SAN FRANCISCO — At Merchant Roots in San Francisco, the menu is always exciting, with a new tasting experience and theme offered every few months.
“We try as much as possible for this to be a new restaurant every time we change our themes,” said Ryan Shelton, chef and owner of Merchant Roots.
It’s a major undertaking with each theme taking about nine months to create. The themes have ranged from “Merchant Roots and the Chocolate Factory” to “God of Wine.” Each theme has a unique menu with up to 20 courses.
The current theme for Fall 2024 is “Color Theory,” which highlights the beauty of different colors with 10 monochromatic courses.
It’s not just about the food though, it’s about the overall dining experience, “We change the lights in the room. We change the projection in the room. We have a few other kind of really silly little multimedia effects that try as much as possible to just amplify the experience of that color. We serve foods that, eyes closed, you would say they taste green or they taste purple. And it’s all about just an exploration of how color affects us and how we interact with color,” said Shelton.
Shelton credits his hardworking staff for bringing the themes to life. “I have been so lucky to have a really incredible team that is so participatory in just every level of everything. The brainstorming sessions that we have together where we come up with these ideas are super duper fun.”
If you’re curious about the Winter 2024 theme, Shelton dropped a hint: think Humpty Dumpty and a focus on eggs.
Learn more about Merchant Roots here.
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