San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Inside Scoop
The top restaurant openings of the fall.
If last year’s new Bay Area restaurants were the byproduct of caution — following a 2016 where high-profile ventures shuttered in short order — then 2018 may be notable for its ambition.
In Union Square, a $20 million palace of French dining is taking shape. A landmark Moroccan and Mexican restaurant is headed to the Outer Richmond. Meanwhile, one of San Francisco’s most decorated fine-dining chefs is on the cusp of launching a mini-empire of Michelin-star quality seafood restaurants. The first is headed to the Embarcadero.
The industry, in these moments of singular ambition, is gradually extending beyond offshoots and replicas to passion projects, both large and small, that were years in the making. Here are the ones worth following:
Amara
Leading the pack is Mourad Lahlou. The San Francisco chef, who has a Michelin star at Mourad, decided last year to permanently say goodby to his beloved Moroccan restaurant, Aziza. In its place, he’s building Amara (5800 Geary Blvd.), a Moroccan-Mexican restaurant with the help of Louis Maldonado, his close friend and longtime chef de cuisine at Aziza. The restaurant is set to open in October or November.
Why we’re excited: Aziza may have been a perfect San Francisco restaurant, but Amara could be a pioneer, establishing a category of restaurant that has never existed in San Francisco. And if Lahlou is right, it could be the first of its kind in the country.
Isla Vida
Jay Foster, the mastermind behind the Tenderloin soul food spot Farmerbrown, wants to breathe new life into a restaurant category in San Francisco nearing extinction: blackowned businesses. Foster, after years of planning, is heading to the Fillmore with an Afro-Caribbean restaurant called Isla Vida (1325 Fillmore St.) set to open in October. The project is a joint venture with Matthew Washington and Erin Traylor and it’s taking over the former Black Bark space.
Why we’re excited: As important as the restaurant’s exploration of grilled meats — an ode to Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, as well as the roots of traditional soul food — Isla Vida could mark a new chapter for the Fillmore, a neighborhood rich in African American history.
FOB Kitchen
In Oakland, it was happenstance that brought chef Janice Dulce and her life/business partner Brandi Dulce across the Bay Bridge while searching for a permanent home for their Filipino pop-up FOB Kitchen (5179 Telegraph Ave.). The duo stumbled across a listing on Craigslist for Juhu Beach Club only a few weeks after it closed in Temescal. The FOB Kitchen crew fell in love with the space and immediately began working out a lease agreement. The pair plan to continue their tradition of creating some of the region’s best Filipino food, including silog dishes, lumpia and slow-roasted pork spare ribs. It will open in September.
Why we’re excited: FOB Kitchen’s growth is part of a wave of Filipino and Filipino American chefs rapidly increasing their cult followings in the Bay Area. Just up the road from FOB Kitchen is Likha, a notable Filipino concept with a Michelin pedigree and located in the sports bar Hometown Heroes.
Angler
Joshua Skenes, who holds a perfect four stars at Saison, is no stranger to exploration, which is what makes his forthcoming Embarcadero project so intriguing. Angler (132 The Embarcadero) will be seafood-centric with a focus on live-fire cooking, complete with a 30-foot wooden hearth in the dining room. While San Francisco’s Angler is filling the former Chaya space along the Embarcadero, there are more Anglers in the works for other cities, including Los Angeles. San Francisco is just the first.
Skenes’ uniquely imaginative approach to fine dining is what’s shaping Angler. And by working with local fishermen, Skenes is emphasiz-
ing the restaurant’s sustainable approach to seafood — using only what’s available locally while refraining from doing business with large fish farms or wholesale outfits. Depending on Angler’s success, it could serve as an example of how to successfully implement sustainable seafood practices.
Why we’re excited: While Skenes’ Saision runs $298 per person, making it one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, Angler will be more affordable in comparison — meaning that folks priced out of Saision will still have a shot at Skenes’ cooking.
SFO Food Hall
There’s another group joining forces at the San Francisco International Airport on an ambitious new food hall. Led by a trio of women, Gabriela Cámara of Cala, Pim Techamuanvivit of Kin Khao, and Elisabeth Prueitt, who runs Tartine with husband Chad Robertson, the project will be built around grab-and-go and quick-service dining. The project is slated to open this fall. Folks can expect familiar Tartine options, as well as rice bowls, noodles and grilled meats from Kin Khao, and tacos, tostadas and tortas from Cala.
Why we’re excited: Airport food has improved over the years, but the SFO food hall might represent a new tipping point where airports are treating travelers like gourmands.
Trailblazer Tavern
Celebrity chef Michael Mina might not have said how long ago he plotted his new project, but he quietly joined the roster of fall openings recently with the announcement that he will be opening Trailblazer Tavern (350 Mission St.) at the Salesforce East Building. It’s slated to open in November.
Mina is partnering with James Beardnominated Hawaiian chefs Michelle KarrUeoka and Wade Ueoka of Honolulu’s MW Restaurant. The 7,000-square-foot project
will come with a menu highlighting dishes of dim sum, noodle and rice dishes, and sashimi, just to name a few. There’s going to be seating for 72, with an additional 24 spots at the bar, and 47 more spread among tables, banquette seating and booths.
Why we’re excited: Trailblazer Tavern follows a theme for Mina over the last year or so — partnering with chefs capable of executing their own style while functioning under the Mina Group umbrella. The most notable being his International Smoke venture with culinary firebrand Ayesha Curry.
One65
In what’s arguably the year’s grandest restaurant endeavor, at least in terms of price tag, there’s the $20 million One65 in Union Square (165 O’Farrell St.) which will be a six-floor ode to French cuisine. At the helm is Claude Le Tohic, a lauded chef who previously spent time at Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand Las Vegas when it was one of the world’s three-Michelin-star destinations.
The 25,000-square-foot location will open in stages, with One65 Patisserie opening on the ground level and One65 Bistro on the third floor set to open this fall. Meanwhile, One65 Lounge & Bar on the fourth floor, and a fine dining restaurant called O’ on the fifth and sixth floors, will open at a later date.
Why we’re excited: Similar to China Live, another $20 million dollar project, One65 is a spectacle. And it could serve as the San Francisco litmus test regarding just how grand is too grand to succeed.
Prairie
Anthony Strong, who dabbled in a delivery-only experiment with Young Fava, vowed his next project would be more traditional. Up next for the chef is Prairie (3431 19th St.), an Italian-influenced restaurant where, as the name suggests, diners will be able to dine indiscriminately on a bevy of dishes. It will open in September.
Why we’re excited: The restaurant is taking over the former Hogs & Rocks space in the Mission on 19th Street already bustling with the likes of Media Noche, Lazy Bear, Wildhawk and Boba Guys. Toss in Anthony Strong and 19th Street is a contender for the most exciting strip in the city.
Bon Voyage
In the realm of bar openings, the forthcoming BV Hospitality project, which is following up the acclaimed and pioneering Trick Dog in San Francisco, serves as the fall’s headliner. The familiar duo of Josh Harris and Morgan Schick are behind the new endeavor, which is taking over the former Urchin Bistrot space on Valencia. Bon Voyage (584 Valencia St.) will have a vibe reminiscent of Palm Springs in the 1970s, according to reports. It’s expected to open in October.
Why we’re excited: Although the team has put its imprint on multiple bars in the city, when it comes to building out an independent space, Bon Voyage looks like it will be its first true follow-up to Trick Dog.