Food and drink
It’s that time of year again: sifting through the hundreds of new SF Bay Area restaurants and bars visited this year — plus a few hundred more internationally and across the U.S. Here are the San Francisco spots that stand out most, all opened between December 2022 and November 2023. The previous year’s top openings are here.
What stands out most, and why, in one of the best regions to eat and drink in the world:
Top 12 new restaurant openings
1. Aphotic, SoMa
Chef Peter Hemsley, chef de cuisine Parker Brown and bar director Trevin Hutchins head a team that led Aphotic straight to a Michelin star and to a rare Michelin Green star just months after opening in March. Their sustainable and dry-aged seafood tasting menus, in-house distilling license, cutting edge cocktails — along with sleek, dark, black design — make this exciting newcomer unparalleled. More in our review.
2. Dalida, Presidio
Turkish food goes modern and garden-fresh with cocktails, wines and a rare anise spirit collection — including Turkish raki — at Dalida. Its dreamy Presidio location means nature and their own garden surround and supply the menus. Husband-wife chef duo Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz showcase Sayat’s Istanbul roots in fresh ways. Add killer service and warm space and it’s already a top Turkish restaurant in the nation, one of Esquire’s top new U.S. restaurants of 2023. Our full review.
3. Yokai, SoMa
Yokai is an ode to jazz with pro speakers, amps and sound-proofing, making music the soul of the lofty space. But it’s Gozu chef Marc Zimmerman, chef de cuisine Jessie Lugo, beverages from Jordan Abraham and team that make it a destination. Superb skewers, modern Japanese small plates, elegant cocktails, rare Japanese whiskies and a robust wine list are all reasons to go. More in our review.
4. Akikos, SoMa
Opened at the very beginning of January 2023, it’s easy to forget about Akikos in all these best-of lists. SF already had a wealth of Michelin-starred sushi bars, but this rebirth of an SF family sushi institution since 1987, is one of our very best. It’s sleek, striking, wood-lined dining room centered by a massive, 24-seat sushi bar looks like no other sushi bar. From all angles, you can view impeccable fish being prepared as nigiri before you. More in our review.
5. Copra, Pacific Heights/Japantown
Chef Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan was the only Indian chef in the U.S. with a two Michelin-starred restaurant for years at SF’S Taj Campton Place. In 2023, he opened Copra Restaurant in a lofty, dramatic space, focused on the coastal cuisines of India’s southern states where he grew up, with influences from neighboring Sri Lanka and Cal-Indian cocktails. Our full review.
6. Little Shucker, Pacific Heights
San Francisco is blessed with iconic and historic oyster bars, but there is none like Little Shucker. It’s different from but recalls Charleston’s charming oyster bars in its airy, sunny, modern design. A killer wine list and low proof cocktails, along with all day hours and sidewalk seating make it my favorite new all-day spot in town. More in our review.
7. Kiln, Hayes Valley
Did we need another fine dining restaurant? Minimalist-chic Kiln proves we do. Named one of Esquire’s top new U.S. restaurants, Kiln’s team — including GM Julianna Yang, chef John Wesley and chef de cuisine Carlos Andrade — came from SF’s Michelin-starred Sons & Daughters. That pedigree is immediately obvious in inspired tasting menus. Our full review.
8. Popi’s Oysterette, Marina
Yes, we have two modern seafood bars on this year’s best-of list. Where aforementioned Little Shucker is hip-chic, Popi’s Oysterette is casual neighborhood goodness, blessedly open for lunch, from chef and partner Melissa Perfit, a former “Top Chef” contestant. Think multiple versions of crab or grilled oysters, fish and chips and green cioppino done with modern flair and ultra-fresh seafood. More in our review.
9. Anomaly, Lower Pacific Heights
From pop-up to permanent space hidden inside a house on a sleepy residential block of Lower Pac Heights, Anomaly SF showcases chef Mike Lanham’s whimsical tasting menus and smart wine pours. The minimalist, two-room space offers front row views over the cooking action in the main room. Our full review.
10. Mattina, Pacific Heights
Chef Matthew Accarrino has made SPQR one of the top neighborhood pasta restaurants in the nation since 2009 with his Italy-technique-meets-modern-inventive combinations. So it was great news when Accarrino and team opened their first casual restaurant and all-day cafe, Mattina. It’s coffee, house pastries and biscuit sandwiches all day, more casual but still perfected pastas, salads and meats. More in our review.
11. Molti Amici, Healdsburg
Molti Amici is our Wine Country entry this year, the kind of place we can’t resist on Sonoma County day trips, thanks to consummate owner Jonny Barr, who comes from no less than neighboring three Michelin SingleThread. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Campo Fina, with pizza, pasta and bocce, adding crudo and lovely cocktails from Danielle Peters. Our full review.
12. Juniper, Polk Gulch/Nob Hill
From the team behind one of our best SF coffee roasters and cafes, Saint Frank, Kevin Bohlin and team opened a bakery, Juniper, with pastry chef Andrea Correa and Andrew Wolpa, a team with Michelin-starred pedigree. It shows in their inspired pastry creations centered around choux, aka pâte à choux, pastries that puff up when baked and can be filled, here with creative sweet or savory fillings. Our review.
Top 9 New Bars
1. Cavana, Mission Bay
Rooftop bars are proliferating in SF and Cavaña — on the 17th floor of the LUMA Hotel San Francisco — is one of our very best from bar vets John Park and Anthony Parks. Certainly because of its killer Bay and city views, welcoming staff, festive Latin vibes and fabulous holiday parties and menus. But it’s also chef Edwin Bayones III’s food and brothers’ Emilio and Miguel Salehi’s cocktails covering Latin America — with the best Caipirinha I’ve had in years — that make it tops. Our full review.
2. Dawn Club, Downtown/SoMa
Dawn Club was just what the city needed, a rarity in any city: a gorgeous downtown jazz club, hidden off an alley by the Palace Hotel. It evokes the 1940’s supperclubs I long wished could trend in the bar world, though larger space is just one issue in opening such a club. But SF’s longtime Future Bars group nailed it. More here.
3. Aphotic, SoMa
Our #1 new restaurant of the year, Aphotic, is also a top bar thanks to bar director Trevin Hutchins’ one-of-a-kind cocktails, served with a special bar menu if you want to sit at the sleek bar vs. do the full, Michelin starred tasting menu. An in-house distillers license means they distill their own spirits using West Coast foraged ingredients, crafting cocktails themed around world bodies of water. There’s nothing like it. Our full review.
4. Heartwood SF, Financial District
A chill welcome with quality food, Heartwood is one of the most realized of the new bars-with-food hidden off a FiDi alley. Bar director Casey Carr’s crushable cocktails are winners and service is inviting with late night hours. Our review.
5. Bar Gemini, Mission District
Bar Gemini is a consummate new wine bar. A tight wine list that runs from understated orange wines to thoughtful bubbly also nails it with house dips (that labneh!), Rize Up breads, low ABV and non-alcoholic cocktails and strong bites considering they don’t have a kitchen.
6. STOA, Lower Haight
While the food needs a bit of honing, Lower Haight newcomer STOA turns out seamless, clean cocktails from an experienced industry team of chefs and bar folk. The sleek, long room and warm woods with order-at-the-counter ease make it a neighborhood destination.
7. Movida, SoMa
Despite some service hiccups on my visit, Mexican-Persian dishes and quality cocktails, all consulted on/created by talented chef and bar veterans, make Movida one truly unique lounge.
8. La Mar Bar, Embarcadero
Reborn La Mar Bar is better than it ever was, though the restaurant has been a national Peruvian great for 15 years. Since its massive remodel in March, new La Mar Bar went from waiting room for the resto to its own Peruvian bites and cocktails destination. Our review.
9. Dragon Horse, SoMa
While I preferred the historic Chinatown space at Derrick Li’s now-closed Blind Pig Speakeasy, Dragon Horse thankfully opened serving his Chinese and Japanese-influenced cocktails. Come for Li’s cocktails but easy parking at night and late-night bites make it an ideal industry hang. Our review.
12 Honorable Food Mentions That Opened This Year
There is no way to include all “bests,” especially factoring in bakeries, hole-in-the-walls, every level of dining. So we acknowledge 12 honorable mentions in alphabetical order:
7 Adams, SF
Al Carajo, SF
Back to Back, SF
Chotto Matte, SFCorzetti, SF
El Mil Amores, SF
Flour+Water Pizzeria, SF
Gao Viet, SF
Georgian Cheese Boat, SF
Kuma on Valencia, SF
Peaches Patties, SF
Starter Bakery, Oakland
Xica, SF
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
The Bold Italic is a non-profit media organization that’s brought to you by GrowSF, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. Donate to us today.
