My heart thumped as I ascended the gleaming steps of the palatial Huntington Hotel and made my way into the dark foyer of its restaurant, the Big Four. Covered in sweat, I had walked instead of Ubered up to Nob Hill from my downtown office, in the 80-degree heat, to save a shekel and hopefully work up an appetite for the restaurant’s signature pot pie.
This 104-year-old hotel, located across the street from Pacific-Union, one of San Francisco’s oldest and most elusive private men’s clubs, had reopened its doors after a six-year hiatus. I was there to find meaning in its return.
To be honest, the hotel restaurant that bills itself as “the Officially Unofficial Club House of Nob Hill” — it’s named after four railroad tycoons whose mansions once graced the hill — had never really caught my attention. It opened in 1976, was known for moneyed guests, and closed when the pandemic hit in 2020. Since then, the property has switched hands and undergone a lengthy restoration. But the restaurant’s 50-year-old interior and the spirit of the American classics menu has been restored to its bygone days.
In anticipation of this story, I did what I’ve done for the past 20-plus years: called the restaurant in advance for permission to bring a photographer…