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Lazy Bear

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Coordinates: 37°45′37.4″N 122°25′11″W / 37.760389°N 122.41972°W / 37.760389; -122.41972
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Lazy Bear
Map
Restaurant information
EstablishedSeptember 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)
Owner(s)David Barzelay
Manager(s)Colleen Booth (managing partner)
ChefDavid Barzelay
Food typeModern Californian
Rating2 Michelin stars
Street address3416 19th Street
CitySan Francisco
StateCalifornia
Postal/ZIP Code94110
CountryUnited States
Coordinates37°45′37.4″N 122°25′11″W / 37.760389°N 122.41972°W / 37.760389; -122.41972
Websitelazybearsf.com

Lazy Bear is a dinner restaurant in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, with two Michelin stars. It is owned by chef David Barzelay and managing partner Colleen Booth.[1][2][3] Opened by Barzelay in 2014 as the successor to a series of unlicensed paid dinner parties, until the COVID-19 pandemic it emulated a dinner party, with diners eating communally at two long tables. The cocktail bar True Laurel is affiliated with Lazy Bear, an affiliated French restaurant, JouJou, is planned, and Barzelay has also been a partner in a casual restaurant, The Automat.

History

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In spring 2009, lawyer and food blogger David Barzeley's wife organized an auction in spring 2009 for a dinner for ten people cooked by him and hosted at their San Francisco apartment. The winning bid of $1,500 led him to explore working professionally as a chef after his job ended in the Great Recession. He staged at two restaurants, and then held his first paying dinner party on September 19, 2009. He named the dinner series or restaurant pop-up Lazy Bear, an anagram of his name that his wife had pointed out.[4][5] When the dinners had become semi-monthly and caused complaints from neighbors, he rented time at an events space in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, hosting illegal dinners for 240 guests a week. Lazy Bear opened as a restaurant in the Mission District on September 25, 2014,[4] at which time the "underground restaurant" was operating three times a week and was one of San Francisco's highest-rated dining establishments on Yelp.[5] Lazy Bear was named Eater SF's Restaurant of the Year in November 2014,[6] and was a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant[7][8] and one of 50 nominees for Bon Appétit's 2015 list of the ten best new restaurants in America.[9] It was awarded a Michelin star in 2015[10] and a second star in 2016.[3][11][12][13] Barzelay was named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs in April 2016.[14]

Barzeley was inspired by the Chicago restaurant Alinea and others that offered fine dining in a relatively casual ambience. Diners buy tickets on Tock rather than making reservations; the pop-up restaurant used a lottery system devised by Barzeley, and for the brick and mortar restaurant Barzeley licensed Alinea's ticketing system. Each course was presented by the chefs,[4][5][15] and instead of a menu diners receive a personal copy of a "field guide" decorated with line art and with space for making notes.[16][17][18][19] One of the signature dishes is lamb chops for which Barzelay "drew inspiration from his dad's grilling",[20] and the pop-up was BYOB, with patrons sharing wine with each other.[21] From the start, Lazy Bear has included service charges in its prices, and paid staff unusually well with benefits.[4] In January 2015, Barzelay introduced demand-based prices.[22]

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, diners ate communally, banquet-style, in two sittings at two long tables without white tablecloths. After serving diners in a parklet while indoor dining was prohibited[23] and offering "Camp Commissary" meals to go, Lazy Bear reopened in 2021 with a more conventional table arrangement with individual bookings and staggered dining times.[1][24][25] In July 2024, after a week-long return to the communal dining format, it closed for renovation;[25] when it reopened in October, Barzelay had himself cut the long tables into small tables,[26] and a banquette had been added in the dining room. There are also now tables overlooking the kitchen in the mezzanine, which had originally been the "Bear's Den" lounge, with à la carte service and used for mingling before and after the meal.[1][18][27][28] The decor includes allusions to the restaurant's name, such as Smokey Bear signs and imitation animal trophy heads; the renovation added exposed rock in the entryway to evoke the entrance to a bear cave.[1]

In March 2020, Barzelay announced that Lazy Bear would be entirely vegan for nine days in April, as a promotion for the nonprofit Zero Foodprint and to draw attention to the restaurant's vegan options.[29] In April 2025, the restaurant introduced a bespoke cannabis strain, Lazy Bear Reserve.[30][31]

Reception

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The Michelin Guide describes the Modern California cuisine at Lazy Bear as "sweeping [in] creative scope, drawing on both nostalgia and current culinary trends".[32] In 2015, a reviewer for Bon Appétit wrote that the concept "could ring gimmicky—if the decidedly fine-dining food wasn't so spot on",[16] and the San Francisco Chronicle's longtime restaurant critic, Michael Bauer, compared it to Chez Panisse.[33][34] The restaurant is noted as expensive.[19][27][35] One reviewer "would argue there isn't a restaurant in the Bay Area where that money would be better spent when it comes to fine dining",[19] but another wrote that it was "a lot of fun ... [but] not every dish is as memorable as we'd want for a meal so expensive".[17] The restaurant's popularity crashed booking software when tickets were made available for the first two weeks in the brick and mortar restaurant,[15][36] and in 2017 Lazy Bear was still "booked solid every day"; Barzelay was an early adopter of Pared, software for locating fill-in restaurant staff created by the owner of a Bay Area restaurant chain.[37]

Lazy Bear was in Bauer's 2015 list of the 100 best restaurants in San Francisco,[34] the Chronicle's last pre-pandemic list in 2019,[18] and the list of 88 published in 2020–21,[23] but not in the 2025 list of 100 Bay Area restaurants, which omitted most two-star restaurants in the region.[38][39]

Associated ventures

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In December 2017, Lazy Bear opened an associated cocktail bar, True Laurel (originally to have been called Flowershop),[40] run by the restaurant's head bartender, Nicolas Torres, and with food organized by chef de cuisine Geoff Davis.[41] Torres then became a consultant at Lazy Bear.[42] True Laurel has been listed by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best cocktail bars in the city,[43] and in 2025 was on the annual list of North America's 50 Best Bars.[44]

Matthew Kirk, sous-chef at Lazy Bear, left in 2016 to open a pop-up restaurant, Automat.[45] He and Barzelay opened it in November 2021 as a brick and mortar casual dining restaurant in the Western Addition.[45][46][47] It closed in August 2023.[46][48]

In January 2025, Barzelay and Booth announced plans to open a French restaurant, JouJou, in the Design District.[2][49]

Notable people

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Chef Joe Sasto formerly served as executive sous chef at Lazy Bear.[50]

Maya Erickson, formerly of EQ, was the pastry chef at Lazy Bear from its opening as a restaurant to mid-2016,[15][33][51] and was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle as a culinary rising star.[52]

Jacob Brown, beverage director at Lazy Bear, is a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Award in 2025.[53][54]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d de Guzman, Dianne (November 1, 2024). "Lazy Bear Gets a Cave Makeover Fit for a Michelin-Starred Restaurant". Eater SF. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Kadvany, Elena (January 6, 2025). "What's next for S.F.'s Michelin-starred Lazy Bear? A glamorous French restaurant". San Francisco Chronicle. Also at MSN.
  3. ^ a b "Our Story". Lazy Bear. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Bitker, Janelle (August 13, 2020). "San Francisco's Lazy Bear rose out of a recession. Can it survive coronavirus?". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Kauffman, Jonathan (July 1, 2014) [June 26, 2014]. "Lazy Bear, S.F.'s hottest underground restaurant, to go legit". SFGate. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  6. ^ Dalton, Andrew (November 17, 2014). "Announcing the 2014 Eater Awards for San Francisco". Eater SF. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  7. ^ Carter, Kelly E. (September 9, 2015). "Kitchen Confidential: David Barzelay Is The Energizer Bunny". Haute Living.
  8. ^ Palmer, Tamara (February 18, 2015). "Bay Area Chefs, Restaurants Nominated for James Beard Awards". NBC Bay Area.
  9. ^ "The 50 Nominees for America's Best New Restaurants 2015 (List)". Bon Appétit. August 4, 2015. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015.
  10. ^ Sutton, Ryan (October 20, 2015). "The 2016 San Francisco Michelin Guide's Big Winner Is David Kinch's Manresa". Eater SF.
  11. ^ Fort, Ellen (October 25, 2016). "Lazy Bear Earns Second Michelin Star as Inspectors Take a Chill Pill". Eater SF. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  12. ^ Kauffman, Jonathan (October 26, 2016). "Michelin awards 2017 stars for San Francisco Bay Area restaurants". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  13. ^ "Michelin Awards Coveted Three Stars to Quince in 2017 Edition of Famed San Francisco Restaurant Guide". Michelin North America. October 25, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  14. ^ Tuder, Stefanie (April 4, 2016). "Chefs Ravi Kapur and David Barzelay Named Among Food & Wine's Best New Chefs". Eater SF.
  15. ^ a b c Pape, Allie (September 25, 2014). "Inside Lazy Bear, Now Open in the Mission". Eater SF. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Knowlton, Andrew; Julia Kramer (August 2015). "Lazy Bear". Bon Appétit. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Chen, Julia (July 25, 2023). "Review: Lazy Bear". The Infatuation. Retrieved May 26, 2025. (Earlier review by Taylor Abrams, archived on December 14, 2022.)
  18. ^ a b c Ho, Soleil (June 27, 2019). "Top 100 Restaurants 2019". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c Davis, Chelsea (July 27, 2023). "I ate a $600 meal at SF's 'highly lauded' Lazy Bear. Was it worth it?". SFGate. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  20. ^ Bicchieri, Paolo (August 19, 2024). "The Anatomy of Lazy Bear's Famous Surprise Lamb Chops". Eater SF. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  21. ^ Holland, Mary (June 14, 2019). "Dining Out: 10 Years & Two MICHELIN Stars: Inside Lazy Bear". Michelin Guide.
  22. ^ Pape, Allie (January 12, 2015). "Mission Hotness Lazy Bear Raises Some Ticket Prices, Lowers Others". Eater SF. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Ho, Soleil (January 28, 2021) [September 2020]. "Top 88* Restaurants: Where to eat in the Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle.
  24. ^ Wells, Madeline (March 22, 2021). "'Going to be a rampage': Here's what SF communal dining restaurants might look like post-pandemic". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  25. ^ a b Jones, Justine (June 17, 2024). "As Lazy Bear Prepares for Renovations, It Resurrects Its Famous Dinner Party for One Week". Eater SF.
  26. ^ Wall, Alix (October 31, 2024). "Stars aplenty for owner-chef at S.F.'s Lazy Bear — both Jewish and Michelin". The Jewish News of Northern California.
  27. ^ a b Mullins, Jessica (April 11, 2016). "Slideshow: The most San Francisco restaurants, the 'new classics' edition". SFGate.
  28. ^ Barmann, Jay (November 1, 2024). "This Week In Food: Lazy Bear and Verjus Come Back Alive". SFist. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  29. ^ Bitker, Janelle (March 9, 2020). "San Francisco's Lazy Bear to go all vegan for nine days next month". San Francisco Chronicle.
  30. ^ Saria, Lauren (April 20, 2025). "Michelin-level weed? Two-starred Lazy Bear just blazed its own strain". San Francisco Standard. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  31. ^ Barry, Ben; Peter Davidson (May 2, 2025). "Two Michelin star restaurant partners with cannabis farm for 'bespoke strain'". Daily Record – via Yahoo News UK.
  32. ^ "Lazy Bear, San Francisco". Michelin Guide. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  33. ^ a b Bauer, Michael (January 8, 2015). "Lazy Bear review: A rarefied feast if you can get in the door". Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  34. ^ a b Bauer, Michael (May 20, 2015). "Top 100 Restaurants 2015: Lazy Bear". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  35. ^ McDermid, Riley (October 30, 2017). "How much will foodies pay? The most expensive restaurants in San Francisco 2017". San Francisco Business Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  36. ^ Pape, Allie (September 23, 2014). "Lazy Bear Sells Out First Two Weeks, Crashes Kokonas' Ticketing Site". Eater SF. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  37. ^ Jung, Carolyn (February 28, 2017). "The app that pairs restaurants with on-demand workers". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  38. ^ Barmann, Jay (April 8, 2025). "French Laundry, Saison, Chez Panisse All Snubbed on Chronicle's New Top 100". SFist. Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  39. ^ Cortez, Mario (April 19, 2025). "The restaurants missing from the Top 100 list, according to readers". San Francisco Chronicle.
  40. ^ Mobley, Esther (April 3, 2017). "Inside Flowershop, the upcoming cocktail bar from Lazy Bear". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  41. ^ Mobley, Esther (December 20, 2017). "Lazy Bear cocktail bar True Laurel opens this week". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  42. ^ Bauer, Michael (February 16, 2018). "Lazy Bear team ventures into unknown territory with True Laurel". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  43. ^ Mobley, Esther (August 16, 2023) [September 8, 2021]. "Top Cocktail Bars in San Francisco: The city's 18 best destinations for a well made drink". Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  44. ^ de Guzman, Dianne (April 30, 2025). "Two San Francisco Cocktail Hitmakers Charted on '50 Best' List". Eater SF. Archived from the original on May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  45. ^ a b Bitker, Janelle (September 21, 2021). "Ex-Lazy Bear chef's new family-friendly S.F. restaurant is an ode to carbs".
  46. ^ a b Gerrero, Susana (August 22, 2023). "'Tough to operate': Lazy Bear alum closes SF restaurant Automat". SFGate.
  47. ^ Bitker, Janelle; Elena Kadvany (December 8, 2021). "Ex-Lazy Bear chef's hotly anticipated S.F. restaurant Automat is here. Here are 5 things to try". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  48. ^ Pershan, Caleb (August 22, 2023). "Lazy Bear owner closing casual S.F. sister restaurant". Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  49. ^ Barmann, Jay (January 7, 2025). "Lazy Bear Team to Open Big New French Restaurant In SF's Design District". SFist. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  50. ^ "Meet Chef Joe Sasto". Voyage LA Magazine. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  51. ^ Fort, Ellen (July 26, 2016). "Lazy Bear's Maya Erickson Is on the Move". Eater SF.
  52. ^ Gold, Amanda (March 20, 2015). "Rising Star: Maya Erickson, Lazy Bear". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  53. ^ "The 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Nominees". James Beard Foundation. April 2, 2025.
  54. ^ de Guzman, Dianne (April 2, 2025). "Here Are All of the Bay Area's 2025 James Beard Foundation Award Finalists". Eater SF. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
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