SF’s Biggest Hawaiian Restaurant Opens on December 3

Trailblazer Tavern, the Michael Mina-backed restaurant from Hawaiian chefs Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Wade Ueoka, will open to the public on December 3. And, like the Salesforce building in which it resides, it’s an ambitious, splashy project.

The 7,000-square-foot space is accessible through the multi-level lobby of the Salesforce East building, with mezzanine seating for 72 people, plus 47 more seatings inside the dining room and 24 more at the bar, plus an outdoor patio for 54 diners. All of it is dedicated to serving a menu of Hawaiian comfort food — certainly the largest upscale platform for the cuisine in San Francisco.

The chefs worked with Mina’s team on the menu, which includes familiar Hawaiian dishes like poke and a “mixed plate sandwich,” with spicy pork, kalbi, and Korean fried chicken on mochi bread. Since the restaurant is on the ground of a building humming with Salesforce worker bees, there is a large selection of pupus (snacks) that pair well with cocktails, like oysters, ceviche, and “spam” musubi. More refined dishes, like miso honey glazed butterfish or mochi crusted fish with somen noodles will back up those options. Michelle Karr-Ueoka’s dessert list includes fresh iterations of Hawaiian favorites too, like a malasada bread pudding, and coffee and cream shave ice with rum panna cotta. Check out the full menus below.

When it opens on December 3, Trailblazer Tavern will open for dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.; though not available at opening, lunch will be added Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.; Happy hour, which will likely be a large draw, goes from 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. on weekdays.

• Michael Mina’s Long-Awaited Salesforce Restaurant Focuses on Hawaiian Comfort Food [ESF]