San Francisco - Food & Drinks

Japantown’s oldest business will survive a few months longer, as their previously announced January closure has been moved out to the end of March.

Julia Child would approve of Tú Lan’s addition to the San Francisco Legacy Business Registry, as the 44-year-old Vietnamese restaurant just got legacy status.

Perhaps best known for its packaged chips and salsas, Casa Sanchez became San Francisco’s 100th legacy business back in 2017 — and its longtime location at 2778 24th Street might soon be recognized as a City landmark.

A new banh mi shop, Banh Mi Viet, has quietly opened at 518 Divisadero, in a former beauty salon, offering both banh mi sandwiches and a couple of Vietnamese entrees as well.

Castro residents and visitors now have a new option to enjoy warm morning buns and fresh-baked mini-pizzas in the neighborhood.

16th Street gastropub the Monk’s Kettle has eliminated indoor dining for the time being, as more restaurants go outdoor-ony or close down entirely as the Omicron surge upends the restaurant sector.

If you love the Japanese rice cakes called mochi, early January is your last chance to get it at Japantown’s oldest business Benkyodo Company.

Hoodline has curated a sampling of local Bay Area wine sellers to try out, from large retailers with multiple locations to small specialty companies, each offering its own unique experience.

Over the holiday weekend, multiple Castro neighborhood bars and restaurants announced they would be temporarily closed due to the recent surge of Covid-19 infections brought on by the Omicron variant.

With just two days left until Christmas, it’s still not too late to grab a libation at any one of these Bay Area pop-up bars that exude all the seasonal cheer.

A boutique brunch pop-up just got the keys to its new forever home at Harrison and 18th Streets, as Poppy will bring its Australian brunch stylings to the Mission this summer.

Hoodline has rounded up a full course of tempting prix-fixe meals at various price points in San Francisco and the East Bay.

What was once a SoMa pop-up restaurant in 2019, SF Chickenbox has since grown into a fully-fledged eatery with a permanent location at 464 Broadway. But without needed renovations, the North Beach business could go the way of the dodo bird. 

A space-age makeover is underway at the new bar Mothership, in the former Virgil's Sea Room location, with an out-of-this-world curated craft cocktail menu.

The Castro's newest Italian restaurant Vico Cavone officially opens this weekend in the former Firewood space at 4248 18th Street, after two weeks of a soft opening.

Rose Pizzeria — the East Bay pizza joint that was initially expected to debut earlier this summer — will open Wednesday, December 1, at 1960 University Avenue in Berkeley with pizzas that focus on thin crusts made from “heritage grains” and topped by high-quality ingredients.

Lena Turner would not let the Japantown mall closures end her run, as the 91-year-old has opened a new omakase spot Sushi Aoba.

La Cocina, the beloved and award-winning kitchen incubator, is set to host its first in-person event since the pandemic began: a holiday pop-up at the Tenderloin's La Cocina Municipal Marketplace.

Hi Neighbor Restaurant Group is hoping to capitalize on the nearby music and culture scene that is crawling back to life in Civic Center, and pivoting the former Corridor to become more of a cocktail bar.

San Francisco-based Réveille Coffee's Castro location at 4076 18th St. (at Castro) has permanently closed after seven years, while four other locations remain open.

Many people worried in the last year that a restaurant loved by tourists and tech workers inside San Francisco’s Ferry Building had served its last dish, but we now have further assurance that that is not true.

The celebrated “Your Dive” bar El Rio will be toasting to both its 42nd and 43rd birthdays Saturday, after last year’s celebration was obviously cancelled, with free food and free El Rio merchandise for early arrivers.

A new retro-diner-inspired brunch spot, Hilda & Jesse (701 Union St. at Powell) has just opened in North Beach, in the space formerly occupied by North Beach Gyros.

The Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin took to Californios before taking the Outside Lands stage last weekend, and staff at the two-Michelin starred California Mexican restaurant described him as “a polite and nice person.”

The Mad Dog is chasing a liquor license for their apparent newfound home, after the popular sports bar closed its old location just before the pandemic shutdowns.