Gary Danko branzini. Photo Credit: Virginia Miller. Portlandia references may be old news, but I can’t help but hear the show’s Dream of the 90’s song in my head when I return to these two great restaurants that have been showing San Francisco how it’s done since the 1990s. Here’s multiple reasons why they’re still relevant. Gary Danko cheese cart. Photo… Read more →
Bon Delire’s star dish: oeufs mayonnaise. Photo by Virginia Miller. Bon Délire debuted October 22, 2024, along the Embarcadero from restaurateur Kais Bouzidi, who owns Sens and Barcha (my Barcha review here). Whereas his Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants are directly correlated to his North African roots and Tunisian father, this newcomer nods to his childhood on tiny Ile Saint-Louis, the… Read more →
Waterbar’s oyster bar. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from restaurants with views and good food to a modern German beer hall and Spanish sherry and tapas gem. Alongside my latest restaurant reviews — Bar Iris, The Wild, Che Fico Pizzeria, overnight in Sausalito — these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve… Read more →
Besharam spread. Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger. Vegetarian Indian Restaurant from Female Chef Stays Strong: Besharam, Dogpatch In the sleepy (at night)-but-special Dogpatch — next door to multi-room Minnesota Street Project art galleries, which sustains local artists — is Besharam, one of San Francisco’s best modern Indian restaurants. Excellent as Copra, TIYA, ROOH (below) or newcomers like Bombay Brasserie may be, none have a female… Read more →
Merchant Roots “Karl the Fog” blue course. Photo by Virginia Miller. Raving about Merchant Roots’ wildly-changing, eight-seat dinners since chef Ryan Shelton launched the first themed menu in January 2019, I’ve felt this magical team and concept should have a Michelin star and more, though they are Michelin-recommended, thankfully. But it’s a whole “new bag” for the clever restaurant as they’ve… Read more →
Causwells. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from classic French to a neighborhood comfort food and cocktail classic that just turned ten. Alongside my latest restaurant reviews — TIYA (modern Indian), Hed11 (Thai), 10 top brunches, KoThai (modern Thai Korean), Alora (Mediterranean) — these five are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve personally vetted… Read more →
KoThai Republic kalbi. Photo by Virginia Miller. To meet Sung Park of KoThai is to meet a true restaurateur. This humble but light-filled restaurant in the Inner Sunset belies the creativity on a menu where Korea-meets-Thailand in San Francisco skin. Park is not just a first-generation SF native, but has lived in the Sunset district his entire life, and in the… Read more →
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 →
Farmhouse Inn pool, Forestville. Photo by Virginia Miller. This month, I review five notable restaurants and three luxurious-yet-relaxed resorts across Sonoma County, all resorts with remodels and two of them with notable restaurants. The restaurants range from high to low, sushi omakase tasting menu to order-at-the-counter Lebanese food. Here, eight places worth visiting now for a day trip or overnights in… Read more →
Stookey’s Blue Room cocktail. Photo by Virginia Miller. Weaned on films of the 1930–1960s as a child, I was a martinis and jazz girl long before I could drink. I dreamed of the kind of 1930s bars and 1940s supperclubs I saw in those movies, teeming with icy martinis, jazz and a beautifully-dressed clientele. When Tim Stookey, his wife Leslie Cole… Read more →