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San Francisco Chronicle​

The most-anticipated Bay Area restaurants opening this summer

After several years of post-pandemic recovery in fits and starts, there's an energy in the air in the Bay Area food world. Just look at what's slated to open this summer, which starts June 20. A modern Cantonese restaurant whose chef wants to push the envelope when it comes to Chinese food. Spinoffs from Michelin-starred restaurants, including a bakery and a gelato shop. Restaurants specializing in fresh soba noodles, heritage breed chickens, Cantonese barbecue and hyper-regional French cuisine. Plus, this summer brings second outposts of two daytime San Francisco favorites — Asian-American bakery Breadbelly and bagel shop Schlok's — and a new seafood market from acclaimed restaurant Nopa. And on the Peninsula, an exciting Korean-Taiwanese restaurant is opening its doors. Bar Chisme Late night eats from Chisme chef Manuel Bonilla, whose popup at Oakland's Low Bar ranked among the best new restaurants of 2024, are making a comeback. Bar Chisme is taking over the former Kon-Tiki space with a no-frills approach and dishes mashing up Salvadoran and Filipino flavors. Expect two types of burgers and a cozy, homey vibe space with an eclectic twist Bonilla envisions as 'Abuelita's house on acid.' — Mario Cortez Café Vivant There's nothing else quite like Café Vivant in the Bay Area: a restaurant devoted wholly to heritage chickens raised exclusively for the restaurant on a coastal farm in Pescadero. Arriving in Menlo Park late July, it will be the first restaurant from Jason Jacobeit and Daniel Jung, two sommeliers who run Somm Cellars, a rare wine retailer in New York City. They've partnered with farmer Rob James, whose sought-after poultry are served at many top Bay Area restaurants, and longtime chef Jared Wentworth, who's worked at Michelin-star restaurants in Chicago. They'll also open an outpost of Somm Cellars next door, with retail bottles, tastings, a market, coffee and its own food menu. — E.K. Projected opening: late July Gelateria di Cotogna One of the delights of eating at San Francisco's Cotogna has long been the abundant gelato cart that roamed the Italian restaurant's dining room. Soon, the housemade gelato will have its own home: a shop a few blocks away. Jennifer Felton, executive pastry chef for Cotogna, Quince and Verjus, is behind the gelato program. Expect flavors from vanilla honeycomb and chocolate stracciatella to seasonal creations like aprium (an apricot-plum hybrid fruit) or strawberries grown on the restaurant's private farm. Until the gelateria opens, catch an ice cream cart parked outside Cotogna Thursday-Saturday, noon to 4:30 p.m. — E.K. Projected opening: late summer The Happy Crane Given his fine-dining background, you might expect chef James Yeun Leong Parry to devote his upcoming Cantonese restaurant, the Happy Crane, to inventive reinterpretations of classic dishes. He will. But Leong Parry also wants to perfect those classics, like Peking duck and char siu. The chef, who previously worked at the three-Michelin-star Benu in San Francisco as well as Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong, became known at his popup of the same name for dishes that meld his half-Chinese identity and culinary expertise, like char siu made with pork jowl smoked with compressed apple and fennel. Expect the same creativity at the Hayes Valley restaurant, on a prominent corner with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. — E.K. Projected opening: August La Cigale La Cigale, an ambitious, regional French restaurant from a veteran chef, will arrive in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood this summer. Joseph Magidow, who previously worked at top San Francisco restaurants including the Delfina, Locanda and the now-closed Tawla, will channel the cuisine of the Occitania region in southwestern France. Every dish will be cooked on a wood-burning hearth in the center of the restaurant, and served by Magidow from behind a 15-seat chef's counter. — E.K. Projected opening: summer 679 Chenery St., San Francisco. Parachute A bakery with Michelin-star cred is headed to San Francisco's Ferry Building. Parachute comes from the team behind fine-dining restaurant Sorrel, which has held a star since 2019. It will be devoted to laminated pastries that highlight seasonal produce from the famed farmers market located steps outside its front doors, plus coffee and other confections. Executive pastry chef Nasir Zainulabadin, formerly of Sorrel and the two-Michelin-star Saison, will oversee Parachute. The owners will open Parachute in the former Slanted Door space along with Arquet, a full-service restaurant focused on Californian cuisine and wood-fired cooking coming later this year. — E.K. Projected opening: July 1 Ferry Building, Suite 5, San Francisco. Quack House After moving out of Chinatown last year, the family behind storied Cantonese barbecue shop Hing Lung will soon reopen at its relocated, and rebranded main shop. Going by Quack House, expect the same expertly roasted ducks and racks of pork ribs from brothers Eric and Simon Cheung. Also making a comeback are duck liver sausages, Chinese bacon and traditional Hong Kong-style rice plates. The new operation complements the siblings' other project, Cantonese barbecue restaurant Go Duck Yourself, but in a return to Hing Lung's origins, Quack House will offer birds and pork chopped up and served by the pound. — M.C. Projected opening: late summer 927 Post St., San Francisco. Stereo 41 A former PG&E customer service office is shaping up as the place to be in Walnut Creek. Starting this summer, Stereo 41 will offer Middle Eastern dishes in a space channeling the style and sounds of Japanese hi-fi bars. Stereo 41 comes from an ambitious team that includes Victor Ghaben of hot chicken specialist World Famous Hot Boys and Sofia Sabet, his sister and owner of adjacent restaurant Lita. The siblings worked with Andres Giraldo Flores of Oakland's Snail Bar in developing the menu. Leading the kitchen is executive chef Jonathan De La Torre, who has worked at San Francisco landmark restaurants such as Mourad, Nopa and Quince. — M.C. Projected opening: late summer 1535 Bonanza St. Walnut Creek. Soba Dining Sora Soba noodles don't often get the spotlight in the Bay Area, where only a few restaurants specialize in this Japanese buckwheat noodle. But Soba Dining Sora is adding to the local roster this summer. The restaurant, with two locations in Japan's Saitama Prefecture, will open in Japantown next to sibling restaurant Hinodeya Ramen. The restaurant has become known for its nutty noodles made fresh and served with bonito dipping sauce and tempura, or as part of a set meal which can include duck loin or assorted sashimi in a relaxed, casual environment. — M.C. Expected opening: midsummer 1731 Buchanan St., San Francisco. Super Mensch There's a new restaurant paying homage to East Coast-style Jewish delis coming to San Francisco's Marina District. Super Mensch is the newest venture from the Causwells team, who operate next door, with chef Adam Rosenblum serving nostalgic homages to the Reubens on rye and other Jewish American dishes he grew up eating. Expect sandwiches stacked with pastrami cured in-house and fresh baked bagels topped with lox. As expected from the Causwells team, bar director Elmer Mejicanos has prepared elaborate cocktails that tap into New York deli staples like black and white cookies and celery-flavored sodas. — M.C. Projected opening: August 2336 Chestnut St., San Francisco. Tsujita Artisan Noodle One of Los Angeles' most famous ramen shops is coming to the Bay Area: Tsujita Artisan Noodle, opening its first Northern California location in San Jose this month. People line up at Tsujita for its speciality: tsukemen, or cold ramen noodles served with a warm dipping sauce on the side. Tsujita serves bowls of thick, chewy noodles crowned with chashu, seasoned eggs and other toppings; plus spicy and vegan variations and Japanese beer and sake. It will join only a few other dedicated tsukemen restaurants in the Bay Area, including the popular Taishoken and Shutgetsu. — E.K. Projected opening: June 21