A new Mediterranean restaurant from the owner of Sens, Bon Delire, and Barcha is headed for one of the larger, recently vacated spaces in the Ferry Building.
After several years in which San Francisco’s Ferry Building felt a bit vacant — and, in fact, was, with two of the anchor restaurant spaces once occupied by Slanted Door and Market Bar both empty — things have certainly turned around.
In the last eight months we’ve seen several high-profile openings announced or arriving at the complex, including last week’s opening of Parachute Bakery, and the early summer debut of Nopa Fish. And in the coming months through next year we’ll see the former Slanted Door come alive as Arquet, from the Michelin-starred team behind Sorrel, and the Market Bar space found a taker in Shelley Lindgren of A16 fame, who’ll be opening Lucania sometime in mid- to late 2026.
We only just learned last month that one of the OG businesses at the Ferry Building, that debuted with the first wave of the building’s revitalization circa 2003/4, Boulette’s Larder, had shut its doors. And now we learn via a press release that Sens and Bon Delire restaurateur Kaïs Bouzidi is already expanding once more, and will take over the space to open Mediterrean spot Hayati by next summer.
Bouzidi, who has operated Sens for 18 years at Embarcadero Center, just opened the Parisian-inspired Bon Delire at Pier 3 a little over a year ago, but he says the timing was right to open a new restaurant in the Ferry Building.
“Establishing a presence within the Ferry Building has long been a dream of mine and when the opportunity to take over a historic suite within the property came up at a time that felt right for, our team was eager to pursue it,” Bouzidi said in a statement.
Bon Delire itself could have become a Ferry Building restaurant — Bouzidi tells the Chronicle that he pitched it to the building managers at the Port of San Francisco three years ago. But now it seems they were eager for this new concept when the Boulette’s Larder space became free.
The paella at Sens, courtesy of the restaurant
Hayati, which means “my love” in Arabic, will be similar in its offerings to Barcha and Sens, Bouzidi says, so we may see dishes like lamb meatballs, fattoush, and falafel, alongside pan-Mediterrean fare like Spanish octopus, chicken and ham croquettes, and Persian tahdig. Sens also has a chorizo, shrimp, and chicken paella on its menu, so paella could make its way across the street to Hayati as well.
He says the restaurant will be “chic and vibe-y” like Bon Delire, and he says, “I try to find a sweet spot in between where people feel like they’re having a high-end experience but also fun, casual, high energy, approachable.”
This announcement comes as the Ferry Building’s management has made a concerted effort to attract more businesses that will draw a nighttime clientele to the building. These include Arquet and Lucania, and new evening cocktail offerings from Epicurean Trader — which also has a spritz bar at its Castro location — and Red Bay Coffee.
Related: Modern French Bistro — With DJ Booth — Opens In Former Hard Water Space on Embarcadero
Top image courtesy of Sens