To keep tabs on every San Francisco restaurant and bar opening is folly. But to keep tabs on the most worthy? Yeoman’s work, and we’re proud to do it. Thus we present Table Stakes, a monthly rundown of the five (or so) must-know spots that have swung wide their doors in the past thirty (or so). Bon appétit.
Duna
Mission
Why now: Two ex-Bar Tartine chefs pivot firmly into Central Europe, with hearty chopped salads and a headline-earning slate of dips, notably the pumpkin seed and liptauer paprika cheese.
Order this: Plan a couple weeks in advance and order tickets for the next-level Sunday Supper series, with menus published in advance — the Father’s Day event featured cucumber salad, bajai halászlé (a fisherman’s stew) and Hungarian guylás (goulash).
duna.kitchen
983 Valencia Street (map)
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Alfred’s
Financial District
Why now: The 89-year-old steakhouse icon got a splashy update in 2016, when it was purchased by Daniel Patterson’s Alta Group, only to close in April after a two-alarm fire. Now, it reopens with a carefully tweaked menu — food and cocktails, thank you.
Order this: A steak, obviously — your choice of cut — surrounded by the Oysters Rockefeller, a wedge salad and a side of maitake mushrooms in thyme and sherry.
alfredssf.com
659 Merchant Street (map)
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Robin
Hayes Valley
Why now: The new sushi-and-sake place might be the most locally inflected entry into a crowded genre, from the Northern California fish on the menu to the choice of featured artists and the Bay Area hip-hop on the sound system.
Order this: You could pick off the à la carte menu — but we’ll be ordering the sliding-scale omakase plus a bottle of sake selected by ex-Liholiho Yacht Club’s sake sommelier Ana Nguyen.
robinsanfrancisco.com
620 Gough Street (map)
Parker Cafe
Potrero Hill
Why now: Are you in the neighborhood in need of a glass of wine, a tartine and a salad? Here you go.
Order this: The Parker Salad with dill dressing and a cup of Sight Glass cafe.
Parker Cafe
1399 18th Street (map)
Petit Marlowe
SoMa
Why now: Marlowe’s little sister went to Paris, raided the flea markets, and came home to set up a Champagne-and-oysters bar around the corner from the ballpark.
Order this: The smoked duck charcuterie plate (with chocolate mint and fig), plus oysters and a bottle of the Crémant de Bourgogne.
petitmarlowesf.com
234 Townsend Street (map)
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