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San Francisco · Modern Mexican tasting · SoMa · Tier III

Californios

Val Cantu's two-star modern Mexican tasting.

Californios · open Tuesday through Saturday · arrival between 5pm and 9pm · tasting menu only

Request a table → See availability

Per reservation Tier III · Very hard

$675 per reservation

The host is expecting you. A confirmed table, held for your party.
Card authorized, charged only on confirmation. Never before.
Refund window: 24 hours before service. After that, non-refundable.

Why this room is hard

It is not a Tock problem. It is a drop-day problem.

Val M. Cantu and his wife Carolyn opened Californios in the Mission and moved it to SoMa, holding two Michelin stars across the move. The seventeen-course tasting menu is one of the most ambitious Mexican rooms in the country, and the dining room seats about thirty.

Tock releases seats in monthly drops. The drop window is the window. The kitchen runs no waitlist outside Tock; the path in is being at the drop hour on the first of the month.

Two stars. Seventeen courses. One drop hour.

The three rules

How we work this room.

Three commitments that apply to every Californios request, every night the kitchen is open. No fine print, no surcharges, no surprises at the door.

Pay when we get you in.

Your card is authorized when you submit the request. We charge it only when we confirm your table. No confirmation, no charge. Ever.

Authorize, do not capture

The host is expecting you.

You walk in to Californios and the table is yours, held for your party at your time.

Confirmed for your party

III

One posted price.

$675 for non-members. $225 for members. One number, every night, every party size. No auctions, no surge, no Friday markup. Whatever the room is doing, the price does not move.

No auctions. No surge.

What to expect

Five steps, start to seated.

You ask.

Tell us the night, the time window, the party size. Two minutes on this page. Card on file, not charged.

We confirm the request.

An operator reviews the request, checks the room, and sends a confirmation that we are working it. Usually within thirty minutes.

We work the room.

We reach the floor manager directly, by phone or by text, depending on the night. We do not refresh Resy. We make a call.

You are confirmed.

We charge the card and send your confirmation — the time and the name to give the host.

You eat.

Walk into Californios, give your name at the host stand, sit down. The room takes it from there. We do not see you again until the next request.

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Californios · Now booking

Tonight, tomorrow,
or three months out.

We work this restaurant every day. You pay only when we confirm your table.

Request a table → See full availability

No waitlist · No invite required · Members pay $225 per reservation