Yokai is an ode to jazz with quality 1970s JBL Pro Series studio speakers and sound-proofing, making music the soul of the lofty space that was home to Salt House for years. The steel, brick and wood-lined bar and restaurant on Mission Street opened just last month, adding a feather in the caps of Marc Zimmerman, Ben Jorgensen and team behind Gozu, one of the great modern Japanese restaurants in the nation since 2019: Read more →
One of two of my city bar guides in Gin Magazine, Summer 2023 edition. My Bar Guide to 8 top bars in London now:
Bars featured: Soma Soho, Seed Library, Duke’s, The Mezcaleria at KOL, Rovi, Punch Room at the London Edition, 8 at the Londoner, Tayer + Elementary Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from upscale Indian to casual Mexican food. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here:
—Better-Than-Nola Muffalettas at Sandy’s, Haight-Ashbury
—Non-Alcoholic Pairing with Fine Dining Creativity: Sons & Daughters
—Fab Mexican Food & Cocktails with a View: Barrio
—1940’s Supperclub Live Jazz Dream: Dawn Club
—Unexpected Modern Indian Tasting Menu: Blue Mermaid Restaurant
—Low-Gluten Pizza Alternative from Rome: Pinsa Rossa
—Hearty Mexican Food 7 Days a Week: Tacos del Barrio Read more →
From one of the key cities that birthed cocktails to the world in the 1800s, San Francisco has no end of hundreds of stellar bars with stellar food. We welcome a new one from a beloved industry bartender and standout new menus at two bars we already love, all three with quality food, too. Read more →
From May 8–11, 2023, our own Kevin Diedrich, owner of PCH (Pacific Cocktail Haven) and Kona’s Street Market — named American Bartender of the Year and PCH the Best American Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail in 2020 — quietly and quickly launched the inaugural SF AAPI Cocktail Week, an event that will be bigger next year with more… Read more →
These new spots or new menus cover the gamut, from Filipino-Mexican to Peruvian. Alongside my full restaurant reviews this month, these eight (and a bonus 9th bar) are well worth visiting. Last month’s standouts are here (as always, I’ve personally vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
I won’t forget my first visit to Palette soon after opening in 2019 when chef Peter Hemsley grilled up rare, local coonstripe shrimp just caught that morning, buttery-fresh and revelatory; like eating our divine local spot prawns for the first time. Midwest-born Hemsley’s hand with seafood was evident from those early days. So maybe it’s little surprise that as Palette closed, Hemsley and team just opened Aphotic in the same space on March 21, 2023, as a sleek tribute to… you guessed it: seafood. Read more →
Rooftop bars are proliferating in San Francisco these days… brand new Cavaña just opened late January 2023 on the 17th floor of the LUMA Hotel San Francisco. A stones’ throw from the SF Giants’ Oracle Park, you can hear the ballpark (and at times, concerts) din buzzing nearby as you take in stunning city views of blazing sunsets behind Twin Peaks and the Sutro Tower from the south patio with outdoor bar, to the more chill, fireside glow of downtown SF and the Bay Bridge on Cavaña’s north and east sides. Read more →
The new Bar Sprezzatura — opening November 2022 — is in an easy parking post-6pm area, quiet at night. In fact, the restaurant is only open lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, so it’s ideal for workday meetings, European-esque long lunches and evening gatherings, from bites and drinks to a full meal. Visiting twice now, once for lunch, once for dinner, I had to name it one of the top 14 new restaurant openings of 2022. Read more →
Alongside cocktails at new restaurants, these seven bars are worth visiting now and into the new year…and some currently offer special holiday decor & drinks: Read more →