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San Francisco’s 4 most exciting restaurant debuts of 2023

A photo of Red logo
by Becky Duffett
Updated December 15, 2023

San Francisco is famous for extra helpings of wind and fog. Fortunately, the newest entrants on the city’s legendary restaurant scene bring the fire—in more ways than one.

Warm up with lamb and spicy harissa at the city’s first dedicated Tunisian spot in the Mission. Dine on decadent small plates at a buzzy Korean hotspot by a wildly popular hospitality group in Fillmore.

Read on for a guide to four showstopping restaurant debuts and revamps heating up San Francisco right now.

A photo of Gola restaurant
4.6
4.6 (291)
$30 and under
Tunisian
Mission
About the restaurant

San Francisco’s only Tunisian restaurant opened in April. Owner Rafik Bouzidi (of the now-shuttered Mediterranean spot La Marsa) grew up in North Africa before bringing his cooking chops to San Francisco and Las Vegas about two decades ago. He named Gola for a Tunisian clay cooking vessel—fittingly since many of the restaurant’s dishes are braised in one overnight, then sealed tight with a dough crust. Expect housemade harissa (there are three flavor-packed varieties to choose from) that add a burst of spice to Bouzidi’s modern riffs on Tunisian delicacies such as braised lamb riblets, deviled eggs topped with shrimp, and various tagines. The result is a meal filled with bold and herbaceous flavors you won’t find anywhere else in the city.


Top review
Mahwish
Dined 4 days ago
Great flavourful food with a nice vibe. All the meat is halal which is a plus. Def an underrated and under discovered restaurant. Will be dining again!
A photo of Bansang restaurant
4.6
4.6 (323)
$31 to $50
Contemporary Korean
Western Addition
About the restaurant

Bansang is the rising star of the wildly popular Daeho Dining Group. The contemporary Korean tapas spot has presided over Fillmore Street since first opening in April 2022, but reservations blew up when MICHELIN added it to the guide in March. Fine-dining masterminds Ethan Seunghyun Min (Gaon, Saison, and Atelier Crenn) and Jin Lim (Michael Mina, Kabuto Sushi, and Kinjo) craft Cali-Korean delicacies such as luxurious uni scallop toast, lime-soy fried chicken, and New York strip galbi. Even though the restaurant’s name pays homage to a centuries-old style of Korean cooking, the dishes are unabashedly modern—parmesan cheese and chorizo make cameos, for example—and add up to one of the city’s best shareable feasts.


Top review
JenniferVIP
Dined 3 days ago
First time at Bansang - we'll be back! The tapas style menu is good for a group as you can order a lot of dishes to share (we were 5). Started with the small tapas - note that the food comes out fast- had we known, we would have asked our server to slow the service. We had the mulhwe noodle - a cold raw fish and noodle dish- was excellent! It was large enough to share amongst us 5. Light & refreshing- a must order. The uni scallop toast was amazing - one order can be shared for two people. Its a bit pricey - but you can tell the ingredients are super fresh. The charred broccoli was so good - perfectly cooked and the slight bitterness from the char balanced with the back bean paste aioli. We had one order - and everyone got to have a taste. The jjimdak bao was amazing. We ordered one bao for each of us (we should have shared instead) - the braised chicken was so tender and juicy and the bao was light and pillowy. The soy glazed potato was a revelation. Soft and tender fingerling potatoes and the soy glaze was an umami bomb of goodness. Sunchoke & truffle was delicious - pricey (truffles) but worth it. Rice cake & chorizo was surprising in that the flavors mimicked a pepperoni pizza? It was really good - we ordered two of these. You'd think we had enough - but we had to try the large tapas - 1 order of the gochujang black cod was enough for each of us to have a small bite. Had we not filled up on small tapas, we would have ordered 2 of these. The galbi rib eye was tender and tasty. If we had to skip one dish - it would be this. It was really good, but not surprising like the other menu items. Radish kimchi fried rice - addictively good - would have ordered 2 of these too. For desserts - we ordered 1 of each of the 3 offerings. The date cake was the best of the 3, pear sorbet needed more pear flavor and the banana ice cream was good but not memorable. With two bottles of wine and a cocktail, bill was $570 (w/o tip). Pricey but worth it!
A photo of Popi's Oysterette restaurant
4.8
4.8 (103)
$30 and under
Seafood
Marina / Cow Hollow / Presidio
About the restaurant

This cute and cozy new oyster bar in the Marina popped open in March, but only recently fired up dinner reservations. The menu is all about seafood staples such as plump Dungeness crab rolls, Caesar salad decked with anchovies, and creamy, bacon-forward clam chowder. They’re prepped impeccably by chef and partner Melissa Perfit, a Top Chef alum who was formerly the fish whisperer at Bar Crudo in NoPa. Though there is no shortage of oyster bars in SF, Popi’s is a slick new entrant that’s poised to become a local favorite.


Top review
MikeVIP
Dined 5 days ago
Love this place! Wife and I take our little fuzzball here regularly and eat outside. Everything’s on point. Nicely curated menu done really well. They always have special treats for the pooch and the staff is very warm. Great neighborhood spot!
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