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 Inner Sunset roughly 36 years. 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 →
This week, I share experiences at two newcomers playing with the boundaries of Asian cuisine. One is a pop-up turned hip, new Mission district restaurant hidden behind a graffitied wall, Bruce Lee films on two TVs above the bar, striking paintings of birds. The other is a fluorescent-lit, Tenderloin spot, half underground, roomy but utilitarian in design. The former just opened early January 2023, the other two days before Christmas 2022. They are dissimilar in most ways but for their surprising interplay of Asian cuisines. Read more →
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America, a dense, rich Chinese community since the 1850s. In these charming, narrow streets, legendary Empress of China began restoration in 2019 and after a long wait and pandemic delays, opened June 2021 as Empress by Boon, a gorgeous Atelier LLYS-designed, 7,500-square-foot space with killer views over Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill and the Bay… Read more →
From the crew behind beloved Liholiho Yacht Club comes another original, one-of-a-kind restaurant centered around tropical rooftop escape vibes and core values that drive all they do.