Restaurants to Watch this Season

Sydney Winstead • September 17, 2025

Restaurants Opening Theirs Doors This Fall in San Francisco

San Francisco’s dining scene is heating up this fall, with a wave of highly anticipated restaurants set to open across the city. From innovative Italian-Japanese cuisine at Ama to flaky, buttery pastries at Parachute Bakery, food lovers can look forward to bold flavors, chef-driven menus, and must-try spots hitting the Mission, Dogpatch, Union Square, and the Embarcadero.


🇯🇵🇮🇹 Ama  – Italian-Japanese  – Opening September 24, 2025

 Location: 545 Sansome (Three Transamerica), San Francisco
Chef
Brad Kilgore’s highly anticipated Italian-Japanese concept, Ama, is set to open at 545 Sansome (Three Transamerica)  in San Francisco. The menu promises inventive dishes like squid-ink arancini with tamari, citrus-miso king salmon over lobster-tomato bisque, and his signature soft-boiled egg with brûléed Gruyere foam and caviar. A hidden lounge, Ama Social Club, will offer shareable plates and later hours, making it a destination from day to night. View Open Table Here.


🍝 Via Aurelia – Tuscan / Italian – Opening Late September 2025
Location: 300 Toni Stone Xing, San Francisco
Chef David Nayfeld and partner Matt Brewer, the team behind Che Fico and Bubbelah, bring fine-dining Tuscan flavors to the Mission Rock area near Oracle Park. Via Aurelia will highlight seasonal produce, seafood, and house-made pastas in a 75-seat space designed by DLC-ID. Reservations are now open via OpenTable.
View Website Here.


🥐 Parachute – Bakery / Croissants – Opening September 2025
Location:
1 Ferry Building, Suite 5, Embarcadero, San Francisco
Co-owner and executive pastry chef Nasir Armar debuts Parachute, a bakery specializing in laminated dough and inventive croissants. Signature offerings include classic flaky croissants, long skinny pain au chocolat, almond croissants with a delicate balance of nutty sweetness, and cube-shaped pastries filled with passion fruit and vanilla custard.
View Website Here.


🥚 TBD – Izakaya / Japanese – Opening Late September/Early October 2025
Location: 431 Bush Street, San Francisco
Chef Tommy Cleary of Hina Yakitori and Akiko’s Ray Lee team up for a moody izakaya-style spot. Menu highlights include tsukune (chicken meatballs with egg yolk) and chawanmushi with shrimp and truffles, offering a refined take on Japanese small plates.


🐟 Wolfsbane – Northern California / Tasting Menu – Opening October 15, 2025
Location: 2495 Third Street, San Francisco
Carrie and Rupert Blease of Lord Stanley, with Tommy Halvorson of Fire Society, debut Wolfsbane in the Dogpatch. The restaurant features a nine-course tasting menu showcasing local farms, fisheries, and fields, with an a la carte menu available at the bar.
View Website Here.


🌱 Poppy & Claro – All-Day / Modern American – Opening October 2025
Location: 50 West San Fernando Street, San Jose
Poppy & Claro offers a full-day menu with coffee and pastries in the morning and hearth-driven dishes, and "bold yet familiar flavors"  for lunch and dinner. Designed by Cass Calder Smith Architecture + Interiors, the space draws inspiration from poppy fabrics and claro walnut trees.
View Website Here.


🍻 Dingles Public House – Modern British Gastropub – Opening October 2025
Location: 333 Fulton Street, San Francisco
Chef George Dingle and Anissa Dingle open a modern British gastropub with classics like Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding, chubby chips, beer-battered cod, English ales, and curated wines from England, France, and Italy.
View Website Here.


🥩 Bourbon Steak and the Eighth Rule – Steakhouse / Bourbon Bar – Opening October 2025
Location: 335 Powell Street, San Francisco
The Westin St. Francis in Union Square welcomes Michael Mina’s 12th Bourbon Steak and Steph Curry’s bourbon-focused bar, the Eighth Rule. The 40-seat bar will feature craft cocktails and curated spirits, while Bourbon Steak central bar, Bourbon Lounge, showcases live music.
View Website Here.


🪵 RT Bistro – Wood-Fire / American Bistro – Opening Late October/Early November 2025
Location: 205 Oak Street, San Francisco
Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich, with partner Jonny Gilbert, bring RT Bistro to the city, focusing on wood-fire-grilled dishes with seasonal vegetables, local seafood, and premium meats. The Rich Table off-menu burger is front and center on the new menu.
View Website Here.


🇨🇳 Sam Wo- Chinese - Reopening Soon

Location: 713 Clay Street, San Francisco

 Sam Wo closed its doors January this year, leaving some locals heartbroken that the 100 year old restaurant was gone. In September this year there seemed to be some motion on Clay street and to people's surprise the historic restaurant planned to reopen its doors. View Website Here. 

 

🥙 Hayati (my love in Arabic) – Mediterranean – Opening Summer 2026 (Not Fall, but another spot to look forward to 😉)

 Location: Ferry Building
San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building will soon welcome
Hayati, a full-service Mediterranean restaurant from celebrated restaurateur Kaïs Bouzidi (Sens, Barcha, Bon Délire). Parisian-inspired fare in the heart of the waterfront marketplace. Located at 1 Ferry Building, #48, the restaurant is poised to become a new hub for food and drink enthusiasts, blending Bouzidi’s French-Tunisian roots with the Ferry Building’s evolving culinary scene.



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