Chicken Fried Palace Is a San Francisco Love Letter to Southern Diner Food

A new restaurant championing chicken-fried steaks and diner classics is opening in San Francisco’s Mission District. Chicken Fried Palace is the latest from chef Seth Stowaway, who led Michelin-starred Osito, and restaurant partner Cole Jeanes of Memphis spots Kinfolk and Hard Times Delicatessen. The new diner takes over the former Wesburgers space on Mission Street, and it debuts on Friday, November 21.

For Stowaway, Chicken Fried Palace reflects the intersection of two parts of his life: his childhood in central Texas and his adult life in the Bay Area. “Everything I know and believe and cherish about food and the melting pot of what food does is from here,” he says of San Francisco. “So we wanted to take those things that are just so nostalgic to me, and then add all the different cultural melting pots from things around here that I’ve learned working for Brandon Jew, or going to Queens and having their awesome kimchi.” The chicken-fried steak in particular Stowaway feels translates into most, if not all, cultures: “Everyone has some kind of cutlet,” he says, namechecking tonkotsu and schnitzel as examples. “Everyone’s got some kind of reference to that, and that’s the kind of thing I love,” Stowaway says.

Stowaway met Jeanes through the Etowah Collective, a collaborative chef dinner party series that Jeanes co-runs in Memphis; the group approached Stowaway to cook at an event in 2023, and the two became fast friends. Stowaway says he always wanted to open a diner, and when the two met, Jeanes was opening a similar diner concept, Kinfolk. Stowaway says he wanted a partner steeped in what he considers the benchmarks of diner food: biscuits and chicken-fried steak. “We both have a love for diner culture; it’s food that you grow up with in your family’s kitchen, in both places that we’re from, [they] are held to some kind of esteem,” Stowaway says.

Molly DeCoudreaux

The menu is filled with what the duo calls “foundational staples” of a diner. There are buttermilk biscuits, pork chops, steak and eggs (in this case, a rib-eye), and, of course, chicken-fried, well, everything. Diners can pick a chicken-fried steak, chicken-fried chicken, chicken-fried smoked trout, and even chicken-fried mushrooms — all notably made with a gluten-free dredge. These dishes come with a choice of gravy, of which Chicken Fried Palace has three kinds: The Classic, a white gravy made with sausage and “lots of pepper”; The Bay, which pairs oyster sauce with Fresno chiles and basil; and The Memphis, a mustard- and honey-based sauce that comes with Koolickles, or Kool-Aid pickles. For the proteins, the team works with Corvus Farm for the chicken, Stemple Creek Ranch for their beef, and Riverdog Farm for pork. “The biscuits and chicken-fried steak, these things are artifacts that exist in the South, and being able to showcase those in an environment that really, really cares about the quality is going to be really special,” Jeanes says.

Besides the chicken-fried offerings, diners can find dishes such as patty melts and cornmeal pancakes. Stowaway and Jeanes also have some fun twists on familiar dishes planned, like the salt cod pancake with pimento cheese. Chicken Fried Palace’s trendy blooming onion will get the “grocery store sushi” treatment, per Stowaway, meaning it’s dressed in eel sauce, Kewpie mayo, and chile crisp. “We wanted to make sure we had some fun, kitschy stuff to just nod to the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he says.

Molly DeCoudreaux

Desserts are also a centerpiece. Pastry chef Gabrielle Pabonan previously worked at high-end places like Craftsman and Wolves, the French Laundry, Quince, and Osito with Stowaway. Here, she’s creating desserts like sticky rolls, caramelized banana pudding, and a Matilda chocolate cake. She’s also working on a roster of pies, such as an apple and quince pie, sweet potato pie, custard pie with meringue, and classic pecan pie for the opening. Ice cream from Mitchell’s is also available.

Cocktails aren’t a given at a traditional diner, but the team pulled Nora Furst on board to create both a cocktail and nonalcoholic drinks menu (Think milkshakes — both boozy and non-boozy — coconut slushies, and more). “The cocktail program is meant to feel accessible and fun and not bougie,” Stowaway says of Furst’s drinks. Another must-have diner drink for Stowaway is a sweet tea.

Those familiar with the space will see echoes of Wesburger in the new restaurant, such as the original wood, but Stowaway says it’s now lightened up with fun colors, like gold wallpaper, salmon pink booths, and terrazzo bar tops. (The bathrooms will also have their own moments with pink toilets and wild wallpaper, he adds.) It’s a modern diner with touches that keep things special, yet sentimental. “We just want it to be the most fun place where it’s the highest standard, but it’s the most accessible. I think that’s really, really important,” Stowaway says.

Chicken Fried Palace (2240 Mission Street, San Francisco) debuts on Friday, November 21, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.