Native San Franciscans may eschew Luce for its sharp looks, thinking that this ground-floor dining room is best left to guests sequestered in the soaring glass and steel tower that is the Hotel InterContinental, but that would mean missing out on the truly exemplary cuisine, especially at dinner. Make your way through the lobby and bypass Bar 888's buzzing scene for Luce's more modern setting that combines marble inlaid floors, filtered light, a neutral palette, and spherical, smoky glass chandeliers. The service members are proper yet refreshingly engaging. Under the helm of Chef Daniel Corey, Luce's menu weaves together classic French technique with international influences while giving serious attention to seasonality. Dinner has yielded succulent diver scallops paired with Monterey abalone afloat in Meyer lemon-zested duck consommé; and slow-roasted guinea hen fashioned into a gorgeously crisp-skinned roulade accompanied by strawberries-unripe, garnet, and powdered-with sea spinach, capped by an uni emulsion. Desserts can be daringly impressive, as in the extraordinary slate of ebony-dark chocolate olive oil génoise cubes, white chocolate-olive oil ganache, and chocolate ice cream.