Tour San Francisco's Glitzy, Cantonese Hakkasan

Grid View

• The top of the bar, again
• Another bar view, future dining room in background
• The future "Ling Ling" lounge will have about 50 seats total, the bordering Market Street side of the restaurant
• The dining room will have three arched windows like this, looking to quieter, tree-lined Kearney street
• These beams will be covered in wood to complete the decor
• The future kitchen, which will have a huge wok station, holding five woks
• The larger of two private dining rooms, both of which have windows looking to Market Street.

Yesterday Eater got a hard hat tour of the site of future glitzy modern Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan. The high-end chain already has outposts in New York, London, Miami, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, and will be bringing many of the signature design elements to the empty space shown above. Richard Toshio Miyashiro (Martini House, Kitchen Door) is on board here as West Coast operations director, and says this Hakkasan will be just as transportive as the others. Think glowing blue glass, polished stainless steel, signature incense, house music a la in-house music program "Hakkasound," and wooden "caging." Although they had to make several design concessions due to the historic nature of the space.

Executive chef, Shainghai-born Ho Chee Boon just wrapped up his first whirlwind tour of San Francisco, looking for local talent to bring to the kitchen. Boon won a Michelin star for the Hakkasan in London, but the three month old New York outpost hasn't exactly gotten a glowing reception among the city's critics. As such, the chef de cuisine here carries a lot of weight. Miyashiro adds that Boon was floored by the Ferry Building farmers market, and the menu here will be Hakkasan's most seasonal yet. That probably means the popular Chilean seabass daikon roll should get axed.

Miyashiro says the search is still on for a local bar manager, pastry chef, and head sommelier, although they've already nabbed a GM, Amgad Wahba from Parallel 37.

Do note, the project has been billed at 7 million dollars total, so they can do things like source the leather on the banquettes from Shanghai, then ship it to Paris to be custom-died before it comes to San Francisco. Luxurious restrooms will include a personal sink in each stall.

Unique to San Francisco-things include the 25-seat V-shaped bar, which will be a focal point of the design at 1 Kearny. Diners will be faced with the point of the bar upon entering, with the lounge area on the left, facing Market Street, and the dining room on the right, facing Kearny. Do take some time to peruse photos of the hard hat tour above, and compare them to the renderings below. There are lots of juicy details in the captions.

Grid View

• The entrance from the street, at One Kearny
• The front of the V-shaped bar, French lady optional
• A look at how Hakkasan's signature "caging" will be incorporated
• The bar will be topped with Hakkasan's signature blue glass and mirror-sheen stainless steel
• More caging in the dining room
• The 10-seat private dining room, with hung silk screen

· All Hakkasan Coverage [~ ESF ~]