The Chatterbox

Some readers have been asking about news on the MANOR COFFEE SHOP, which we warned was closing. It has now closed and was taken over by new owners, who aren’t quite ready to share lots of details but would tell us that they hope to open in mid-February, and…

By Dana Eastland. San Francisco Restaurant Week returns this month from January 20th through the 31st. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is once again running the show, with lots of partners like OpenTable and Lyft to help make your restaurant-going experience a smooth one. More than 120 restaurants from all…

The East Bay has plenty of new projects to look forward to, starting with the news that IPPUDO is coming to downtown Berkeley (it’s known for being one of the tastier tonkotsu ramen bowls in New York, but has locations around the world). Berkeleyside mentions it’s coming to…

Looking for somewhere new to brunch? Ritz-Carlton Hotel brunch buffet spreads are pretty legendary—I remember the one they used to host on the patio at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco fondly, and the one they hold in Half Moon Bay is also rather fabulous, so I was pleased to hear…

Hayes Valley has a new hangout, LITTLE GEM, which just opened for dinner on December 17th. As we mentioned in our piece earlier this year, the project is from Eric Lilavois (former COO at the Thomas Keller Group), partnering with chef Dave Cruz (formerly chef de cuisine of Ad Hoc)…

We ran an in-depth preview of the French (and Scandinavian-influenced) modern brasserie cuisine of VOLTA last week, and we’re happy to report the restaurant is now softly open for lunch and dinner. You can come by for lunch from 11:30am-2:30pm and dinner 5:30pm-10pm nightly. (It’s…

By Dana Eastland. As reported on tablehopper in June, San Francisco is getting our very own location of Brazilian steakhouse FOGO DE CHÃO. It’s opening in the former Chevy’s location in SoMa on Wednesday December 23rd. The large space includes a centerpiece “market table” that offers seasonal salads,…

There is a new location of LE MARAIS BAKERY in Ghirardelli Square. The small, 500-square-foot location is technically a pop-up in the former Kara’s Cupcakes space while Patrick and Joanna Ascaso work on opening their newest location.  Its time in this space is more or less indefinite, and there…

We have been tracking a project coming to 1020 Valencia for longer than you would imagine (try a couple of years). Some initial details are finally emerging about what’s coming, and it’s refreshingly sounding like a project that would have opened on Valencia 15 years ago. It’s…

By Dana Eastland. We spotted the ABC license, and the Scoop followed up to learn that, yes, there will be another BACON BACON location opening near AT&T Park, in the former SBC Pizza location on 3rd Street. In addition to the bacon-heavy menu, there will be beer and…