Pascal Rigo is on a roll. This baker-turned-businessman sated diners' appetites for small plates at Chez Nous, created a market for crepes at Galette, brought a French sensibility to Le Petit Robert and joined the cafe/bakery brigade at Marinette.
Now he's mounted his most ambitious project at La Table, a white-tablecloth French restaurant in Presidio Heights. Rigo has done everything he can to ensure success: secured a prime location on outer Sacramento that for years housed the popular Tortola; hired a great young chef, Marc Rasic, to turn out food as good as you'll find in the mythical French countryside; lured Michael Brennan to design the interior; and installed George Aknin as the hand-kissing maitre d'/manager. Aknin, a veteran of the dining scene, is the former manager of Rose's Cafe in Cow Hollow and Le Bistrot on Nob Hill.
Although prices are moderate, Rigo has incorporated some value-added details to give the place an edge, such as handing out a small loaf of bread to diners as they say goodbye. Rigo, who also owns Bay Breads, is one of the best bakers in the city; one bite of his thinly sliced pumpkin seed loaf, arranged in linen-lined basket on each table, is enough to prove the point.
... I'd be hard-pressed to imagine that the food could be any better than at La Table, which is one of the best deals in town considering the pedigree of the chef, service and interior.
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