Tucked deep in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market, Bossa Nova’s exterior is so unassuming you’ll probably walk straight past it if you don’t know where to look. Housed in an unremarkable cement building on the corner of 8th and Minna, the only indication of the restaurant’s existence is a small sign above […]

It’s a bold move to open a new dining or drinking establishment in San Francisco’s Marina area. Home to a notoriously fickle crowd spoiled with trendy restaurants and bars at every turn, the Marina can mean stiff competition for a newcomer. Despite this, the desire among well-heeled Marinites for new places at which to see […]

When Jeff Hanak noticed an old vacant bank on the corner of Divisadero and Hayes Streets in San Francisco, he saw beyond the white brick walls and envisioned great possibilities for his new restaurant, Nopa. Set at the bottom of Hayes Street Hill, Nopa, which opened in April 2006, is named for its north of […]

The black stucco building at the corner of Valencia and 15th Streets resembles a hideaway, a speakeasy from the good old days. Its blackout shades and tinted windows reveal nothing. The only sign is a board above the door marked with a red circle surrounding a white star. Obscure and shadowy, this Mission neighborhood restaurant […]

You know they’ve hit a winning formula in a city saturated with restaurants when the new kid on the block has lines out the door every night from the moment it opened three months ago. The new kid in question is SPQR, a back-to-basics Italian eatery recently opened by dynamite city chef duo Nate Appleman […]

The exterior of Chapeau! is so unassuming and humble, marked only by a hand-written sign and white drapes, that you will probably circle around the block a few times before stumbling upon the restaurant. Likewise, the interior has little aesthetically to offer guests, with unadorned yellow walls and tables crammed on top of one another.
But, […]