In addition to Morella and Kayah by Burma Love opening in San Francisco this week, we have news of a splashy new, Michelin-hopeful prix-fixe spot opening around the corner from Sonoma Square in early December, all in This Week In Food.
The biggest opening news this week was the debut of Morella, a restaurant we hadn’t even had on our radar that has opened in the former Dorian space at 2001 Chestnut Street, in the Marina. It’s a grand, high-ceilinged space and owner Kingston Wu enlisted a design team to completely revamp the space with tropical vibes, lots of chandeliers, and a striking new bar along an inner wall. The menu is a mix of Italian and Argentinian dishes, with an early highlight being some generously stuffed Dungeness crab ravioli. And you can’t go wrong with a selection of Argentinian-style sausages served with mustard and toasts. See the full menu and make a res here.
Also now open is Kayah by Burma Love, the newese spot to open at Thrive City, outside the Chase Center. You’ll recognize dishes on the menu from Burma Love and Burma Superstar, but there are also some other street-food items on offer, like split-pea fritters and Burmese fried chicken, as well as a version of steak frites. There is also a selection of noodle dishes available for lunch, as well as the famous tea leaf salad. Hours aren’t listed anywhere, but they’re taking reservations on OpenTable for times between noon and 9:30 pm.
A fancy new prix-fixe restaurant linked to a winery is opening just off the Sonoma Town Square, and it now has an opening date of December 5. We first heard about Enclos, a Michelin-star-seeking restaurant from Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards & Winery, back in February, and now the Chronicle reports on some opening details, including the 11-course tasting menu priced at $225. The executive chef is Brian Limoges, an alum of Quince and Saison, and you can expect to see a lot of Stone Edge Farm’s wines on the list and paired with the dishes — like the restaurant that occupied the space previously, EDGE, Enclos is still a winery restaurant, but operates separately. Reservations are now available here.
At the Transamerica Pyramid complex, the first of a couple new restaurants from chef Brad Kilgore has opened, Cafe Sebastian. It’s an all-day cafe with mostly light fare on the menu, including salads, sandwiches and morning pastries, and various house-made breads. There are some heartier dinner items, like tortellini in brodo, chicken thigh Milanese, and a lamb shank with a labneh-miso tzatziki. The cafe is not actually in the pyramid building itself but in what developer Michael Shvo has dubbed Transamerica 3 at 545 Sansome Street. And it’s open daily from 8 am to 8 pm (and til 6 pm on Sunday).
Next up, behind this space, Kilgore will be opening the more ambitious sit-down restaurant Ama, which will be Italian-Japanese fusion in a darker, moodier space, and he’ll be opening a Japanese-style hi-fi lounge down the hall where patrons will be able to order food from Ama as well.
A new modern Afghan restaurant is coming to Oakland called Jaji, from the owners of Parche. As the Chronicle reports, it’s opening at 422 24th Street, just off Broadway, near Oakland’s Uptown, and down the street from Parche, in January. The husband-and-wife team of Paul Iglesias and Sophia Akbar have been inspired by the popularity of Parche with the Bay Area’s Colombian community (Iglesias is Colombian), and Akbar wants to find the same pleasure in giving a new restaurant to the Afghan community (her family immigrated from Aghanistan, and she grew up here). Expect some traditional dishes, but Akbar hopes to show a more modern take on Afghan cuisine than the many traditional restaurants in Fremont.
And, sadly, Cassava is closing in North Beach, 12 years after opening in the Outer Richmond, and two years after relocating to 401 Columbus Avenue in the hope of attracting more attention and customers. As owner Yuka Ioroi announced on Instagram, Sunday, November 17 is the last day of service, and later, she and chef Kristoffer Toliao plan to open a takeout-only window in the Financial District. They are also consulting on the reopening of North Beach Restaurant, where much of the staff of Cassava will be moving. And looking ahead, they plan to open another dinner-only restaurant featuring nouveau bistro cuisine in the future.
Chronicle Associate Restaurant Critic Cesar Hernandez has done us all a solid and tried a few dozen breakfast burritos around the Bay Area, ranking his top 10 favorites. Coming out on top is Semilla, a pop-up and a frequent stall at the Outer Sunset Farmers’ Market. Their burritos, he says, are made with homemade tortillas, and feature scrambled eggs with delicious guisados, including pork chile verde, and shredded beef with potatoes.
Photo courtesy of Kayah by Burma Love