In this edition: a quartet of French eateries are headed to Union Square, Hayes Valley gets another dessert spot, a SoMa hotel adds a coffee shop and a Civic Center hotel launches afternoon tea.
Openings
Union Square
ONE65 (165 O'Farrell St.)
Good news for fans of French cuisine: a massive Gallic culinary complex is on its way to Union Square. ONE65 is helmed by Claude Le Tohic, who earned three Michelin stars and a James Beard Award for his cooking at Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
Sprawling across six floors and more than 25,000 square feet, ONE65 (named for its address on O'Farrell Street) will feature four different eateries: a patisserie with breakfast and lunch options, a French-Californian bistro, a cocktail and wine bar with bites, and a fine-dining restaurant.
The patisserie will be the first of the bunch to open, with a debut set for next Thursday, May 16. Occupying the building's first two floors, it will offer housemade pastries and breads, ice cream and chocolates, with both dine-in and to-go options for breakfast and lunch.
On May 24, the bistro and lounge will make their debuts on the building's middle floors, followed on June 6 by the top-floor debut of fine-dining restaurant O’, which will offer modern French cuisine "inspired by the elements of water, fire, and earth."
Hayes Valley
Na Ya Dessert Cafe (535 Octavia St.)
Hoodline tipster Natalie D. alerted us that the Inner Richmond's Na Ya Dessert Cafe is expanding to Hayes Valley. It'll be taking over the former Loving Cup location, which unexpectedly shuttered in March after five years on Octavia Street.
Na Ya, whose original location is at 5338 Geary Blvd., specializes in Asian-inspired desserts like bingsoo (shaved ice), mango sticky rice crepes and matcha pancakes with ice cream. It also serves some savory snacks, like noodles and marinated pork skewers, but it's unclear if those will be available at the new location.
According to public records, no permit applications for the new Hayes Valley venture have been filed with the city so far. We reached out to Na Ya's owners to get more information on when it might open, but didn't receive a response.
SoMa
Funny Library (250 4th St.)
SoMa's new Virgin Hotel, which has already launched a restaurant and rooftop bar, has debuted the final piece of its culinary puzzle: a coffee shop called Funny Library. Like the other eateries in the hotel, it's open to the general public, not just guests.
A grab-and-go spot with a communal work area, Funny Library features beans from Laughing Man, a fair-trade coffee brand co-founded by Hugh Jackman, and pastries and bread from Craftsman and Wolves and Firebrand.
A portion of coffee sales will support the Laughing Man Foundation, whose mission is to support coffee farming communities with access to higher education and housing improvement.
Additions
Civic Center
Afternoon tea at the Proper Hotel (1100 Market St.)
In keeping with its name, Civic Center's Proper Hotel is now offering a properly English-style afternoon tea, available every day from 2-5 p.m. in its lobby lounge. At $39 per person, the tea service includes an assortment of tea sandwiches and pastries prepared by executive chef Mikey Adams.
Sandwich fillings include deviled egg salad, turkey and avocado and cashew butter, banana and Nutella. As for pastries, there's a sourdough English muffin or a cream tea scone with blueberries and orange zest.
Thanks to tipster Natalie D.! If you've seen something new (or something newly closed) in the neighborhood, text your tips and photos to (415) 200-3233, or email [email protected]. If we use your info in a story, we'll give you credit.
