When I was in the Bay Area in February, I had a chance to visit Mister Jiu’s during Chinese New Year – which this year is the Year of the Pig. In celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday, they offered some special items, but I also enjoyed some of their classic famous dishes. If you haven’t heard of Mister Jiu’s, it is a restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown owned by young couple Brandon Jew and Anna Lee. They have put a spin on classic Cantonese but with modern California sensibilities and ingredients (many made in house) for a next generation Chinese American take. Mister Jiu’s was rated the #3 Best New Restaurant in America 2017 by Bon Appetit and is a One Michelin Star restaurant.
Mister Jiu’s takes reservations, but if there are none available on Resy you can try to hope for an empty seat at the bar in the front, which will serve the full menu for walk-ins. We had reservations, but because of some traffic shenanigans (the Richmond-San Rafael bridge was closed in both directions for a while because of falling concrete) we drove directly to Chinatown from the airport instead of dropping off our luggage first. When Mister Jiu’s opened their doors at 5pm, we were early for our reservation so enjoyed a beverage at the bar.
The selection is great – F found a beer he was interested in, and they even offered 1/3 bottle carafes of wine besides the usual by the glass options. I had this cocktail called Year of the Pig with vodka, lotus, almond, white vermouth, passion fruit, egg. Although this cocktail didn’t qualify, other ones on the menu were available in punch bowl size for 3-5 or 6-8 people!
The Mister Jiu’s interior finds a balance between nods to traditional and also clean modernity while feeling warm.
