Bakeries After Dark | San Francisco

After the croissants have been baked and sold, most bakeries shutter for the day. But not all.

At La Boulange's mothership on Pine Street, Baker's Dinner is now served on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Once you're seated at communal tables in close proximity to the deck oven, $20 lands you a homey main course: on Friday, roasted salmon with sorrel-butter sauce, accompanied by rice studded with favas and asparagus; lamb confit on Saturday; and on Sunday, roast chicken. The price includes a salad and a slice of fruit tart; wine is BYO.

Outer Richmond's new Cassava Bakery will soon start serving a four-course tasting menu (about $30) on Tuesday nights; the snug space can accommodate only a dozen people. The bakery also serves an appetizer bar on Friday and Saturday nights, with plates of crostini, cheese and charcuterie priced between $3 and $7 each.

But the godmother of the bakery-after-dark scene is Samin Nosrat. She's been cooking Afterhours dinners at Tartine Bakery for the last two years. Coveted seats for the monthly meals ($50 per person) are reserved based on a lottery; the menu changes with each dinner, but past highlights include a Low Country-style shrimp boil and an elaborate Persian New Year dinner.

La Boulange, 2325 Pine St. (at Fillmore St.), 415-440-0356 or laboulangebakery.com; Cassava Bakery, 3519 Balboa St. (at 36th St.), 415-640-8990 or cassavasf.com; Tartine Bakery, 600 Guerrero St., (at 18th St.), 415-487-2600 or tartinebakery.com