Liholiho Yacht Club occupies a brick-walled room on Sutter Street in San Francisco’s Lower Nob Hill, turning chef Ravi Kapur’s Hawaiian upbringing and California training into one of the city’s most-talked-about dinner menus. The restaurant built its reputation on an eclectic, share-plate approach that treats beef tongue bao, steak tartare, and Pacific seafood as equally worthy of the table.
Booths line the exposed-brick walls, and the open kitchen keeps the dining room loud and loose rather than formal. The menu changes seasonally, but expect dishes that fuse Hawaiian plate-lunch instincts with French technique and Cantonese seasoning — think raw fish preparations with citrus and chile, rice dishes built for sharing, and a dessert program that doesn’t play it safe. The cocktail list matches the food’s ambition, favoring bold, slightly tiki-adjacent drinks over straightforward classics. Service is warm but unfussy, matching a crowd that skews toward food-obsessed locals and groups celebrating something.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Reservations go fast on weekends, so book two to three weeks out or try walking in for bar seating on a weeknight. Dinner service starts in the early evening; arriving right at opening is the surest way to avoid a wait. The restaurant sits an easy walk from Union Square and several Nob Hill hotels, with Muni and BART access nearby at Powell Street. Order family-style and let the kitchen’s rotating specials guide the meal — regulars often defer to staff recommendations given how often the menu shifts.
