SF Eats: The House to close after 26 years in North Beach; Souvla to reopen some locations; more

SF Eats: The House to close after 26 years in North Beach; Souvla to reopen some locations; morePhoto: The House/Facebook
Alisa Scerrato
Published on July 10, 2020

Here's the latest in SF food and libation news. In this edition: a North Beach favorite closes after 26 years of business, a delivery and takeout juggernaut returns after a four-month hiatus, and a tart shop debuts as a pop-up in the Ferry Building. 

Closures

North Beach

The House (1230 Grant Ave.)

Sesame-soy glazed salmon at The House. | Photo: Derek L./Yelp

A North Beach fixture for a quarter-century, Asian-fusion eatery The House is set to permanently shutter.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to close The House,” owners Larry and Angela Tse wrote on Facebook. “A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful House community for your generous support throughout. It's been a truly incredible and unforgettable journey of 26 years."

Opened in December 1994, The House was known for its casual fare with Chinese and Japanese touches, like sea bass with wasabi noodles, ahi tuna tartare and passionfruit creme brulee. With just a handful of tables, it regularly drew long lines and waits. 

We’ve reached out to the Tses for more information about their decision to close, and will provide updates as we receive them. 

Openings

Hayes Valley/Marina

Souvla (517 Hayes St.)

Photo: Shira W./Yelp

Popular fast-casual Greek eatery Souvla has been offline for close to four months — causing confusion among many fans, given its huge delivery and takeout operation. 

As we reported earlier this week, owner Charles Bililies was concerned both for the safety of his staff, and by data showing that his to-go business would be halved in the pandemic. So he decided to stay closed for a while. 

But it appears Bililies has found a solution for safety, as Souvla is set to reopen its Marina and Hayes Valley locations tomorrow.

Both locations will exclusively offer contact-free takeout (no outdoor dining for now), and customers must use a new Souvla app to order and schedule a time for pickup. Hours will be Wednesday - Friday from 4 – 9 p.m. and Saturdays - Sundays from 12 – 8 p.m.

The NoPa and Mission locations will remain closed for now. But starting Monday, July 13, customers in those neighborhoods (and the rest of the city) will be able to order Souvla delivery via Caviar or DoorDash.

View this post on Instagram

SOUVLA IS BACK! After 115 days of being closed, we’re reopening our Hayes Valley & Marina restaurants tomorrow for online ordering & pick-up, and our SoMa location for lunchtime delivery through @caviar & @doordash next week. (News on our Mission and NoPa locations coming soon.) We missed you, San Francisco, and we can’t wait to see you again! Our full menu 🥗🌯🍟🍦🍺🍷will be available! #makeitniceandbenice New Hours: - Starting tomorrow (7/11), Saturday & Sunday 12-8pm, and Wednesday-Friday 4-9pm in Hayes Valley & The Marina, for pre-order & pick-up only - Starting next week (7/13), Monday-Friday 11am-3pm lunchtime deliveries from our SoMa location on @caviar & @doordash We’re taking all safety measures seriously, including mandatory masks for all, wellness checks for our team, tamper-proof packaging, and contactless to-go orders. We even launched a new Souvla App (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) so you can seamlessly reorder your favorites. See you this weekend!!! 📸 @allie.eats

A post shared by Souvla (@souvla) on

“While Souvla has always specialized in high volume to-go and delivery orders, we placed a higher priority on the health and safety of our team members than our ability to operate," Bililies said in a statement. "We feel incredibly grateful to have been in a position to care for our team during this closure, and are now much better suited to safely open our restaurants.”

Pop-ups

Embarcadero

Smooch Tartshop (Ferry Building, Suite K5)

Smooch tarts. | Photo: Lester S./Yelp

Starting this Saturday, Smooch Tartshop will debut a weekly pop-up at the Ferry Building. It's taking over Kiosk K5, across from the Ferry Building Wine Merchant. 

The San Francisco-based dessert company was founded by Lester San Luis and Peter Kemp. As the name suggests, it specializes in homemade, single-serving tarts, in flavors like ube coconut, creme brulee and "drunken pair." There are bite-size mini-tarts as well. 

The dessert kiosk will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through September 12. You can also order boxes of tarts for delivery in San Francisco and portions of the surrounding counties. Delivery is $10 and requires two days' notice. 


If you've seen something new (or closing) 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.