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Springline is cementing itself as a taste of San Francisco with its latest restaurant tenant: Causwells.
The Menlo Park mixed-use campus has steadily been bringing a host of San Francisco-based eateries to the Peninsula, including Andytown Coffee Roasters, Barebottle Brewing Co., Burma Love, Che Fico and Proper Food. The newest addition, Causwells, is set to open Thursday. Founded in San Francisco in 2014, the American bistro and bar will look and taste significantly different from its original restaurant.
Notably, the menu is about 75% new, chef-owner Adam Rosenblum said. Still distinctly American in cuisine, Rosenblum’s culinary perspective is influenced by his classical French training and time cooking in New Orleans. The bar program, developed by co-owner Elmer Mejicanos, aims to showcase the flavors of America today. Mejicanos is utilizing the restaurant’s size, twice that of Causwell’s original location, with the addition of a martini cart.
“We’ve always wanted to just be a neighborhood restaurant,” Rosenblum said. “They can come in for a Wednesday lunch, or they can come in for a date night or graduation or whatever it is. We’ve always wanted to be that place where you could come for anything.”
Rosenblum and Mejicanos, who own Mensch & Mejicanos Hospitality Group, had their “fairytale meeting” about eight years ago while working on a project that didn’t pan out, Rosenblum said. But the duo enjoyed working together so much that they decided to team up again, opening Red Window in San Francisco in 2021, which they have since sold.
“We really clicked in all the right ways when it comes to our partnership,” Mejicanos said. “(Rosenblum’s) food has a backbone. It’s rooted in true love for the food, and not a lot of gimmick or fluff and stuff like that. It’s all about putting really good food on the table.”
Mejicanos joined ownership of Causwells in 2022, and the pair opened Super Mensch last year. They had been looking to expand Causwells to the Peninsula when the owner of Springline asked if they’d be interested in putting down roots in Menlo Park in the former space of Canteen.
For a first-time diner, Rosenblum recommends two dishes that have been on the menu from day one. To start, order the housemade ricotta with rosemary honey, olive oil and lavash, he said ($15).
“I think it reimagines what people are used to in ricotta,” he said. “It’s something very, very simple, but just the flavor and the texture of it are a stark difference from what people relate to as ricotta.”
Causwell’s signature dish is the American burger, made with house-recipe ground beef, American cheese, lacto-fermented pickle, onion, lettuce and Causwells sauce on a sesame seed bun ($24). Rosenblum noted the burger was the last thing he added to the original menu, and it became the standout hit that got Causwells through the pandemic.
New dishes that Rosenblum are particularly excited about include the octopus with garbanzo beans, black vinaigrette, pomelo and salsa verde; fried local heritage chicken with herb slaw; crispy boudin sausage with green peppercorn aioli; and charred oysters with herb butter sauce and Romano cheese ($16-$34). Weekend brunch options include breakfast jambalaya, boudin sausage Benedict and brioche French toast bites ($11-$19).
Like the food menu, about 75% of the cocktail program is new, with just five cocktails carrying over from the San Francisco menu, including the espresso martini with roasted banana and smoked coconut foam. Causwells is distilling its own nonalcoholic spirits for new nonalcoholic cocktails, including one inspired by a smoked beet salad.
“Elmer’s creativity is unmatched,” Rosenblum said. “I’ve always appreciated that I can’t keep up with him on the creativity side.”
Mejicanos noted that a standout new cocktail is the Ceviche, a play on a Pisco sour made with passion fruit, aji amarillo, chilli thread and sorrel oil.
“It’s like you’re eating a bowl of ceviche, but it still feels like a pisco sour,” Mejicanos said.
Causwells Menlo Park will also offer a martini cart with three options: the Causwells Martini is made with gin, white peach balsamic and eucalyptus; the Filthy Martini features olive-oil washed vodka and housemade olive brine; and the Sazerac is made with beeswax aged rye, Chinese five-spice, winter melon and absinthe foam.
“Every cocktail is going to be seen through a lens of ‘what is America right now?’” Mejicanos said. “And for me, it is this melting pot of culture, flavors, cooking, traditions.”
The 50-seat art deco-style restaurant features peacock-print wallpaper, sage green velvet chairs, and brushed gold hardware, as well as a garage roll-up style wall that opens to seat an additional 60 outdoors.
While Rosenblum joked their goal is “world domination,” Mejicanos clarified that they aim to continue to expand Causwells in California “within reason and control.”
Causwells, 550 Oak Grove, Menlo Park, Instagram: @causwells.menlopark. Beginning April 2, open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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