Tag: Thai

10 SF Restaurants Remaining (Quietly) Great

by  on  in San Francisco Bay Area

Reviewed in this article:
—Modern Indian Creativity from Veggies to Meat: Tiya
—At Five Years Ernest Remains One of SF’s Unsung Greats
—Two Michelin Magic: Saison
—Delicately Playful Dessert Tasting Menu: Nisei
—The U.S.’ Great Modern Guamanian Restaurant: Prubechu
—North African/Tunisian Treasure Turns 10: Barcha
—91-Year-Old Pizza & Pasta Legend: Tommaso’s
—Two Michelin Heights at 8-Year-Old Birdsong
—Asian Rooftop Delights: Good Good Culture Club
—Upscale Thai Offers a Steal of a Lunch: Hed11 Read more →

Korean Drinking Den, Vietnamese Classic Reborn, Modern British, Pizza & More

by  on  in San Francisco Bay Area

Jilli beef tartare. Photo by Virginia Miller. A Vietnamese classic reborn, hip Korean drinking den with food, modern British fare, Japan-worthy takeout-only sushi, healthy delivery and, yes, superb pizza… six standout new eateries plus four new takeout spots. As always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each: Vietnamese Classic Reborn: Crustacean, FiDiOpening in the Financial District in July 2025, Crustacean is… Read more →

Where to Eat Now: 7 Heartwarming Restaurants

by  on  in San Francisco Bay Area, The Latest, Top Tastes

Five are new-er, two are celebrating two or twenty years, from killer Laotian food or Italian comfort to Tatarstan Russian food. These seven are worth visiting. Last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each: Mattina canederli. Photo by Virginia Miller. Cal-Italian, All-Day Neighborhood Joys: Mattina, Pacific HeightsSince 2007, SPQR is one of the nation’s great pasta… Read more →

Hed 11 in SF’s Japantown: New, Creative Thai Tasting Menu from Bangkok Chef

by  on  in The Latest

Opening May 3, 2024, in San Francisco’s Japantown, Hed 11 is a unique entré in a city rich with incredible tasting menus and a neighborhood rightly dominated by Japanese food. The exception a couple blocks away is Michelin-starred Nari, one of the nation’s great upscale Thai restaurants. Hed 11 is the refined sister to Hed Very Thai in the FiDi (Financial District), which I reviewed after Bangkok native and owner Naruephon “Billie” Wannajaro opened it in 2023. Read more →

Here’s where I love to eat in the Tenderloin

by  on  in Featured Neighborhood

The Tenderloin’s (TL) roughly 7-by-5 blocks get a massive amount of bad press as the center of San Francisco’s worst drugs and homelessness. As it has everywhere, pandemic has made conditions worse as Tenderloin’s decades-old issues have expanded a few blocks. But the TL remains a tiny part of our ever vibrant city with top-notch food, as in every SF neighborhood. Yet due to the TL’s location next to tourist central Union Square and hotels, it gets outsized attention compared to much larger difficult neighborhoods in other U.S. cities. Read more →

Hed VeryThai: Rare Isaan Thai Platters Hidden Off A FiDi Alley

by  on  in The Latest

Hed (Isaan for ‘to make’ in an authentic way) VeryThai just opened late January 2023 hidden in a downtown Financial District alley off Kearny Street, focused on Isaan Northeastern Thai cuisine. But unlike many in town serving dishes from that region, Hed VeryThai serves food in khao gaeng style. While that broadly translates to curry over rice, it’s a platter of mini-bowls of complementary dishes, playing off contrasting flavors and textures. Read more →

December Eats Checklist: 7 Standouts of the Month

by  on  in The Latest, Top Tastes

These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from Sebastopol (Sonoma County) treasures in Thai and pizza to SF gems in Creole/Cajun, Japanese and elevated bar food. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews of these exceptional spots, these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →

Tributing Thai Cuisine, Women, Culture & Bold Deliciousness: NARI

by  on  in Top Tastes

Call Pim the Queen of modern Thai food. Named on Esquire’s shortlist of Best New Restaurants in America after opening in 2019, Nari’s chef/owner Pim Techamuanvivit is recently one of five final nominees for Best Chef: California at this year’s upcoming James Beard Awards… Most notably, all five California chef finalists this year are AAPI… two are Thai women. Read more →