Review: Morgan Song brings artful cuisine to Los Altos

Fine dining has changed a great deal in a fairly short time. Over the past decade — perhaps less — it has become more casual, energetic and dynamic on levels both atmospheric and gastronomic.

This shift has been somewhat subtle, so I wasn’t fully aware of how it had evolved until my visit to chef Morgan Song’s restaurant — Ambience, in downtown Los Altos — which features only a multicourse, prix fixe tasting menu.

Song has enjoyed a long, accolade-filled career, including as owner — 20 years ago — of San Francisco’s Rodin, which got rave reviews. He later settled in the Sacramento area, opening the first Ambience in Carmichael, which was a success with critics.

Then, two years ago, he and his wife, Uni, returned to the Bay Area, citing a Sacramento economy that never fully recovered from the recession. Some might argue the sector that can afford multicourse tasting menus did recover, but there was a shift in diners’ expectations. Regardless, Sacramento’s loss became Los Altos’ gain when Ambience opened late in 2013.

The name Ambience begs for a description of the restaurant’s ambience. There’s a museumlike quality to the sparsely decorated main dining room, with seating for about 14, as well as a second dining room for busier nights.

Most of the tables, which are draped with white cloths, have been placed in corners with comfortable L-shaped banquettes, providing an intimate feel for romantic dinners. The only noticeable artwork is two small paintings on a large, neutral-colored wall, adding to the gallerylike atmosphere. Clearly, the goal is to keep diners focused on Song’s masterful presentations.

The evening we visited, only three tables were occupied, and the dining room was noticeably quiet, in contrast to some high-end establishments that wedge in diners tightly and have quite a buzz of convivial conversation. Still, there’s a happy medium. We felt awkward at times, as though we shouldn’t talk above a whisper. Fortunately, our server was personable and relaxed, which helped.

We opted to forgo the wine pairing ($95), instead choosing to accompany the meal with one glass of white and one of red wine from the suggested pairings. The succession of courses started with several seafood dishes and built toward the heavier ones, including wild boar tenderloin — one of the most popular elements of the menu.

Our meal began with an amuse-bouche of smoked salmon mousse, topped with salty black pearls of sturgeon caviar. That was followed by 12 more courses (including the palate cleanser) and three desserts. Diners are offered a choice between two options on a few courses.

Although these numbers may sound overwhelming, Song perfectly calibrates the portions to leave diners satisfied — or perhaps just a touch beyond — but not overly full. His menu is largely French-influenced.

The meal featured many very fine moments, including a second amuse-bouche of poached oyster with a cayenne cream. This oyster’s texture was unlike any I’d experienced — firm but silken, with the unmistakable sweet brine of the raw oyster still fully intact. It was brilliant.

Butter-poached lobster was perfectly cooked — so that its sweet flesh was just opaque and supremely moist. It was surrounded by a creamy broth with a lovely umami character. Squab was another highlight. The medallions of the bird’s rosy flesh were served rare, just seared to a savory finish.

The true highlight throughout the meal was Chef Song’s exquisite plating. Droplets of sauces, oils and reductions added both visual interest and flavor. Miniature pickled vegetables were like jewels that supplied texture and acidity. The tiniest flower petals and lettuce leaves were placed painstakingly on each plate. With the crème brûlée dessert, threadlike filaments of spun sugar were coiled into a sculpture that added a touch of whimsy.

The dishware itself also was part of the artful display. A perfectly seared scallop was served to one of us on a round plate, to the other on a square one. The poached oyster came in a deep, dark glass bowl that was almost shell-like, mimicking the mollusk’s origins.

There were moments of disappointment, too. One of the optional dishes — the American Kobe beef tartare — was a gorgeous cylinder of meat topped with a quail egg and shavings of black truffle, but it was surprisingly underseasoned.

Fruit gels on an otherwise gorgeous pastry plate were overly sweet, lacking the natural acidity of the fruits. Perhaps the most noticeable miscalculation was the white at the tops of the berries in the strawberry gratin dessert course, which lacked the expected burst of flavor.

On the whole, dishes were prepared with a high degree of technical perfection, yet there was a lack of the boundary-pushing inventiveness that one finds at some restaurants in this category. For instance, a dish with cubes of beet paired with a sphere of goat cheese, though beautifully executed, seemed uninspired. The molecular gastronomy flourishes such as foams and “yolks,” which were cutting-edge in 2005, feel a bit dated in 2015.

There were also some service blips that shouldn’t occur at this price point. One server was unsure where to place the wine menu and left it awkwardly askew on top of a plate. Another, assuming I didn’t like the pickled vegetables on my dish, pulled it away before I’d finished. My empty wine glass was taken and replaced with my selection of red wine, but my companion’s empty glass was mysteriously ignored.

When you’re paying almost $300 for a dinner for two (before tax, tip and beverages), the whole experience should be mind-blowing. On our visit, Ambience didn’t quite reach that level.

Song is clearly a talented chef whose vision of fine dining upholds a standard set two decades ago. Unfortunately some of the clientele for high-end dining have gravitated to restaurants with an atmosphere that is simultaneously more relaxed and more vibrant.

Still, there are plenty of diners who will find Ambience to be exactly what they want — intimate in feel, with superlative dishes that are more comfortable than cutting-edge.

Email Jennifer Graue at features@mercurynews.com.