This year's biggest restaurant names on Upper Fillmore are the team behind a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant, a Michelin-starred Thai chef and a New York vermouth bar. You can't eat at any of them yet. What you can do tonight is order a 12-course omakase for $65 at a 10-seat counter hidden behind a refrigerator door on Sutter Street.
That gap shows how the street is changing in 2026. The places that opened between spring and fall are mostly small, independent and inexpensive. They sit on side streets, at corners and toward the south end of Fillmore. The well-funded, carefully chosen projects in the blocks between Clay and Pine are still behind covered windows, and the largest of them points to early 2027. Upper Fillmore is filling in from its edges toward its center.
The center of the street is waiting on a plan
One investor group owns several buildings on the stretch between Clay and Pine, including the Clay Theater's. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, led by venture capitalist Neil Mehta, has spent more than $100 million on this stretch. The Chronicle also describes the effort as at times controversial, because of concerns about longtime businesses being displaced. Cody Allen, the project's executive director, told the Chronicle the group prefers "to seek out specific tenants for our spaces, or operators we believe will bring a unique approach to a concept or business type that we feel the neighborhood needs."
Choosing tenants one by one takes time, and every project on that list is still on the way:
| Project | Address | Who is behind it | Latest public timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monami, a modern Korean steakhouse | 2001 Fillmore, at Pine | Junsoo and Hyunyoung Bae, owners of Ssal | Targeted fall 2026; still listed as upcoming in the Chronicle on Oct. 14 |
| Khao Soi Shop, casual curry and noodles | 2222 Fillmore, the former Starbucks | Pim Techamuanvivit of Kin Khao and Nari | No opening timeframe announced |
| Bar Oliver, Basque-inspired restaurant and vermouth bar | 2259 Fillmore, at Clay | Aisa Shelley with Daniel Bennett, Evan Bennett and Jonas Lafortezza | Early planning, no estimated date |
| A single new restaurant | 2035-2047 Fillmore | Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project | Four former storefronts being combined |
| The Clay Theater | 2261 Fillmore | Ted Gerike, director and chief creative officer | Early 2027 |
When SFist first reported Chef Pim's project in August, its working name was Khao Soi Ya, and the name could still change depending on the kitchen buildout. Bar Oliver will take over the former Alice & Olivia space, which shares a building with the Clay. In New York it serves only beer and wine, but the Fillmore location will have a full bar and an open hearth for grilling whole fish and steaks.
The Clay is the anchor of the plan. It showed films for more than 110 years before it closed in 2020. Plans call for more than 500 screenings a year, a mix of first-run films and repertory classics, both 4K digital and 35mm projection, and filmmaker talks. The New Fillmore reported that the expanded lobby will hold an all-day cafe and a small cinema bookstore, and quoted Allen expecting the theater to be finished "in early '27."
One restaurateur keeps renting storefronts
While the center waits, Kevin Chen keeps adding small places nearby. The New Fillmore counts Don Don, Ninniku and NoNo Baru as his existing neighborhood businesses. This summer he added two more.
- Yuzu, on Sutter near Fillmore. It's painted bright citrus yellow. By day it works as a takeout counter and small grocery. In the evening, the 10-seat omakase counter opens behind a refrigerator door. Chen told The New Fillmore that his seafood buying power keeps the price low, and described the goal as "a very affordable omakase dining experience with a very fun casual setting."
- Avocado Green, at 1800 Fillmore. This tea and coffee shop is soft-opening in the windows of NoNo Baru. It serves matcha lattes, other handcrafted drinks, housemade pastries and takeout food.
- Bubu, now inside NoNo Baru. Bubu left its California Street spot, which became Don Don, and moved into NoNo Baru. Its happy hour now runs twice a day, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
One operator is taking several modest storefronts and running more than one concept out of the same space, and all of it is open to walk into today.
The south end filled in with everyday food
Further down Fillmore, the new openings are priced for weeknights:
- Flying Figs, 1870 Fillmore. This wine bar replaced Vic's Winehouse. The owners took down the old metal security gates and set up couches and easy chairs in clusters that groups can reserve. For now the food is charcuterie, cheese and a Basque-style cheesecake. It opens at 4:30 p.m. every day except Monday and serves until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Super Duper Burgers, Fillmore at Post. It now occupies the former Burger King, serving burgers, chicken sandwiches, shakes and soft serve.
- Yoeechee, 1552 Fillmore, just south of Geary. Sushi boxes are made fresh every morning and range from $20 to $53. It's takeout only, open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Monday or until the boxes sell out. The staff suggests letting the sushi rest 30 to 45 minutes before eating.
- Tacos El Patrón, 1325 Fillmore. This is owner Alberto Pineda's third location, after Pleasant Hill and the Mission, and his largest, with about 50 seats. Guisados are a specialty. "There are no tacos around," Pineda told The New Fillmore before it opened. The Infatuation had reviewed it by late September.
Next in this group is Matdol Tofu at Fillmore and Sutter, in the former Pride of the Mediterranean. It comes from Jiman Jang and the partners behind Jevikal, a San Jose food truck, and the menu centers on handmade tofu, with sundubu jjigae, L.A. galbi and buckwheat noodles with perilla oil. Jang told The New Fillmore that the location has special resonance because Fillmore is only a few blocks from where Korean immigrants first put down roots in America. The paper notes that the Gongnip Association, a group for newly arrived Koreans, moved its headquarters to 1944 Buchanan Street in 1908. The team is aiming to open in December or January.
The side streets got the groceries
The changes reach past Fillmore itself. Hello Mart opened in September at 2135 Buchanan, a mostly residential block, with groceries, bento boxes to go and a coffee bar. The Infatuation reviewed its shelves and ready-to-eat food at the end of the month.
To the west, Maria Isabel is serving at 500 Presidio Avenue at California. It's run by the husband-and-wife team Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz.
What stays and what changed hands
The street's longest-running places matter as much as its newest ones. La Mediterranee at 2210 Fillmore has been open since 1979 and sits in a building the Mehta group owns. It has signed a new 10-year lease on top of an earlier three-year extension, which could keep it there until 2038. Vanick Der Bedrossian, who runs the restaurant his father Levon opened, told The New Fillmore they are refreshing the dining room "chunk by chunk" and promised, "Nothing major is changing."
Retail turned over this year. Jonathan Adler closed its home furnishings store at 2133 Fillmore, and Rocksbox closed its jewelry shop at 2208 Fillmore. The Spanish footwear brand Alohas has since opened in the 2208 space, next door to D&M Liquor. Walking the street, look for the new dog bone-shaped benches from AMC Pet Medical Center.
Around the parks and on the calendar
A few blocks uphill, Alta Plaza Park has resurfaced tennis courts. They were dedicated on Sept. 20 with a plaque honoring Olympic champion Helen Wills Moody, who played there. As of Sept. 23, the northernmost court can be reserved through SF Rec and Park. The other courts have always been first come, first served. The playground next to the courts closed on Sept. 28 and stays closed through early January while it gets new surfacing and several new play structures.
For the holidays, Livable City lists its Fillmore After Dark Holiday Night Market for Dec. 11, 4 to 9 p.m., with vendors, food, music and bingo. It's south of the Upper Fillmore blocks, on O'Farrell between Geary and McAllister. Members of the Pacific Heights Residents Association have their annual meeting and reception at the Flood Mansion on Nov. 12.
For now, the new Fillmore runs from a taqueria at 1325 Fillmore to a tofu restaurant still being built at Sutter, with a grocery on Buchanan and an omakase counter behind a fridge door. Monami's fall target has not yet turned into an opening, Bar Oliver has no date, and the Clay is expected in early 2027.
If you have a relocating colleague or family members in town this season and want them settled within walking distance of Fillmore, Home 2 San Francisco can help match them with a furnished home that suits the length of their stay. Pamela Kelley is glad to talk through what's available and point guests to the new spots near the door.
