The 10 Hottest New Restaurants in San Francisco

From a soaring representation of Paris to new beer-focused restaurants, San Francisco just gained some favorite spots and very good excuses to imbibe local brews. Here are the 10 San Francisco restaurants you need to know now.

• 
  Oro

  • SoMa

  From the Commonwealth chef comes this chic bistro to Mint Plaza, where midpriced Cal-Mediterranean share plates, small bites and a chef’s choice blind tasting menu are offered in addition to beer, wine and cocktails. Spacious and designed around industrial bones, the bustling, bi-level Financial District quarters are kitted out in reclaimed wood, custom lighting, slate draperies and colorful artwork.

  Must-Order: Impossibly fluffy potato gnocchi with corn and chanterelles and aromatic, mustardy grilled pork sausage on a shelling bean salad.
  Insider Tip: There’s also a "blind" tasting menu, tailored to individual preferences, that features off-menu family-style dishes for $75 per person, with an additional $50 wine pairing.
• 
  Sessions at the Presidio

  • The Presidio

  A sleek beer-centric destination in the Presidio's Letterman Digital Arts complex, this craft beer bar and New American gastropub focuses on low-octane brews, with other pours and wines available (by the bottle and on tap). A wood-decked, modern interior with a bustling vibe offers a bar, two-top and communal tables and plenty of windows for views of the surrounding greenery – and there's a huge outdoor seating area.

  Must-Order: Mediterranean clams and Magnolia Brewing's Aliciella beer, fried quail.
  Insider Tip: The best seats are at the rectangular bar in the middle of the room or on the lush patio.
   
• 
  Old Bus Tavern

  • Bernal Heights

  The roadtrip-loving team behind this casual Bernal Heights neighborhood spot offers up midpriced Californian comfort food, craft beers (some housemade) and a thoughtful cocktail menu focused on whiskey, tequila and mezcal concoctions. Inside, polished concrete floors and vintage Americana accents set the backdrop for banquette and bar seats (some with brewhouse views). P.S. An actual bus will be available to cater outdoor events.

  Must-Order: Pickled quail eggs and the house-brewed OBT Lemon Basil Saison.
  Insider Tip: Get a peek at the small brewing operation in the lofted space by the kitchen where the house beers are barrel-aged.
   
• 
  Bon Marche Brasserie & Bar

  • SoMa

  Market Square (aka the Twitter building) houses this splurge-worthy dining destination from the AQ and TBD crew, where lavish food options include an expansive oyster bar, coffee shop, cocktail and beer bar and European-inspired brasserie serving small bites and entrees. With brass and copper fixtures, leather seating and art deco accents, the stylish setting brings classic Parisian flair to Mid-Market.

  Must-Order: The dry sparkling wine with truffle salt rim and the chef-favorite veal sweetbreads with parsley Girardet and Madeira jus.
  Insider Tip: The restaurants specializes in corporate events and private parties; inquire here for your next French-inspired soiree.
• 
  Scotland Yard

  • Marina District

  The Marina gets this Noir Lounge spin-off, a Victorian-inspired bistro and bar with an old-school vibe for midpriced Californian fare, plus local and small-production beer and wine. Casual and classy, the space is decked out in hanging chandeliers, heavy beams, dark wood, vintage wallpaper and metal accents along with bar, banquette and table seating.

  Must-Order: The ceviche taco and the Yard burger with bone-marrow aïoli.
  Insider Tip: Head outside to take advantage of the spacious patio with tufted leather couches. 
• Wes Row
  Petit Crenn

  • Hayes Valley

  A casual spin-off of Dominique Crenn's Atelier Crenn, this buzzy bistro brings the flavors of Brittany, France to Hayes Valley via all-day menus, with dinner options ranging from a la carte to two nightly seatings for prix-fixe, multi-course meals served family-style. A cozy space with an open kitchen puts a modern spin on classic French style, with white walls, contemporary art, vintage serving ware and blue and white accents.

  Must-Order: Though the menu is a fixed family-style meal that changes daily, guests are treated to the best spoils from daily pilgrimages to local fish and farmer's markets. Definitely pair the meal with a cider — served chilled and in a mug — to complete the Brittany experience.
  
  Insider Tip: Reservations go quickly, but we have some tips on how to score one of the coveted tables! For extra-special occasions, the Chef's Table Experience reserves the best table for the whole night and includes special, off-menu items, such as lobster, caviar and abalone. 
• 
  Dirty Water

  • SoMa

  Mid-Market’s Twitter building houses this atmospheric restaurant, bar and lounge where an upscale menu features greens, charcuterie, cheese and a splurge-worthy selection of mains along with a thick book of spirits, more than 50 draft brews and over 100 wines by the glass. The atmospheric, dimly lit interior skews masculine-chic with whiskey-hued leather, butcher-block tabletops, high ceilings and a glass wall open to the brewing area.

  Must-Order: For lunch, the roasted tri-tip sandwich; for dinner, the Axis deer tartare or the pig-ear fritto misto.
  Insider Tip: Given its well-educated drink staff, this is the spot to imbibe while learning the intricacies of rare wines and spirits. "Bartial Artist" Zachary Taylor whips up mind-bending concoctions, such as the Long Strange Trip, which is a naturally sweet libation thanks to the maple-flavored candy cap mushrooms infused with 1776 rye, lemon, black pepper and Zucca Amaro.
• 
  Omakase

  • Potrero Hill

  The traditional Edomae-style sushi experience at this SoMa spot features a spendy set chef’s-choice menu (with $100, $150 and $200 options) made with fish flown in several times a week from Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market. The tiny, polished dinner spot has counter seats facing the chef, and the space is all about attention to detail – think boutique-sourced dinnerware, sake pitchers made from Japanese pine and cedar and a yellow cedar sushi counter.

  Must-Order: It's all omakase; choose your price level of $100, $150 or $200.
  Insider Tip: You've surrendered your taste buds to the chef, which allows for more time to peruse the extensive sake menu. From the mellow and clean $18 carafe of Karakuchi to the $345 bottle of Tedorigawa Mangekyo, lauded for its silky texture and deep flavor, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to exercise choice.
• 
  ICHI Kakiya

  • Bernal Heights

  Oysters and other raw-bar fare are the focus of this buzzy Bernal Heights spin-off to the popular ICHI Sushi + NI Bar, which offers midpriced Japanese and California seafood in addition to a thoughtful selection of beer, wine and sake. There's no reservations for seating at a few tables and a narrow counter in the tiny cafe quarters done up with a chic, ocean-inspired blue-and-gold design.

  Must-Order: Oysters and half lobster, Hokkaido scallop crudo and daily changing seafood specials.
  Insider Tip: Watch for "secret menu" treats like mini, Japanese-style lobster rolls that are vivid with tobiko (flying fish roe), kani (crab) miso and bonito Tabasco.

SF's 10 Best Bar and Restaurant Openings in August

Courtesy of Joe Keefe

As Charles Dickens once wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... but mostly the best of times because a whole bunch of great new bars and restaurants opened in San Francisco this August." Couldn't have said it better ourselves, Chuck; here are the 10 best.

Courtesy of Joe Keefe

Scotland Yard

Marina
What you’re getting: Charcuterie board

You’ll feel like you’re in a Victorian novel in this Marina newcomer, but thankfully won’t have to eat or sip gross Victorian things. Instead Scotland Yard blends the best of Downton Abbey with contemporary San Francisco fare, local brews, and wines from boutique, low-production wineries. The charcuterie plate, served on a tree trunk that’s been turned into a Lazy Susan, is something special (and a chef favorite) with chicken liver mousse and bacon jam on grilled toast, puffed beef tendon, bone marrow aioli, and an assortment of seven different pickles. If you’re not into epic butcher shop specials (why are you not into this???), Executive Chef Jason Raffin also churns out fried lemon Brussels sprouts, a kale Caesar, and pan-seared seafood dumplings.
 

Cadillac Bar and Grill

Mid-Market
What you’re getting: Pitchers of margs! Steak fajitas! Pitchers of margs again!

Another Twitter building newcomer, this casual Tex-Mex bar and grill offers a nice mid-priced counterpoint to the plaza’s higher-end Dirty Water and forthcoming Bon Marche. The menu pretty much nails the Tex-Mex thing with steak and chicken fajitas, quick-fried corn tacos, and $24 margarita pitchers that’ll make this the plaza’s go-to for casual happy hour/alllll-the-guac lunch.

Courtesy of Petit Crenn

Petit Crenn

Hayes Valley
What you’re getting: The family-style tasting menu

The latest concept from the award-winning chef that brought us the acclaimed Atelier Crenn forgoes poetry and meat for a more casual seafood and vegetarian offshoot in Hayes Valley. The food, inspired by Chef Dominique Crenn’s childhood in Brittany, France, depends entirely on the best spoils from the farmers' market and seafood vendors that day, but you can expect items such as a whole fire-roasted trout, cauliflower gratin, Miyagi oysters, and escargot to appear during the five-course tasting menu. At $72 per person, it’s a slight splurge that seems all the more worth it considering tip is included and the tiny dining room -- outfitted in pristine white and sea blue -- transports you to seaside France while rare ciders, served chilled in a mug, warm you inside and out.

 

Courtesy of Kingmond Young

Sessions at the Presidio

Presidio
What you’re getting: Mediterranean mussels and a Flanders red ale

The city gets another beer-focused barstaurant with this Presidio newcomer where Master Cicerone Nicole Erny has armed the bar with 99 beers (24 on tap, 75 in bottles), which range from lower-alcohol “session beers,” to hoppy IPAs, to Belgians. Somehow the menu is still super approachable, organized by style and whether it’s “easy,” “exciting,” or “fun” (O...K...) making it easy to try something new. Food-wise, you’ll find dishes that utilize some of those beers like the duck liver mousse with a red ale gelee or mussels in a HenHouse saison broth. Oh, and in case you’re allergic to beer (good God man, get that checked out by a doctor stat), there are plenty of non-beer-incorporating things like heirloom tomatoes with summer corn and burrata, 10 wines on tap (plus 30 more by the bottle), spirits, and cocktails.

Courtesy of Keystone

Keystone

SOMA
What you’re getting: Prosciutto-wrapped prosciutto with sauerkraut, bread crumbs, and strawberry mustard to eat and the porcini Negroni

This tavern complete with copper finishes, pendant lighting, warm mahogany accents, and the requisite Edison bulbs makes for a stylish, lively place to sip creative cocktails (porcini-infused gin, anyone?) and chow down on the likes of grilled chicken breast with farro risotto, grilled green cabbage, and Meyer lemon relish or a seasonal tart with goat cheese, English peas, mushrooms, and quinoa. The money seat here is the chef’s counter near the open kitchen, while the large high-top communal table in the center offers the perfect setting to stoke conversation among masculine accents and reclaimed wood.
 

Noc Noc on Broadway

North Beach
What you’re getting: Prairie Bomb!, a barrel-aged stout on draft

You know Noc Noc on Haight? The Tim Burton-esque bar you stop at when you’re wiggle bar-crawling? Well it's opened a similarly funky offshoot in North Beach. This time you’ll be sipping on rare bottles of beer, sake, and wine while going on a trippy space journey through cosmic galaxies and hieroglyphics thanks to artist Dela (just Dela) who’s still putting the finishing touches on the muraled ceiling. Finished space mural or not, though, you’re likely going here for the beer -- and the selection is impressive, including brewery-only releases that will be part of beer club flights. Other highlights include an alcoholic root beer, a whiskey barrel-aged sour beer from Kansas City, and a Tundra triple IPA from Fieldwork that's reminiscent of Pliny the Elder. By the end of the month, it'll have small plates as well, like hummus & pita and pretzels from the East Bay’s Salt Point Pretzel Company.

Courtesy of Michael David Rose

Fine & Rare

Civic Center
What you’re getting: Cold-smoked salmon pastrami

This former food truck found a permanent home in Civic Center, where it sits part-market, part-eatery, and promises to be a one-stop shop for “Northern Californian comfort food.” Expect sustainable seafood, salads, sandwiches, and wine for lunch and dinner in a fast-casual setting with everything, including the sandwich rolls, made in-house from scratch.

 

Courtesy of Nils Marthinsen

Belle Cora

North Beach
What you’re getting: The Bavarian pretzel, but only if you dip it into the house-made mac & cheese sauce with abandon

Hello, favorite new casual date spot/neighborhood brunch joint/late-night snack place. This cozy North Beach wine bar is aiming to be your regular hangout and it’s off to a good start with well-priced, interesting wines and beer, plus shared plates that make for a relaxed, casual experience. Come back at the end of a Saturday night when the line is out the door at Golden Boy Pizza across the street and grab a pretzel that’s fresh off the plane from Munich. Then spend the night on your stool/go home and come back the next morning for bottomless mimosa brunch, French toast bites, and corned beef hash.

Courtesy of Origami Market

Origami Market

SOMA
What you’re getting: Wafu chicken noodle soup

Another super-healthy fast-casual spot hit SOMA last week, giving the Zynga crowd new reason to leave the cafeterias. The name of the game here is simple, wholesome Asian food, which translates to organic salad rolls with four sauce options for dipping, soba noodles and rice bowls, and nourishing Wafu chicken noodle soup -- all gluten free, organic, and easy on the waistline. Definitely layer on the house-made Sriracha to give everything an extra kick.
 

Black Hammer Brewing

SOMA
What you’re getting: Nautilus hibiscus saison

Yet another place to come get a beer education, this new German-style brewhaus from a group that includes one of the Pac Brew Lab founders (they've got Squid Ink IPA and Nautilus hibiscus saison on tap!) produces barrels of kölsch, Oktoberfest, Sacre Bleu blueberry wit, and Jaded Raver English ale. The tasting room itself is something special, made entirely of 100-year-old lumber from old Pier 39 and reclaimed redwood. The best part might be the outlets at almost every seat that invite you to get some work done (hahahahahahaha... right) over ales and lagers.

Article and images sourced from https://www.thrillist.com/eat/san-francisco/best-sf-bar-and-restaurant-openings-in-august-2015?share=c