August was a big month for new bars and restaurants in the Mission, so we’ve compiled a list of some notable new places to eat and drink in the neighborhood. Here's the latest.
New Restaurants
1) In August, Bon, Nene opened its doors in the former Bistro L'Aviateur space (2850 21st St.) Open all day from Tuesday through Saturday and for brunch on Sunday, the restaurant's menu is centered on Japanese small plates prepared with French techniques. Morning items include homemade granola, fresh fruit, and waffles; for lunch and dinner, they serve chicken or tofu buns, the "noodle of the day," and potstickers. There’s also a selection of beer, tea, coffee, wine, and soju, and desserts like affogato and panna cotta.
2) Pasta aficionados will want to try out Barzotto, a pick-your-own-pasta counter service concept in the former St. Vincent space at 1270 Valencia St. Chef Michelle Minori (Flour + Water) and owner Marko Sotto (RN74, Beretta) offer a casual menu of small plates and affordable pastas, salads, and gelato, along with wine. They also sell homemade pasta that patrons can purchase and prepare at home, which you can watch being meticulously created by hand in the open kitchen.
3) In August, we covered Standard Deviant Brewing’s soft opening in a former auto body shop at 280 14th St. Since then, they've added five more brews to their list (for a total of nine). The lineup includes a kolsch, Belgian blonde, saison, IPA, altbier, and porter. They also have some visiting food vendors, including Powered by Pork, Sneaky's BBQ, and Doc's Classic.
For the moment, the brewery is only open four days a week (Thursdays 4-10pm; Fridays 4-12pm; Saturdays 1-12pm; Sundays 12-9pm), but co-owner Mark DeVito said more hours may be added after their grand opening in early to mid-November.
4) After much anticipation, Tartine Bakery's second outpost, Tartine Manufactory, has arrived in the Heath Ceramics building at 595 Alabama St. The space currently comprises a bakery and coffee shop, with pastries and a few other items at breakfast, and salads, sandwiches, and sweets for lunch.
Eventually, an ice cream counter, Tartine Cookies and Cream, will join the rotation, and the restaurant space will stay open for dinner as well. They also serve beer and wine, and sell loaves of their famous bread (baked on-site in a large open oven), which is available from 10:30am until they sell out.
As for their house coffee brand, Coffee Manufactory, it'll soon be the only coffee game in the Heath building: Blue Bottle Coffee, which has had a location next door since 2012, is planning to move out on Sunday, October 16th.
Coming Soon
5) Paul Einbund is getting ready to debut The Morris, a restaurant named after his late father, in the old Slow Club location at 2501 Mariposa St. A seasoned sommelier and former beverage director at Frances and Octavia, Einbund will offer an extensive, 50-page wine list with an Old World influence, as well as craft beer, classic cocktails, and a big spirits selection.
The menu, created by former Coi chef de cuisine Gavin Schmidt, includes items such as a sausage plate, grilled Berkshire pork, and smoked Muscovy duck sourced from Petaluma’s 38 North Poultry.
The restaurant was originally slated to open on October 3rd, but due to a recent plumbing issue, its opening has been delayed for about a week.
6) The founders of Almanac Beer Co., Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan, plan to open their first taproom in the former Sous Beurre Kitchen (2704 24th St.) Patrons of Almanac San Francisco will be able to buy beer on-site, from to-go growlers to six-packs, and the selection will include 20 taps, bottles of Almanac’s vintage-dated beers, and plenty of sour and barrel-aged beers.
The kitchen will serve beer-friendly, farm-to-table, San Francisco-style food, while the space will comprise a 72-seat bar and an outdoor beer garden. It should open by the end of the year.
More Upcoming Openings
7) Lazy Bear chef David Barzelay will be opening a new restaurant in the recently closed Tradesman space (753 Alabama St.) early next year. It will be cocktail-focused (Lazy Bear's bar manager, Nicolas Torres, is opening it alongside him), with approachable food and a casual atmosphere.
8) Fast-casual Greek restaurant Souvla will be opening their third location early next year at 758 Valencia St., formerly home to Grub. Open for lunch and dinner daily, it will offer their typical menu of spit-roasted meats (in sandwich or salad form), potatoes, and frozen Greek yogurt.
9) Though they don't yet have a space, chefs Nick Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine (561 Valencia St.) are in the process of crafting a new restaurant concept, Motze. According to Eater SF, it will serve a Japanese-style menu, with items like fat dumplings with egg and shiso and black koji and flax seed crackers with salmon roe. Until they can find a spot, Balla and Burns are previewing Motze's food every Monday night at Bar Tartine; the family-style meal runs $58 per person.
Bar Tartine will also be revamping its space and changing its name to Crescent in the near future, as Balla and Burns bought it from Tartine Bakery's owners, and the two are no longer under the same umbrella.
10) New York’s acclaimed Indian restaurant Babu Ji is on its way to the Mission. Owners Jennifer Singh and her chef-husband, Jessi, will offer their “Momofuku-like approach to Indian cuisine" in the Nostra Spaghetteria space at 280 Valencia St., which has recently closed. They plan to open mid-fall.
Legacy Dive Bars
Finally, two classic Mission dive bars are aiming to receive legacy business status from the city, in the hopes of gaining longer, more affordable leases. Zeitgeist, which we profiled last month, was officially awarded legacy status on Tuesday, probably to the chagrin of at least one group of Trump supporters.
Currently applying for legacy status: Doc’s Clock, which is losing its space at 2575 Mission St. and moving down the street to 2417 Mission St., formerly home to maker space The Hive. According to Mission Local, the owners want to keep the bar as similar to the original as possible, and are attempting to transplant its iconic neon sign.
