November 16, 2014

Foodie Bridge To Valencia At The Edge Of Noe Valley


There are three new restaurants opening on the edge of Noe Valley that promise to be welcome additions to the dining options between here and Valencia Street. Valencia St. has become a go-to for some of the most innovative (and fun!) restaurants in the City, and now it looks like local chefs are looking for spaces nearby that promise to expand the number of quality restaurants for a great night out.

22nd and Guerrero isn't downtown Noe Valley, but according to the map we use for our 'hood it's right on the edge. Some sources call it the Mission, but that's not quite right. Let's go ahead and call it Noe Gulch. The new restaurants there ...

The restaurant formerly known as Company (and at one time home to the foodie Mecca Flying Saucer) has become Hoffman's Grill & Rotisserie. Chef/owner Karen Hoffman, who has worked at Spago and the Four Seasons, has created a casual restaurant "serving comfort food at its finest." Everything is made in-house including bread, pasta and sausages and the focus is on "the quality of the ingredients." Early visitors on Yelp give it 4.5 stars.

Across the street in what used to be Beast and the Hare, Brett Cooper (formerly of Outerlands and with help from the Daniel Patterson Group) is working on Aster, which Inside Scoop reports is a 45 seat restaurant that will serve ingredient-driven Californian fare sourced from small but emerging local farms. (Fittingly, the name Aster means small local flower.) Opening date was reportedly this November, although on a recent walk past the space it didn't appear an opening was imminent.

Slightly south, but still close by, former Ubuntu chef Aaron London is planning to open an as yet unnamed restaurant on Valencia at 26th (formerly Toad's and more recently South End Grill n' Bar). Inside Scoop has the lowdown here too: It seats 49 and will cater to more than vegetarians (although "veggie heavy") and will serve fish, meat and seafood too. Look for that to open this Spring.

All told, Noe Valley dining options continue to attract attention. Add the above to La Ciccia, Contigo, Firefly, Saru Sushi and other options, and it's looking good for quality fare expanding on the edge of Noe Valley.

[Photo: Hoffman's Grill & Rotisserie on Yelp]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hoffman's Grill is quite good and reasonably priced. Check it out.

LibertyHiller said...

"22nd and Guerrero isn't downtown Noe Valley, but according to the map we use for our 'hood it's right on the edge. Some sources call it the Mission, but that's not quite right."

Nice try, but the SF Planning Commission is pretty clear that the western boundary of the Mission District is Dolores Street.

When my ex was paying her car insurance, she had to pay a Mission District rate because the car was registered to an address on Dolores Street (94110), although its usual parking space was in 94114.

Realtors and similar vultures prefer euphemisms like Baja Noe/Noe Gulch because techies generally don't know any better.

Anonymous said...

The recent addition of western Mission Dist. streets into Noe Valley is a realtor's marketing tool to get higher prices on the edges of an area where they might not command them using the Mission as the properties' location. FYI - "Lower Nob Hill" didn't exist 15 years ago.