Good Taste offers a menu for eating well in the Bay Area. Today, we take a look at the area around Ninth and Judah Streets in San Francisco. Long considered a “food court” for the Inner Sunset, there’s a lot here to appreciate right now.
With so many mom and pop spots, it’s pretty hard to find a bad meal in the Inner Sunset. (Except Posh Bagel, don’t go there.) There are a few destination spots in this part of the city that have opened over the last few years.
Here are the places I always want to take friends when it’s not raining: the patio at the six-year-old Um.Ma (1220 Ninth Avenue) to eat KBBQ, the backyard at Sweet Glory (1336 Ninth Avenue), which opened last summer with a should-be-iconic sweet corn Basque cheesecake and a variety of Asian flavors of mille crepes that are made in the window.
Also in the destination spot category, I recently ate at the new French cafe called Caché (1235 Ninth Avenue), which was quite lovely and delicious and also has a little back patio with a few tables. I think it is instantly the most expensive spot in this zone, so it can’t be part of the personal heavy rotation, but the dog-friendly policy is going to be a welcome treat for people coming to the area to enjoy the adjacent slice of Golden Gate Park. I’d like to go back at least for coffee and pastries; others may enjoy the wine bar aspect.
The relatively new Zentarou Sushi and Sake Bar (1380 Ninth Avenue) has an excellent menu of rolls, including some really developed vegan maki like the Traffic Roll (inari, sweet potato tempura, and cucumber inside, mango, avocado, and crispy purple yam on top). It’s a worrisome time for sushi spots that source seafood from Japan, but I’m hoping that vegan sushi helps keep some of these spots open.
The Japanese gift shop Sakura (936 Irving) around the corner reopened under new ownership. That transfer means that there are now home cooking offerings like bento boxes, chicken karaage, and onigiri to go. Koo Japanese Restaurant (408 Irving) can get crowded, but is particularly worth stopping in for happy hour bites.
According to Eater SF, Saint Frank Coffee will open in the old Starbucks on Irving at Ninth (744 Irving Street) this summer, and Luke’s Local will open a market in the old Lemonade (1266 Ninth Avenue) on Ninth at Irving; the latter has been empty for years, and the opening date has yet to be announced.
The neighborhood misses the stalwart Tart to Tart, which closed in 2022, and Park Chow, which dipped out in 2018. At least there’s a solid replacement in Fiorella (1240 Ninth Avenue), and you can still eat on the roof there. Several longtime businesses are still around as well. Art’s Cafe (747 Irving) is still making them line up for the counter. Pasquale’s Pizza (700 Irving) continues to throw pies, Lavash (511 Irving) is back cracking tahdig (crispy rice) under traditional Persian stews after a fire, and Ebisu (1283 Ninth Avenue) remains steadfast in its sushi rolling, to name a few.
A few blocks away, the meat and veggie platters at New Eritrea (907 Irving) are reliably wonderful after decades in business, the orange hot sauce at King of Noodles (1639 Irving), which is really a king of dumplings, is still getting attention, and the lines remain for dry-fried chicken wings and other Chinese dishes at San Tung (1031 Irving), which has gotten international attention. There’s at least one new and notable dumpling shop that is going to open, probably soon, on this stretch of Irving east of 19th Avenue.
After a meal, the frozen yogurt handles at Eazy Breezy (718 Irving) beckon, as does the fresh mint ice cream at San Francisco’s Hometown Creamery (1290 Ninth Avenue). Supported by the neighborhood and visitors alike, hopefully it can remain a bloom loop over here.
Tamara publishes the California Eating website, newsletter, and zine.
