Shuggie’s
Californian restaurant · Mission ·
Pizzas & bar fare from salvaged produce in maximalist space
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72744274/Shuggie_s_x_ERIN_NG___Green_Room.0.jpg "Shuggie’s by Erin Ng")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70974538/Shuggie_s_x_ERIN_NG___Green_Booth_Diners.0.jpg "Shuggie’s by Erin Ng")
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24976479/Shuggie_s_x_ERIN_NG___Yellow_Squiggly_Table_Takis.jpg "Shuggie’s by Erin Ng")
Pizzas & bar fare from salvaged produce in maximalist space
"Maximalist and food-waste–focused, this San Francisco spot is relaunching as a supper club, shedding most pizzas (and the “Trash Pie and Natural Wine” moniker) to spotlight seasonal small plates and nostalgic dishes built from imperfect produce and off-cuts. Highlights include Fish Stick 2.0—salt cod worked into bacalao fritters with dill panna cotta for dipping and pickled green strawberries; Beef Three, a steak-frites riff with New York steak, beef cheek, and oxtail plus fries; a crumb-crusted wild boar chop; and tuna rib crudo served off the rib frame with citrus, chiles, and herb stem aioli for spooning bites off the bones. Dessert leans theatrical with a tableside, flambeed baked Alaska and the Bon Bon Handy, a chocolate bon bon with peanut mousse served on the back of a hand with edible glitter. Pies aren’t gone entirely: Sundays switch to a pizza-only menu that pairs with live jazz (with jazz also on Tuesdays); “Le Shug’s French Dip Night” lands in the fall, and a prix fixe menu is planned. The vibe remains maximalist but skews “glam Vegas”—the formerly bright-yellow front room now glows orange with a new Abe-painted mural and an orange fountain found on Facebook Marketplace, and the exterior wears black-and-white stripes and checkers. Reopening Friday, August 29, the restaurant operates 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday." - Dianne de Guzman
"Owners Kayla Abe and David Murphy will temporarily close the restaurant on Saturday, August 16 for a light makeover that includes reworking Abe’s murals, painting the front room orange — a change from its current yellow — and adding a large fountain. Launched in 2022 with a mission of sustainability using pizza as a vehicle to use up irregular or surplus produce, the menu is being overhauled after three years; the Chronicle writes that the pizza "started to feel limiting" to Abe and Murphy, and with the temporary closure they’re pulling most of the pies off the menu (the exception is a "pizza-like" cacio e pepe "pillow"). The sustainability mission will remain, but the kitchen will shift toward dishes such as a "schnitzel-esque bone-in boar chop" and "steak frites three ways," that will utilize beef heart or sweetbreads. The spot is expected to reopen in late August." - Dianne de Guzman
"Shuggie’s is a kitschy fever dream complete with green and yellow walls, glitter bars, fringe lamps, and giant, pea-green chairs. Aside from the dining rooms looking like a hallucinogenic rabbit hole we actually want to go down, this Mission wine and pizza spot makes grandma-style pies using blemished or surplus vegetables, off cuts of meat, byproducts, and basically any ingredient that would usually end up in the trash. The results are rectangular pies with surprising topping combinations that always keep things interesting." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong
"Shuggie's in San Francisco is a different kind of modern pizza spot. The monochromatic neon green and yellow rooms look like something your mind would conjure up after drinking too much absinthe, and the furniture resembles human legs, lips, and cupped hands. They’re also unique for their all-in approach to eliminating food waste. A buffalo dish not only has wings, but also crunchy livers, gizzards, and hearts, and the crust on their signature trash pies are made from by-products of cheese and oat milk production. Come here to impress a date that’s excited about their new home composting setup, or as an excuse to really lean into a neon outfit of your choice." - anne cruz
"A San Francisco house-party–style event in the Mission with two ticket tiers: House Party admission ($88) includes passed apps and a cash bar for cocktails, wine, and beer, while a $208 ticket adds drinks all night long; live jazz runs from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., followed by a DJ spinning from 11 p.m. until about 12:30 a.m. Tickets are available via Resy." - Dianne de Guzman
