The 19 Restaurants Added to the 2016 Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants

From the San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant critic Michael Bauer:

"At this time of year — when I’ve made all my revisits and finished the annual Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants guide — I look back and assess the dining scene.

Last year I thought it was great, and I replaced 17 restaurants. This year was even better with 19 new places added to the list.

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• Top 100 Restaurants

Each year the competition sets a new bar. In fact I had written up 109 restaurants, and then realized, of course,  that I had to get rid of nine places I thought deserved to be in the guide. The decision of who to cut wasn’t made easier because only one restaurant on last year’s list (Nojo) closed; it’s now reopened as a ramen shop.  Several other top restaurants had last-minute chef changes, which took them out of the running for this year. A few restaurants I went to lagged in quality, but overall the dining scenes keeps getting better.

This year 31 restaurants were outside of San Francisco, and 26 offer only a fixed price format, which shows the major trend in the restaurant business. Just about every place is now featuring a shorter, more focused menu.

So after much thought, and even more agonizing I was able to get the list down to 100, which is now available on sfchronicle.com.

Here are the new entries in this year’s Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants, with photos of dishes from each restaurant."

Belga: This Belgian restaurant in Cow Hollow serves much more than frites and waffles.

Bix: No other restaurant so exquisitely captures the supper club vibe, with great food to match.

Cala: Serving seafood, this restaurant sets new standards for Mexican food. 

Californios: Only a fixed price menu is offered at this elegant fixed-price Mexican-inspired restaurant. 

Commis, Oakland: Elegantly imagined Northern California food stars on this $125, 10-course fixed priced menu 

Del Popolo: This restaurant may only serve pizza and a few appetizers, but they are not only great but served in stylish surroundings 

Little Gem: Quick casual is a trend of the future and this restaurant serves excellent food that’s free of gluten, daily and processed sugars. 

Lord Stanley: At the corner of Polk and Broadway, this restaurant also has a fixed price menu with imaginative preparations. 

Ninebark, Napa: Here’s the best place to go to understand how pristine local ingredients and modern techniques intersect. 

Octavia: The follow up to Frances is even better than the original. 

Old Bus Tavern: Beer may be on tap, but the food that pairs with it is even better. 

Omakase: One of the best omakase experiences in the city. 

Petit Crenn: Dominque Crenn channels her French grandmother on the reasonably priced family-style menu. 

Rasa, Burlingame: The best casual Indian restaurant in the Bay Area. 

Shed Cafe, Healdsburg: You may be eating in a kind of new age grange, but the food shows a close connection to the land. 

Trestle: Three courses for $35 translates to one of the best fine-dining deals in the city. 

Village Sake, Fairfax: The place to go for Japanese food in Marin. 

Volta: Scandinavian food is the star of this restaurant by Steffan Terje, who also owns Perbacco and Barbacco. 

Z & Y: Sichuan cooking doesn’t get any better than at this Chinatown restaurant. 

Article and images sourced from http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2016/05/09/the-19-restaurants-added-to-the-2016-top-100-bay-area-restaurants/#photo-759433