the same considered hospitality to smaller groups seeking an exclusive setting.