Tropical rooftop restaurant and bar rise in SoMa, and more Bay Area restaurants opening
This is a curated list of the Bay Area’s most notable restaurant and bar openings, with new updates posted weekly. See an opening we missed? Then write U.S.
February 15
SOMA – The team behind Cow Hollow’s Kaiyo opens its spin-off Kaiyo Rooftop on February 16 atop the Hyatt Place Hotel in SoMa. The rooftop restaurant and bar serves Nikkei food and drink that showcases brilliant Peruvian ingredients treated in Japanese culinary style (think, scallop tiradito and a surf-and-turf sushi roll). There’s a cocktail list with tropical concoctions topped with an umbrella, as well as four types of Japanese highballs. Take a look at the space and discover the menu here.
SOMA — Mother-son team Alma and Arturo Rodriguez, the duo behind La Cocina-born Mixote, have brought their slow-steaming Mexican comfort to Salesforce East. For now, the lunch counter serves a small menu of bowls garnished with your choice of meat.
MISSION – In the old Blind Cat digs, Ruth’s at Treat Street is now pushing a $9 shot and beer deal and $4 Tecates on the stick. There are even $1 pool games, by Mission Local, all courtesy of co-owners and bartenders Kim Cruise and Johanna Luddy.
CASTRO – Stock up on a ramen combo (choose between tori, red tori, and black tori bases) that comes with chicken tenderloins, katsu, chashu, or karaage at the new Nash Hot Chicken & Ramen de Castro, which Hoodline reports opened in the former Me & Tasty Space in December.
BERNAL HEIGHTS — An Eater SF tipster has spotted Four Chairs, a new restaurant that serves a classic American breakfast including omelets and eggs Benedict by day and Asian and Thai specialties by night. The restaurant is open daily except Tuesdays on Mission Street between 29 and Valencia.
RICHMOND — WenChang Dumpling Restaurant began serving soup dumplings, shu mai and har gow in Richmond (on Balboa near 18th Avenue) in early January. Other Chinese menu options include crispy noodles, wonton soup, and chicken kung pao, all of which are available for delivery, pickup, or dinner.
BERKELEY — Berkeley’s Elmwood District is offering a new healthy eating option in Humbowl, which opens Feb. 16 at 2975 College Avenue, just south of Ashby. The counter service point offers cereal bowls topped with lean protein, vegetables and gravy.
SACRAMENTO — Anonimo, which translates to “anonymous” in Italian, quietly opened near downtown Sacramento, the Bee reports. It’s a new pizzeria created by a trio of industry veterans who take inspiration from classic pizza styles, including New York, Neapolitan and Detroit, and top their pies with everything from meatballs to honey .
February 7
CHINATOWN – There’s a new pocket bakery in Chinatown thanks to famed San Francisco baker Amanda Michael of Jane the Baker. Called Little Jane, the newest addition to Michael’s growing bakery empire is take-out only, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, and serves a selection of baked goods only found at this location, including puff pastry filled with persimmon rice pudding.
SOMA – Taksim is a new upscale Turkish restaurant from the team behind Lokma, the Outer Richmond restaurant known for its Turkish breakfast. the the Chronicle reports that Taksim spans two floors with former Atelier Crenn chef Daniel Gribble in the kitchen overseeing a gourmet menu with “Turkish influences.”
MISSION — Star chef Charles Phan returns to the Mission with Chuck’s Takeaway, a casual sandwich counter with a tight menu of six options, all accompanied by freshly baked bread. The list includes banh mi (both pork-stuffed and vegetarian), as well as a meatball sandwich, egg salad, and open tuna. Here’s the first look at Eater SF inside the slender space.
SUNSET – A new cheese factory has appeared in the space next to Arizmendi in the Inner Sunset. Willow on the Green aims to help the neighborhood fill its picnic baskets with cheeses, meats, prepared meals and sandwiches, per What Now SF.
OAKLAND-The the Chronicle brings more details about Pomet, the next restaurant of one of the women behind K&J Orchard. The restaurant debuts Feb. 23 in the former Homestead space to serve modern American cuisine that showcases local produce.
OAKLAND — There’s a new Persian dining option at Rumi Kitchen, a restaurant and bakery tucked inside the Valero gas station near Kaiser Oakland, by Berkeleyside. Pop in for savory wraps, combo plates and rice pudding.
February 1st
NOE VALLEY – Birch & Rye lures diners into its inviting, tree-lined dining room with promises of modern, elegant Russian dishes, including a delicate bird’s nest of savory porridge and superb tangles of wild mushroom stroganoff over noodles with einkorn. This is Moscow chef Anya El-Wattar’s first solo restaurant, although she previously operated a restaurant business and spent time in Greens’ kitchen to get her feet wet before opening Birch & Rye for dinner on February 9.
OAKLAND — The idea behind Fruitvale’s new Korner Kitchen & Bar is a bit confusing, manager Jessica Seggman admitted to the the Chronicle – but in short, it’s a police station kitchen housing some of the hottest pop-ups in East Bay (including Bad Walter and Sfizio’s ice cream), plus a bar and event space. Bar manager Fred Acebo’s drink menu is easily a halo-halo-inspired cocktail made with ube-infused vodka, coconut cream and banana liqueur.
OAKLAND – Since January 29, Sweet Fingers is back. The Jamaican restaurant was relocated by a fire in 2019, but found a new home at 5859 Foothill Boulevard in East Oakland, where fans can stock up on jerk chicken, fried plantains and more.
OAKLAND — Monster Pho is moving just around the corner to a bigger space in Oakland’s trendy Temescal neighborhood, Berkeleyside reports. Since February 2, the child-friendly Vietnamese restaurant has also employed a fleet of robot waiters to move bowls of steaming soup from the kitchen to the dining room.
HALF MOON BAY – Husband and wife team Sachin Chopra and Shoshana Wolff earned Michelin accolades for their San Mateo All Spice restaurant in the 2010s. They’ve now landed at Half Moon Bay airport with Pilot Light, a cafe family with a view of the track.
WALNUT CREEK — According to the Mercury News, Lito might just be East Bay’s hottest new restaurant. The Miami-inspired dinner destination debuted Jan. 22 at Walnut Creek and features a menu “that fuses modern Cuban and Jamaican fare,” the Mercury News describe.
UNION CITY – Everything is good at Cafe 86. But the San Francisco Chronicle warns anyone looking to buy an ube cookie, cheesecake, or latte to prepare for long waits as the Filipino cafe (part of a Southern California mini-chain) draws large crowds even on after-hours. weekday noon.
SAN MATEO – Fogbird, an airy and stylish new cocktail bar, landed on the peninsula on January 12. The approximately 60-seat lounge offers a mix of classic and signature cocktails, which can be accompanied by small bites such as cheese and charcuterie boards, pretzel knots and spicy chickpeas.
MERCED – Rainbird, a freshly opened restaurant at the El Capitan Hotel, bills itself as “Merced’s premier dining destination.” Chef Quentin Garcia runs the kitchen and brings to the task his restaurant experience working at Meadowood in St. Helena and Blue Note in Napa. The menu seeks to showcase seasonal and local produce in part through fermentation techniques.