INDONESIAN THOUSAND-LAYER CAKE AND BEEF RENDANG LANDS IN EMERYVILLE

This is a list of the Bay Area’s most notable restaurant and bar openings, with new updates published once a week. Did we miss something great? Please, drop us a line.

April 23

FISHERMANS WHARF — Cafe de Casa is adding another location to its roster, opening a new spot for pão na chapa at 685 Beach Street in Fisherman’s Wharf on Saturday, April 27. This is the third location for the Brazilian restaurant, which offers pastéis, acai bowls, sandwiches, pastries, and coffee drinks.

NOPA — After going dark for four years, Bar 821 is back and pouring amari once again, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. In addition to its focus on amari, the bar is also adding on a cocktail program of drinks made to order depending on customer preference on spirit and flavor profile.

BERKELEY — South Indian fast-casual restaurant Pochys opened in early April in the former Lulu’s spot on Camelia Street, and it’s the first location in an ambitious push to popularize street food rolls in the East Bay. Rolls or plates are customizable with options such as a butter masala roll made with a choice of egg, chicken, or paneer, Manchurian rolls with battered and fried cabbage, and more.

EMERYVILLE — The Public Market in Emeryville welcomed a new restaurant to its fold with the addition of Indonesian restaurant Nusa. Nusa is part of La Cocina’s food business incubator and is now settling into the Emeryville food hall life, serving thousand-layer cake and beef rendang upon opening on Wednesday, April 17. The business is offering lunch for now, with plans to launch extended hours and dinner options as of Wednesday, May 15.

OAKLAND — Kuidaore Handroll Bar took over the former Baia Pasta location at Jack London Square, opening on Monday, April 8, East Bay Nosh reports. Expect not just hand rolls but also crudo, A5 wagyu, and sustainable caviar.

OAKLAND — Nosh also caught wind of the opening for 9 Julio Empanada Kitchen in the Temescal neighborhood, which landed at 5239 Claremont Avenue in Oakland. There are the namesake empanadas on the menu (available in both sweet and savory options) alongside Peruvian marinated roasted chicken, chimichurri steak, plantain chips, and more.

PLEASANT HILL — Butter Pecan Bakeshop continues its East Bay expansion with a new, third location set in Pleasant Hill. Cookie fiends can head to 2360 Monument Boulevard for a sweet treat of specialty cookies, such as a strawberries and cream flavor or dark chocolate and sea salt.

PLEASANTON — Pleasanton now has double the Chick-Fil-A fun, with the addition of a second location at 4501 Hopyard Road, the Mercury News reports.

MILL VALLEY — A new cocktail lounge is shaking up the Mill Valley bar scene with the debut of Corner Bar on Wednesday, April 24. It’s the latest from the team behind Buckeye Roadhoue and Bungalow 44, serving Mediteranean-inspired food and serious cocktails.

SAUSALITO — New restaurant Suzette landed on Sausalito’s waterfront as of Friday, April 19, serving views and French classics. Located at 633 Bridgeway, diners can experience Sausalito joie de vivre with moules marnières, or mussels, and croque-madame.

PALO ALTO — Kosher sushi restaurant Holy Sushi opened on Monday, April 1, setting up shop in the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto Online reports. The restaurant is led by chef Wilson He, who has 15 years of kosher sushi-making experience, the news site states.

PALO ALTO — LA-based Sushi Roku is dropping its first Bay Area location with a new restaurant at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. The restaurant opens on Tuesday, April 30, offering non-traditional Japanese cuisine alongside sashimi and nigiri, in a luxe setting.

PALO ALTO — Palo Alto Online also reports the opening of MoDo Hawaii Drive-Thru, a yearlong project that pairs businesses Nhà Cafe, Snowtime Dessert Cafe, and MoDo Hawaii in one Santa Clara drive-thru. Located at 2006 El Camino Real, the drive-thru will feature goodies from all three businesses, such as Pandan Dream, a pandan-infused soy milk beverage, and malasadas.

STATELINE — Los Angeles glitz is now in the Lake Tahoe area with the opening of Wolf by Vanderpump inside Harvey’s Lake Tahoe last week, launching with a glam party featuring shirtless models in wolf heads, ice sculptures and other spectacles. Expect nothing but over-the-top glamour inside the new restaurant, which features indoor trees, chandeliers, and large wolf statues.

April 16

CIVIC CENTER — The mostly vegan marketplace Saluhall opened to the public on Wednesday, April 11, giving downtown San Francisco diners 11 reasons to eat on Market Street. That’s because there are 11 food options within the food hall including five local purveyors and six new businesses. Eating here is for fans of Curry Up Now’s pani puri, Scandinavian-inspired pastries, plant-based burgers, and soft serve.

SOMA — Self-described “plant-forward” Filipino restaurant Mestiza closed during the pandemic, but now owner-operator Deanna Sison is back in the saddle, reviving her business on Thursday, April 18 at 214 Townsend Street. Chef Syl Mislang is running the kitchen, putting vegetables at the center of wraps, bowls, and lumpia.

SOMA — Restaurateur John Park and chef Alex Reccio are betting big on a new iteration of their hit Nikkei business. Kaiyo Restaurant and Bar opens Wednesday, April 17 on the ground floor of the Hyatt Place Hotel, the same building where Kaiyo Rooftop lazes above for sunset chasers. But this new restaurant aims higher than even that, rolling out luxury items including 36-hour, koji-cured bone-in ribeye and Japanese-Peruviansushi sets from chef Kenji Sawada, former executive sous chef of sushi at PABU Izakaya.

CHINATOWN — Chicken and corn dumplings swimming in soup just arrived at 601 Kearny Street. Today Food opened quietly this month at 601 Kearny Street, SF Chinatown Today announced on Instagram. The dumpling purveyor is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and makes its dumplings to order, so plan for a bit of a wait after you place your order.

MISSION — Maybe the tiniest pan dulce dealer in the Mission, Florecita Panadería just opened on Saturday, April 13. Fans can head to 2823 18th Street, in the alley between Florida and Bryant streets, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for pan de muerto and churro conchas.

INNER SUNSET — A new coffee operation has arrived in Golden Gate Park, just off of Ninth Avenue. The team at Sunset Roasters, a husband-and-wife operation serving drinks inspired by the owners’ Central and South American roots, announced on Instagram that the business will park its van outside the Botanical Gardens Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

OAKLAND — Where Rooz Cafe once stood now comes Parkline, a cafe with Oakland-inspired sandwiches and lots of coffee and tea. East Bay Nosh reports the Lake Merritt-adjacent outfit has already gained a strong fanbase.

CROCKETT — Two buddies just joined forces to open Bobby Mac’s BBQ at 601 Second Avenue. The Mercury News reports Derrick Jones, former sous chef at Pixar Animation Studios, and Randy Valdez, owner of Lucia’s Craft Sandwich, linked up for to open the new restaurant. Menu items include chicken and waffles with Hennessy maple syrup and smoked brisket cheesesteak.

April 9

FIDI — Osha Thai just took over a major corner location at 250 Montgomery, swinging open its doors on Friday, April 5. Ownership confirmed the opening to Eater SF, saying tons of people showed up for the arrival of Osha’s third San Francisco location. Fans can’t get enough of this business’s elegant interior decor and decadent Thai brunches.

POLK GULCH — After closing its location at Cathay House and spending a year at sister business Dragon Horse in SoMa, speakeasy-style cocktail bar Blind Pig lives again on Polk Street. This time owner Derrick Li dressed up his business as a snack shop to keep things sneaky, with a password requirement for entry (the password will be shared weekly via social media). The drink menu skews toward Asian ingredient-infused fare and the food is snacky, but not in a sneaky way.

INNER SUNSET — Poorboy Coffee just took over the bar in the former Queens and short-lived Open Book Project space on Ninth Avenue. The pop-up cold brew bar is all about sharing what makes the business tick with its fans online, and guests can expect subtle, powerful coffee mocktails like Arnold Palmers made with Saint Frank Coffee beans.

PORTOLA — A founder of Southern Pacific and Sea Star just opened a new east side restaurant and bar in San Francisco. Out the Road opened on San Bruno Avenue on Friday, April 5 and, according to the Chronicle, the hope is to serve the community as a place to watch the game, eat pizza, and drink a beer. The business takes over the former Ferment Drink Repeat location.

VACAVILLE – The latest outpost in the Angry Chickz fleet opened to the public in Vacaville on April 5. The Reporter writes about 350 people flocked to the event, with Mayor John Carli nabbing Nashville-style chicken at the new 1021 Helen Power Drive restaurant.

NAPA — Chef Mourad Lahlou’s new Napa restaurant Moro opened at the Oxbow Public Market as of early April. Representatives from the market confirmed to the Chronicle that the counter-service restaurant is open for business. Expect mains such as lamb shoulder and shrimp in red chermoula, and desserts including orange blossom ice cream and baklava, with beer and wine options.

SANTA CRUZ — Italian chef Crescenzo Pelliccia and co-owner Michele Tartaglia just took their pandemic era pop-up into its first ever permanent location. Emozioni Pasticceria opened in Soquel Village on Friday, March 22. According to Lookout, this is the place to head for rare Naples-style desserts and pastries including millefoglie cake and parigina.

April 2

SOMA — Detroit-style pizza specialist Joyride Pizza expanded its footprint in the Bay Area with a new outpost at Salesforce Park. The pizzeria started slinging pies out of the Barebottle Brewing taproom atop the downtown green space, meaning customers can order a pie with their beer from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

SOMA — After years of waiting, one of San Francisco’s most famous gay bars will make its triumphant return. The Stud will open at its new home at 1123-1125 Folsom Street on April 20, the business shared via Instagram. Previously the bar was located a few blocks away at 399 Ninth Street, but it closed in 2020 during the pandemic-induced shutdowns. During the four years since, the bar has raised money for its reopening by hosting virtual events, selling merch, and crowdfunding campaigns.

GHIRARDELLI SQUARE — Broad Street Oyster Co., the incredibly Instagramable seafood restaurant founded in southern California, opened its first NorCal outpost on March 27. The counter service restaurant sits atop Ghirardelli Square and serves fish and chips, luxurious seafood towers, cioppino, and, of course, its popular lobster rolls that can be topped with add-ons such as uni and caviar.

CASTRO — A new seafood restaurant called Fisch & Flore will open on April 3 at 2298 Market Street, Hoodline reports. The location previously housed longtime neighborhood haunt Cafe Flore, which closed in 2019. The new restaurant will serve “sustainable seafood” starting with dinner service Wednesday through Sunday.

MISSION — Rasa Rasa Kitchen brings bold Indonesian cuisine to the Mission, KQED reports. The restaurant comes from owners Joe Sharp and Patty Tang, who launched a food truck of the same name in 2020, just before COVID-19 shut down many businesses. Now they’re back with a permanent restaurant at 2200 Bryant Street, where diners can order turmeric fried chicken, rica rica (a saucy pork belly stew), and beef rendang.

OAKLAND —After closing at the end of 2023, longstanding Oakland restaurant Quinn’s Lighthouse is back open. The East Bay Times reports that new owners have taken over the waterfront lighthouse-turned-restaurant and are quietly testing a menu of Vietnamese food and seafood classics.

BERKELEY — As of Friday, April 5, the airy warehouse space at 1335 Fourth Street in Berkeley is home to Tessier, an unconventional natural winery that’s been in operation for 15 years. Natural wine lovers may already know the space as the home of Vinca Minor’s tasting room; owner Jason Charles tells the Chronicle the business outgrew the space and will shift production up to Sonoma, which means giving up its customer-facing tasting room.

BERKELEY — Per Oaklandside, there’s a new bagel shop open in Berkeley, and it comes from a trio of experienced food industry pros. Bageltopia is located at 1401 University Avenue and sells boiled and baked bagels in flavors such as poppy, sesame, everything, fennel and salt, and cinnamon raisin. Bagel sandwiches, vegan bagel sandwiches, and quiche round out the menu.

PALO ALTO — Ma’lawach Bar opened in Palo Alto on March 20 bringing hard-to-find Yemenite Jewish pastries to the Peninsula. The restaurant comes from owner Doreet Jehassi, who was born in the U.S. to Israeli parents with Yemeni roots. On the menu find dishes such as jachnun, a dense, cylinder-shaped laminated roll, and malawach, which is made of the same laminated dough, but folded slightly differently and pressed to resemble a pizza.

SACRAMENTO — Anyone craving Oaklahoma-style onion burgers can get a fix at Burger Bros, which opened inside Hot Off The Griddle, a brunch restaurant at 1583 W El Camino Avenue, Suite 103, in South Natomas. Orders can be placed via Doordash for delivery or pick up from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.

SACRAMENTO — As of March 16, Forgotten Bakery is baking honey-boiled bagels and Chilean-style handmade empanadas at 4650 Stockton Boulevard. The Bee reports co-founders Robbie Naim and Paul Dollar pulled inspiration from their backgrounds to create a menu that includes the “Loxanna bagel sandwich — the bakery’s take on a classic lox bagel” and “the Chilean Classic Pino empanada served with traditional Chilean-style salsa.”

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