North African Dinner-and-a-Show Restaurant Opens in Russian Hill

North African cuisine, belly dancers, aerialists, and live music converge at Berber, a massive dinner-and-a-show restaurant now open in Russian Hill.

Located at 1516 Broadway in the former Killer Shrimp space, Berber takes up 4,000 square feet with multiple settings. There’s the main dining room and performance venue, the Souk Room, with a hoop hanging from the ceiling and cabaret-style seating. There’s also a bar section, the Spice Lounge, with its own menu of a la carte bites, like shakshouka with crispy potatoes, charred beer kebabs, and bissara, a warm sprouted fava bean dip. The main food menu darts around Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya via chef Nick Balla (Duna, Bar Tartine), and comes in the form of an $85 fixed-price, five-course meal when paired with a performance. (See both menus below.)

Throughout the restaurant, North African artwork, light fixtures, textiles, and more help set the mood. This is the first restaurant for co-founder Tony Garnicki, but partner Borhen Hammami is an alum of Marrakech, the Tenderloin restaurant and hookah bar. Karolina Lux, who has toured with Beats Antique, is Berber’s entertainment director and resident belly dancer. And bar manager Carlo Splendorini is behind the cocktails.

Berber is now taking reservations for seatings from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Currently, dinner shows take place Saturdays at 7 p.m.

• North African Supper Club Brings Modern Belly Dancing to Russian Hill [ESF]
• Berber [official]