Updates on Burma Superstar’s Massive New Mint Plaza Restaurant

Though much is still unknown about the upcoming restaurant from the team behind SF’s most popular Burmese restaurant, a few more details have become available, including its name: Burma Club.

The restaurant, which was announced last fall, will be an extension of co-owner Desmond Tan’s flagship restaurant, Burma Superstar. But, unlike the cozy locations in the Inner Richmond, Oakland, and Alameda, this version will be designed to accommodate larger groups (and presumably mitigate the long lines that form at those locations each day).

In addition to the main floor, the space has a mezzanine and a lower level dining room, a layout that Tan says isn’t ideal for operations. Oro, the restaurant from Commonwealth’s Jason Fox that closed after nine months in the location, may have suffered from similar problems, in addition to mid-Market’s reputation as tenuous for restaurants (nearby Bon Marché, Cadence, and Dirty Water all folded soon after opening). 8 Mint Plaza has remained vacant since Oro’s closure in 2016.

It will be Tan’s largest effort to date, building on an empire that includes Burma Love in the Mission, B. Star, three locations of Burma Superstar, and a food company that sells fresh items like tea leaf salads to Whole Foods and other retailers. Despite other restaurants’ inability to navigate the neighborhood, Tan’s brand has a fighting chance, given its approachable menu and price point. And, according to a liquor license transfer, there’ll be cocktails, beer, and wine to keep check averages up.

Despite an original opening timeline of “late 2018,” it looks like Burma Club will make its debut in late February. Stay tuned for more.

• Burma Superstar Bringing Burma Club to Three-Level Mint Plaza Space [SF Chronicle]
• Burma Superstar Owner Will Open Next Restaurant in Mid-Market [ESF]
• Oro Closes in Mid-Market [ESF]