The Best Restaurant Openings in Northern California – July 2026

Saluhall, the Nordic-inspired food hall in IKEA’s Market Street complex, has a new resident: a San Francisco outpost of Oklava Cafe, the Turkish cafe Aziz Aslan and Elif Uzun launched in Palo Alto in 2023. The all-day menu includes pistachio lattes, simit, börek, hot and cold mezze, a full Turkish breakfast, and flatbreads such as lahmacun.

A late-May arrival that escaped last month’s list, Glom Thai brings retro wood paneling and a soft jazz soundtrack to San Pablo Avenue. A collaboration between chef Sivilay Viridet and first-time restaurateur Mina Wong, the restaurant pairs familiar Thai comfort food with more contemporary preparations. Pad Thai, tom kha, and mango sticky rice share the menu with dishes such as crispy prawn-and-pork cakes and garlic-pepper jumbo river prawns.

Maria Alderete and Rick Mitchell, the owners behind the now-closed Oakland institution Luka’s Taproom & Lounge, returned with Bar Skula near Lake Merritt. Located in the former Sidebar space, the restaurant combines Luka’s favorites, including its burger and fries, with a seafood-focused menu featuring oysters, scallops, and ceviches made with California seafood. Former Sidebar bar manager Jared Hirsch consulted on the cocktail list, which includes variations on gin and tonics and carajillos alongside rum- and pisco-based drinks.

From its inception, Menlo Park’s mixed-use development Springline has aimed to position itself as a culinary destination, with outposts of popular San Francisco restaurants Che Fico and Robin. Now, the team behind Burma Superstar, Burma Love, and Kayah joins the lineup. At Alisios, which opened in June and didn’t make it into last month’s list, executive chef Carlos Villegas and sous chef Renee Gomez draw on Oaxaca and Baja for dishes such as fragrant moles and hibiscus tacos. The drinks menu offers five margarita options. The decor, in keeping with the recent wave of Mexican openings, is modern and mural-forward.

Rotation by Feast It Forward opened at Oxbow Public Market in February, but the intriguing project has gained momentum over the summer, earning it a spot on this list. July’s resident is Bay Area chef Anna Voloshyna, one of the leading U.S. voices on Ukrainian cuisine. The concept is familiar: A guest chef takes over the menu for one month at a time. Voloshyna has brought Ukrainian cooking to Napa with dishes including kholodnyk, a chilled borshch made with kefir, chicken Kyiv, and varenyky filled with farmer’s cheese and confit pork belly.

Another Thai entry, Saam opened in SoMa as the first U.S. restaurant from Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, the acclaimed Thai chef behind Michelin-starred Le Du and Nusara in Bangkok. Tassanakajohn offers modern interpretations of traditional and lesser-known dishes, aiming to surprise diners who are well-versed in Thai cuisine. The menu includes duck curry, tiger prawns cooked with shrimp paste and fava beans, and peach som tum with marinated shrimp and fermented fish sauce.

The sleepy West Marin town doesn’t often get a splashy new opening, but local fixture Shannon Gregory, who also owns oyster lovers’ favorite the Marshall Store, gave Point Reyes Station just that. The chic, modern seafood spot serves chilled mussel toast and pickled local anchovy toast, along with grilled mortadella skewers, rabbit pâté, and rotating weekly specials that make for small feasts. The drinks menu is equally impressive, spanning sake, California and French wines, and spritzes.

This new minimalist bar and restaurant makes the logical, though not often utilized, move of combining Japanese charcoal grilling with Korean flavors. The tight menu goes all in on one main dish: Japanese-style Wagyu hamburg steak grilled over binchotan charcoal and served with rice, miso soup, a poached egg, marinated mushrooms, and an array of seasonings. The few sides lean Korean, including gim-mari, fried nori rolls filled with japchae and served with tteokbokki dipping sauce. What is hamburg steak, you wonder? Think of it as a seasoned, bunless patty whose charcoal-grilled Japanese incarnation has become a viral sensation and can be seriously good.