Category Archives: Restaurants

Oui Oui to JouJou

Posted on by Leave a comment
Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.
Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.

For a time, it seemed as if French restaurants were an endangered species in San Francisco.

But in the past few years, that classic cuisine has arisen from the brink. That’s no more evident than the arrival last month of JouJou by David Barzelay and Colleen Booth, the team behind Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

While the latter delivers an ambitious tasting menu along with the theatrics of an open kitchen, JouJou in contrast serves only an la carte menu in a sprawling 6,500-square-foot space, divided into a few different dining spaces, along with two bars.

The first bar.
The first bar.
And the second one.
And the second one.
The enclosed patio dining room that's like dining in a greenhouse.
The enclosed patio dining room that’s like dining in a greenhouse.

It’s fitting that the restaurant is located in the Design District, what with its shades of cream, milky green, and soft pink that create a sort of vintage vibe, not to mention the rather risque baroque wallpaper in the bathrooms. The decor definitely leans into the restaurant’s name, which is French for “plaything.”

Read more

Firing on All Cylinders at Michelin Two-Starred Saison

Posted on by Leave a comment
Dungeness crab and perilla tarts at Saison in San Francisco.
Dungeness crab and perilla tarts at Saison in San Francisco.

Like a rags to riches tale, San Francisco’s Saison restaurant began as modestly as it gets. In 2009, it began as a pop-up after hours in a Mission District cafe before its ensuing runaway success led to its relocation to a custom build-out brick building in SoMa, where it has held court with two coveted Michelin stars since 2019.

Its executive chef, Richard Lee, had even more humble beginnings in San Francisco. The youngest child of Chinese immigrant parents — a seamstress mother and security guard father — he grew up in a household where going to McDonald’s was a considered a treat, one that the family could rarely afford.

Since coming to Saison in 2019 as chef de cuisine, he and the restaurant have proved a synergistic fit. In 2023, Lee, who previously worked for six years at Michelin three-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York City, was elevated to executive chef of this ground-breaking restaurant credited with popularizing and evolving live-fire hearth cooking. Weeks ago, he was made a co-owner, too, a sign of just how much confidence and trust the rest of the ownership team has in him.

Executive Chef Richard Lee, a newly made co-owner of the restaurant.
Executive Chef Richard Lee, a newly made co-owner of the restaurant.
On the front of the building.
On the front of the building.

Dine at Saison, and it’s easy to understand why.

On a recent Friday night when I dined, every table in the lounge and dining room was filled. A few tables were celebrating birthdays, too.

Read more

The Surprise of Safar by Karimi

Posted on by 2 comments
The very showy betel leaf chaat that arrives at the table in a cloud of dry ice.
The very showy betel leaf chaat that arrives at the table in a cloud of dry ice.

At Cupertino’s Safar by Karimi, you’ll find delicious North Indian and Pakistani dishes, as well as a sleek bar with modern chandeliers.

But what you won’t find is beer, wine or any alcohol.

Or any pork for that matter.

That’s because the restaurant, which opened last December, is halal.

While it doesn’t explicitly spell that out on the menu or on its website, you get the gist immediately when you look over the beverage menu, which offers plenty of teas, lassi variations, and non-alcoholic coolers blended in-house, but nothing at all boozy.

Look for the sign on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Look for the sign on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The bar.
The bar.

Far from turning off potential customers, it seems to be bringing them in if last week was any indication when the restaurant was bustling with folks coming in to break the fast at sunset for Ramadan. That’s when I dined, having been invited as a guest of the restaurant.

The restaurant was opened by three brothers: Rifakat Saiyed, Ashfak Saiyed, and Yunus Saiyed. They also operate the more casual Karimi Restaurant in downtown San Jose, The Cupertino restaurant on Stevens Creek Boulevard has the bonus of having its own parking lot, too.

Read more

A Visit to the New Hestan Napa

Posted on by Leave a comment
Australian Wagyu carpaccio served at Hestan Napa.
Australian Wagyu carpaccio served at Hestan Napa.

It’s a retail store, a wine bar, and a restaurant — all in one.

If you only gave Hestan Napa a quick glance, though, you might think it only a high-end kitchen appliance store, what with a gleaming demonstration kitchen filled with its cookware right beyond its doors, plus a Hestan grill loaded with all the bells and whistles that can be yours for $17,500.

But if you walked farther in, you’d see shelves of its shiny, pricey pots and pans for sale; and beyond that a sleek wine tasting bar with chairs; and even farther in, a well-appointed dining room plus a large outdoor dining patio for its restaurant.

Chef Mark Dommen.
Chef Mark Dommen.

At the helm of this new restaurant, which opened in November 2025? None other than Chef Mark Dommen, who held a Michelin star at the now-shuttered One Market in San Francisco for five years. It’s a signal that this restaurant isn’t just some nonchalant Wine Country way-stop but an establishment that aims to be taken seriously.

Read more

Come Hungry To Meze Kebab

Posted on by Leave a comment
Beyti kebab, one of the many protein options at the all-you-can-eat Meze Kebab.
Beyti kebab, one of the many protein options at the all-you-can-eat Meze Kebab.

Think Brazilian steakhouses, Japanese shabu shabu, Chinese hot pot or Korean barbecue joints where one all-inclusive price gets you all-you-can-eat for a set time limit.

Transfer that concept to Mediterranean food expanded to include a few Indian flourishes, and you get Meze Kebab in downtown Palo Alto, the new offshoot of the popular Meyhouse restaurant in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale, and soon-to-open San Ramon.

In fact, Meze Kebab is right next door to Meyhouse in what was once home to Tacolicious.

The interior has been repainted a striking lipstick red on the walls and columns; and the floor redone with beautiful blue and gold ceramic tiles.

The dining room.
The dining room.
The bar.
The bar.

Here’s how it works: For $59.99 (for adults) or $24.99 (for kids), you get unlimited dips, hot and cold mezes, house-baked bread, and an assortment of kebabs that take influence from Istanbul to Delhi — for 90 minutes. That price includes a 20 percent gratuity, so no tipping is required.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »