These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from Greek mezé to dim sum. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
In deep dives tasting my way around Singapore, to my love for dear departed places like Indonesian great Warung Siska (chef Siska Silitonga, please come back!), I am crazy about the unique cuisines of this island-heavy corner of Southeast Asia. This includes Malaysia, which deeply informs much of Singaporean cuisine as its very close neighbor and sister. Together, they’re known for incredible dishes like kaya toast or laksa soup (although there are styles of laksa in Indonesia and southern Thailand as well). So I was certainly delighted when I heard chef Tracy Goh found an outer Noe Valley brick-and-mortar space for her Malaysian pop-up, Damansara, opened October 19, 2022. Read more →
Debuting October 13, 2022, Rosemary and Pine (R&P) opened in the former Skool space on a sleepy block of San Francisco’s Design District, nestled between SoMa, Mission Bay and Potrero Hill. R&P is the latest restaurant from the Omakase Restaurant Group behind the likes of Michelin-starred steakhouse Niku, Michelin-starred sushi spot, Omakase, and Dumpling Time, all three around the corner from R&P. The space is warmer since Skool days, redesigned by Aya Yanagisawa, in neutral tone like a warmer-than-olive green, with a glowing bar and huge asset of a roomy, hidden front patio. Read more →
The LINE Hotel is an uber-hip line of boutique hotels only in LA, DC, Austin and San Francisco, with the latest sleek LINE Hotel SF opened August 2022 on Market and Turk Streets next to the Warfield. The good news for food and drink lovers is that the hotel also houses restaurants overseen by talented chef Joe Hou and bar master and beverage consultant Danny Louie, who I’ve written about for a good decade, with his unique and oh-so-SF cocktail artistry. Read more →
Featured spots:
—Bay Views Steakhouse with New Chef: EPIC Steak
—Waterside Views & Standout Veggie Dishes: Terrene at 1Hotel
—Argentinian Staple: Lolinda
—Pizzas with Tiki Cocktails & Natural Wines: Pie Punks
—The Originator of Tsukemen Comes to SF: Taishoken
—One of SF’s Best (Newer) Dim Sum Spots: Dumpling Home Read more →
La Société Bar & Cafe, opening August 2022 inside the recently expanded Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, may seem like a new restaurant for tourists, slowly returning conference go-ers and downtown workers. But despite being inside a downtown corporate chain hotel, this modern French brassiere featuring California ingredients is a worthwhile meal for locals, too. I’ll explain. Read more →
The lofty, industrial space that housed Alexander’s Steakhouse Group’s The Patio pop-up during pandemic, opened as AFICI on September 24, 2022, on a heavily-trafficked stretch of Folsom Street during rush hours in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.
But AFICI is not a steakhouse, rather it’s a fine dining restaurant with a regularly changing, four-course prix fixe menu shaped by seasonality, full animal utilization, handmade pastas and unique house charcuterie program centered around A5 wagyu beef. Read more →
Though I’ve eaten everywhere this month from Adriano Paganini/Back of the House group’s latest, Rad Radish, to the new Arepas Latin Cuisine and Fiddle Fig Cafe in North Beach, these six newcomers (or new menus) stood out in September, covering the gamut, from Brittany-style French crêpes to NY slice pizza. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, I share what’s worth tasting at each, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve vetted, visited and/or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
Those of us who have been in dining, cocktails and spirits a long while know the importance of Bar Agricole since it opened in San Francisco’s SoMa district in 2011. Not only was it nominated every year since 2012 for James Beard Outstanding Bar Program in the nation — finally winning in 2019, but founder and bar vet Thad Vogler (who helped open pioneering bars like Bourbon and Branch) wrote an intriguing and definitive book on farmhouse-distilled and naturally sourced spirits, By the Smoke and the Smell: My Search for the Rare and Sublime on the Spirits Trail… Read more →
On August 11, 2022, the former Stacks space in Hayes Valley came to life again as Hazie’s from Hat Trick Hospitality team (The Brixton, Rambler). The name is rough, even a bit cheesy, but the space is dramatically reborn via ROY Hospitality Design: uncovered windows and open space make it look far bigger than before. A curved, sweeping bar, colorful artwork in nooks and plenty of spots for couples and groups, make it feel like the large neighborhood hangout Hayes Valley was missing. Gazing over Patricia’s Green, it takes in the bustle outside, feeling like a party inside at peak hours. Read more →