KAIYO Restaurant & Bar’s nigiri. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from modern Colombian to an Italian tavola calda/osteria. Alongside my latest restaurant reviews — Alora (Mediterranean), Sonoma County eats, five fine dining standouts — these ten are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each: Prospect’s whipped feta garlic dip.… Read more →
Reviewed in this article:
—So Brilliant, This 2 Michelin Should Be 3: Lazy Bear
—Still Shining in Its New Era: Saison
—Back to its Original Format but Refreshed: Lord Stanley 2.0
—Seafood & Drink Glories Like No Other: Aphotic
—Asian Art Museum-Inspired: Gilda’s Salon Dinners at the Proper Hotel Read more →
San Francisco’s limitless brunch options can reach religious fervor here with long waits for no-reservation spots. Here are 10 restaurants that (mostly) take reservations, across a range of cuisines and price levels. All offer something to please mom, from colorful cocktails to heartwarming dishes (and they’re great brunch options any time of the year!) Read more →
Reviewed in this article:
—Best Kept Secret & Daily Changing Menus: Camino Alto
—Taiwanese Bites & Asian-Influenced Cocktails: The Rabbit Hole
—Wine Bar & Bites Happiness: Cultivar
—Focaccia Pizza With a View: Il Parco
—Top-Notch Palestinian Falafel: Habibi Falafel
—Creative but “Real Deal” Hot Dogs: Hayz Dog
—A Unique, Arty Pop-Up: Sister, Mother, Crone
—Tunisian Hideaway: Gola Read more →
Three Michelin-starred Quince is widely known to be one of the best restaurants in the world. I remember Quince’s cozy original space that opened in 2003 on Octavia Street, where chef Michael Tusk and wife, Lindsay, first revealed to us his Bologna, Italy-trained pasta perfection and her hospitality and restaurateur genius. They moved to Jackson Square six years later, and now — with a recent renovation — Quince is a restaurant reborn. Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from dim sum to traditional Irish or Russian food. Alongside the latest full restaurant reviews — why SF is the U.S.’ best food city, The Halfway Club, Nick’s Cove, Movida/Bar Gemini/Stoa, Canela, Chotto Matte, 2023’s top new restaurants and bars — these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each one): Read more →
Chef Mat Schuster opened Canela Bistro & Wine Bar in 2011 on ever-bustling Market Street in the heart of the Castro. I remember those early days when Canela was immediately a cozy, inviting neighborhood Spanish restaurant. This was before still-excellent Spanish spots like Bellota opened in 2016. And since, we’ve lost some of our best Spanish go-tos like Contigo and Barcino. Read more →
Prik Hom’s miang grilled shrimp. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from cocktail havens to SF’s first Georgian restaurant. Alongside October’s full restaurant reviews — SSAL (Michelin-starred Korean), Molti Amici in Healdsburg, modern Turkish Dalida in the Presidio, Absinthe turns 25, all-day Mexican breakfasts and homey meals at El Mil Amores — these five are also worth visiting, with… Read more →
Their swoon-worthy fried chicken and uni boxes were a lifeline in pandemic, and their pivot since reopening to modern Korean tasting menu format has swiftly earned them a Michelin star in December 2022. But what is the reinvented SSAL like in its remodeled, more refined, soothing space? First off, it’s more fine dining, though still relaxed and intimate, a restaurant that would easily fit in with the Michelin-starred restaurants I dined at recently in Seoul, S. Korea. Read more →
French food hasn’t exactly been trending nationally, but thank goodness for stalwarts like San Francisco’s Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, a craft cocktail pioneer way back in the late 1990s also faithfully serving upscale French bistro fare and beloved brunches. It still draws Hayes Valley crowds as it hits 25 years old this summer… an impressive feat for any restaurant. Though I’ve been dining here over 20 years, post-pandemic I’ve only been in for a couple weekday lunches and brunch (with absinthe cocktails, of course). It has been years since I returned for dinner. So it was time to go back to “Green Fairy” central on a recent mild Saturday night. Read more →