S.F. gets rare tropical dishes, plus more recent restaurant openings
Click here for a list of San Francisco restaurants that opened in April.
Tropical popup graduates to fixed location
Colombian coastal cuisine popup Pacifico is now serving ceviches and arepas in a dedicated space. Eater SF first reported the project from Daniel Morales, an alum of the Progress and La Mar, and partner Laura Gelvez. Brunch dishes include pancakes made of choclo, a South American corn varietal with large kernels. There are also beefy empanadas and arepas filled with Dungeness crab and egg. Dinner service is expected to start early June. Pacifico takes over the bar and lounge at music venue B Side, where Andina previously served its Venezuelan-style arepas.
205 Franklin St., San Francisco.
The snowy plover has a new roost. Popular local coffee roaster Andytown closed the month with the launch of its eighth location in Jackson Square. Find the usual lineup of drip and espresso drinks made with Andytown's select, single-origin coffee beans, along with teas and pastries.
747 Front St., San Francisco. andytownsf.com
A Mission favorite grows
El Mil Amores, the Mission's Mexico City-style brunch hot spot, has opened a new location. Owner Andrea Becerra launched her latest in the former Regalito Rosticeria, fittingly named Regalito El Mil Amores, where offerings lean more into lunch and dinner fare, with adobo-marinated pork chops and chicken poached in mole. The DF plate brings a large sope topped with beans and a thin slice of beef alongside the soup of the day and starchy plantains. For anyone who misses the predecessor's rotisserie chicken, half-bird orders are still available, served with sauteed greens and potatoes. Wash it down with a tepache, a sweet cider made in-house with guava and pineapple that's spiked with tequila.
3481 18th St., San Francisco.
Colorful sweets and more
Local chocolatiers Topogato launched its first brick-and-mortar store just in time for Mother's Day. The project from Simon Brown and Beau Monroe made a splash with their first treats in 2020, incorporating ingredients such as preserved lemon, puffed rice and Thai basil. Confections in the display case may feature smoked tea peach truffles and others decked out with paint splatter flourishes.
Brews by the bay
Sip on crisp lagers near sleeping sea lions. Humble Sea Brewing Co. opened its third Bay Area location at San Francisco's Pier 39, where restaurants have created a thriving dining scene. House favorites like hazy IPAs and fresh helles are on tap, perfect as the summer heat rolls in.
Pier 39, Space N-111-1A, San Francisco. humblesea.com
Hot pizza popup goes steady
Recent arrival Jules has brought crowds to the Lower Haight since opening mid-May. The main draw is chef-owner Max Blachman-Gentile's pizza that bends regional genres, with a crust that's crispy like New York pies but topped with the Bay Area's prime produce. Find personal spins on classic pepperoni and mushroom, along with dishes like chicken with blistered snap peas, and charred arrowhead cabbage with Calabrian chile butter. Plan ahead, as reservations seem to vanish as soon as they go live.
Shooters only
Darts gets the augmented reality treatment at an expansive new bar and entertainment center. Visitors to SoMa's Golden Eye are now shooting for triple bullseyes with a drink in hand, or trying at least. Eater SF reports there are classic cocktails with a twist along with non-alcoholic drinks. To munch in between rounds there are plates of seven-layer tuna tartare, oysters and a seared mushroom steak.
New Vietnamese restaurant Pho Star is cooking with everyday favorites around the corner from Guerrero Street in the Mission District. The menu is straightforward, with noodle soups and rice plates served with fragrant chicken and tender meats. Spring rolls and banh mi with five-spice chicken rank high among Yelp users.
3214 16th St., San Francisco.
New spin on beloved space
The former home of the Mission District's Universal Cafe is back with a new tenant and a new tune. Side A, a bistro mashing up Midwestern flavors and Japanese listening bar style, is now offering short rib gnocchi and chicken cutlets in mustard sauce. Parker Brown, a former chef at shuttered seafood temple Aphotic (which may resurface), and his wife, Caroline, aim to keep the mood casual, with bottles of Miller High Life and straightforward wine list. The Browns hope these elements, plus live DJ sets, set a mood akin to a dinner party.
The space where Ritual Coffee served lattes in the Lower Haight did not sit empty for long. Eater SF reports the Coffee Lama has taken over the location, with a similar menu of coffees and expanded food options that include burritos and fruit bowls.
1300 Haight St., San Francisco.
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It remains an exceptional restaurant, landing on our Top 100 list this year alongside sister establishment The Progress. But in his review yesterday — which I'd encourage you to read first since this is, effectively, a rebuttal — my colleague Cesar Hernandez argued that those dim sum carts are now a liability for the Michelin-starred restaurant. I respectfully but vocally disagree. While I concede that State Bird Provisions' most memorable dishes are found on the main menu, it's the cart service that makes it one of the jolliest and most distinctive dining experiences in the Bay Area. Extra! Extra! Dueling reviews San Francisco Chronicle critics MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez are dueling this week over one restaurant: State Bird Provisions. Check out Hernandez's take on the famous restaurant here. 'The dim sum schtick,' Cesar wrote, 'feels more customary than essential, more cute than efficient, more showy than delicious.' 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The garlic bread with burrata ($13) is shockingly a dud — tough and not very garlicky at all — and an attractive wedge salad needed to work harder. However, I disagree with his assessment that an avocado dish 'failed to delight.' It delighted me, the accompanying tonnato sauce a reminder that punchy tuna salad-and-avo sandwiches need to be brought back into the lunch rotation. I also concur that some of the strongest dishes coming out of State Bird's kitchen can be found on the main menu, not on the carts or trays that servers ferry around the room like peanut vendors at a ballpark. Standouts from the 'pancakes and toast' section during my visits included the sourdough sauerkraut pancakes ($15), sprinkled with caraway seeds, and the brown butter morel roti ($32), earthy and richly spiced. Cesar's favorite large-format dishes, which State Bird calls 'commandables,' are mine as well. 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Wheelchair accessible tables, although aisles are narrow. No outdoor seating. Noise level: Loud. Meal for two, without drinks: $75-$150 What to order: Donabe ($30), hand-cut noodles with salsa macha ($30), whichever dim sum dishes make your heart leap Drinks: Beer and wine. 'Exceptional house-made non-alchoholic drinks like shiso-yuzu soda ($9) and Raspberry Julius ($10),' Cesar writes, and he is correct. Best practices: Order a couple of standout dishes off the main menu and then live in the moment! Let the sliding doors of fate direct your meal! And once again I agree with Cesar: Peanut milk ($4) is non-negotiable.
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