New downtown-MV restaurants galore! (Listed as usual in approximate order of opening, projected opening, or other news.) Venerable popular Mediterranean Grill House (650 Castro #110, https://www.mediterraneangrillhouse.com/) undertook remodeling in December for “a new coffee and tea and dessert section called Sanaa Cafe,” per Bruce Karney’s Dec.-5 tip to me. He said the owner sought an Arab chef; “Arab coffee is strong like Turkish coffee. The coffee will come from Yemen.”
Ox 9 Noodles (a “Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles” chain) opened Dec. 16, replacing Quality Bourbons & Barbecue (QBB), 216 Castro. Menu highlights noodles in several “thicknesses.” Freshly made noodles are a deep comfort-food tradition in parts of China, one I relish, and look forward to trying at this new restaurant with intriguing specialties like “dry noodles with hot chili.” (The location housed the famous Sue’s Indian Cuisine in the ’90s, then Godavari, Shezan, and QBB, all with familial connections to Sue’s.)
Early January saw Sulbing Cafe open at 975 W. Dana (previously Cafe Terrace, after for many years Yakko Sushi). Personnel confirmed that this Sulbing is affiliated with the large Korean shaved-ice chain of that name. Display case in the brand-new interior shows off dazzling colorful desserts of fruit and shaved ice.
Nick the Greek’s 298-Castro MV location, first announced pre-Covid, opened with free samples January 14. It’s a popular and growing casual chain.
Preliminary signage and hiring notices were up in January at 174 Castro (longtime Amarin location) for Halal Street / Xinjiang Cuisine & BBQ, featuring the locally unusual cuisine of Muslim northwest China (“Uyghur kabobs; Xinjiang handmade noodles.”) Remark: Castro St. is looking up for handmade-noodle fans.
In development at 357 Castro (unit 3A), where Rumble Fish Sushi closed in the pandemic, is a new restaurant “Mr Bao Kitchen” per the beer-wine licensing notice (owner: Ocean One Seafood Co.).
At 171 Castro (long part of the Jehning lock shop’s museum annex), interior work was underway mid-January on Kitchen Story, planned since at least 2022 by entrepreneur Hoyul Steven Choi.
