New Restaurants
New Nightspots
| Name |
Address |
City |
Phone |
| Slide |
430 Mason St. |
San Francisco |
415-421-1916 |
Coming Soon
Alley
Next year, Laurent Manrique of Aqua and the shuttered C&L Steakhouse will play with fire (in a good way) when he opens this wood-burning-oven-focused eatery on Downtown's newest alley, Yerba Buena Lane.
Essencia
The opening of this Hayes Valley Peruvian restaurant (401 Gough St.) shepherded by Anne Gingrass has been delayed. It is now slated to debut in mid-December, rather than in October as previously reported in the ZagatWire.
Mercury
Look for a mid-month opening of this latest cocktail lounge straddling the Marina, Cow Hollow and the Van Ness Corridor (1434 Lombard St.). Brandon Clements (bar manager of Mecca), along with former Betelnut chef Dominick Anza (who also cooks at Poleng Lounge), will offer a weekday American-style breakfast to accommodate the neighboring hotels, but the real draw will be Anza's repertoire of Pan-Asian small plates and Far East–influenced specialty cocktails (think lychee- and lavender-spiked elixirs) served in an industrial, loftlike setting outfitted in fiery fabrics. Once dinner service gets off the ground, Clements plans to introduce a "Retox" weekend brunch, offering greasy/boozy morning fare geared at clubbers.
Olallie
Named for Northern California's local blackberry, this forthcoming neighborhood joint in Noe Valley (1320 Castro) will offer seasonal Californian fare (with slight Spanish influences) from chef-owner Brett Emerson (ex Greens and LuLu) when it opens early next year.
Straits Under the Dome
After the New Year, Chris Yeo will debut this adjunct late-night bar/lounge under the historic Dome, just steps from his new Straits Cafe in the Westfield Shopping Center. The 65-seat, open-air venue will primarily serve his signature Pan-Asian bar snacks, along with a vast raw bar and cocktails, until 2 AM, making it the only post-movie spot in the area. Yeo also hopes to host live jazz ensembles during the day.
Umami
Fueling the Pan-Asian small-plates trend (it feels like the '90s all over again) is this Cow Hollow Vietnamese- and Japanese-inspired izakaya (2909 Webster St.) from Mamacita chef Sam Josi opening later this month. Its name means "savoriness" or "deliciousness" in Japanese.
Good Deals and Other News
The 2007 Survey's highest-ranking Indian restaurant, with branches on the Peninsula in Mountain View and San Jose's Santana Row, is slated to open a third location Downtown at 13 Yerba Buena Lane next spring.
Founding chef Kazuhito Takahashi has split from this hybrid steak-and-Japanese restaurant in the Hotel Nikko. While the hotel searches for a replacement, the nine-seat sushi bar is closed, with limited sushi and sashimi items on the lunch and dinner menus. In the meantime, the dinner chef continues to prepare several Asian-influenced dishes, including tea-smoked duck and red curry risotto, in addition to the regular American chophouse fare.
Jason Fox (ex Scott Howard) has assumed the reins of this Mission wine bar. The third chef to walk into the joint since it opened a year ago, Fox will maintain the kitchen's Cal-Med style.
Pamela Busch's sophomore wine bar and restaurant recently celebrated its one-year anniversary and has added "Kitchen" to its name as a nod to its fully realized, wine-centric, Mediterranean dinner menu, overseen by chef Christine Mullen and served nightly.
For a dose of Indian cuisine the morning after, this popular Mission eatery has launched a Bollywood-inspired weekend brunch (11:30 AM–3:30 PM).
Pacific Heights' cult breakfast joint is now open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, serving a combination of traditional favorites such as chicken pot pie and mac 'n' cheese, along with more contemporary, modern American items from chef Matt Skov (formerly of Campton Place, including shrimp cake with green-tomato sofrito and seared salmon with a Bloody Mary sauce. Reservations are taken for dinner and lunch, but alas, not for breakfast or weekend brunch.
This Yountville winery has officially debuted its newly remodeled Wine Lounge at the recently rechristened Étoile restaurant. Now through the end of the year, it will host "Blend," a party replete with professional tango dancers and DJs on Saturday and Monday nights, with $5 sparkling wine cocktails and appetizer specials prepared by restaurant chef Chris Manning (Saturdays, 9 PM–closing; Mondays, 8 PM–midnight; no cover charge; 800-736-2892).
Traci des Jardins' #2 guy, Robbie Lewis, has left her acclaimed Hayes Valley supper club to spend more time with his family and eventually open his own place. Craig Patzer, who has worked with Lewis for several years, has been promoted to executive chef. Since the seasonally driven Cal-French menu changes regularly, Patzer will begin to institute some new dishes over the next few months, though no major stylistic changes are expected.
Two young French-trained chefs have been hired to revamp this Provençal bistro in the Mission; Mikael Audry and Lionel Balbastre have already introduced several traditional new menu items, including pissaladière and lapin au miel de lavande (roasted rabbit with rosemary, lavender and honey jus). In addition to the regular evening menu, they are preparing a special monthly "Menu Decouverte" – a $59 five-course dinner paired with wines from Southern France (for an additional $15), generally held on the last Wednesday of each month. The dinners are invitation only; interested parties should call the restaurant at 415-643-4333.
A satellite branch of this Western Addition pizzeria opened last month at 400 Valencia Street (415-551-7827), where it features the same deep-dish pies, dark decor and indie-music-programmed jukebox.
Chef James Syhabout, who worked at Coi and Manresa, is the new executive chef of this Cow Hollow Cal-Med.
Management changes are afoot at Judy Roger's Hayes Valley institution. Her longtime partner, Vince Calcagno, has sold his share to former Chez Panisse staffer Gilbert Pilgram, who for 20 years worked both in the kitchen and as GM of Alice Waters' mother ship. Pilgram will officially come on board at the end of November. Roger assures us that "it isn't like he's going to blow up the grill on December 1st. Gilbert has dined at Zuni more times than I have." His charge is merely to "infuse [Zuni] with more energy." Which means no major changes to Roger's traditional French and Italian repertoire are expected.
- Enrico's Sidewalk Cafe
- Kingfish (San Francisco branch only)