Chestnut Street's Circa Gets New Owners, Planning New Concept

After holding down the bustling corner of Chestnut and Fillmore for a decade, Circa has become one of the more recognizable restaurant spaces in SF. It once had a Top Chef in the kitchen and drew celebrities like Ryan Gosling, but in recent years, it's developed a reputation for not delivering in the food department, as its endless procession of dire Yelp reviews can attest. Indeed, $10 bottomless mimosas appear to be the main draw for its current crowd, along with a club scene on weekend nights—which isn't enough to sustain one of Chestnut's most sizable spaces, especially as the restaurant scene on the Marina's main drag has boomed with the likes of Delarosa, Causwells, Tacolicious, and Super Duper Burgers.

But as Inside Scoop reports, some new (still-unnamed) partners are planning on turning around Circa's fortunes, and owner Guri Walia, who's been running Circa since 2009, says the restaurant will be renamed and revamped sometime this summer. He's staying mum on what, exactly, the changes will be, but since his goal is to "keep pace" with Chestnut's other blockbusters, a more upscale offering may be on the way. In the meantime, whatever fans remain of Circa's current incarnation should begin saying their goodbyes.