It was a sold-out event, with more than 1,000 tickets. Former Golden State Warriors star and food influencer Festus Ezeli hosted the ceremony, as guests toasted to this year’s best restaurants, sampled bites from local popups and counted down to this year’s No. 1 restaurant, selected by the Chronicle’s restaurant critics MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez. The party, presented by OpenTable and Visa, took over three stories at the San Francisco Design Center.
The room exploded with applause when Fegan announced this year’s No. 1 restaurant: modern Cantonese superstar Four Kings, which moved up from the No. 2 spot last year. The perpetually booked restaurant stands out with hit dishes like mapo tofu spaghetti, XO escargot with milk bread and Singapore-style crab.Four Kings chef-owners Franky Ho and Mike Long stepped on stage with their team, some of them moved to tears.
“I want to thank everyone for their love and support,” said Long. “All the staff behind me, that’s been here, past and present, I appreciate you all.”
The ceremony also included first-ever special awards recognizing outstanding figures and restaurants in the Bay Area’s food world, chosen by Fegan, Hernandez and other members of the Chronicle Food + Wine team.
Deirdre Balao Rieutort-Louis, most recently of Dalida, was named Best Pastry Chef. Chartreuse and wine paradise Sirene won best beverage program. Three-Michelin-starred Quince brought more than people on stage to accept the award for best hospitality. Korean deli Joodooboo received the Rising Star Restaurant award, which honors a restaurant that’s been in business for fewer than five years. The second annual Charles Phan Legacy Award, recognizing a restaurateur for their impact on the Bay Area’s dining scene, was presented to Cindy Pawlcyn, chef and owner of Mustard’s Grill in Napa.
“This is your guys’ hard work, this is your guys’ dedication, this is your guys’ heart. Thank you all,” Joodooboo owner Steve Joo said to his staff, who stood behind him on stage.
The first half of the list, including restaurants Nos. 100 through 51, dropped last Monday. The crowd cheered on Nos. 50-11 as the restaurant names flashed on the big screen, and representatives from Nos. 10 through 1 walked across stage for the countdown.
Attendees were able to taste dishes from nine notable Bay Area popups. Tartufino, a project from Atelier Crenn and Saison alum Shawn Phillips, offered a crudo topped with a malt vinegar gelee. Richmond’s quesabirria sensation El Garage brought fresh shrimp cured in a spicy cilantro-lime juice mix. Other popular bites include Peruvian popup Michoz’s juicy grilled chicken with aji Amarillo sauce and San Jose Vietnamese favorite Hết Sẩy’s steamed coconut cakes with curry. Some popups at the event are poised to open restaurants this year, such as Petit Américain and My Friend Fernando.
There were plenty of sweets in the mix, too, with sourdough doughnut maker SoDo Donuts providing a popular rhubarb fritter, and while De La Creamery, one of the best ice cream outfits in the region, scooped horchata ice cream. Recchiuti Confections dished out samples, including a surprising olive-rosemary chocolate, as did Graffeo Coffee.
There was also plenty to sip. Auteur Wines, Six Sigma Winery and five other Bay Area wineries poured for attendees. And at the end of the night, everyone toasted to the No. 1 restaurant with bubbly from Breathless Wines.