New restaurant reviews

Edited by Jan Newberry

Bar Jules, Hayes Valley
A short, focused menu and 24-carat charm help make this new café a gem.
Goldilocks would give the nod to this Hayes Valley newcomer, where the menu is small, but not too small; the service is casual, but not too slack; and everything else, except for the bombshell acoustics, is pretty much just right. Zuni Café veteran Jessica Boncutter channels the spirit of her alma mater through seasonal dishes like halibut cheeks sweetened with English peas and butter, and earthy, unguarded turnip soup enhanced with chicken stock and onions and thickened with crème fraîche. The menu changes daily and is posted on chalkboards, a fitting touch in this atmosphere of unpre­tentious café charm. There’s not much choice (three or four appetizers, two or three entrées), but also not much amiss. On a recent evening, a perfectly grilled skirt steak, served with chickpeas in chimichurri sauce, gave way to a delicate lemon tart—a meal reflective of a restaurant where the food is all the sharper for its restraint. (J.S.) 609 Hayes St. (bet. Laguna and buchanan Sts.), S.F., 415-621-5482 $$$ W ★★★

Digs Bistro, Berkeley
A rogue restaurant goes legit.
In 2005, after they got busted for running an underground restaurant in Oakland, Jesse Kupers, Justin Sconce, and Heidi DiPippo set aside their dreams of prix-fixe glory. Last fall, the three moved to the right side of the law when they scored a teensy Berkeley eatery (formerly Olivia) with a history of incubating maverick talent. True to their bungalow-kitchen roots, co-chefs Sconce and DiPippo demonstrate little patience for the spare or lacquered. A starter of grilled white shrimp and grits with honest-to-goodness corn sweetness reveals the cooks’ earnest streak, while gorgeously silky artichoke ravioli radiate accomplishment. Spongy, sugar-dusted crab beignets, though, drop like the dud at a potluck. But even if the house-smoked pork chop tastes a tad acrid, you can’t help but catch a heady whiff of homegrown zeal. (J.B.) 1453 Dwight Way (at Sacramento St.), 510-548-2322 $$$ DRW ★★

Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant, Rincon Hill
A café for the condo crowd.
Local Kitchen’s locale is booming Rincon Hill, where a swelling crowd of young condo owners seems eager to unwind after work. Chef Ola Fendert, the man behind SoMa’s Oola, caters to this captive audience with cooking that ranges from passable to pleasant. The menu’s aesthetic is embodied in assorted thin-crust pizzas; basic pastas, like bolognese; and a rustic roasted chicken with white beans and arugula that you’d make at home, if you had time. Some dishes, like a sloppy sandwich with bay shrimp and hard-boiled egg, don’t stand up to the white heat of critique—but they suffice for an easygoing, well-lubricated evening. The adjoining wine shop adds a sense of corner-store conviviality, but a magazine rack in the dining room feels like a contrivance, providing a prop for those who are just out to flirt. (J.S.) 330 1st St. (bet. Folsom St. and Guy Pl.), S.F., 415-777-4200 $$ RW ★½

W= Wheelchair accessible
D= Dinner only
R= Reservations recommended