'āina

Hawaiian restaurant · Dogpatch

'āina

Hawaiian restaurant · Dogpatch

900 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Highlights

Refined Hawaiian brunch items plus sake, wine & tropical drinks in cozy, rustic-chic quarters.

900 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107 Get directions

@eater

"What started as a Hawaiian-style brunch pop-up has morphed into one of San Francisco’s most exciting restaurants. The malasadas and Portuguese sausage hash still draw reliable brunch crowds, but the contemporary dishes at dinner — particularly the tasting menu — are particularly impressive. Note: Aina is temporarily closed for personal reasons, and is expected to reopen in February. Stay tuned for updates." - Janelle Bitker

The Best Places to Find Hawai‘i Food in the San Francisco Bay Area - Eater SF

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@eater

"Modern Hawaiian restaurant that may have leveled up to one-star status due to its continued dedication to heritage Hawaiian ingredients and inclusion of a chef’s counter tasting menu." - Ellen Fort

Who Will Win (and Lose) an SF Michelin Star for 2019 - Eater SF

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@eater

"Dogpatch Hawaiian restaurant Aina is getting in on the Caviar delivery action with some bento box versions of favorite dishes from the restaurant. The rollout was yesterday, and options include BBQ Kalbi ribs, Huli Huli BBQ Chicken, and spam musubi." - Caleb Pershan

East Coast Italian Ice Favorite Opens in Alameda - Eater SF

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@eater

"Dogpatch Hawaiian restaurant ‘aina, which began as a brunch pop-up and now serves dinner and even a chef’s counter tasting menu, is getting into lunch service. From Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., their homemade spam musubi and some lunch-only dishes are now available." - Caleb Pershan

One of SF’s Most Popular Falafel Shops Opens Second Location - Eater SF

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@eater

"Rounding out his 2017, Bauer returned to ‘Aina in the Dogpatch to give it a proper review. The critic last checked in when chef-owner Jordan Keao added dinner service, but now that the restaurant has added counter seats for chef Chris Yang’s $60, six-seven course tasting menu, the budget-minded Bauer is over the moon. Yang uses Hawaiian ingredients with California products to create “complex and multilayered” presentations like tea-smoked duck and pipikaula made from Wagyu short ribs smoked over imported kiawe wood. Poi, the traditional Hawaiian dish made of pounded taro root, “usually has the charm of wallpaper paste,” Bauer says, but Yang’s hand-pounded version — served with a slice of pork belly and smoked coconut foam — “comes out loose and silken.” But the tasting menu “is only one reason to visit,” Bauer notes, because the “aloha spirit” carries over to the rest of the restaurant as well. The french toast, made from bread flown in from the Big Island, immediately “shows why the restaurant has captured a coveted place in the burgeoning brunch market.” But the “stylized” a la carte items like tuna poke and a Portuguese cassoulet show the same care and effort as the tasting menu. Throw in some “surprisingly sophisticated” desserts and ‘Aina has earned three stars." - Andrew Dalton

‘Aina Ended 2017 With Three Bauer Stars - Eater SF

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Rachel Way

Google

Good and solid flavors yet average service and $$ - I understand the meat is locally sourced and the spam made fresh but a 3x1.5in of pork belly with some rice and eggs on the side for 20$ is a bit much. I appreciate the quality but find it out of my budget to go again. Be ready to spend ~40$/person to feel filled. And coffee is 5$ in a small cup with no offered refill. The spam was Delicious.

Max Stanton

Google

'āina had been on my list for some time, so when I saw a last minute reservation available for the chef's counter tasting menu, we jumped on it. Overall, we had a blast and the food was great (almost everything), and this is definitely one of the best values in the city for a paired tasting menu. Make sure you get the drink pairing, it's a healthy portion and there are some creative matches. Chef has a great time explaining dishes, there's a lot of interactions and laughing, and there's a great buzz of energy in the restaurant. Our only complaint was that my girlfriend's main pork dish was undercooked and a strange cut of the pig. However, mine was perfect, and had she said something, I'm sure 'āina would have been happy to replace the dish. I would make sure to try it, and brunch looks good too!

X L.

Google

Love this restaurant! I went there last Sunday and did not wait long. (But the line was very long when I left) I had the pork belly, which is really good. It seems a bit fat and scary but the crispy outer layer was soooo good. I actually finished the whole plate eventually because it tasted so good.

Y Cyw

Google

I loved everything that I ordered, the place get full very fast after opening. Very friendly service, they explained about each dish you order. The desert was the best! I can't recommend enough about this place!

Kenji Muramoto

Google

So......the prices are a bit high, but I say that because I'm from Hawaii so it's hard to digest the Bay Area prices for food. With that being said, this place is definitely worth checking out. The Pork Belly was superb and the homemade spam was pretty legit. The malasadas w/guava were amazing too.

Rina Park

Google

I loved this place so much! From it's cute environment to the friendly staff and amazing food... I cannot say anything bad about it! They wrote me a handwritten birthday letter and gave me a candle with my malasadas 💕 We got the spam musubi. It was small but SOGOOD!! Not typical at all, as it was like a Ssam (wrap) thing. We also got the guava malasadas! So good as well! A little messy but delicious nonetheless. I liked how it wasn't super sweet at all and wasn't as tangy as most guava things. The kalbi short ribs dish and the sausage hash were both amazing, filling, flavorful, etc. I would definitely come back! Again and again :)

Marta

Google

Just discovered this place and we loved it! The food is absolutely amazing, the best thing that you can do here is sharing plates and try a few different things. My recommendation is the octopus luau, the poke, saimin and mochi dessert. Fast service, cozy place too.

Sophia Yuen

Google

TBH, there’s not too much to do around this area and if Aina wasn’t conveniently located near the Caltrain, I probably wouldn’t have stopped by, but even if you don’t have easy access to the Caltrian, you should come check out this place. Expect a wait during weekend brunch. We got there around 10am on a Saturday and the wait was about an hour. We were excited to finally get seated. Aina has a cool, contemporary (okay, hipster) vibe, but the place is really open, simple and clean which I like. We were excited about our order (which is why we decided to come in the first place) and didn’t hesitate to let our server know that we were ready to order once we sat down. We got the spam musubi which is probably my favorite. The spam was so good and tasted like it was house made (which it is). There was a proportionate amount of rice and nori flakes and I liked how it was wrapped in lettuce. We also got the kalbi loco moco which was delicious as well. The rice was good, the eggs were cooked perfectly to my liking and the kalbi was super tender and had a great marinade. We finished our meal with a taro French toast and I’m not normally a taro fan, but this made me change my mind. The toast was super soft and lightly sweetened. I loved the toppings of bacon, macadamia nuts and strawberries and especially the whipped cream as I’m a huge fan of really good vanilla. Overall, it was a delicious and beautifully presented meal. Do yourself a favor and come try this place one day.