With just weeks to go until the end of the year, the city’s dining scene shows no signs of slowing down. Several of 2026’s most anticipated restaurants, bars, and bakeries will open in November, just in time to put crusty loaves of sourdough on holiday tables and host celebratory dinners during the most festive of seasons.
After nearly two decades sitting dark, Julius’ Castle is poised to make its grand return. Perched on the side of Telegraph Hill, it has three levels that offer some of the best views in the city — and the food, according to owner Paul Scott, will emulate the farm-to-table ethos made famous by chef Alice Waters. On the beverage side, longtime bartender Jacob Morris will debut his first project as an owner: Stir Crazy, a better-than-average neighborhood watering hole with thoughtfully made classics and a monthly selection of signature drinks.
Here are San Francisco’s most anticipated November debuts.
Lorella
Polk Street is already home to Juniper, maker of some of the city’s best croissants (opens in new tab), and by the end of the month, the neighborhood will gain another destination for delicious carbs: Lorella, a joint venture from chef-owner Melissa Perello and pastry chef Melissa Loar. It’s a brick-and-mortar spinoff of their successful Satur-bakes pop-ups, and fans can expect familiar and new offerings like loaves of country levain, savory tomato-basil croissants, and masa milk buns filled with elote-style street corn. Lorella, across the street from the newest Bi-Rite Market, will have a second floor where kids can play — because both owners have toddlers and understand the value of a child-friendly space. Down the line, they hope to offer ice cream and whole cakes, as well as a rotating selection of pizza biancas; for example, Zuckerman potatoes, caramelized leeks, housemade crème fraîche, and rosemary.
Date and timeOpens in late November Julius’ Castle
Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
There’s an entire generation of San Franciscans who have never set foot inside Julius’ Castle, the three-floored, mahogany-paneled restaurant that opened in 1922 and closed in 2007. This month, they’ll finally have their chance. Paul Scott — an attorney who purchased the building in 2012 and has dealt with floods, permitting issues, and a thorny dispute over the property line — is bringing it back with an eye toward sustainable NorCal cuisine in the mold of Alice Waters. It’s not just farm-to-table, he says, but “garden-to-castle,” adding, “We’re not going to serve wagyu.” Still, a meal at Julius’ will be as much about the view as what’s on the plate. And while this castle has 130 seats, including a third-story “mayor’s table” where Willie Brown recently dined, don’t expect them all to be available with the flick of a switch. To ease into service, Scott and the team are turning on the reservations spigot with care, and would-be patrons are advised to keep an eye on Instagram in the days to come. Your move, Cliff House.
Date and timeOpens Nov. 12Stir Crazy
After years behind the stick at Polk Street’s favorite agave bar, Mezcalito, Jacob Morris is ready to open his debut solo project. Stir Crazy takes over the former Black Magic Voodoo Lounge space, which Morris hopes to revive as a casual neighborhood watering hole. He has restored the light box sign that hangs over the door and given the exterior a sleek black paint job. Expect a large variety of classic and nonalcoholic cocktails made à la minute, plus quarterly rotating specials, shooters, beer, and wine. The vision is to be “efficient, approachable, and playful — ideally exceeding expectations while minimizing unnecessary complexity,” Morris says.
Date and timeOpens in November Scout
Angelo De Lorenzi and Kait Bauman of Scout, Frankies, and Norcina. | Source: Chris Behroozian for The Standard
First, there was Norcina, a cozy spot in the Marina for pizza and pasta. Then Kait Bauman and Angelo De Lorenzi launched Frankie’s, a martini bar with baked oysters and mortadella sandwiches, a few doors down Pierce Street. Now, eight months after Frankie’s debut, the duo are set to open Scout, an upscale, all-day cafe just around the block. The menu isn’t out to reinvent the wheel. (“Pastas are my background, so I can’t not offer them,” Bauman says.) But Scout, whose name is an ode to foraging and a simpler, QR-code-free era of in-person hospitality, will be the most ambitious project in their mini-empire, with a greater emphasis on California than Italy. Bauman and De Lorenzi eyed the space primarily for one feature: its wood-fired oven. That means dishes such as rabbit roulade, ember-roasted pumpkin with zucchini-cashew babaganoush and chile agrodolce, and grilled prawns — perfect for the rainy winter ahead.
Date and timeOpens early to mid-NovemberBare Bones
Source: Courtesy Bare Bones Rotisserie
Source: Courtesy Bare Bones Rotisserie
Few things are as crowd-pleasing as rotisserie chicken, and three restaurant pros who bonded at their kids’ preschool are opening a counter-service restaurant with slow-cooked birds top of mind. The Taraval Street space that was most recently the seafood spot Bearing West is now Bare Bones, whose simple menu is dedicated to the drippings. One standout is certain to be porchetta, which is slathered with achiote paste, packed with herbs, and rolled into pinwheels, then served over apple and shaved fennel — or as a sandwich with tomatoes, Parmesan, arugula, pickled red onions, aji verde, and a balsamic glaze. It’s not all meat; there’s a Caesar salad, cornbread mini muffins with whipped honey butter, and a “not fish and chips” sandwich made with beer-battered cauliflower and served with fries and house tartar sauce. These bones are about to be picked clean.
Date and timeOpens early November
