This Michelin Guide-Recommended Dumpling Shop Is Now a Japanese Restaurant

A quietly powerful Richmond District dumpling destination just reopened as a Japanese restaurant under the same owners. The Michelin Guide-recommended Dumpling Alley closed in early April after three years of dishing up xiao long bao and shrimp donuts on Clement Street. Now, the San Francisco Standard reports that as of April 18, the business has returned as Serendipity, a lowkey spot for sushi and korokke. When Dumpling Alley opened in 2019, Hoodline wrote owner Stewart Chen came off of years working in Marina sushi restaurants, so the menu at Serendipity is, perhaps, not so surprising.

Tablehopper writes the new restaurant serves a wide range of items including miso hamachi collar and pork katsu. A four-seat sushi bar is the focal point of the anime-decorated restaurant, which boasts a 10-item nigiri list alongside maki, sashimi, and donburi. Serendipity at 2512 Clement Street is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Uber co-founder’s ghost kitchen gaining ground in San Jose

Travis Kalanick nearly derailed Uber, the company he launched in 2009, well before launching his newest venture CloudKitchens in 2019. Now, Mercury News reports Kalanick’s newest ghost kitchen, as the company has outposts all over the country, is opening at 82 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose with a full coffee bar. Details are sparse, but new signage and posters appeared in mid-April. Notably, when CloudKitchens bought the building in 2018, investment firm Goldman Sachs invested $100 million in the project.

A Mano chef departs major San Francisco restaurant group

Also from Tablehopper comes news that chef Freedom Rains has left Adriano Paganini’s Back of House group — which lists Wildseed, Rad Radish, and Super Duper in its portfolio — after almost a decade. The cook helmed the opening of A Mano in 2017, leading the handmade pasta program, and consulted on the Tailor’s Son on Fillmore Street. Rains told the outlet he looks forward to spending time with his young children and is “working on some ideas” for a San Francisco project in the future.

Inner Sunset cafe and mochi waffle spot turns five

Irving Street’s Game Parlour celebrates its fifth birthday this week with daily specials and deals. The surprisingly-large business became a destination of sorts for west siders looking for a casual atmosphere and cheap drinks since opening in 2018.