SF Restaurants With Grand Lunar New Year Specials

By: Kyrie Sismaet By: Kyrie Sismaet | January 17, 2023 | Food & Drink, Parties, Feature, Restaurants, Wine and Spirits, City Life, Architecture, Culture, Neighborhoods, Events, Holiday, Community, List - Restaurants,

With Lunar New Year falling on January 23 this year, this celebration of the Year of the Rabbit is a delightful time to bond with family and friends over a culturally authentic and elegantly special meal.

Several premier restaurants in San Francisco are definitely gearing up for the auspicious festivities, and we have rounded up a list of a few of the most exclusive and can't-miss offerings, replete with comforting cooking, lavish atmospheres, and plenty of good fortune.

La Mar

Pier 1 1/2 / (415) 397-8880 / Website

An endless waterfront view, astoundingly fresh seafood, and a kind, convivial atmosphere- what more could La Mar offer? The stunning answer is an exclusive Year of the Rabbit dinner from January 20 to the 24th that carefully marries Peruvian and Chinese flavors, paired perfectly with an energetic traditional lion dance performance on January 22 at 6 and 8pm. Such highly-coveted offerings will include Cebiche Chifa, dungeness crab Chupe Shumai, grilled Colorado lamb chop, and more, all within the vibrantly decorated interior filled with authentic red lanterns of this sunny seaside oasis.

E&O Kitchen and Bar

314 Sutter St / (415) 693-0303 / Website

E&O is a gorgeous cultural escape from the bustle of downtown and become properly reinvigorated with cutting-edge modern Asian cuisine before you continue on your shopping extravaganza. From January 24th to February 4th, their palatial oasis will get even more magical with their charming Prosperity Salad, Long Life Noodles, Pork and Kimchi Potstickers, and Steamed Fish Fillet, all to properly kick off your Lunar New Year with the right positive vibes. During the actual Chinese New Year Parade, be sure to catch their own lion dancers at 7:30pm energizing their already-radiant space.

Z&Y

655 Jackson St / (415) 981-8988 / Website

For those who enjoy ramping up the spice, Z&Y's Bib Gourmand Michelin-winning Szechuan fare is waiting for you. Located in the heart of Chinatown, this cozy cove consistently has lines out their door all to get a sweltering taste of all their authentic offerings and more. Come into the Lunar New Year hot with their Chicken with Explosive Chili Pepper, Whole Fish with Bean Chili and Side Noodles, as well as their milder Creamy Prawns with Honey Walnuts, and hearty Black Pepper Angus Beef Cube. Globally known for being an inimitable stop for many international dignitaries, dining at this not-so-hidden-gem will definitely make you also feel like royalty.

Living Room Bar At W San Francisco

181 Third St / (415) 817-7836 / Website

Have your hotel and luxuriously dine at it, too! W San Francisco in optimal proximity to the SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Gardens, and downtown's shopping district is the ultimate opulent stay, especially with their vibrant Lunar New Year festivities. These cultural immersions include a pop-up menu by W San Francisco's executive chef Dawn Taylor-Cole and James Beard Award-winning chef Martin Yan filled with Chili-Glazed Duck Breast, Black Tea Braised Short Rib, Flourless Chinese 5 Spice Chocolate Cake with Ginger Ice Cream, and more available from January 17 to 31 at their Living Room Bar, as well as a traditional Dragon Dance Performance from 5:30 - 7:30pm on January 20. Their complimentary fortune cookies and origami rabbits also make for the cutest souvenirs at this artistic hub.

Bodega SF

138 Mason St / (415) 212-8929 / Website

Bodega is a radiant community favorite just off of Union Square that sophisticates comforting Vietnamese favorites within a classy and intimate lounge-style interior. For a homestyle Vietnamese take on Lunar New Year, be sure to quickly make reservations to step into this ebullient downtown escape and indulge in their $108/person eight-course tasting menu exclusively available from January 20-22.

Empress by Boon

838 Grant Ave / (415) 757-0728 / Website

From January 23 to 27, be sure to experience Empress by Boon's extraordinarily-exclusive eight-course prix-fixe $168/person meal. This is a jam-packed feast that will truly commemorate the Lunar New Year in the most sumptuously flavorful gastronomic ways possible, as evident in their scallop caviar egg roll, Live Boston Lobster with sweet chili sauce, Crab Roe Xiao Long Bao, and Morel Mushrooms Bean Curd Box, just to name a delectable few! Be sure to leave room for their famous Egg Tart, which adds another level of elevated comfort at this highly intimate and picturesque hotspot.

St. Regis Bar

125 3rd St / (415) 284-4000 / Website

A heartwarming and elegant custom of Chinese culture is the historic appreciation of tea, which The St. Regis is honoring in authentic style with their highly-curated Art of Tea- an afternoon service conceptualized by London-based design firm Blacksheep that precisely features customized tea blends with additional chic dim sum snacks. Such quality herbs are sourced from luxury tea blender TEALEAVES, which during Lunar New Year from January 19 to February 5 will offer limited-edition Pu-Erh Tou Cha, Imperial Dragonwell, Organic Jasmine Pearl, and Iron Goddess of Mercy libations.

Available at $105 Thursday to Sunday from 2-4pm, this is a remarkably edifying and reverent experience sure to illuminate, hydrate, and nourish you with their perfectly bite-sized snacks of Shrimp Har Gow, Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Dan Tat Crème Brûlée Tart, Matcha Crème Roll, and so much more.

China Live

644 Broadway / (415) 788-8188 / Website

China Live is a remarkably curated bazaar that makes for both a bespoke shopping center and a lavish dining destination in Chinatown. For Lunar New Year sample their precise refinement in their many offerings of a pork and chive Niangao New Year’s Cake, Chinese 'Rarebit,' Whole Dungeness Crab, and so much more, for pick-up delivery, and outdoor dining. Each order also receives fun complimentary gold coin chocolates to ensure sweet prosperity. Your New Year at this family-favorite, along with their even more upscale Eight Tables by George Chen upstairs, is sure to be golden.

Bonus:

Trade Routes

1750 Polk St / (415) 319-8880 / Website

Need a place to wash down all of these resplendent dishes? Our choice for refreshing Year of the Rabbit-themed cocktails in a vivid wonderland of decorations is the impressive and locally-beloved Trade Routes of previous Tinsel Time fame. From January 18 to February 12, this playfully versatile space will once again magically transform, this time beautifully evolving into their inaugural "New Moon Lunar New Year Celebration" with a grand 23' hanging dragon, coruscating lanterns, red envelopes, and five culturally-inspired libations.

Celebrating co-owners Chen-Chen Huo and Jay Ryoo's respective Chinese and Korean heritages, their Instagrammably thirst-quenching cococtions include the family-honoring Babamama with lychee, the mezcal and soju-forward Seeds of Serenity, and The Ambassadors with oolong and baiju specially sourced from Huo's home province.

Kokak Chocolates

3901 18th St / (415) 757-0409 / Website

Lastly, while not a restaurant, Kokak Chocolates is the perfect after-meal sweet treat that makes for an irresistibly cute gift for loved ones (or simply for yourself!). This queer, Filipino-owned artisanal Castro delight is a trusted community shop for chocolates specifically handmade for all of the holidays, and for Lunar New Year their Prosperity Collection is just as generous as red envelopes, filled with a curated nine-piece collection of Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Mandarin Orange Dark Chocolate Truffles, and more. This elegant and whimsical box is perfect for bringing along to all of the Lunar New Year festivities for a luscious pick-me-up.

These restaurants are sure to set your new year right and keep you filled for all of the lively city parades and community events!

Photography by: Courtesy of Angela Roma/Pexels

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