The story
In downtown San Anselmo, just across the bridge from San Rafael, Madcap brings a singular vision to Marin County dining. Chef Ron Siegel orchestrates a nightly-changing tasting menu that draws equally from French technique and Japanese precision, creating what the restaurant describes as modern American with a French and Japanese fusion.
The kitchen works in close dialogue with the seasons. Menus shift daily and transform completely with the changing weather, allowing Chef Siegel to shape each experience around what is at its peak. The result is a tasting menu that feels less like a fixed script and more like a conversation with the market.
Two tasting formats are offered. The full 11-course experience runs Tuesday through Saturday, while a more concise four-course option is available Tuesday through Thursday. A sample menu from the 11-course progression gives a sense of the kitchen’s range: shrimp hasami with satay, baby beet tarte tatin with burrata and almond, Hawaiian bigeye tuna with Madras curry, and Gilardi Farm egg with pistachio and candy cap. Shima aji appears with persimmon, lime, and pomegranate; black cod with cauliflower and dashi; honey nut squash tortelloni with apples and thyme jus. A Sonoma duck breast with salsify and chanterelles leads into dry-aged Flannery ribeye with spinach and banyuls, and the meal closes with buttermilk cake and Concord grape sorbet. Every component is subject to change—the menu is a living document.
The dining room is intimate and focused, with air conditioning, wheelchair access, and a private room available for events. The wine list is notably interesting, selected to complement the kitchen’s layered, cross-cultural flavors.
Madcap’s recognition with a Michelin star speaks to the consistency and ambition of what Chef Siegel and his team accomplish each night. In a small storefront on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, they deliver cooking that is both refined and alive to the moment.
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