When San Francisco restaurant industry veterans open a restaurant, the buzz is audible. Town Hall is new to the scene as of late Fall 2003, possessing a restaurateur pedigree that would make a foodie blush with curiosity. But is this posh, casual-chic hotspot worth the hype?

Yes. Town Hall offers that relaxed yet all-grown-up glamour that San Francisco does so well, and the price point isn't too mind-numbing either. Doug Washington, former GM at Postrio and ex-managing partner of Vertigo and Jardiniere, is that guy you've heard of, the one who ran down the street unsolicited to get a Wall Street Journal for a solo diner just because he thought the guy might want something to do while he waited for his meal. Restaurant managers cite Doug as the model for exemplary service in San Francisco.

- Excerpt from Town Hall Debuts Downtown By Tracie Broom