Opened by Thomas Keller in September 2006,[2] Ad Hoc was meant to serve as a temporary cafe for six months but was retained as a permanent establishment.

His intention was to have Ad Hoc serve as a six-month venture while preparing his new restaurant for the space, which would focus on hamburger and wine pairings.

Ad Hoc was opened quickly, with little changes to the decor in the temporary space, and serving a nightly single four-course meal at a flat price.

One menu allowed Ad Hoc to limit problems with finding and stocking ingredients, and menus were planned loosely about a week in advance, and finalized 48 hours before.

[3] In 2006, Keller was interviewed by food critic Michael Bauer from SFGate and was asked if the venture would really be temporary.