A San Francisco smash burger just got some national press.
Food & Wine named Smish Smash one of the top six new burger spots in America. Located on the ground floor of downtown San Francisco’s Saluhall, Smish Smash is known for its riffs on smash burgers, like the Dac Biet, which tastes just like a bowl of beef pho, or the Mk’Rib, made to mimic the famed McRib from McDonald’s.
“This longtime pop-up has enraptured San Francisco with its inventive (not to mention messy) smashburger takes,” wrote Harry Cheadle for Food & Wine in an article titled “The Top 6 New Burger Spots in the US to Visit.”
Co-owner Amy Han was similarly enraptured by the news.
“Even though we had a heads-up that something was going to be written, it didn’t feel real … (It wasn’t) until someone forwarded us the actual article that we thought, ‘Holy sh-t, it’s real,’ she told SFGATE. “We get solicited for all kinds of things and most things fall apart, so it was an, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ feeling.”
The brick-and-mortar Smish Smash location inside Saluhall on Market Street in downtown San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Charles Russo/SFGATE)
Smish Smash started as a pop-up in Oakland in 2020 and quickly gained a cultlike following. In 2025, it opened inside the downtown food hall, where it still remains, despite numerous other vendors leaving. Many of them have cited slow foot traffic as the reason. Smish Smash, however, benefits from being on the street level of the hall, where passersby can see the line that typically forms for the celebrated smash burger joint.
Despite their local success, the national recognition was still a surprise for Han and her partner, Victor Donado. They got the email from Food & Wine the same week as the SF Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants awards ceremony. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) Still riding the high, as she put it, of being ranked No. 80 on the list, Han initially thought the Food & Wine message was a spam email, she said.
“We had a few days’ heads-up when we were asked for the photo, but it definitely felt completely out of the blue,” Han continued. “We know we’re on the radar of smash burgers in the Bay Area and in SF, but for Food & Wine – that’s huge.”
The Dac Biet burger, on the list of specials at the newly opened Smish Smash inside Saluhall on Market Street in downtown San Francisco, Tuesday, on Jan. 28, 2025. (Charles Russo/SFGATE)
It’s only been a few days since the article came out on April 15, but several patrons have already mentioned to Han that they read the short blurb. So far, it hasn’t resulted in an immediate rush of traffic, Han said, but that could change.
“From a culinary standpoint – it’s really cool to be included,” she said.
More Food News
– The Costco hot dog of beer is coming to San Francisco
– Safeway’s new paper bags infuriate San Francisco customers
– Struggling Silicon Valley fine dining restaurant has closed after 43 years
– ‘I made a mistake’: Philz Coffee reverses course on removing pride flags
For all things fascinating in Bay Area food, sign up for our Eat the Bay newsletter here.
This article originally published at Food & Wine calls this SF burger one of the most exciting in the US.