Make a lunchtime escape to the French coast with a visit to Grande Creperie, the new bakery and cafe from the Le Marais family at the Ferry Building. As the name suggests, lacy crepes are the star of the show here: either savory buckwheat varieties or sweet visions wrapped around sugar, butter, and jam. Sip a strong espresso or a glass of dry white wine while you watch the ferries go by.

Sorella is the little “sister” of Acquerello, so she’s benefitting from that Michelin star cred, but more chill. Opened in December, the new casual Italian restaurant is digging into cocktails and cicchetti, aka snacks, including a hundred amaros, available by the flight; “cacio e pepe” potato chips with powdered pecorino and pepper; glazed and stuffed chicken wings; grilled and truffled anchovy toast; and a “fancy lasagna” or nine-layer dry-aged beef timballo.

Kappo-style dining — described by Yujj owner Hirohiko Sato as a more casual version of multi-course kaiseki dining — landed in San Francisco’s Japantown with the the debut of this 9-seat restaurant in April. Chef Yuji Yamauchi moved to the Bay Area two years ago from Japan and is serving 12-course meals featuring ingredients like firefly squids, A5 wagyu, and nogoduro (blackthroat seaperch) five nights a week. Dinners cost $180 per person and reservations are required.

Villon, the small but incredibly well-appointed restaurant inside the San Francisco Proper hotel, has reopened for dinner for the first time in two years and since executive chef Jason Fox, formerly chef and owner of Michelin-starred Commonwealth, never really got the chance to spread his wings before the pandemic — it’s practically an entirely new restaurant now. The menu highlights the diversity of produce grown around northern California, with a touch of theatricality (think tableside salads and rack of lamb brought over on rolling carts) for good measure. 

When – or if – the 2022 baseball season begins, fans will have a new pre-game bar and restaurant to hit. Kaiyo Rooftop, from the team behind Cow Hollow’s Kaiyo, soared into SoMa in mid-February with topical cocktails and Nikkei cuisine. It’s a palm tree-topped rooftop oasis with a menu that blends Japanese and Peruvian flavors into tart cebiches, fresh ​​tiraditos, and inventive sushi rolls. 

Former Lazy Bear sous chef Matt Kirk tried to quietly open his highly anticipated new all-day cafe, but fans went wild for those pillowy soft “Wondermat” sandwiches. After a brief regroup, the Automat will open for real on December 8. Fighting against the sourdough tide, Kirk is known for that soft white sandwich bread, but yes of course he’s still got crusty country loaves, chewy pretzels, cookies, and doughnuts, and espresso and wine to wash it all down.

Tokyo-imported and cult-favorite ramen shop Mensho quietly opened a new location inside the Twitter building in December. This focus this time is takeout, with a streamlined menu of ramen, chashu, and extras — with the option to have noodles packed separately to better protect their texture in transit. And while the Tenderloin location is known for its ultra creamy pork broth, this location is further enriching its broths with miso, for even more fermented flavor.

As of March 2, there’s a hot new destination for chewy bagels and whipped schmear thanks to Schlok’s, the pandemic-born bagel startup that consistently sold out on weekends when it called the Snug its home. Now the bakery has rolled into NoPa with a space on Fell; there are two walk-up windows so fans can get their fix. Individual bagels come in six flavors, untoasted and with your choice of scallion, garlic, baked tomato, or chopped lox-topped schmear.

The ever-popular Liholiho group is opening a new restaurant in Mission Dolores on January 14. Good Good Culture Club is a team effort from a talented young trio, focused on what they’re calling “heritage-driven cooking” as “inspired by the Asian diaspora” — defined as Filipino and Laotian flavors featuring Californian ingredients and wood-fire techniques. The new menu looks sweet, salty, and snacky.

San Ho Won, the highly anticipated new restaurant from star chef Corey Lee (Benu, Monsieur Benjamin), finally opened at the beginning of November. The smoky and soulful menu digs into Korean barbecue and home comforts, from ribeye and galbi folded into lettuces to pig ear salad and jook with abalone. 

The Flour + Water Group opened the new Penny Roma in the former Central Kitchen space on October 11. It’s a simple but classic menu of regional Italian pastas, crudos, and woodfired ribeye, so you can now satisfy cacio e pepe cravings in a cozy heated courtyard, any night of the week in the heart of the Mission.

Shuggie’s Trash Pie and Natural Wine exploded into the Mission in April with bold yellow walls and sparkly green banquettes. The design-heavy and self-described “trashy-glam” restaurant specializes in pizzas made using upcycled ingredients — think dough made from spent oat flour and pies topped with blemished produce. The wine list leans into low-intervention and organic options. 

Taking over a prime location on 24th Street (the former Great Gold), Donaji Oaxacan restaurant debuted in the Mission in October, with a menu that’s all about fresh masa, folded into tamales, tacos, sopes, and enchiladas smothered in richly spiced mole negro.

Hotline, the fast-casual Korean restaurant from the folks behind hit Inner Sunset suprette Queens, has been quietly open for a number of weeks. But as of April 9 it’s officially open, bringing steam trays of Korean-Chinese dishes to the Outer Sunset. Inspired by the junghwa restaurants Clara Lee and Eddo Kim grew up frequenting, Hotline offers springy japchae bap tangled with onion, carrot, and wood ear mushroom and plush pillows of mapa dubu spiced with  house fermented chili and chili oil for pick-up, delivery, and dine-in.