The Bimini Twist

Attended one of Don’s black cod dinners, booked through eatwith. In a word, terrific. Don is a consummate host and a font of knowledge on seafood. And he’s just a super nice guy. And from the freshly shucked oysters with several choices of compliments to a tremendous (and super fresh) sashimi platter to the simply roasted, yet amazingly flavorful black cod, the food was just plain delicious. Don also kindly supplied some cava and cold sake during the meal, but just for reference, you should know that Don’s dinners are BYOB. I would highly recommend going to one of Don’s dinners. You won’t be disappointed.

My friend and I signed up for the miso cod dinner weeks ago and were so excited to attend last night. Our expectations were met and then some. The Bimini Twist is a fantastic concept and such a good change from the typical pretentious SF restaurants. We started in the kitchen with oysters, cava and convo with the other attendees. We were then asked to move into the dining room to begin our meal, it’s byob but they also did a sake tasting – NOTHING disappointed. Each course was incredible and everyone at the table left stuffed with satisfied taste buds. I was also impressed with their dinner playlist. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, natives or tourists, this spot is not to be missed. Bring your favorite bottle of wine and an appetite!

The Bimini Twist is run by Don, a fishmonger and home cook who is trying to make it as an independent chef. We booked our dinner through EatWith. The venue was a single family home on Arch Street. Unless you bring a large group, part of the EatWith experience is that you dine with complete strangers, which was surprisingly fun.
Don & team were friendly and welcoming, patiently answering all our questions. I really appreciate the attention to sourcing local and sustainable ingredients.
I loved every part of the meal, and I don’t say that very often.
We started in the kitchen with cava, raw oysters, and baked oysters. The Hammersley oysters that we had were creamy and delicious. For the raw oysters, we had our choice of two types of mignonette, ponzu granita, tobiko, lemon, cocktail sauce, and horseradish. The ponzu granita was a real winner. I don’t usually like baked oysters, but the brown sugar, bourbon, butter, and chipotle sauce was really good.
Then we moved to the dining room for the rest of dinner. BTW, after the cava, dinner is BYOB. We had Tartine sourdough and butter, little gems with McFarland trout, clam chowder with two types of clams, and albacore tuna poke. The trout in the salad was amazing. The chowder was light in texture but full of flavor. The albacore tuna poke was so good that a fellow guest with an aversion to raw seafood actually overcame her fear and ate most of her portion.
By this point, most of us were already completely stuffed, but the main course was next. We were supposed to have crab for dinner, but due to a weather-​related hiccup with crab delivery, we were served delightfully flaky miso black cod instead. I’ve had a lot of good black cod, but this was by far the softest and flakiest I’ve had.
We concluded the meal with ice cream sandwiches made with homemade chocolate chip cookies and Mitchell’s coffee ice cream.
At $ 94 a person, I thought the price was reasonable for the quantity and quality of food.

Such a fun night at the Crab Feast with Don. Great hosts and amazing food. This seafood meal was way more food than I expected and everything was fresh, homemade and delicious. A great night for us locals, but also met a few folks from out of town so a fun experience all around. Will definitely be back! Thanks again Don & Allie!

WOW! We went to Don’s oysters party on a vacation in San Francisco. He was so welcoming and let me do some shuckling with him! Was a fantastic evening can’t wait to go to another next time in SF
Jack

Bimini Twist; Dining Experience that is totally unique unto itself.
You have to get reservations a few months out for this one. Don was an amazing host, sharing not only sharing his food, drink and recipes; but also his house and kitchen.
BT was akin to a social dinner party where you hang out in the kitchen for a while with apps and drinks (oysters and Kava) then move to the dining room for the main meal (crazy fresh seafood and good conversation)
Really good food, and lots of it. Bring your appetite when you go.
Great locally sourced dining experience with a bunch of friends that we just met that night.

Great time with an incredible meal. We were in SF for only 2 days with my wife and her sister and husband. Luckily he had availability for one of the nights we were there.
If you have the opportunity, definitely go.

Don and Allie — simply the best. I came into town over Labor Day weekend and have tried to secure reservations for a Saturday evening. I contacted Don directly via EatWith and he was able to accommodate a private dinner for a friend and myself. Such a splendid evening filled with conversation and cooking techniques. It started off with cava and oysters, which Don was glad to show us how to shuck. Don even had me assist with the clam chowder which was excellent with Allie’s freshly baked sourdough! Then we went onto the miso-​glazed black cod, so incredibly rich! Afterwards, we had delicious, homemade ice cream sandwiches! Then much to our surprise, a sake tasting noting the differences between filtered and unfiltered sake! Such an amazing experience, I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone! Can’t wait to go back and try it out group style for the crab feast! :)

Best dinner ever. If you are in San Francisco this is a must!!! Make reservations a month out!!!

The best food I had in SF. The fish and seafood is the freshest I’ve ever had. Such a wonderful and unique experience.

An amazing dinner. Miso soup and hamachi sushi as good as any I’ve experienced incl. four trips to Japan, sablefish was melt in your mouth delectable, silken tofu-​chocolate with berries was incredible. Highly recommended!

Such a fun evening and super delicious food! I have never been much of an oyster or sushi lover but that all changed last night. Chef Don uses the best ingredients and then adds his magic touch. So worth the price, in fact he should charge more! Fun and delicious from start to finish!

My wife and I attended one of there dinners and was so impressed with the quality and taste of the food we wish we could go again. We live in Florida so we know great fish. The oysters and choice of 4 sauces then the chowder… wow. After 3 courses I didn’t eat much but tasted everything after that. Don is one very talented Artist.
I feel like I should be putting them on my Holiday card list.
Anyone who goes will have an amazing story to tell.

My party of 3 were in San Francisco for a convention and dined with Don and Allie. It was a unique and wonderful social dining experience! Don and Allie were gracious hosts and their home was lovely. It was fun meeting and dining with the other 9 guests. We started out with fresh oysters and Don offered a variety of sauces to compliment. They were outstanding! We enjoyed glasses of Cava as we mingled in their kitchen. Dinner began with a surprise dish of fresh poke that was to die for. Next a nice salad followed by a delicious corn and clam chowder served with sourdough bread from Tartine Bakery. We had ravioli and grilled salmon prepared with two sauces. Food was plentiful and then came a desert of strawberry shortcake with a homemade local ice cream. Don is a down-​to-​earth guy who loves to cook and knows his fish! Everything he prepared and served was so fresh and delicious! I would definitely recommended dining with Don and Allie. They won’t disappoint.

Delicious. A wide array of seafoods from oysters to clam chowder. Don’s skill was on display in his varied 5-​course meal.
Not only that, but he was an excellent host!
I will definitely be dining with him again.

The oysters were top notch.
The chowder was out of this world.
Crab was fresh and sweet.
Then at the end, Allie’s ice cream sandwich sent me into a food coma (the best kind).

I booked a classic seafood dinner with Don in January 2015. It was a great menu — a 3 course meal (plus dessert) and unlimited drinks. We got the VIP treatment, and amazing food that was either freshly made or hand-​chosen by Don. We started with oysters, which were accompanied by a few different sauces (I like to have my options, and he did provide!). Then, we were served flesh clam chowder with bacon and tons of vegetables. It was thick and loaded with goodies. By this point I was full, but I gladly took on the final course — half a crab with a side of pasta. Don kept well-​paired drinks flowing throughout the meal. We had the chance to talk with him and Allison throughout the meal. I learned about his work at local farmer’s markets, and learned a bit about seafood as well. It was a great experience and I’d gladly go back!

Working here for a month in SF — I had the chance to eat with Don and Allie and was treated to some of the most delicious food I had in a while. Everything was fresh from the fish monger and local, like bread from tartines bakery. My party of 3 including myself really enjoyed their kind hospitality and great food. Highly recommended!

Dinner with Don and Allison made for a really great night.
Not only was all the food delicious, but you can tell that they thought through every plate carefully to fulfill the theme and keep everything interesting. They could have just served oysters at the start, but they took the time to top them differently. They should have served any old sourdough bread with dinner, but they made the trek to Tartine to get it. They could have ended the meal with any old scoop of ice cream, but they made an incredible ice cream sandwich in the style of It’s-It.
The hosts were generous, the venue was beautiful, the company was good, and overall, this was an incredible night of «San Francisco treats» that didn’t involve any rice or ‘roni.
Looking forward to some of the chef’s offerings in the future.

Don exceeded expectations for a traditional Fish Monger Crab Feast San Francisco dinner! I’m a seafood lover, and this was one of the most exceptional seafood dinners that I’ve ever ate. The oysters were to die for, the crab was delicious, sweet, and cooked to perfection. Finally, Don’s girlfriend’s homemade ice cream cookie sandwich (with Mitchell’s ice cream) was a fantastic ending to a spectacular meal. Furthermore, the home was beautiful, and we had a wonderful conversation over dinner. I can’t wait until their next meal. I’m definitely going back for more.