Meet three SF chefs proudly repping the API community in the Bay Area

Credit: OpenTable
An image collage of the San Francisco chefs Heena Patel, Matt Ho, and Alex Hong

With Asian Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month just around the corner, it’s a great time to look at some of the most exciting API chefs working around the country right now. In November, OpenTable partnered with Gold House—an organization dedicated to amplifying API voices—to spotlight these chefs with the first-ever Gold Chef Prize.

Nine semifinalists made the cut from New York, LA, and SF, before that list was whittled down to a finalist from each city and a winner—Katianna Hong of LA’s acclaimed Yangban—who will now cook for the coveted A100 gathering of API leaders in May.

But before we get to the dinner, let’s spend some time with the semifinalists and the finalist right here in SF.

A Gujarati chef known for her colorful vegetarian dishes, a second-generation immigrant reimagining his family’s Vietnamese restaurant, and a fine-dining chef harvesting his own rooftop herbs—these three chefs help nurture the thriving Asian dining scene in the Bay.

Read on to learn about their favorite dishes, who inspires them, their dream dinner party line-up, and more.

Finalist: Heena Patel, chef and co-owner, Besharam (Dogpatch)

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Besharam’s Heena Patel is recreating the food she grew up eating in Western India | Credit: Besharam

Besharam means “shameless,” in Urdu, and that’s because Patel cooks on her own terms. She opened the restaurant in 2018, nabbed Eater SF’s coveted Restaurant of the Year, and went fully vegetarian in 2021 as part of a deeper commitment to her Gujarati roots. Today the colorful menu is a tour of her childhood memories of Western India that’s grounded in her immigrant experience in California. 

What dish on your menu do you have a soft spot for and why? 

Heena Patel: The whole menu is so autobiographical for me—each dish has a story. If I had to pick one, I would say dhokli. It’s a comforting soup with coconut broth, yuba tofu sheets, and seasonal vegetables, like kabocha squash. I love the fragrance, texture, and taste. I’m immediately transported back to India, but my version also reminds me of my home in San Francisco.

What do you want your legacy to be?

That question feels like I’m getting so old now! Mentorship was such a critical part of my own journey. I want to do something similar, starting with providing opportunities to my team members. As a woman of immigrant origin and at my age, I feel like I had to work hard to get a place, be seen, and be respected. I want to leave behind more opportunities for my fellow immigrants who look and sound like me. 

What are your three favorite Asian restaurants in your city right now?

On my day off, I like to eat something other than Indian food. I love going to Nari and Kin Khao, because I like how chef Pim Techamuanvivit stays true to herself. I can taste her culture and origin through her food. I enjoy going to Lion Dance Cafe. Partners C-Y Chia and Shane Stanbridge cook together and their food has so much flavor.

Matt Ho, chef and owner, Bodega SF (Tenderloin) 

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Matt Ho returned to open a restaurant in the same neighborhood as his family did successfully for 14 years | Credit: Bodega SF

Ho grew up in his family’s Tenderloin Vietnamese restaurant Bodega Bistro, which was a neighborhood staple for 14 years. When it came time to open his own restaurant, returning to the neighborhood felt like a natural fit. Bodega SF, an upscale take on his family’s casual spot, has been dazzling San Franciscans since its debut in 2022 thanks to Ho’s modern takes on Vietnamese dishes. It rightfully earned Eater SF’s Restaurant of the Year.

Who in the industry inspires you and why?

Matt Ho: The Asian chefs who make it feel attainable—to see someone who looks like me. Recently, I was inspired by chef Justin Pichetrungsi from Anajak Thai and his story of taking over his family restaurant and going all in. What he’s doing just looks really fun with Thai Taco Tuesdays or even the wine list. I’m hearing from people in LA saying their parents used to go to the restaurant, and now it’s a new feel. 

What do you want your legacy to be?

I want to add Vietnamese food into that conversation of being able to go out to a nice restaurant, not having to be cheap, or bad service, or it’s only a mom-and-pop. The cuisine has a lot to showcase, and I want it to have its own place in the world of food.

Who is in your dream dinner party lineup?

You’ve got to put Anthony Bourdain up there. He would be cool. I love eating with my dad. That guy’s funny, he’s a critic of everything. And maybe Steph Curry. He goes to Nobu all the time, but I’ve never seen him eat other Asian food. That would be cool, if he were to come in and try Vietnamese food. 

Alex Hong, chef and owner, Sorrel (Presidio Heights) 

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Thanks to chef Alex Hong, Sorrel feels like a chill neighborhood spot while still doing fine dining. | Credit: Sorrel

Sorrel may have opened without a lot of fanfare in 2018, but it has solidly stayed one of SF’s buzziest restaurants after it snagged a MICHELIN star in 2019—and has held on to it since. That’s because chef Hong deftly balances his desire of Sorrel being a chill neighborhood spot with his culinary chops of having cooked at fine-dining spots like Jean-Georges in NYC and Quince in SF. Hong always pays close attention to the smallest details, right down to the micro herbs on each plate, and that’s why San Franciscans keep going back. 

What dish on your menu do you have a soft spot for and why? 

Alex Hong: On the menu since day one, our oyster and sorrel dish echoes the name of the restaurant, and it’s super refreshing as a first bite. Our crispy duck breast is a staple that people constantly come back for. And a new dish, which is super tasty, is called a buñuelo. It’s stuffed with duck mousse, black garlic, fresh cheese, and a whole bunch of herbs and flowers that we grow upstairs on the roof. 

What are your three favorite Asian restaurants in your city right now?

Z & Y is my favorite Asian restaurant. It’s delicious. Kevin’s Noodle House is amazing. And what David Yoshimura at Nisei is doing is awesome. He’s a friend of mine from a similar background and age group, and he’s cooking some really good Asian food right now. 

Who is in your dream dinner party lineup?

Easy short answer—my best friends and family. Who I would want to impress? That would be some big-time celebrity chefs like Jordi Roca. I think he’s doing some insane stuff. I would love to sit down and pick his brain as well as the other two brothers of El Celler de Can Roca. 

These conversations have been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Becky Duffett is a food writer living and eating in San Francisco. She was the deputy editor at Eater SF and has written for The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appétit, among other places. Follow her on Instagram at @beckyduffett.

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