“Tasting menu bargain” sure seems like a total oxymoron.

Especially these days when quite a few tasting menus bust the pocketbook at upwards of $500 per person.

So, when I come across one that hovers in the $125-plus range, especially one that delivers a filling and fulfilling time at a Michelin-starred establishment no less, I take notice.

San Anselmo’s Michelin-starred Madcap with its eight courses for $140 or 11 courses for $165 has long fit that bill for me. Of course my all-time bargain bliss is the four-course $52 menu at San Francisco’s Trestle, but that is more of a prix fixe with choices for each course rather than a bona fide tasting menu.

Happily, another modest-priced tasting menu, relatively speaking, has popped up on the scene now, this one at Michelin-starred 7 Adams in San Francisco.

Call it “7 at 7,” as it features 7 courses for $127. An optional wine pairing is $77 per person.

Named after his childhood address, Chef David Fisher overseas the long sliver of a restaurant near Japantown with his wife, Chef Serena Chow Fisher. The two met while working at the acclaimed Pearl & Ash in New York.

As befitting a fine-dining tasting menu, this one comes with a few extra flourishes even at this price point, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last month.

There is indeed an amuse-bouche, and it is no mere afterthought. It is a delicate rice cracker-like, seaweed tart shell filled with ample Dungeness crab enfolded with chive mayo.

Then, there is bread — Serena’s incredible milk bread rolls, which the staff was just pulling out of the oven when I checked in at the host stand. It took all my might not to lunge for the tray. These are fluffy, light as air, a little sweet, and a little salty with a big sprinkle of sea salt on top. They’re served with house-made cultured butter as yellow as corn and already so soft that it practically melts at the touch. The rolls remind me of Chinese baked char siu baos if the bun part was ever the very best it could be. Bonus points here because you can actually have seconds of the rolls. And you know I did.

The official start of the seven courses begins with osetra caviar alongside a lightly grilled oyster, arranged in a pool of pureed fermented white asparagus. It tastes of luxury — creamy, salty, and upper-crust.

It’s followed by a frilly salad of ruby streak, a purple-tinged mustard green whose lightly peppery bite is balanced by a creamy fresh garbanzo hummus at the bottom of the bowl. Dig around and you’ll find pieces of charred asparagus and morel, too.

Three slices of hiramasa crudo arrive on a plate, topped with thin slices of pickled black radish, teeny puffed amaranth, and a tamari vinaigrette that adds just enough tang and salt without masking the sweet, nutty taste of this firm fish.

The pasta course brought a petite twirl of pici with Japanese konbu worked into the dough for the thick, chewy, hand-rolled pasta. The strands were enveloped in a sea urchin sauce with a touch of Calabrian chili that added the merest hint of heat at the very end. It’s like a seafood-forward carbonara.

My husband thought there might be too much lemon in the dish that masked the uni taste. Interestingly enough though, the paired wine, a 2024 AA Badenhorst “Secateurs” Chenin Blanc from South Africa with notes of Meyer lemon, chamomile, and minerality, plus a soft viscosity and plenty of acidity, actually brought the uni taste to the forefront more. So, kudos to the beverage staff on that pick.

Grilled Mt. Lassen trout arrives with moist flesh and skin so crispy. Along its edge is a chunky shiitake XO sauce that provides a blast of umami and saltiness in contrast to the accompanying sweetness of the rustic creamed corn.

The final savory course is a slice of spring lamb loin, rosy and juicy, finished with an intense lamb reduction sauce. Off to one side is a thick spear of delta asparagus, crunchy and barely cooked, with dabs of lemon gel on top that offer pops of citrus brightness. Next to it is a morel stuffed with fava bean mousse. Also on the plate is a teeny square of confit lamb belly, so succulent, rich, and dreamy that you’re tempted to volunteer to wash dishes if only for another morsel.

Dessert is simple and fun — the Kitchen Sink Sundae, which arrives more refined looking than the name implies. A round of fluffy vanilla cake gets topped with Valrhona chocolate ice cream and strewn with cashew pretzel shortbread crumble. The overall taste reminds me nostalgically of Almond Roca toffee.

Yes, all of that for $127. If that’s still too much of a hit to the wallet, 7 Adams also offers an $87 menu that’s a cross between a prix fixe and a tasting menu, as it comprises five courses, three of which offer choices. If you’re feeling extra flush, there’s also a chef’s counter menu at the 6-seat counter in front of the kitchen, where you’ll savor 8 to 10 courses for $157.

More: A Look at the 5-Course Menu at 7 Adams

And: A Visit to Madcap

And: A Visit to Trestle