Skip to content
Home » News » Daniel Patterson of COI, Et Al – Restaurateur of the Quarter

Daniel Patterson of COI, Et Al – Restaurateur of the Quarter

Daniel who is considered as one of the top chefs in America has enjoyed a colorful career. In 1989 he moved to Sonoma, California with then-girlfriend (and later wife) Elizabeth Ramsey. With Ramsey, Patterson opened Babette's, a French-inspired restaurant, in Sonoma in 1994 at age 25. The restaurant subsequently closed in 1999 when his lease expired. Wine Spector described it as a “top” restaurant in the town. Patterson and Ramsey opened Elizabeth Daniel in San Francisco in 2000, and closed it although it had a strong reputation. He was opening chef at Frisson, a short-lived restaurant. In 2006 he opened COI in 2006, earned two Michelin stars, and was one of several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area to earn four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. Patterson describes its concept as combining haute cuisine, an emphasis on local vegetables, a modern aesthetic, and a personal approach to cooking, with “a casual, neighborhood feeling;” The approach was uncommon at the time, but later became a hallmark of Northern California restaurants. He opened an informal rotisserie, Il Cane Rosso ("the red dog" in Italian), in the San Francisco Ferry Building with co-owner Lauren Kiino, before selling the business to her entirely. Henopened restaurants Plum in Uptown Oakland in 2010 and Haven in Oakland's Jack London Square in 2012. Currently Daniel oversees a number of Bay Area restaurants including Haven and Plum Bar in Oakland, Alfred’s Steakhouse in San Francisco, Aster and Alta CA in San Francisco. He also is involved with Los Angeles chef Roy Choi in Loco’l a concept they are hopeful of revolutionizing the way people eat fast food. A few of the accolades that Daniel has earned include Best New Chef, Food & Wine Magazine -1997; Rising Star Chef, San Francisco Chronicle – 1997; Best New Restaurant, James Beard Foundation 2001 (for Elizabeth Daniel); Chef of the Year, San Francisco Magazine -2007 , and Best Chef: Pacific (nominee), James Beard Foundation, 2009 and 2010 …Restaurant Realty has had the opportunity of working with Daniel on a couple of occasions – marketing his former Elizabeth Daniel Restaurant in San Francisco as well as recently selling him a commercial kitchen in Oakland. We wish Daniel continued success as one of the stars in the culinary world.