The New Fillmore

Sidewalk seating, like that at Peet’s on Fillmore, is a recent — and growing — trend.

By SUSAN SWARD

Up and down Fillmore, sidewalk spots keep springing up.

Noosh, the new restaurant at Pine and Fillmore, has three four-tops outside with heat lamps at the ready. Blue Bottle Coffee finally has its outside tables back at Fillmore and Jackson. The Snug, at Clay and Fillmore, is considering putting in for a permit. And established sunny sidewalk terraces at Chouquet’s, at Washington, and Harry’s and The Grove, between Pine and California, host a crush of people, often with baby carriages and dogs along for the party.

Slowly, since 1993, when they were first blessed by the city, sidewalk tables and chairs have proliferated. Now there are more than 450 permitted sites citywide — with 19 alone on Fillmore Street. Chestnut Street has 19 as well, Columbus Avenue has 21 and Clement Street has 10. All across the city, people gather outside, chatting, hanging out, drinking and eating. Streets that once felt cold and dead bustle with activity and life, particularly on the days when sunshine blesses San Francisco.

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The sign is gone, but after a dark year, Fresca is planning to reopen.

By SHELLEY HANDLER

When a popular Fillmore Street restaurant like Fresca goes dark, locals get curious. When it remains dark and untouched for more than a year, questions mount. Owner and executive chef Jose Calvo-Perez has now supplied some answers.

A staple in the neighborhood at 2114 Fillmore since 2002, this branch of the Calvo-Perez family’s group of three Peruvian restaurants has been dealing with a string of structural and related bureaucratic woes. The family has been looking to streamline the kitchen and refresh and brighten the look of the restaurant. And as anyone who has dealt with the city’s complex code requirements knows, permits — even for the simplest changes — take time.

“We love the Fillmore Street location. Our neighbors and customers are great,” says Calvo-Perez. “So we were willing to take whatever time necessary to work it out.” As time stretched before them, the family also took the opportunity to adapt the menu, shifting the focus from full entrees to an enticing range of small plates.

“We wanted to make it fun, lighten the tone, and give the customers a chance to sample and share a wider selection of dishes,” Calvo-Perez says. “The heart of our food is still authentically Peruvian, with creative local twists.”

The menu shines a spotlight on a bevy of ceviches, served with traditional garnishes of crunchy large kernel corn and sweet potato. A range of wood-grilled anticuchos will feature skewers of beef heart, shrimp and chorizo, octopus or vegetables. Even paella will get the small plate treatment, with individual portions of either traditional or squid ink paella, known as arroz negro. Lomo saltado, Peru’s savory saute of sirloin, tomato, onions and fries, will still hold pride of place.

It will still be a few months before Fresca 2.0 reopens. With a new 10-year lease freshly inked, Calvo-Perez aims at an early July opening, ideally in time for the Fillmore Jazz Festival, whose main stage is at Fresca’s front door.

In the meantime, Fresca’s Inner Sunset and Noe Valley outposts continue to hum. Calvo-Perez will also launch a weekend-only food truck dubbed Lomo Libre. Tapping lomo saltado ingredients, he’ll turn out lomo-based nachos, burritos and other saltado delights a few blocks down the hill at Fillmore and Lombard.

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Photograph of Tacobar getting a fresh look by Jonathan Pontell

“WE’RE NOT THE usual taqueria,” acknowledges Antonio Solano, the dynamic manager of Tacobar at Fillmore and California. Tacobar just got a facelift, an updated menu and a bright new paint job as the popular corner spot at the heart of the neighborhood prepares to celebrate its ninth birthday in April.

Tacobar is also now set up to accept online orders and payment, which lets customers skip the line for pick-ups. “You show up and it’s ready,” Solano says.

They’ve also partnered with the Caviar delivery service. “You’ve got to stay alert and give the customers what they want,” he says. “We love being here, and we want to continue to be successful.  What else can we bring? This is our baby. My dad taught me always to give 100 percent.”

Of the new color scheme and new menu items, he says: “We’re authentic, but reinvented.”

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The back bar at Noosh, “opening very soon” at Fillmore and Pine.

AT LONG LAST, the highly anticipated new casual fine dining restaurant coming to Fillmore and Pine is ready to offer the public a taste. Noosh passed its final health inspection on January 31 and began delivery and office catering in early February.

“This will give guests a first sneak peek at our fine casual menu,” says co-founder and CEO John Litz. “We now work through delivery and office catering . . . while we simultaneously interview, hire and train our staff, preparing for our soft opening very soon.”

During the year the restaurant has been in the works, Noosh has already blazed a new path by hosting dozens of private events as the restaurant was under construction and working through operational logistics. “Many of our Pacific Heights neighbors comment daily to us they think it’s a smart strategy that has created more interest,” Litz says, as well as an early revenue stream. “We are excited to bring it to Fillmore.”

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