New Bay Area restaurants: what to eat right now (2024)

From the team that opened San Francisco's Aditi Indian Cuisine is this new Mission District restaurant that specializes in best-in-class dosas and 13 biryanis. The basic dosa is about the size of a person’s forearm, and it breaks with a delicate crunch. For more texture, there’s the masala dosa, filled with silky spiced potato. Another treat is the whole fried pomfret, marinated in a complex blend of spices and cooked until the skin is as crisp as a potato chip.

Nick Anichini, Atelier Crenn’s former chef de cuisine, teamed up with the owners of sustainable fish company Water2Table to open this upscale, seafood-centric restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District. They transformed the former Locanda space into a beautiful, inviting dining room with excellent wine and an emphasis on local seafood. The celery Caesar salad comes with San Francisco anchovies while the "rack of halibut" arrives like a lamb chop at a steak house, with its bones jutting out. Don't miss the surprising nasturtium dolmas with escargot that manage to be crunchy, chewy, sweet, savory and floral all at once.

Bodega SF reinvigorates the city's Vietnamese food scene, although it's actually a familiar restaurant. Some may recognize it as a former pop-up that launched in the Castro in 2020. And others may remember Bodega Bistro, a Tenderloin favorite that closed in 2017 after a 14-year run. The same family is behind the new Bodega SF near Union Square. Some dishes from the Bodega Bistro days, like pho, remain at lunch, but it's worth experiencing the modern, sit-down affair at dinner, when the kitchen turns out herb-crusted lamb chops, banh khot (chewy turmeric cakes) topped with caviar and whole branzino showered with dill and turmeric.

At Cantinas Los Mayas, which calls itself the first U.S. wine bar to exclusively serve Mexican wines, affable and knowledgable servers will guide you through the extensive wine list, which encourages exploration with many wines available by the half glass. The food is much more exciting than typical wine bar fare. Get to know Mayan dishes like sikil pak, a deeply flavorful dip made from roasted tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and spices, that comes with warm, fresh tortillas for dipping. Save some of the dip to smear on tacos, such as the smoky turkey relleno negro or creamy sweet potato mole. The kitchen also shines in its salsa trio: a verdant salsa verde, a slightly sweet mango-habanero and a dark, mole-like sauce rich from cacao and smoked tomatoes. Cantina Los Mayas, from the owners of the nearby Taqueria Los Mayas, already feels like a lively neighborhood staple.

The closure of Oakland's beloved Afro-Caribbean restaurant Miss Ollie's earlier this year was heartbreaking. But chef Sarah Kirnon is cooking once again, now in a pared-down format under the moniker Holder's House, having taken over the cafe space at Forage Kitchen, the commercial kitchen space in Oakland's Uptown. There, Kirnon is serving a few dishes each day on paper plates for folks to take home or eat at a picnic table outside. The skillet-fried chicken, a crunchy, juicy marvel and crowd favorite at Miss Ollie's, is back, as are popular sides like honey-kissed cornmeal fritters and sweet plantains. One day, there might be a gorgeous salad with seasonal fruit; perhaps an airy fried whole fish with green tomatoes the next, or a plate of jerk chicken with jammy stewed oxtail. With only Kirnon in the kitchen, the food tastes even more exceptional than it recently did at Miss Ollie's.

A brick-and-mortar spot for a 4-year-old Peruvian food truck, Lomo Libre focuses on a classic of chifa, or Peruvian Chinese, cuisine: lomo saltado, in which wok-cooked beef is served with a citrusy soy sauce marinade and french fries. Here, you can get it in burrito form, as a salad, over noodles and even as nachos. The Sunset District space is very much a sports bar, decorated with framed 49ers jerseys and flat-screen televisions tuned to sporting events.

Pizza restaurants with natural wine lists have become something of a Bay Area cliche, but that doesn't mean they're not welcome. Pie Punks in SoMa is the latest entry, and what sets it apart is its range: not just natural wine but also tiki co*cktails, and not just pizza but three styles of pizza. There are round pies with thin, New York-style crusts; rectangular, Detroit-style pies with cheddar-lined edges; and rectangular, grandma-style pies, with a crispy, airy crust of medium height and spoonfuls of red sauce on top of the cheese. For the weekday lunch crowd, grandma-style pizza is available by the slice, served with toppings like fatty sausage, blackened broccollini and Calabrian chiles. For dinner, it's worth adding some of the crunchy appetizers to your order, namely the deep-fried, mini mozzarella sandwiches and the fried mushroom risotto balls that ooze with cheese.

A disco ball glimmers inside Slug, a new natural wine bar with late-night party vibes from the same team behind hit Temescal spot Snail Bar. The new place carries many of the same attractions as the perpetually packed Snail Bar, like organic wine served in cute glasses, impossibly cheesy sandwiches and a rotating menu of intricate dishes that often feature miso from Shared Cultures. New is an emphasis on sausages ("slugs of the land"), DJs and food from Spencer Horovitz, formerly of Italian restaurant Itria in San Francisco.

The sheer amount of food at Eataly's first Northern California store in San Jose is simultaneously exciting and dizzying. There are no fewer than two restaurants, two bakeries, a cheese lab and an entire floor devoted to wine inside the three-story temple to Italian cuisine. Perhaps on one trip you immerse yourself in the first-floor dining options by grabbing a slice of Roman-style pizza laden with salty soppresata and hot honey, a coppa panini on sesame focaccia and a scoop of fragrant hazelnut gelato. Next time, raid the third-floor market for hard-to-find Italian goods, fresh pasta and house-made cheeses. (Pro tip: Order a glass of wine on the second floor and sip while you shop.) Worried about the line to get in? Check Eataly's Instagram for updates on wait times.

At night, Outer Sunset gem DamnFine is packed with diners clamoring for blistered pizzas. But there's a new, less-frenetic way to experience the restaurant's expertise with carbs: cafe service from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The morning offerings include espresso, pastries and savory oatmeal, while lunch features salads, pasta and focaccia sandwiches. The sandwiches are the key draw here, thin and simple ditties with warm, pillowy bread and exceptional ingredients. Think prosciutto with creamy mozzarella and garlic aioli, or fatty salami with aged parmesan, hot honey and spicy Calabrian chiles. (To be clear, there's no pizza during daytime hours.) DamnFine also turns that focaccia into toast at the owners' brand new cafe, located in the former Trouble Coffee down the street.

The Bay Area is happily now awash in bagel options, of which Midnite Bagel makes the most decidedly Californian version. Try them at owner Nick Beitcher's first cafe in the Inner Sunset: flavorful bagels made from a sourdough starter and stone-milled flours in the style of Beitcher's former employer, Tartine Bakery. Get them smeared with jalapeño-honey cream cheese or piled high with smoked salmon and fresh herbs, or thick summer tomatoes. Grab one of the counter seats to enjoy a bialy with a cup of Linea Coffee cold brew or take your bagels to go. (Golden Gate Park is just a few blocks away for a scenic breakfast picnic.) Pastries are a plus; try the passion fruit macaroons or a super moist, subtly nutty buckwheat-banana muffin.

Paitan ramen, with broth made from chicken rather than pork, is the specialty of this unassuming strip mall ramen shop. Start with the most basic bowl to experience Obaitori's luscious, flavorful broth at its most refined, topped simply with thinly sliced chashu, a soft-boiled egg and diced raw onion. Then experiment with spicy tantanmen (noodles in a creamy, peanutty broth) or tsukemen, served with a concentrated sauce on the side for dipping. The thin, bouncy noodles are made fresh here, a rarity that sets Obaitori apart even in the ramen-rich South Bay.

With a $230 price tag, Katsu is one of the higher-end omakase options in the region and far pricier than the owners' first restaurant, Sushi Maruyama in San Mateo. Mountain View doesn’t really have anything like Katsu, where chefs serve 19 courses of edomae-style fish and seafood from an intimate, eight-seat counter. Recent dishes of note include herring roe, pressed and cured with konbu into a translucent, gorgeous slice; and kohada nigiri dusted with one-week cured egg yolk. Hand rolls are having a moment in the Bay Area; here, they're served simply with high-quality salmon roe.

For miso lovers who fantasize about entire meals devoted to the umami-laden paste, Aedan is an exciting addition to San Francisco. Owner Mariko Grady works her popular misos and other fermented products into every aspect of bento boxes and donburi bowls at her new Mission District store. Salmon is marinated in shio koji, its flavor melding with the luscious fat of the fish. (Ask for the off-menu onigiri stuffed with the same salmon or chicken.) Grady's delightfully named "sauce of nostalgia," a condiment that pulls depth from miso and rice koji, coats tender eggplant. Seasonal produce, from kumquats to wood ear mushrooms, star in other sides. Don't miss the amazake, a cold, creamy fermented rice drink with bite from turmeric and ginger. Everything is to-go, but there's a tree out front surrounded by a wooden bench for impromptu alfresco dining.

After nearly 10 years serving as the cafe at the Berkeley Art Museum, Babette moved to its own space in May. The new digs are significantly bigger, with warm brick and a spacious back patio surrounding a redwood tree. That outdoor oasis is an ideal, quiet getaway on the busy thoroughfare of San Pablo Avenue for coffee and fruit-forward pastries, such as a flaky fig bar accented with rosemary or rugelach swirled with blood orange jam. A warm slice of mushroom quiche, rich and tangy from goat cheese, makes for a lovely lunch with soft jazz in the background. The restaurant transforms into a classier and classically Berkeley dinner spot at night, with its steadfast commitment to organic and local ingredients. And yes, of course, there are vegetarian and gluten-free options.

This tiny bar hidden on a San Francisco rooftop rewards those who seek it out. Tucked in the back of Fiorella's roof in the Inner Sunset, Bar Nonnina serves top-notch co*cktails and food that feels wholly distinct from the owners' popular pizzeria steps away. The food menu is snacky, but a satisfying meal is still possible. Fluffy spring onion focaccia arrives warm in a cast iron pan, boasting a crispy, sourdough-like crust. Ricotta tortellini with fava beans and English peas taste like tender pockets of spring. The lambrusco slushy might sound like a fad drink, but it's excellent and well-balanced thanks to Piedmontese amaro and Sicilian blood orange liqueur. (Here's hoping it supplants New York City's trendy dirty Shirley). Heads up: Bar Nonnina is standing-only, enclosed and very small, with most spots at the marble bar and two tables requiring reservations.

Fans of Good to Eat Dumplings have been flocking to the Taiwanese pop-up's first restaurant in Emeryville. The best hits remain — namely, chef Tony Tung's crispy Taiwanese pot stickers filled with chicken and basil, or a vegetarian mushoom-cauliflower spin — plus new dishes. Get the fried pork chop, juicy with a satisfying crust, and chase each rich bite with the punchy kimchi served on the side. Head to the charming, dog-friendly outdoor patio to enjoy bowls of chewy noodles coated in flavorful pork and chile bean paste under string lights. It's a boon for this part of the East Bay, home to few Taiwanese restaurants.

If you've seen the line down the block at Handroll Project and wondered if it's worth the wait, the answer is yes. At the more casual, hand roll-focused spin-off from the owners of San Francisco omakase hit Ju-Ni, diners get the same quality and hyper-attention to detail as at the Michelin-starred parent restaurant. Each hand roll ($7-$18) has its own personality. The toro takuan, with luscious fatty tuna and pops of pickled radish, is at once indulgent and fun. Spicy tuna gets amped up with a togarashi aioli and fragrant shiso leaf. The most surprising hand roll may be the A5 Wagyu beef, seared in thin squiggles on the grill with kelp salt. Here, wasabi costs $4 extra but it's an essential palate refresher. It's pickled — spicy and tangy — which makes it a perfect harmonic foil to the richer bites of crab, salty ikura and miso aioli. About the wait: It's not bad on weeknights, and diners can add their names to a Yelp waitlist if they're within a mile radius of the restaurant.

After the superb ramen, the best part of Noodle in a Haystack's pop-up was the charm of slurping noodles at the owners' dining room table while they cooked steps away in their home kitchen. When Clint and Yoko Tan finally graduated to a sleek San Francisco restaurant with a $125 tasting menu, they managed to retain the same intimate feel. Clint Tan chats with diners as he crafts elegant dishes, like silken tofu swimming in crab dashi and blue fin tartare marinated in gochujang and numbing mala spice. The pork belly karaage defies textural boundaries: It's braised for 14 hours until it's almost melting, and then flash fried for a supremely crisp exterior. Everything builds up the final ramen course, recently a brothless abura soba with A5 Wagyu beef. Ethereal noodles with otherworldy clinging power, made especially for Noodle in a Haystack, take to the shoyu tare and yolky egg like soulmates. For dessert, Yoko Tan makes fresh yuzu kakigoori on a perky countertop shaved ice machine from Japan. Instead of a spoon, it's served with an adorable, tiny metal shovel.

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