We asked a group of local writers, voices from the restaurant industry and other varied and uniformly brilliant friends from Eater SF to weigh in last year on food (and what year it was). We will share your responses to this annual “Year in Eater” survey, over several articles over the next two weeks. Today, they are sharing what permanent restaurant closings sadden them most.
Ugh, so many. I was heartbroken when Locanda closed the door, I wanted to eat that greasy and peppery amatriciana forever, and if the Delfina group was in trouble, it was a difficult year for everyone. I loved to party pork chops and calvados in Trou Normand and, likewise, it was painful to see Bar Agricole go underground and the rest of the group close. And I would really like to be celebrating my birthday now at Riddler, with a nice bottle of bubbles and a tater tot waffle topped with smoked sammy and caviar. We miss you, old friend. – Eater SF reporter Becky Duffett
Los Cilantros in Berkeley was decidedly neighborhood, discreet and comfortable, but / and the food was world class. In other words: the kind of place that makes Bay Area cuisine so remarkable. I’m still waiting for them to reopen in some way; how could i know that my last chile relleno would really be my last? – Novelist living in East Bay Robin Sloan, the author of (among others) Sourdough and The strange case of the new Golden Gate
I do the weekly summary of Eater’s closings, and each erodes a little of my soul: I feel the dissolution of each dream so intensely that it is difficult to choose just one. It is possible, however, that my heart is more shaken by the price this year has been charging for the city’s nightlife: it seems impossible to me that Stud won’t be there for us when this is over, or Lucky 13, or the Albatross Pub in Berkeley. And unrelated to the pandemic, but still distressing: neither Lefty O’Doul’s nor the Gold Dust Lounge deserved to leave as they did, legacies torn and stained. I feel angry just thinking about it. – Eater SF publisher Eve Batey
The closing of the prairie really disappointed me because chef Anthony Strong was switching to live grilling and opening the fire pit just before everything went off, and then he was one of the first to open a “General Store” when the pantry bugged and toilet paper was impossible to find. I really admire your ability to pivot and be creative. Honestly, they are all very sad. It is difficult to see someone being forced to give up a dream for reasons other than their own. – Daisy Barringer, SF cuisine writer
There are many. Hearing about Beachside closing at Outer Sunset almost made me cry. I used to take my nephew and niece there for breakfast. – San Francisco restauranteur Rica Sunga-Kwan, owner of the Portola Churn Urban Creamery district ice cream shop
There has been so Many, of course, but the one that makes me sad as I write this is DNM Hot Pot, Inner Mongolia’s hot pot restaurant in Inner Richmond, where I had one of my most cozy and restorative meals from last winter. The closure of Cafe Ohlone, the only Ohlone restaurant in the Bay Area, was also devastating, but I’m excited that its founders have started offering take-out meal kits and are determined to open an even bigger and better store sometime in the near future. . – Eater SF food editor, Luke Tsai
Dopo in Oakland has been a special place for me and my wife. Jon’s simple Italian regional cuisine and especially his cold cuts will be missed. I loved their duck scatola and their meat lasagna was the very definition of home cooking. I also loved going on weekdays for a late lunch of arancini, salad and Dopo pizza with a glass of rose on the counter. – Chef, activist and author Preeti Mistry
I can’t say that I was a regular anywhere, but I’m really upset about Louis’ and The Cliff House. I really miss the Beachside burritos for breakfast and their fried chicken sandwich (although I’m excited to see that Java Beach on the block is holding up). But nothing breaks my heart like the loss of Pittsburgh, the perfect diving district and home to many nightly conversations, pseudo dance parties and good / bad decisions. – Lauren Sloss, San Francisco cooking writer
I think I will have to answer that question firmly, once we see who does not rise from the cold of winter. That said, I will miss mornings at the crowded counter at Art’s Cafe, but the fact that the owners finally retire and ride at sunset makes me happy, not sad. I will miss the mornings in Louis’ empty tents, but I hope it will be reborn, I hope with good food. I will miss Cockscomb’s uncompromising and unique spirit, but I hope that Mr. Cosentino’s cooking will return to the city somehow, at some point. – Editorial Director of Resy (and founding editor of Eater SF) Paolo Lucchesi
Ristorante Franchino. It was one of my favorites when I lived in North Beach and celebrated many occasions there, including my engagement! – Jess Lander, Napa food writer
AL Deli was very cool while it lasted, and Walzwerk was a peculiar East German talent in the Mission that referred to a different time in San Francisco. But I really wanted Prairie to do that, and it was really sad. The only consolation is that chef Anthony Strong does not seem to be the type to be downcast for a long time, and he is already having that “glamping” picnic of a VW van and is not going anywhere. – SFist editor Jay Barmann