{"id":452417,"date":"2026-09-03T18:40:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/452417\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T18:40:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:40:51","slug":"sergeant-ma-is-opening-on-the-waterfront-in-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/452417\/","title":{"rendered":"Sergeant Ma is opening on the waterfront in San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sergeant Ma opens September 9 in San Francisco\u2019s China Basin neighborhood, blending California cuisine with Asian flavors, techniques, and ingredients.<\/p>\n

The waterfront restaurant sits along Mission Creek directly across from Oracle Park and near Chase Center, putting it within reach of the neighborhood\u2019s growing mix of residents, tech workers, and sports and event crowds.<\/p>\n

The restaurant is nearly four years in the making, and Hi Neighbor calls it its most ambitious project to date.<\/p>\n

Executive chef and partner Jason Halverson leads the kitchen. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where his family\u2019s Chinese and Vietnamese traditions informed his Midwestern upbringing.<\/p>\n

The name pays homage to Halverson\u2019s mother. She was known as \u201cThe Sergeant\u201d within the family for her commanding personality, and called \u201cMa\u201d by her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, this restaurant is incredibly personal,\u201d said Halverson, whose mother came to the United States from Vietnam as a teenager and built a life for herself and her family. \u201cShe always cooked as though there would be more people arriving than expected. There was always another plate, another bowl of rice, another seat at the table. Sergeant Ma is my way of honoring that spirit while sharing the kind of food I love to cook today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:Washington, D.C.-area’s iconic L’Auberge Chez Francois gets support from Thompson Restaurants<\/a><\/p>\n

The menu features a collection of shareable dishes. Seafood is featured prominently, with options like Shigoku oysters, halibut and uni crudo with carrot-citrus vinaigrette, and king salmon tartare with wood ear mushrooms and chili crisp.<\/p>\n

\"2._Sergeant_Ma.jpg\"<\/p>\n

The menu is shareable, with larger plates including whole grilled snapper.<\/p>\n

Steamed Manila clams are paired with crispy pork belly, crispy noodles, and sour chile mignonette, and grilled Spanish octopus gets a char siu-style glaze with Asian pear, chrysanthemum, and scallion pancakes. Lobster mafaldine combines Chinese black beans, lobster butter, and lime. Larger plates include whole grilled snapper, coriander-crusted duck breast, and a dry-aged rib eye au poivre with sansho pepper, bone marrow, and pommes frites.<\/p>\n

The beverage program comes from Suzanne Miller, who drew on the building\u2019s history and her own memories growing up in Oakland, California, and visiting Chinatown.<\/p>\n

Traditional Chinese candy is transformed into a syrup for an Old Fashioned, while Haw Flakes (another Chinese treat) inspire a cocktail made with tequila, lychee, and hibiscus. The Banana Depot is a milk punch inspired by banana pudding that pays tribute to the building\u2019s industrial past.<\/p>\n

The restaurant was designed by San Francisco architect Cass Calder Smith who drew inspiration from the surrounding water. The space features elements like teak wood, lush landscaping, and sliding glass doors that open directly onto a large waterfront terrace. The main dining room is joined by a bar, lounge, and private dining room.<\/p>\n

Related:Fish Shop in Washington, D.C., takes sustainability beyond seafood<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted people to immediately feel connected to the water,\u201d Calder Smith said in a statement. \u201cVery few restaurants in San Francisco truly sit on the waterfront in this way. The architecture isn\u2019t about spectacle \u2014 it\u2019s about creating an experience where the building, the landscape, and the dining all feel naturally connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hi Neighbor Hospitality was founded in 2013 and has additional concepts including the Vault Steakhouse, Trestle, and Mama Oakland.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve grown, we\u2019ve never wanted to simply open more restaurants,\u201d said CEO and partner Ryan Cole. \u201cWe\u2019ve wanted to create places that genuinely belong to San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sergeant Ma reflects everything the group has learned about hospitality over the past 13 years, which is that the best restaurants are welcoming, memorable, and connected to the communities they serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis restaurant represents both where our company is today and where San Francisco is heading,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sergeant Ma opens September 9 in San Francisco\u2019s China Basin neighborhood, blending California cuisine with Asian flavors, techniques,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-452417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}