As of April 19, 2022, Velvet Cantina is (dramatically) reborn as Shuggie’s Trash Pie & Natural Wine, no longer dim and dusty but colorful, loud and playful in bold yellow and green. Given the deteriorating nature of the front room, it had to be gutted and rebuilt, now all yellow and white, lined with yellow disco balls, lip-shaped sofa and cheetah mural, centered around an open kitchen with bar seats over a glittery gold countertop. Read more →
Opening a more upscale, untried concept on a block that already holds three Michelin-starred restaurants — State Bird Provisions, The Progress and Avery — is ambitious, to say the least. When it is one that needs tightening up, as brand new Bansang does, it’s even riskier. But in its initial soft opening month of May (opening the tail end of April 2022), Bansang’s promise is all on the plate. Read more →
Legendary Kezar Bar & Restaurant has been a Cole Valley staple since 1989, but even after revamps, couldn’t quite hang on. The good news is it’s staying neighborhood-owned with local Jim Angelus of nearby Bacon Bacon reopening it as Cole Valley Tavern (he became a partner in Kezar back in 2018). It’s packed every night since opening late April 2022, carrying on the tradition but with an upgrade: convivial, welcoming yet with heightened comfort food and cocktails. Read more →
You’d be tempted to call The Madrigal an upscale cocktail lounge with elevated bar food, ideal for pre-and post-show imbibing near the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and SF Jazz. And it is. But it’s much more. Debuting on Van Ness Avenue in December 2021 from Hi Neighbor Hospitality (Trestle, The Vault Steakhouse, The Vault Garden), The Madrigal feels like what the space should have always been. Read more →
We weren’t exactly short on Italian restaurants serving Neapolitan pizzas and housemade pastas. But chef Kaitlynn Bauman’s Norcina, which opened in August 2021, is a sunny, tiny slice of Marina real estate that doesn’t feel like other countless restaurants serving similar food. In the same neighborhood, there is already popular local chain Delarosa focused on Neapolitan pizza and antipasti, a similar pizza focus at new Napizza, intimate, old school, pasta-centric Roma Antica, and, of course, pioneering A16. And that’s just within the same couple of blocks.
Review here: Read more →
Taksim is named after a historic Istanbul district lined with 1800s architecture and global chains. The food here follows suit: it’s Turkish, to be sure, adhering to tradition but taking a modern approach… Read more →
These six newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from Mexican tortas (sandwiches) to neighborhood Salvadoran, with bagels and cafes in the mix. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews — Birch & Rye, Nari, ROOH SF , Table Culture Provisions — these newbies are worth visiting: Read more →
Of all times to open a Russian restaurant… but, of course, Birch & Rye, debuting February 2022, has been in the works long before the current dire events in Russia and Ukraine. Chef/owner Anya El-Wattar dove in head-first to aid Ukraine by way of her upcoming “Dine for Ukraine” April 13 fundraiser dinner with none other than Dominique Crenn. Why Birch & Rye is a special new modern Russian food (and drink) oasis: Read more →
On a crisp, clear, wind-less February night, we bypassed the line to get in with a reservation at brand-new KAIYŌ Rooftop atop the Hyatt Place Hotel. It was clear immediately from the line down the sidewalk to the bustling, Latin music-tinged party on the rooftop that this is already one of the hottest newcomers in town. Read more →
These six notable newcomers cover the gamut, from Mexican pizza and Jewish deli pop-ups inside established restaurants, to a food hall nailing cuisine from Africa to the Middle East. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews — Good Good Culture Club from Liholiho Yacht Club, Automat from Lazy Bear, Chuck’s Takeaway from Charles Phan, Fort Point Valencia and 6 newcomers cafe & food truck edition — these new restaurants are worth eating at now: Read more →