Even with new Sessions, notorious Presidio space still feels empty

Could a new entrance be the trick that enables Sessions to succeed where its predecessors have failed?

It seems to be the biggest physical change that new owners Evin Gelleri and chef Michael Bilger made when they took over the auditorium-size restaurant space in the Presidio’s Letterman Digital Arts Center.

When the location originally opened as Pres a Vi in 2008, it starred Kelly Degala, a chef who perpetually earned a Top 100 Bay Area nod at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek. Pres a Vi struggled for several years before it closed. It then sat empty for two years until it became Dixie, under the marquee of another high-profile chef, Joseph Humphrey, who had previously made his name by earning two Michelin stars at Meadowood and one star at Sausalito’s Murray Circle.

But like Degala before him, Humphrey was not enough to make the space work. He left Dixie after a little more than a year, and the restaurant hung on for a few more months before closing in April 2014.

In August, the cavernous restaurant reopened once again, this time as Sessions.

With each incarnation the interior has been tweaked, continuously trying to resolve what has always felt like an awkward 200-seat space incorporating a handsome curved ceiling reminiscent of wine barrels. Now in its third incarnation, the entrance has been relocated to the east side of the restaurant, near Lyon and Chestnut streets, and the 2,400-square-foot interior has been totally remodeled by Lundberg Designs (Slanted Door, Mourad). The new regime ripped out the handsome ceiling and used knotty pine slats in some areas, and exposed the natural concrete in others. The bar is now in the center of the room to break up the space in a bid to make the dining areas on either side seem more intimate. In addition there is the 50-seat beer garden overlooking the park. The space feels sleek and modern, but still has an awkward flow.

Gelleri and Bilger are working hard to break the curse, and they’ve incorporated just about every trend to ensure success, starting with the name, which refers to one of the place’s biggest assets: beer, a beverage that seems to be nipping at the heels of cocktails in terms of popularity.

The menu proclaims “craft beer, craft cuisine, craft cocktails,” and they’ve found top names in each category to pull it off. The 100 brews available have been curated by master cicerone Nicole Erny with specialist Jordan Spaulding; the cocktail lead is Peter Ziegler.

The food is under Bilger, formerly of Georges. His menu hits all the trends: house-made charcuterie and cheese presentations, loads of small plates and a few larger plates, which includes a hamburger, naturally.

Bilger reportedly gets much of his produce from Skywalker Ranch in Marin, so it seems that George Lucas is doing what he can to make Sessions successful in his building.

Unfortunately the package is less than the sum of its parts. As much as you can see the care that has gone in to every aspect of the business, it feels a little too slick and corporate. A restaurant that works intellectually doesn’t necessarily touch the emotions.

It’s hard to quibble about many of Bilger’s combinations, whether it’s the competently crafted heirloom tomatoes from Skywalker Ranch ($15) paired with corn, burrata and smoked salt, or the beautifully executed pickle plate ($9) with carrots, beets, cauliflower and Mexican sour gherkins that look like miniature watermelons.

Mussels ($20) are given a lift with cubes of andouille sausage spiked with pickled chiles and a beer broth that is worthy of the spoon they provide.

Many dishes incorporate beer into the preparations. Everything on the meat and cheese platter ($16/$29) is worth a try, but the highlights are the thin slices of pastrami beef tongue served with a “brewed bread” made from beer. Another starter, the earthy Liberty duck liver mousse ($14), is topped with a thin layer of gelee made from Flanders red ale.

Main courses are generously portioned. A big slab of slow-cooked wild King salmon ($30) is paired with the best of end-of-season produce: beans, corn, fennel and a garlic paste so powerful it stuck with me through the night. The thick pork rib eye ($30) is equally generous with a rib-sticking mound of coursely ground polenta and broccoli.

Desserts also utilize beer such as an Imperial Stout float with brown butter brickle ($9) and an ice cream sandwich ($9) made with molasses cookies and Crystal Malt ice cream. The stone fruit galette ($10) was so misshapen it looked like the result of a first-time kids’ cooking class, but the flavor was good and the crust had a flaky saltiness. Coffee makes a debut in the chocolate cremeux with hazelnut sponge cake ($11), one of the best desserts.

Service is well-meaning but disjointed and shortsighted. A server asked if we wanted new plates between courses and when one person in my party said yes, the server came back with one plate. He then looked around and saw the other soiled plates, and came back with one more. By that time more food had arrived and I still didn’t have a clean plate, so he had to come back a third time.

We also ordered a lot of appetizers and the waiter said that generally the dishes come out when they are ready, so I asked for him to pace them, saying I wouldn’t mind them coming out in a trickle but not a flood. Three quickly arrived and it was clear the other two would soon follow so we asked them to slow down.

On the service side, Sessions is also participating in the newest trend: automatically adding a 20 percent service charge.

Even though Sessions has a very current vibe, it comes together in a too-studied way; it feels almost like a chain in the making. But maybe after a couple beers on the impressive patio overlooking the manicured park, I might have a different impression.

★ ★

Sessions at the Presidio

Food: ★ ★

Service: ★ ★

Atmosphere: ★ ★

Price: $$$$

Noise: Three Bells

1 Letterman Drive, building D, Suite 150

(415) 655-9413 or sessionssf.com

Open continuously 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, and until 10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, and until 9 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. 20 percent service charge added. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Garage parking $5 with validation.