THE 20 BIGGEST RESTAURANT OPENINGS OF 2017 (SO FAR).
Outside of the $20 million George Chen spent on his China Live food emporium on Broadway, or the $13 million the Oakland Zoo shelled out for the Landing Cafe's gondolas and scenic views, the first half of 2017 has been a relatively low-key affair in terms of restaurant openings. Big-name chefs made splashes in St. Helena, but in San Francisco, most restaurateurs have been cozying up to comfort food and fast-casual business principles.
What else have we actually learned? Omakase is still trending, small chains are gaining traction and chefs are enjoying more rotisserie and open-fire cooking. This isn't to say there aren't smaller, attention-worthy shops opening with quirky concepts aimed at niche audiences, but on the Bay Area food world's main stage, the year has been more subdued drama than action and adventure. Now that we're six months in, it's time to look back at the year's biggest openings. — Justin Phillips, jphillips@sfchronicle.com A Mano: Prolific San Francisco restaurateur Adriano Paganini is back at it with his new Italian restaurant in Hayes Valley, named A Mano, which means "by hand" in Italian. And similar to his other other popular restaurants like Flores, Starbelly and Delarosa, A Mano has relatively low price points (dishes under $15), and is steeped in cocktails and wines. Fan of his restaurants or not, it's hard to deny that Paganini is well-versed in what people love — affordability and familiarity. 450 Hayes St., San Francisco Acacia House: The restaurant from Cockscomb’s Chris Cosentino opened as part of St. Helena’s Las Alcobas boutique hotel. It’s a chance for the celebrity chef to cater to Wine Country, including those who shell out big bucks to stay at the hotel. The dinner menu has featured dishes like chilled heirloom melon soup, burrata with apricots, Napa Valley lamb and beef ribeye cap au poivre. Alba Ray's: Double dipping in the Cajun and Creole flavors of the Bayou state, the Mission welcomed Alba Ray's, a concept from the folks behind Popsons and Causwells. The name is a mashup of chef Adam Rosenblum's daughter and partner Alvin Garcia's son. Rosemblum’s prior time at Herbsaint, an adored New Orleans' dining destination, helped him see Alba Ray's as an ode to Louisiana in the form of fresh oysters, boudin balls and spicy red beans and rice. 2293 Mission St., San Francisco Alta: Daniel Patterson's latest Alta outpost opened within the Minnesota Street Project, the art gallery in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The restaurant’s modern food and aesthetics seem to travel well, as plans are in the works for a third Alta to open in Market Street’s upcoming Yotel hotel, a short distance from the original. Alta is also working with ROC, a national restaurant worker advocacy group, on addressing racial equity in the industry. 1275 Minnesota St., San Francisco Bayou: A few blocks from Alba Ray’s, another Louisianathemed kitchen opened in the Mission, continuing a surprising uptick in the Bay Area's love of no-frills, southern Louisiana food. Bayou takes it a step further with po’boys, frog legs, oysters, shrimp and catfish, alongside with a handful of rotisserie options. 3412 17th St., San Francisco B-Side: The jazz-themed restaurant and lounge opened at the SFJazz Center, giving Hayes Valley yet another preshow dining option. It replaced Charles Phan’s shortlived South restaurant, and the new project is backed by Salt Partners, the same folks that helped launch Petit Crenn a few blocks away. 205 Franklin St., San Francisco Charter Oak: In St. Helena, chef Christopher Kostow and company have opened a new, more casual restaurant in the former Tra Vigne space. While Kostow's other restaurant, the Restaurant at Meadowood, is a fine dining destination with a menu that starts at $275 per person, the Charter Oak features lower price points and more laid-back fare, such as grilled chicken, pork shoulder, or grilled beef ribs, all priced at $26. It’s "casual," how a chef with multiple Michelin stars would see it. 1050 Charter Oak Ave., St. Helena China Live: When it comes to the year’s newcomers, China Live has probably generated the most debate and conversation. The first phase of ambitious Chinatown project, the street-level restaurant and retail shop, opened on March 1, but there’s still more to come. The complex’s new 50-seat bar, Cold Drinks, recently opened and the upper floors remain under construction as owner George Chen builds a fine dining restaurant, Eight Tables. 644 Broadway, San Francisco Duna: Nick Balla and Cortney Burns' Japanese spot in the Mission, Motze, closed and reopened as Duna, an Eastern European-inspired restaurant. The name is the Hungarian word for the country's Danube River, and the theme hearkens back to Balla and Burns’ time at Bar Tartine, where the forward-thinking chefs made their name. 983 Valencia St., San Francisco Halal Guys: The chain juggernaut of East Coast street eats finally landed in the Bay Area. Halal Guys opened its first San Francisco brick-andmortar spot in the former home of Naan-N-Curry, where Union Square meets the Tenderloin. Lines out the door quickly followed. The chain has plans for another location in Berkeley. 340 O'Farrell St., San Francisco Hazel: Braving the tumultuous waters of Mid-Market — which has claimed the likes of Cadence, AQ, Bon Marche and Show Dogs, among others — is Hazel, the neighborhood's new casual southern and soul food spot. Jamie Boatner, previously of Sugar Cafe and Matador, says the place is inspired by his mother, who grew up a few miles outside of Atlanta. 1446 Market St., San Francisco Hitachino Beer & Wagyu: After a few stops and starts, the Japanese beer and beefcentric eatery opened in the Tenderloin with a prix-fixe Wagyu tasting menu, which costs $68 per person and another $30 for the beer and sake pairing. It’s the first Bay Area project for the Japanese beer company. 639 Post St., San Francisco The Kebabery: The fastcasual concept from the Camino team — led by Russell Moore, Allison Hopelain and Brian Crookes — opened in Oakland's Longfellow neighborhood. The restaurant has limited seating and small kebab plates ($15) and sandwiches ($12) made with chicken, lamb, trumpet mushroom, and highlights the ongoing fast casual push in the Bay Area's restaurant industry. 4201 Market St., Oakland Kinjo: Omakase sushi is as popular as ever in the Bay Area and no opening may have made this more evident than Kinjo in Russian Hill, a traditional Japanese spot with Michelin-starred chef Takatoshi Toshi doling out $120 dinners. Yoshi left Sushi Ran to take the reins at Kinjo and partnered with Bill Kong and Kua Chuang on the project. 2206 Polk St., San Francisco
Landing Cafe: Oakland’s new $13 million and 190-seat restaurant can be accessed only by a four-minute ride on Northern California's only urban gondolas. And it is part of the city's zoo. Easily the city’s largest project of the year in terms of scale (and dollars), the food is essentially elevated zoo food with California sensibilities — think chicken sandwiches, pizza and even avocado toast. 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland
Navi Kitchen: Preeti Mistry of Juhu Beach Club opened this all-day Emeryville project, offering up her twists on Indian cuisine, such the Mumbai burger with pork ginger sausage, fried egg and pickled chutney. On July 15, Mistry will roll out dinner service, which will revolve around her love for "the weird and wonderful phenomenon" of Indian pizza. In addition to the new restaurant this year, Mistry is releasing a Juhu Beach Club cookbook in the fall. 5000 Adeline St., Emeryville RT Rotisserie: Sarah Rich and her husband, Evan, opened RT Rotisserie, their second San Francisco restaurant, just a stone's throw from their celebrated flagship, Rich Table. At RT Rotisserie, the menu is based around rotisserie plates, Dutch crunch sandwiches, salads and as Evan told Scoop a few weeks before the opening, "just damn good food." RT Rotisserie also falls comfortably into the fastcasual category. 101 Oak St., San Francisco Rooh: The upscale Indian restaurant opened in SoMa, the latest in San Francisco’s sudden influx of higher-end Indian restaurants. This restaurant, which specializes in both traditional and modern takes on Indian cuisine with a focus on California produce, comes via owner Vikram Bhambri and his wife, Anu. The kitchen is run by Sujan Sarkar, a chef with experience in Mumbai and London. 333 Brannan St., San Francisco Salt & Straw: Kim and Tyler Malek, the duo behind the Portland-based Salt & Straw ice cream company, opened their Fillmore shop a few months ahead of a planned second location in Hayes Valley (580 Hayes St.) The Maleks said they plan to expand quickly in the Bay Area, and based on the crowds flocking to the Fillmore outpost, it looks like Salt & Straw is already a Bay Area hit. 2201 Fillmore St., San Francisco Uma Casa: Former Tacolicious chef Telmo Faria's ode to Portuguese cuisine opened at 1550 Church Street, once the home of Incanto. With dishes like caldo verde and piri piri grilled chicken, Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer said he only sees the place getting better with time. 1550 Church St., San Francisco