2023 SF Restaurant Week dining deals expands to 2 weeks

SAN FRANCISCO - Dining deals returned to San Francisco on Friday as the Golden Gate Restaurant Association launched its 2023 Fall Restaurant Week.

"We have 210 restaurants. We're super excited. It's all throughout the city. We have over 40 new restaurants that have never participated before, and we have over 40 restaurants that have Asian cuisine," said Laurie Thomas, restaurateur and Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

Participating businesses, from small neighborhood spots to Michelin star chef restaurants offer special 2-course lunch or 3-course dinner menus at prices ranging from $10 to $90.

What's new this year, is the specials will last two weeks until November 16th to include the APEC summit.

At Cassava in North Beach Friday night new faces filled the spaces at the tables and bar.

"We're still considered new in the neighborhood because it's only been a year and a little bit. So they're like oh, it's our first time, and it's a great opportunity to try, so it's been good," said Yuka Ioroi, co-owner of Cassava.

Good news for many restaurants still struggling to recover from the pandemic years and rising costs..

The Vault Restaurant in the financial district hosted the SF Restaurant Week's opening dinner.

"It's exciting because people get to come out and see what we're actually doing," said Jason Halverson, Chef and Partner of the Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group which includes the Vault.

Chef Srijith Gopinathan, who received two Michelin-stars at Campton Place has since opened a new restaurant Copra in the Fillmore District. He says he is seeing signs of recovery.

"I think it's slowly starting to come out of that. And Copra which I recently opened in San Francisco is a clear testament to that," said Gopinathan.

Restaurant owners are grateful for diners' support and understanding the challenges they have face this year.

"The utilities raised their prices 9% so water, electrical, Recology the garbage folks raised their prices 9%," said Thomas.

"I like to support local businesses and try different foods because I feel like we're very lucky in San Francisco, a lot of different foods and restaurants," said Lizzie Siegle, a San Francisco resident who was out dining with her mother Joanna. 

Find the SF Restaurant schedule here: https://www.sfrestaurantweek.com/