This is a curated list of the Bay Area’s most notable restaurant and bar openings, with new updates published once a week. See an opening we missed? Then drop us a line.
February 15
SOMA — The team behind Cow Hollow’s Kaiyo opens their sky-high spinoff Kaiyo Rooftop on February 16 atop the Hyatt Place Hotel in SoMa. The rooftop restaurant and bar serves Nikkei food and drink that showcases bright Peruvian ingredients treated in Japanese culinary style (think, scallop tiradito and a surf-and-turf sushi roll). There’s a cocktail list with tropical umbrella-topped concoctions, plus four types of Japanese highballs. Take a look at the space and get a peek at the menu here.
SOMA — Mother-and-son team Alma and Arturo Rodriguez, the duo behind La Cocina-born Mixote, have brought their slow-steamed Mexican comforts to Salesforce East. For now the lunch-only counter serves a small menu of bowls topped with your choice of meat.
MISSION — In the former Blind Cat digs, Ruth’s at Treat Street now pushes a $9 shot and a beer deal and $4 Tecates across the stick. There’s even $1 pool games, per Mission Local, all courtesy of co-owners and bartenders Kim Cruise and Johanna Luddy.
CASTRO — Fill up on a ramen combo (choose between tori, red tori, and black tori bases) that comes with either chicken tenders, katsu, chashu, or karaage at Castro’s new Nash Hot Chicken & Ramen, which Hoodline reports opened in the former Me & Tasty space in December.
BERNAL HEIGHTS — An Eater SF tipster spotted Four Chairs, a new restaurant that’s serving classic American breakfast including omelets and eggs Benedict by day and Asian and Thai specialities by night. The restaurant is open everyday except Tuesday on Mission Street between 29th and Valencia.
RICHMOND — WenChang Dumpling Restaurant started serving soup dumplings, shu mai, and har gow in the Richmond (on Balboa near 18th Avenue) in early January. Other Chinese menu options include crispy noodles, wonton soup, and kung pao chicken, all of which are available for delivery, pick-up, or dine-in.
BERKELEY — Berkeley’s Elmwood District has a new healthy food option in Humbowl, which opens on February 16 at 2975 College Avenue, just south of Ashby. The counter service spot offers grain bowls topped with lean protein, veggies, and sauce.
SACRAMENTO — Anonimo, which translates to “anonymous” in Italian, opened quietly near downtown Sacramento, the Bee reports. It’s a new pizzeria from a trio of industry vets who are riffing on classic pizza styles including New York, Neapolitan, and Detroit and topping their pies with everything from meatballs to honey.
February 7
CHINATOWN — There’s a pocket-sized new bakery in Chinatown thanks to popular San Francisco baker Amanda Michael of Jane the Baker. Called Little Jane, the newest addition to Michael’s growing empire of bakeries is takeout 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 Chronicle reports Taksim spans two stories with former Atelier Crenn chef Daniel Gribble in the kitchen to oversee a fine dining 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 of which come on freshly baked bread. The list includes banh mi (both pork-filled and vegetarian), plus a meatball sandwich, egg salad, and open-faced tuna. Here’s Eater SF’s first look inside the slender space.
SUNSET – A new cheese shop has popped into the space next door to Arizmendi in the Inner Sunset. Willow on the Green aims to help the neighborhood fill their picnic baskets with cheeses, meats, and prepared meals and sandwiches, per What Now SF.
OAKLAND – The Chronicle brings more details about Pomet, the upcoming restaurant from one of the women behind K&J Orchard. The restaurant debuts February 23 in the former Homestead space to serve modern American cuisine that highlights local produce.
OAKLAND – There’s a new Persian dining option in Rumi Kitchen, a restaurant and bakery tucked inside the Valero gas station near Kaiser Oakland, per Berkeleyside. Pop in for savory wraps, combination plates, and rice pudding.
February 1
NOE VALLEY — Birch & Rye lures diners into its inviting tree-filled dining room with promises of elegant modern Russian fare including a delicate bird’s nest of savory porridge and stunning tangles of wild mushroom stroganoff on einkorn noodles. This is Moscow-born chef Anya El-Wattar’s first solo restaurant though she previously operated a catering company and spent time in the kitchen at Greens 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 little confusing, manager Jessica Seggman acknowledged to the Chronicle – but in short, it’s a commissary kitchen housing some of the East Bay’s buzziest pop-ups (including Bad Walter’s ice cream and Sfizio), plus a bar and events space. The star of bar director Fred Acebo’s drink menu is easily a halo-halo-inspired cocktail made with ube-infused vodka, coconut cream, and banana liqueur.
OAKLAND — As of January 29, Sweet Fingers is back. The Jamaican restaurant was displaced by a fire back in 2019 but has found a new home at 5859 Foothill Boulevard in East Oakland, where fans can fill 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 District, Berkeleyside reports. As of February 2, the kid-friendly Vietnamese restaurant also employs a fleet of robot servers to run 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 praise for their San Mateo restaurant All Spice in the 2010s. Now they’ve touched down at Half Moon Bay Airport with Pilot Light, a family-friend cafe with views of the runway.
WALNUT CREEK — Per the Mercury News, Lito might just be the East Bay’s hottest new restaurant. The Miami-inspired dinner destination debuted on January 22 in Walnut Creek and brings with it a menu “that fuses modern Cuban and Jamaican dishes,” the Mercury News describes.
UNION CITY — It’s all ube everything at Cafe 86. But the San Francisco Chronicle warns anyone looking to pick up an ube cookie, cheesecake, or latte to come prepared for long waits as the Filipino sweets cafe (which is part of a Southern California mini-chain) draws big crowds even on weekday afternoons.
SAN MATEO — Fogbird, an airy and elegant new cocktail bar, alighted on the Peninsula on January 12. The approximately 60-seat lounge pours a mix of classic and signature cocktails, which can be paired with small bites such as cheese and charcuterie boards, pretzel knots, and spicy chickpeas.
MERCED — Rainbird, a freshly opened restaurant at the El Capitan hotel, is billing itself as “Merced’s first fine dining destination.” Chef Quentin Garcia heads up the kitchen and brings experience working at the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena and Blue Note in Napa to the task. The menu looks to spotlight seasonal and local produce in part through fermentation techniques.
