Husband-and-wife chefs, Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz, may have opened their first restaurant, Dalida in San Francisco’s Presidio, three years ago, but you’d never know it from how tough it remains to land a table there.

So, it’s no surprise that this spring when the couple opened their follow-up, Maria Isabel, it immediately became one of the most sought-after reservations around.

Naturally, it also garnered widespread praise, including landing last month on Bon Appetit’s list of “Best New Restaurants” of 2026.

To say that San Francisco has been hungering for a restaurant like this is an understatement.

The city has no shortage of burrito joints, taco trucks, and homey mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants. It even boasts the only Michelin three-starred Mexican restaurant in the world: Californios.

But what was in short supply was a Mexican restaurant that was more upscale than those family-owned neighborhood stalwarts, yet more dressed-down than the ultra glam, highly finessed, special-occasion Californios.

Enter Maria Isabel, named for Laura’s sister, Maria, and her mother, Isabel.

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