Ryan Pollnow

Executive Chef

Born and raised in Northern California, Ne Timeas Restaurant Group Partner and Chef Ryan Pollnow never imagined that working in a country club kitchen as a teenager would lay the groundwork for his career path. After graduating from culinary school, Ryan travelled abroad to continue his education in Northern Spain, where he immersed himself in the Basque country’s culture and cuisine at restaurant Mugaritz. “My time at Mugartiz was more than just cooking – I left Spain completely in love with everything about the country and quickly developed a dream to one day open my own Spanish-style restaurant.” When Ryan returned to the U.S. he moved to San Francisco, working as sous chef under Randy Lewis at the former Mecca restaurant. He later went back to Sonoma, accepting a position at Jackson Family Winery where he discovered his love for agriculture while having a four-acre organic farm at his fingertips.
Four years later, Ryan had the opportunity to work in San Francisco again for Lauren Kiino at Il Cane Rosso group as a sous chef. With a desire to explore other cuisines around the globe, he decided to go abroad again and embarked on a food tour of Northern Italy, a trip which furthered his strong commitment to local foods, seasonality and simplicity in his cooking. Shortly after, Pollnow joined the flour + water team as chef de cuisine and later took over as chef de cuisine of central kitchen in 2013, where he earned acclaim from Zagat, recognizing him as a “30 Under 30” up-and-comer on the Bay Area food scene. Now, only two years later, Pollnow brings what he loved about Spain to San Francisco with Aatxe.

The Ne Timeas Restaurant Group

The Ne Timeas Restaurant Group, a collaboration between founding partners, Thomas McNaughton, David Steele and David White as well as partners Kara Bratcher, Vanya Shekell and chef Ryan Pollnow currently includes projects: flour + water, central kitchen, and salumeria. This spring, in addition to the partnership with Chef Pollnow on Aatxe, the group will open Cafe du Nord in partnership with The Bon Vivants.

The Bon Vivants

Josh Harris and Scott Baird co-founded The Bon Vivants in 2009, a nationally recognized cocktail and hospitality firm specializing in creative marketing, bar concepts, and cocktail consulting. They also own and operate the award-winning and highly successful Trick Dog bar in San Francisco.