"After months of serving only coffee and matcha drinks—which are worth a visit on their own—the long-teased dinner service has arrived at Shoji. The Japanese cafe-restaurant hybrid in SoMa has a tight menu of fantastic small plates like knockout uni amaebi donburi (one of our favorite recent dishes), and a fried chicken and egg salad sandwich that we wish was available all day. Thanks to its proximity to downtown offices and BART, Shoji is a convenient all-day option—whether you're mainlining caffeine or winding down with a date after all of your Slack notifications have been silenced. Whether you go during the day or at dinnertime, we suggest getting a reservation. Walk-ins are accepted for cafe and restaurant hours, but you may end up sharing a booth or having to stand at the bar. The good news is that reservations, particularly before 7pm and after 9pm, are easy to snag just a day in advance." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, lani conway