FOUND favorites, spring ‘26
Plus most anticipated new restaurants
Welcome to the FOUND SF Spring Report. Ahead: our favorite SF restaurants, cultural finds, and getaways of the first few months of 2026 — plus our most anticipated restaurants for the season ahead.
Paid subscribers, keep your eyes open for links to Spring Reports from our other cities in this week’s newsletter.
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Favorites
Favorite new restaurants we visited during late winter/early spring of ’26.
→ RT BISTRO (Hayes Valley), Evan and Sarah Rich’s comfortable (but a bit edgy) bridge bistro, which fits between their Rich Table and Rotisserie on the hi-lo spectrum
→ SORA SOBA DINING (Japantown), Hinodeya Ramen Bar’s first US outpost draws lengthy lines for its buzzy buckwheat noodles
→ SHUGGIES (Mission), reborn as a grown-up dinner destination, the former ‘trash pie’ purveyors have crafted a still-sustainable second act
→ LA CIGALE (Glen Park, above), Joseph Magidow’s live-fire rustic French spot might have an infuriating seating system, but the wait is worthwhile
RESTAURANTS • Notables
Bay Area bivalves got their due during Oyster Week (our first themed issue). Of special note: a banger of a Routine from Hog Island Oyster Co. co-founder John Finger
Daytime dining bounced back (boosted by the RTO trend), headlined by Sohn in Dogpatch and Polk Gulch’s Goldenette Diner
French accents stayed strong as 2025 rolled into 2026, with the launches of downtown bakery Le Carousel, Lazy Bear spin-off JouJou, and North Beach wine bar Chez Brando
Reservations are nice, but many high-profile spots eschew them. Hit Sora Soba (open 10a-10p) outside of normal dining times or wait hours for your noods; bring a book to kill time after you sign up for a La Cigale seat
RESTAURANTS • One-Year Club
Favorite FOUND restaurants that turned one year old in Q1, for your perhaps easier-booking pleasure.
GO DUCK YOURSELF (Bernal Heights), walk-in crowds at this Peking duck icon has tapered off somewhat with the opening of the owners’ Quack House in the Tenderloin
JUNE’S PIZZA (Oakland, above), various awards and national mentions mean this walk-in pizza hotspot isn’t just harder to get into now — it also means you seem even more out-of-it if you haven’t been
CAFE SEBASTIAN (FiDi), the fall 2025 opening of club-meets-restaurant Ama in Sebastian’s sister space coincided with a cut in hours at Brad Kilgore’s sleek cafe. Now breakfast and lunch are its only offerings, and reservations have been traded for walk-in service only
CACHE (Inner Sunset), while the lines might be more manageable at this Inner Sunset bistro, an upcoming second location in the FiDi suggests business is booming, reserve
NINE NINES • Distilled Lists of SF’s Best
FOUND’s 9 favorite restaurants in the neighborhood: Castro, North Beach, Hayes Valley, Marina, Chinatown, Outer Richmond, the Inner Richmond, the Inner Sunset, and the Outer Sunset.
BARS • FOUND Favorites
→ BAR PANISSE (Berkeley, above), long-promised ‘welcoming bar’ from Alice Waters opened w/ a stellar menu of snacks and an unexpectedly provocative wine list
→ LONG WEEKEND (North Beach), the 14th bar from the Bourbon & Branch team rotates in a fresh, globally inspired concept every nine months
→ PABU-CHAN (FiDi), Michael Mina’s homage to fine sake is a 20-seat glass jewel box wrapped in a delicate white lotus print
GOODS & SERVICES • Notables
After 25 years, Berkeley’s Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant has opened a second location — this one in Larkspur
Long an Oakland staple, fashion trailblazer Sherri McMullen (above) moved her namesake boutique to an elegant new home in Presidio Heights
Forget MCM at the Bayview’s Grand Central Station Antiques, SF’s top spot for older English oak and mahogany, Art Nouveau leaded lamps, and Art Deco gilded mirrors
GETAWAYS • FOUND Favorites
The $199 brunch at NAVIO, the restaurant at Half Moon Bay’s Ritz-Carlton, isn’t just a notable feast — it’s a scene that’ll have you gossiping the whole drive home
The guest cabins at DAWN RANCH (above) in Guerneville marry rustic decor with cutting-edge amenities (and, blessedly, no TVs)
Midwestern meat cravings are fulfilled at Napa’s STATELINE ROAD SMOKEHOUSE, the debut restaurant of former Alinea chef Darryl Bell
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Restaurants, most anticipated
The new SF restaurants we’re looking forward to the most in the coming months.
Lawrence (SoMa), Brandon Rice’s Ernest follow-up will be higher end, he says, but don’t call it fine dining