The boom in business in SoMa has brought with it an influx of new eateries, including everything from French brasseries to a Brazilian churrascaria to a soul-food sports diner on the way in. To help you keep all of the neighborhood's new and upcoming restaurants straight, here's a quick cheat sheet.
Now Open
Mathilde, 315 5th St.
Partner Mathilde Gravel, Chef Thierry Clement and Le Charm Founder Lina Yew after a successful opening night. (Photo: Twitter)
After 20 years, French bistro Le Charm has given way to Mathilde, which debuted last Thursday evening.
Not ready to retire just yet, Le Charm owner Lina Yew brought in a new partner, Mathilde Gravel, and gave the space a modern redesign. The duo will also add weekday lunch service (hours TBA) and Sunday brunch from 10:30am-2:30pm.
Yew's husband Thierry Clement, who's also chef-owner of L'Ardoise in the Castro, continues to oversee the menu, which includes main dishes like duck leg confit, pan-seared steaks and seafood, and a wider selection of wine and beer.
Cadillac Bar & Grill, 44 9th St.
Photo: Cadillac Bar & Grill/Facebook
Over in the Twitter building, the Cadillac Bar and Grill is now open.
From 1982 to 1999, the Cadillac was a thriving Mexican restaurant located in a converted SoMa warehouse—until the land on which it stood was claimed for the Moscone Center expansion. 16 years later, the original founding partners are back, along with their signature margaritas, "puffy tacos" and family-style platters.
A private dining room that can accommodate up to 50 people will be added later this year, and Facebook tells us that the quest is on to recreate the Corona-bottle chandelier that once graced the former Cadillac Bar's ceiling.
Coming Soon
Bon Marché, 1355 Market St.
Photo: Jessica Wright/Instagram
The Cadillac's fellow Twitter building tenant, French brasserie Bon Marché, will soon open its doors as well. When we visited last month, owner Matt Semmelhack was putting the finishing touches on the menu and continuing to build out the 7,500-square-foot space, where you'll soon find two formal dining rooms and walk-up counters serving cocktails, wine, beer brewed in-house, charcuterie and more.
According to Bon Marché's latest tweet, the grand opening is now set for this Friday, August 28th.
Pin Up All-Star Diner, 772 Folsom St.
Photo: thepinupsf/Instagram
Last month, Inside Scoop broke the news that B Restaurant & Bar owner Kevin Best is preparing to open a new, family-focused diner in Yerba Buena Gardens. Best tells Hoodline that in his 10 years in Yerba Buena, he's seen far too many families leave the Gardens to find a suitable dining option. To give families a good reason to stick around after bowling or exploring the Children's Creativity Museum, he and his partners are planning to open a cozy, sports diner by mid-September in the former Mo's Grill space.
Pin Up All-Star Diner will be approachable and unpretentious, Best said, with local sports memorabilia covering the walls, Warriors and Giants games playing on the televisions, and affordable prices. Chef Ed Scheets, a Virginia native Best lured back to San Francisco for this project, is stacking the menu with comfort food like fried chicken, burgers and wings. Brunch will also be served on the weekends, but you won't find French toast or waffles here; think sandwiches on Scheets' signature biscuits.
For more mouthwatering sneak peeks at the menu, follow Pin Up All-Star Diner on Instagram or Twitter.
SPiN, 690 Folsom St.
Photo: SPiN New York/Facebook
Speaking of Yerba Buena, those who enjoy breaking a sweat to work up an appetite can look forward to the San Francisco debut of SPiN. The chain, backed by actor, producer and ping-pong enthusiast Susan Sarandon, plans to turn the 12,000 square-foot ground-floor space into a bar and restaurant with about 15 ping-pong tables for rent by the half-hour or hour. In the spirit of the communal sport, bites like "Buffalo Fried Chicken Bites," "Risotto Balls" and flatbread pizza will come in shareable portions, and a full bar will serve up liquid courage.
SPiN SF is expected to open in November/December, so anyone looking to plan an off-the-wall holiday party may want to get in touch.
Fogo De Chão, 201 Third St.
Photo: Fogo De Chão/Facebook
On the edge of Yerba Buena, just steps from the future SFMOMA at Third and Howard, Brazilian chain Fogo De Chão is building out a Brazilian-style steakhouse, or churrascaria. It hasn't announced an opening date yet, but we expect the menu won't stray far from the heaping portions of fire-roasted meats and seafood and all-you-can eat vegetable buffets on offer at its more than 30 locations around the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil.
Volta, 868 Mission St.
The duo behind the Financial District's Perbacco and Barbacco, Umberto Gibin and Staffan Terje, are currently building a new restaurant in the Westfield San Francisco Center, Inside Scoop reports. The "modern European brasserie" is taking over the space ‘wichcraft vacated earlier this summer, and plans to offer primarily French fare with a sprinkling of Scandinavian dishes (Terje hails from Sweden). Gibin and Terje are also shooting for a late fall opening.
Taboon, 132 Sixth St.
Finally, we broke the news last week that the Sixth Street corridor is expecting what we're told is San Francisco's first kosher bakery. Taboon will serve savory, baked-to-order Mediterranean and Middle Eastern pastries and wholesale breads. Renovations on the space should begin in the next month or two, and the owners hope to open the shop by January 2016.
