There are a bunch of openings happening, so I wanted to make sure these are on your radar—you can go back to my earlier stories (linked) for details. Here’s a quickfire round:
I broke the news about the opening of the KEY KLUB back before the holidays, and they have officially opened/ended their soft opening period. Check out the menu (OMG, can we talk about the Key bumps? They did not! Cracking up over here.) The natural wine and beer list is so much fun, with plenty of small or larger plates to pair with them. Hours are Tue-Wed 5pm-11pm, Thu-Sat 5pm-12am. 850 Bush St. at Taylor.
Like I mentioned in my column in December, the colorful GOOD GOOD CULTURE CLUB was opening in the former Dear Inga/ temp Liholiho pop-up space in the Mission. It’s now open, check out the appetizing menus with Laotian and Filipino inspiration here. Rooftop seating, yes! Open Tue-Sat 5pm-9pm. 3560 18th St. at Dearborn.
Back in October, I announced ‘NA PIZZA from the Roma Antica crew was opening in the former Pluto’s, and it’s now open, serving authentic pizza napoletana, as well as calzone, appetizers like mozzarella in carozza (fried mozzarella croquettes), and more. Open daily 12pm-10pm. 3258 Scott St. at Chestnut.
More pizza: opening inside La Vaca Birria in the Mission this Thursday January 20th is DON PANCHO PIZZERIA, with a lineup of 12 pizzas with Latinx ingredients and inspiration, like one with birria (of course), the elotero with corn and cotija, a mole verde and chicken pizza, and there’s even one that pays homage to the space’s former incarnation as Discolandia. Sabrocito!! Here’s the menu. The pizzas feature housemade sausage and chorizo and is halal. 2962 24th St. at Alabama.
I was happy to receive an invite to a preview of the reopening FORT POINT VALENCIA, a stylish taproom that was only open for five months before the pandemic struck. Chef Eric Ehler has moved on to That’s Outta Sight (party bread, we miss you), but they’ll be releasing a new menu soon. I didn’t hear back in time with their official reopening day, but I imagine it’s in the next couple weeks or so—the preview is at the end of this month. Will share more details once I receive them. 742 Valencia St. at 18th St.
After reading in Hoodline about the bánh mì shop that finally opened in the former nail salon on Divisadero, BANH MI VIET, I reached out to speak with one of the owners for deets, but they didn’t get back to me in time for my deadline. No matter, I checked it out last week with a friend—it’s a tiny takeout spot. It’s great to have some well-assembled bánh mì in the neighborhood ($9-$10)—we tried their very fresh shrimp spring roll, fish cake bánh mì (with tasty fish cake—and the baguette is light and fluffy, with a somewhat crackly exterior), and we loved their lemongrass beef vermicelli, the perfect lunch dish. Also dug their Vietnamese iced coffee. You can grab a sandwich and easily head to Alamo Square. Open daily 8am-5pm. 518 Divisadero St. at Hayes.
This is sweet: some former customers (with restaurant industry experience) of Halu, the beloved izakaya spot that closed last year in the Inner Richmond, have reopened it as a yakitori spot: MOKU YAKITORI-YA. (The rock posters have repoertedly come down, however.) Open Wed-Sun 5pm-9pm. 312 8th Ave. at Clement.
And in the Mission, the tiny MR. POLLO is back with a new chef, Graham Bellefeuille (Contigo) at the helm. He’s offering the space’s affordable menu (it’s four courses for $40)—the signature arepa course is still part of the experience. Open Tue-Sat 6pm-10pm. Book via Yelp reservations. 2823 Mission St. at 24th St. [Via Eater]
According to a post, the plant-based/gluten-free WHOLESOME BAKERY on Divis is going to start serving dinner Friday through Sunday in February as Wholesome Kitchen, offering housemade pizza, lasagna, soup, salad, along with a beer and wine list. 295 Divisadero St. at Page.
Across the Bay, SPLIT has opened their third location, this time in Uptown Oakland (the former dosa by dosa spot, sniff sniff), serving lunch to start, with breakfast and dinner coming at the end of January. There are also cocktails and boozy slushies, and outdoor seating. 2301 Broadway Ave. at 23rd St., Oakland.
The former Kebabery in Oakland is now JOODOOBOO, focused on housemade tofu and a rotating selection of seasonal banchan available by the pound from chef Steve Joo. Open Wed-Sat 11am-5pm. 4201 Market St. at 42nd St.
The lightly updated interior of Key Klub (previously Hopwater Distribution). Photo courtesy of Key Klub.
