Red Tavern

"Red Tavern is about as close as you can get to actually eating in Russia without leaving San Francisco, and they recently started doing outdoor dining with reservations made through their site. Located on Clement Street, the restaurant serves a mix of both updated and traditional Russian dishes. We like to come here for borsch, which is especially perfect for any day when you wish it was just five degrees warmer out. Here it’s made with beets, cabbage, and beef, and is topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill, all of which fuses together in the creamiest and most satisfying way possible. For dessert, opt for the napoleon, a layered cake with vanilla cream, or chernosliv, a prune cake with sweet sour cream. If you haven’t figured it out already, sour cream gets added to just about everything around here - and we mean everything." - aida agayeva

"Red Tavern is about as close as you can get to actually eating in Russia without leaving San Francisco, and they recently started doing outdoor dining with reservations made through their site. Located on Clement Street, the restaurant serves a mix of both updated and traditional Russian dishes. We like to come here for borsch, which is especially perfect on the many days when we wish it was just five degrees warmer out. Here it’s made with beets, cabbage, and beef, and is topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill, all of which fuses together in the best way possible. For dessert, opt for the napoleon, a layered cake with vanilla cream, or chernosliv, a prune cake with sweet sour cream. photo credit: Susie Lacocque" - Aida Agayeva

"A restaurant in San Francisco offering a unique large-format dance and eat experience, taken over by Igor Litvak in 2017." - Flora Tsapovsky

"When Igor Litvak’s mother, Irina, died suddenly in 2017, he didn’t know what to do: With her apartment, with her paintings, or with her restaurant, Red Tavern. The business at 2229 Clement Street, one of just a handful to serve traditional Russian food in San Francisco, was her most prized possession." - Caleb Pershan