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.

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.”

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