Now open in the former ~ALTA CA~ location on Market is KAYA from chef and co-owner Nigel Jones of Oakland’s Kingston 11, who partnered with Daniel Patterson’s Alta Group on the project. (Alta is easing on down the road, reopening in the nearby Yotel.)
It’s the Jamaican-born chef’s first foray into opening a San Francisco restaurant, and the menu and offerings are different from Kingston 11—it’s a more modern take on Jamaican food, with California ingredients and sourcing (but it will still have some bold flavors, don’t you worry). The menu includes salt cod fritters, papaya and greens, fried plantains, piri piri chicken, jerk chicken, black pepper crab, and oxtails. And for dessert: there’s chocolate-habanero soft serve, with pomegranate molasses and lime!
The restaurant is named after Bob Marley and the Wailers’ sixth album, and the space is meant to have a fun and social vibe (with hanging greenery, artwork from Caribbean artists, and projections of vintage Jamaican movies). Get irie. (The extensive rum selection—with an emphasis on Caribbean producers—and cocktails and bowls of punch from beverage director Aaron Paul should help fuel that.) There are also craft beers, wine, and housemade sodas.
You can read more in this in-depth piece about chef Jones and his intentions (with Patterson) to hire and train a more diverse workforce vis-à-vis Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.
Dinner is served Tue-Sat 5pm-11pm, with a late-night menu Thu-Sat 10pm-12am; bar open Tue-Wed 4:30pm-11pm, Thu-Sat 4:30pm-12am. And let’s not forget happy hour Tue-Fri 4:30pm-6:30pm. 1420 Market St. at Fell, 415-590-2585.
Salt cod fritters with chimichurri. Photo courtesy of Becca PR.
