Concept

Credo is the Latin word for “I believe.” We believe that good food and good company go hand-in-hand. We believe in the time-honored tradition of the dinner table debate and the value of impassioned points of view. We believe in authentic ingredients, creative preparation and gracious hospitality.

Diners seated in the main dining room are surrounded by 15 gigantic, soaring art panels displaying a dizzying array of quotations beginning with the words “I believe.” Each panel is an assemblage of comment and commentary built on found ideas, from the inspired to the absurd, the sacred and profane, on topics ranging from race to sex to war. Nothing is off limits.

In all, they contain more than 42,000 letters, 10,000 words, over 600 quotations, by some 575 people of varying degrees of fame or infamy.

“It celebrates the juxtaposition of disparate viewpoints,” said Frank Holland, who assembled the quotations and directed the design and production of the one-of-a-kind displays. “Through the deliberate use of proximity, dimension, color and irony, we’ve achieved a third layer of meaning found in the space between the ideas.”

In an indirect way, Credo celebrates the time-honored tradition of the dinner table argument – that venerated off-the-cuff verbal slugfest punctuated by interjections of gastronomic delight. Nothing enhances a great meal like an exciting conversation, and our walls will get the discussion rolling.

Our chef, Scott Quinn, creates a menu that reflects his deep appreciation of Italian, French and Mediterranean culinary traditions combined with Northern California sensibilities. Distilling robust and complex flavors from simple ingredients—including local produce, sustainable fish and imported Italian specialty items—and classic preparations, our selections are quintessentially Italian...with a distinct point of view. Foraged mushrooms from Connie Green, asparagus from Zuckerman’s Farm, and tomatoes from Ed George all contribute to make our menu unique. By supporting our local farmers and purveyors, Chef Larry can give back to our thriving ecosystem. That’s not to say we won’t travel far for something truly special. Spanish octopus, Kauai blue prawns and French white asparagus all find their way onto our eclectic menu.

The Credo Team

ADAM LEWIN

GENERAL MANAGER

Adam was raised in the Bay Area, and born into a family with an extensive background in agriculture and gourmet foods. He has spent 25 plus years in the hospitality business, starting his career in the small Northern California town of Davenport, at the Cash Store Restaurant. After gaining experience in hotels and private dining in Santa Cruz and Sacramento, he moved back to the bay area in 2003. Adam has worked for some of San Francisco’s busiest and most prestigious restaurants, including Boulevard, Momo's and Fog Harbor Fish House. In 2011, Adam left San Francisco to live and work in Manhattan for 3 years, which he thinks is an experience that everyone should have, if given the chance. In the last 5 years he worked to find balance in his life and in doing so, he started a family. His wife, Jeannette, works in education and they had their first child, ‘Lulu’ in September 2020. The whole family are die-hard Notre Dame, Warriors and 49ers fans.

ADAM LEWIN

GENERAL MANAGER

BRANDON HEIST

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Brandon started working in restaurants when he was 16, busing tables and washing dishes in the East Bay where he grew up. After spending time in the kitchen at the 3 Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena and Prima in Walnut Creek, he left the back of house and moved to Southern California to train under Master Sommelier Steven Poe at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. Once becoming a Certified Sommelier, Brandon was promoted to food & beverage manager and oversaw the clubs three dining outlets. After many years in Southern California, he returned to the Bay Area to work at The Olympic Club in San Francisco before joining the team here at Credo. After serving as Credo's General Manager for 5 years, he transitioned to Credo's parent company, Merchants Exchange Productions, to oversee the Credo team and the finances for the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Brandon lives in the East Bay with his wife Emily, daughter Hadley, and yellow labrador Murphy.

BRANDON HEIST

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS

IAN SILVA

WINE DIRECTOR

Ian is nothing if not cosmopolitan. Peruvian-Italian by way of the Bay Area and conversant in six languages, Ian is also charging toward his Advanced Sommelier certification, which puts him in rare air. Ian worked hard to build the beverage program and brought home an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator in July of 2019 and back-to-back Best of Awards of Excellence in 2020 and 2021. Part of the Credo & Merchants Exchange Productions family since 2010, Ian is a fan of sports, classic cars, his wife Gabriela and their dog Stewie (not in that order!).

IAN SILVA

WINE DIRECTOR

Careers

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Our Tables

Shortly after people notice the walls at Credo, their attention quickly turns to the remarkable scrapwood tables that fill the restaurant, each one painstakingly created by craftsmen and women in the workshop of acclaimed Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek.
Piet Hein Eek’s work blurs the lines between art, design, craft, and industrial production. By challenging our ideas of conventional beauty and what constitutes waste, Eek achieves a look and feel that is wholly original, rich in beauty and deeply intellectual. The found wood that makes up each of Eek’s breathtaking scrapwood tables poignantly echoes the found ideas that comprise our walls.

“The scrap table was originally made out of leftovers from all these cupboards and other projects we make. At a certain moment I decided to create a puzzle, layering the scraps until they became strong. We made a table out of that. Then we did it ten times because I wanted to exaggerate the layers. The whole essence with these was, the more time it takes, the better. When it came time to finish, we lacquered it ten times, just to exaggerate the process time. This gave it a very strong visual and tactile effect, which was successful immediately, but purely came out of the idea of exaggerating time in order to turn the world upside down. Everything we do is always handmade. If you put energy into it, people should know it through the details and connections.”

— Piet Hein Eek

“Shortly after people notice the walls at Credo, their attention quickly turns to the remarkable scrapwood tables that fill the restaurant, each one painstakingly crafted by craftsmen and women in the workshop of acclaimed Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek.
Piet Hein Eek’s work blurs the lines between art, design, craft, and industrial production. By challenging our ideas of conventional beauty and what constitutes waste, Eek achieves a look and feel that is wholly original, rich in beauty and deeply intellectual. The found wood that makes up each of Eek’s breathtaking scrapwood tables poignantly echoes the found ideas that comprise our walls.”

— Piet Hein Eek explains the process to Dwell Magazine