Pasture

There are small, intimate restaurants and then there’s Pasture. The restaurant only has seven seats. Diners eat perched on high stools at the counter, looking directly into the kitchen and heavily used open wood fire, where they can closely witness every dish being prepared.

Operating with only a set menu, Pasture dishes up between 17 to 23 courses in one sitting. The focus is on hyperlocal, seasonal produce, which chef-owner Ed Verner and team often preserve, ferment and dry-age, and sustainability is central to the ethos with a preference for using whole animals, seafood and line-caught fish. As much as possible, staples like cheese, bread, charcuterie and preserves are made from scratch.

The wine list is local with a concise celebration of minimal-intervention producers and there are inventive cocktails courtesy of Verner’s laboratory-esque rotary evaporator.

In recent years, Verner’s stable has grown to include reservation-only 12-seat bar Boxer (which operates under similarly meticulous standards) and daytime bakery spot Alpha. All three venues demonstrate the same level of passion and creativity that has seen diners gladly linger three and a half hours over dish after dish at Pasture.