The Bay Area's most anticipated restaurant openings of 2026
XO shrimp dumplings from Koi Palace. The Daly City dim sum favorite will move to a new location in 2026. (PATRICIA CHANG)
A wave of new restaurants is slated to arrive in the Bay Area in 2026, from new Mediterranean and Italian spots in the Ferry Building to a sprawling new food hall in the Presidio and the revival of sorts of a beloved Berkeley institution.
More local favorites are expanding, too: Hit Arab bakery Reem's will soon return to Oakland; San Francisco's Russian Cinderella Bakery will finally open a long-awaited second outpost in the Mission District; and the owners of San Francisco's China Live will open another sprawling restaurant and market, Asia Live, in Santa Clara. Petit Americain, a new restaurant from a co-founder of pizzeria favorite Square Pie Guys, is set to bring French fare to San Francisco, while queer bar There/There will take over the former home of acclaimed Friends and Family in Oakland.
This also looks to be the year that two of San Francisco's most feverishly awaited openings could actually materialize: the revival of the iconic Cliff House and an outpost of Filipino fast food chain Jollibee in a beleaguered part of downtown. Classic San Francisco destinations will get new dining options, including Il Porto, a new restaurant coming to Alcatraz Island's ferry landing, and a redevelopment of Fisherman's Wharf.
A major influx of Asian grocery stores will also continue in 2026; expect multiple locations of T&T Supermarket and Tokyo Central.
This list will be updated quarterly, as new openings are announced and existing projects are inevitably delayed.
Below are the most anticipated restaurants and bars coming this year, grouped by projected opening season and listed in alphabetical order. - Tara Duggan
Spring
Asia Live
Asia Live, an expansive dining venue from the owners of San Francisco's palatial China Live, is slated to open at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara this spring. The new venue will widen the culinary scope to include dishes from throughout Asia. Expect to see both sushi stations and tandoori ovens, as well as a market and bar, inside the 13,000-square-foot restaurant. - M.C.
Projected opening: Spring
Adobo brisket pupusa from Chisme's popup days at Low Bar in Oakland. Chef-owner Manuel Bonilla will take his Filipino-Salvadoran dishes into a fixed location, Bar Chisme, in downtown Oakland. (Manuel Bonilla / Chisme)
Pupusas stuffed with adobo brisket and tortas with crispy sisig were among the dishes that led Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez to crown Chisme as one of the best late-night spots in the Bay Area. Chef Manuel Bonilla is still working toward opening Bar Chisme, which he announced last summer, in the former home of lauded tiki bar the Kon-Tiki. Expect a straightforward drink menu and counter service inside of a space that ditches the tropical vibes for what Bonilla once referred to as "Abuelita's house on acid." - M.C.
Projected opening: Spring
Maillards, a pop-up and stand at the Outer Sunset farmers market in San Francisco, will bring its smashburgers to the Two Pitchers Brewing taproom in the Outer Sunset district in 2026. (Cesar Hernandez/The Chronicle)
When Maillards takes over the kitchen inside Two Pitchers Brewing Co.'s taproom in the Outer Sunset District, fans will finally be able to get their smashburger and lemonade fix on a regular basis. Chef-owner Max Ponzurick and his crew will press his chuck blend patties into smashburgers with gooey cheese late into the night seven days a week, alongside possible new additions, including fried chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers and monthly burger specials. - M.C.
Projected opening: April
Rose Pizzeria San Francisco
One of the East Bay's most critically acclaimed pizzas will be available in San Francisco for the first time later this year. Berkeley's Rose Pizzeria, which the Chronicle ranked at No. 13 on the Top 100 Restaurants list and the New York Times named among the country's best pizza restaurants, is building out a second location on Clement Street in the Richmond District. Customers can expect the same blistered pies with punchy toppings that Rose is known for, such as pepperoni and pickled jalapeños. With a space almost triple the size of the original, owners Gared Gobel and Alexis Rorabaugh will be able to expand into other pizza styles - thin, crispy Roman-style tonda or canotto, a puffy Neapolitan pie - and possibly house-made gelato. - E.K.
Projected opening: April
Smash
Sonoma is finally getting a dedicated smashburger spot. Smash will be the first fast-casual restaurant for chef Ari Weiswasser and managing partner Spencer Waite, the team behind Wine Country institution Glen Ellen Star and Stella, a pasta joint that opened in Kenwood last year. In addition to thin, crispy smashburgers, Smash will serve a Nashville hot chicken-inspired sandwich, falafel smashburger, tater tots, salads and boozy milkshakes. Set right off the historic Sonoma Plaza, diners can take their orders - including alcohol - to go for a picnic in the plaza's park, one of the few places in California where open-container alcohol consumption is legal. - J.L.
Projected opening: May
Stir Crazy
Taking over the former home of the Black Magic Voodoo Lounge, the Marina District dive bar once covered with photos of jazz musicians and New Orleans-inspired decor, is Stir Crazy, a new bar from Jacob Morris, the bar manager of San Francisco agave distillates shrine Mezcalito. Its Instagram account promises neighborhood bar vibes with "great cocktails" and a spring opening. - M.C.
Projected opening: Spring
Tartine Mill Valley
San Francisco's storied bakery Tartine has successfully expanded into South Korea and Los Angeles. Its next far-flung location is closer to home: Tartine's first North Bay outpost will take over a 3,000-square-foot space at the Strawberry Village shopping center in Mill Valley, bringing its croissants, sourdough and lunch fare to a new corner of the Bay Area. The project was first announced last year with a projected 2025 opening, but is now due later this year. - M.C.
Projected opening: Spring
The Junction
Liz and Dev Fielder are bringing a second location of the Junction, their often-packed Mill Valley beer garden, to Santa Rosa in May. They're renovating the former home of the Villa, a longtime Italian restaurant that closed in 2022. The 8,000-square-foot building has towering, arched ceilings and sits on a hillside with massive windows overlooking a state park. The Fielders are adding a 4,000-square-foot beer garden, game room, kids' play area and stage for live music. Like the original Tam Junction, the new outpost will also have 30 beers on tap, but unlike Mill Valley, it will boast a full bar. Other than a few new dishes, like a fried chicken sandwich and wings, the restaurant will serve the same pizza menu as at Tam Junction, where San Francisco's PizzaHacker runs an outpost. - T.D.
Projected opening: May
Summer
Excelsior
When Excelsior opens this summer, those who miss the original Magnolia Brewing Co. in the Haight need only cross the Golden Gate Bridge for a new brewpub from its founder, Dave McClean. (McClean launched Magnolia Brewing Co. in 1997 and ceded ownership after filing for bankruptcy in 2015.) For Excelsior, he said he envisions a similar concept both in its neighborhood atmosphere - he moved nearby a few years ago - and its "global beer cuisine" rooted in the English gastropub tradition. The pub will be part of McClean's new craft beer brand, Hidden Splendor, some of which will be brewed on site. The brewpub will also have a full bar and serve wine. Excelsior will take over the former State Room Brewery space, with room for about 80 seats inside and 25 more on a semi-enclosed outdoor patio. - T.D.
Projected opening: July
San Francisco restaurateur Kais Bouzidi, seen inside his his French restaurant Bon Delire in 2024, will open a new Mediterranean restaurant inside the Ferry Building. (Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle)
San Francisco restaurateur Kais Bouzidi has slowly developed a small empire along the Embarcadero with Parisian stunner Bon Delire and Mediterranean restaurants Sens and Barcha. His fourth restaurant, Hayati, will bring Mediterranean dishes to the Ferry Building for lunch and dinner inside the former home of Boulettes Larder. - M.C.
Projected opening: Summer
Koi Palace
In 2026, the celebrated Bay Area dim sum institution is moving to a larger, swankier home. Koi Palace will relocate from its longtime home in Daly City to a nearby 20,000-square-foot space at the Serramonte Center. The new location, part of a food-driven overhaul of the once-sleepy Peninsula mall, is almost double the size of the original and will be decorated with Chinese art, LED projections and a koi pond. Since opening in Daly City in 1996, Koi Palace has been known for quality dim sum; owners Willy and Ronny Ng have since added more locations in Dublin, Milpitas and Cupertino, plus San Francisco spinoffs Palette Tea House and Dragon Beaux. In 2024, Koi Palace was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Restaurant award. - E.K.
Projected opening: Late summer
Lucania
The team behind San Francisco pizza and pasta staple A16 is doubling down on its presence in the Ferry Building. Modeled after Italian piazzas, Lucaina will pack a restaurant dedicated to seafood and southern Italian cooking, two bars, a lounge, a large outdoor patio, coffee service and an Italian goods shop into 3,000 square feet facing the Embarcadero. A16 owner Shelley Lindgren told the Chronicle that construction has begun with an eye toward opening this summer. Previously, the project was slated for late this year. - M.C.
Projected opening: Summer
1 The Embarcadero, Suite 36, San Francisco.
Mesón
The successor to Berkeley's well-loved Spanish restaurant César - which closed in 2022 after 24 years, controversially, to make way for Bar Panisse, the latest from California cuisine shrine Chez Panisse - is finally slated to open this summer. A team of César alumni, including Maggie Pond, the original executive chef; former sous chef Juan Gomez; and former general manager Cameron McVeigh are behind the new project. The menu will include Spanish standards like patatas bravas, bocadillos and pans of paella. Sherry cocktails and wines will be on offer, highlighting wineries from both Spain and California. Taking over the former home of pizzeria Three.onefour, Mesón will have a warm, Spanish feel, Mcveigh said. - M.C.
Projected opening: July
Rize Up owner Azikiwee Anderson inside his San Francisco baking facility, where he will open a café this year. (Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle)
Rize Up Sourdough, the San Francisco bakery known for its bold, unconventional loaves kneaded with ingredients like ube, is opening a café inside of its baking facility. Owner Azikiwee Anderson told the Chronicle that work on turning roughly 25% of the production space into a café, Rize Up's first-ever brick-and mortar retail location, will begin soon. Customers will be able to buy their favorite loaves and order sandwiches made with fresh sourdough, such as riffs on grilled cheese with fillings like mango chutney or kimchi, as well as grab-and-go baguette sandwiches. Coffee drinks will be made with beans from local roasters such as Ritual Coffee and Abanico Coffee. - M.C.
Projected opening: July
Semilla
Burrito popup Semilla will launch its long-in-the-works permanent location at San Francisco's Sunnydale Hope affordable housing development this summer. Semilla rose to prominence at the Outer Sunset farmers' market with critically acclaimed breakfast burritos. Swaddled in Quiñónez's artisanal flour tortillas, the relatively lithe norteño-style burritos - roughly half the mass of an oversized Mission-style burrito - can be filled with pork in chile verde, shredded beef with potatoes, or cactus salad. - M.C.
Projected opening: Summer
The Mess Hall
One of San Francisco's most scenic parks will get its own food hall this year. The Mess Hall will bring three restaurants, an all-day café featuring San Francisco's Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, market, and bar to Presidio Tunnel Tops, which offers panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field and Alcatraz. The 6,200-square-foot space will house Breadwinner, a sandwich and smashburger spot; Boda, a Korean restaurant; and the fish-centric Dayboat Seafood. Peter Serpico, a prominent chef who previously worked with nationally acclaimed Momofuku restaurant group, is a partner and consultant on the food. Rob Gaon, a Mill Valley resident and entrepreneur, and Nate Leonard, a former restaurant cook and farm owner, are operating it as the Mess Hall Group. - T.D.
Projected opening: Summer
Fall
Bar Coto
The owners of hit San Francisco restaurants Quince, Cotogna and Verjus are continuing their takeover of the Jackson Square neighborhood with Bar Coto, an all-day Italian café that owners Michael and Lindsay Tusk are opening in part to address demand at Cotogna. Open for espresso and gelato during the day and wine and snacks at night, they hope it will feel casual and accessible. - E.K.
Projected opening: Fall
596 Pacific Ave., San Francisco
Butter & Crumble owner Sophie Smith assembles a lemon ricotta pistachio cake in 2022. She is opening a cake café this year. (Stephen Lam/The Chronicle)
A bakery that draws some of San Francisco's most enduringly long lines with its playful laminated pastries is expanding this year. It won't be another Butter & Crumble, but a café devoted to cakes. Owner Sophie Smith, a former restaurant line cook, started Butter & Crumble by selling layered butter cakes during the pandemic, but now has less time and space for them at the current bakery. The new European-inspired café in North Beach will serve coffee and cakes by the slice on vintage plates Smith picked out in Paris. - E.K.
Projected opening: Fall
301 Union St., San Francisco
Downtime
Downtime, a nightclub and restaurant coming to San Francisco's Mission District, brings together several players from the Bay Area food-and-drink world. Justin Dolezal, Jeremy Castillo and Dan Small - co-owners of Bar Part Time, the buzzy natural wine bar known for its late-night dance parties - have taken over the spacious former home of Senegalese restaurant and club Bissap Baobab on Mission Street. They're partnering with Eric Ochoa, a veteran bartender and partner in cocktail bar Dalva, to serve drinks that will be "inventive, delicious, classic, not tweezer or super mixology," Dolezal previously told the Chronicle. Like at Bar Part Time, the wine selection will be zero-zero, the most stringent category of natural wine. Food will come from the team behind Berkeley's nationally acclaimed Rose Pizzeria - though Dolezal said it will not involve pizza. With 6,000 square feet, four times the space at Bar Part Time, there will be a lot more room for dancing. - T.D.
Projected opening: Fall
Jupiter Room
Jupiter Room is a return to San Francisco for Peter Hemsley and Trevin Hutchins, chef-owner and bar director, respectively, of the short-lived but acclaimed seafood restaurant Aphotic. Deirdre Balao Rieutort-Louis, honored as Best Pastry Chef as part of the Chronicle's Top 100 Restaurants for her genre-bending desserts both at Aphotic and Dalida, will be the head chef and pastry chef, where she plans to make elaborate nostalgic riffs on 1950s bar food and desserts, such as a reimagined pineapple upside-down cake. Martinis will dominate the bar's cocktail list, but there will also be riffs on classic drinks, along with non-alcoholic options, Hutchins said. Set inside the former Lord Stanley space, the restaurant will also make dishes available though a takeout window facing Broadway. - M.C., T.D.
Projected opening: Fall
Lawrence
Brandon Rice, the chef behind the consistently hard-to-book Ernest in the Mission District, will roll out Lawrence in a 7,500-square-foot space in SoMa in late summer or early fall. Rice, formerly a chef de cuisine at San Francisco superstar restaurant Rich Table, previously told the Chronicle he envisions dishes that will be more upscale than his first, critically acclaimed restaurant without veering into fine dining territory. If it channels a similar vibe as Ernest, expect a constantly changing lineup of seasonal dishes with eclectic influences. - M.C.
Projected opening: Late summer or early fall
448 Brannan St., San Francisco
Moonchild
There is new life coming to the former, longtime Fog City Diner space, which went dark last summer after 40 years. Moonchild, a new California-style bistro with a focus on seasonal cooking and regional wines, is preparing to open inside the prominent building overlooking the Embarcadero later this year. The project is the first from Floyd Nunn and Angelyne Tompkins, a husband-and-wife team with plenty of experience around the Bay Area's restaurant and bar circuit. Nunn has cooked at San Francisco Michelin-starred restaurants Quince and Benu; most recently, he was the chef at Eight Tables, the restaurant inside the San Francisco Chinatown dining venue China Live. Tompkins is currently a tasting room manager at Scribe Winery in Sonoma. - M.C.
Projected opening: Fall/Winter
The Old Post Office
What was once a local post office built in 1941 as part of the United States' Works Progress Administration will be transformed this year into a fine-dining restaurant. Bacchus Management Group, which operates a string of Bay Area restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Village Pub in Woodside and Spruce in San Francisco, will open the Old Post Office as part of 220 Park, a 185,000-square-foot, six-story development in downtown Burlingame. Details on the restaurant are slim, but the food will be "California inspired" and the owners are aiming for a Michelin star, a spokesperson said. The Old Post Office will have a bar and lounge with a-la-carte options, including a burger. The owners plan to retain some of the post office's original architectural features including brass light fixtures, antique marble wainscoting and terrazzo floors. - E.K.
Projected opening: Fall
220 Park St., Burlingame
Opening date TBD
Elsewhere
Surprisingly, Napa Valley doesn't have many wine bars, which is why Nick Kokonas, founder of the reservation platform Tock and Alinea, one of the country's most acclaimed and influential restaurants, is opening one. Kokonas has partnered with chef Elliot Bell, the former French Laundry sous chef and volunteer firefighter behind Charlie's, one of Napa Valley's buzziest restaurants, to open Elsewhere in St. Helena. It's poised to have one of the Bay Area's most exciting wine lists, featuring thousands of selections from across the globe; wines by the glass will range from $12 glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to $500 pours of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), producer of Burgundy's most prestigious wines. Bell will be in charge of the food; in addition to small plates, expect a rotating trio of main dishes, each designed to pair with red, white and sparkling wines. - J.L.
Projected opening: 2026
Good Morning 96
The most recent chef de cuisine at Rich Table, one of San Francisco's most sought-after reservations, will open her first restaurant in San Francisco in 2026. Gizela Ho's Good Morning 96 will be casual, produce-driven and meld multiple cuisines, drawing on her childhood in Guam; family in Hong Kong; and culinary roots in Northern California, where she's been a chef for the last decade. Dishes may look like a cold glass noodle salad topped with cucumbers and musk melons and dressed in a spicy shiso vinaigrette, or grilled Monterey squid. - E.K.
Projected opening: 2026
Reggie and Maude's
The owners of the Tenderloin's perennially popular Outta Sight Pizza are launching a new project just steps away. Reggie & Maude's is an incoming bar from Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance. An Outta Sight Instagram post describes it as "a bar with really delicious, yet simple food. approachable and for everyone." Ehler declined to share any plans for the new business, including an opening timeframe. Reggie and Maude's will take over the former Pomeroy Bar and Grill space, once a neighborhood hangout for pool and televised sports that closed in January. - M.C.
Projected opening: 2026
