Aphotic, the San Francisco fine dining restaurant that earned a Michelin star for its seafood menu, announced Friday, October 4, on Instagram that it will permanently close on Saturday, December 21. Chef and owner Peter Hemsley addressed the closure in a note that praised the fine dining scene, yet was scathing toward the SoMa neighborhood where the restaurant was located.
“As all residents of SF know, these are tough times for fine dining operators,” Hemsley wrote. “There are few left in SF that aspire to provide services like we do at Aphotic, and the smart and lucky ones in that pack are located in the right storefront, on the right block, and in the right part of this town.” Detailing Aphotic’s awards, Hemsley goes on to write, “Even in the right part of town, those would be huge accomplishments in that timeframe for any operation. The fact that we all did this at the ugly butt end of a desolate convention center suck hole in the post-panny apocalypse, is nothing short of a small miracle. And I believe in miracles – I have to as a chef and restaurant owner in these times. But I also know that miracles do not last forever.”
Aphotic managed to snag prestigious awards in its tenure, including a coveted Michelin star in 2023, and a Green Star for its approach toward transparency in seafood sourcing from sustainable purveyors. In August, Aphotic head distiller and bar director Trevin Hutchins won the Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award for his “sea-inspired” beverage program. Aphotic is the second restaurant from Hemsley; he originally opened his previous restaurant Palette in SoMa in the spring of 2018, before closing the restaurant in February 2023 and reopening as the seafood-focused restaurant Aphotic in March 2023.
Aphotic grew its reputation as a destination fine dining spot with a 10-course tasting menu that emphasized the team’s ethos toward seafood sourcing that was infused throughout all of its dishes, including a standout oyster ice cream for dessert. The restaurant’s eclectic seafood menu made headlines for other items, such as its seafood hot dog made with bluefin tuna and topped with caviar, pickle relish, and gold leaf, or the bar’s $30, “maximalist martini” starring Aphotic’s house-distilled gin and garnished with a caviar-stuffed olive.
In an interview with Eater in September, Hemsley discussed the balance between the price of the tasting menu — which started at $135 before shifting to a $200 price point after the restaurant earned its stars — and meeting customer expectations. “People are still sticker-shocked,” Hemsley told Eater. “I think it just has to do with the appetite for spending on restaurants. We’ve definitely seen a downtick in a more happy-go-lucky, free-wheeling kind of clientele. But my fundamental belief is I’m not going to start cutting quality as a way to roll back into profit.
“We’ve only increased the quality of the plates we’re buying, the material assets that create the experience. When diners are spending that kind of money, they want an amazing experience. We have to compensate for that in whatever way we can with hospitality — hot towels, scraping crumbs off the table, never making a mistake about still and sparkling water — so they have that perception of value.”
Eater SF reached out to an Aphotic representative for comment and will update the post if they respond.