SF restaurateurs say Michelin Guide nods mean 'everything to us'

Three San Francisco restaurants are among the 13 eateries joining the Michelin Guide California this month.

Inspectors for the Michelin Guide announced Wednesday that Azalina’s, Hed 11 and Tiya represented The City in the tire company’s directory of the state’s best restaurants . Owners of all three restaurants told The Examiner their inclusion in the guide gave them tremendous senses of accomplishment and pride in their journeys sharing cuisine that shaped their lives with San Franciscans.

Azalina’s inclusion comes almost one year after chef Azalina Eusope and Tim Benson — her co-owner and partner — first opened their restaurant’s doors in the Tenderloin. The restaurant features a rotating seasonal prix fixe menu with dishes that highlight Malaysian street food and Eusope’s Mamak people, an ethnic group with origins in India.

Eusope told The Examiner that she is “truly humbled, for sure, with this recognition.” Earlier this year, she was named a semifinalist by the James Beard Foundation for its award recognizing the top California chef.

“The goal has always been shining lights to my Mamak community and unknown dishes from Malaysia,” Eusope said.

Inspectors likened her space to “a tropical hideaway ensconced in the rough-and-tumble Tenderloin,” whose inclusion in the media is usually dominated by issues of crime, homelessness and drug addiction. Those circumstances were part of the reason Eusope said she came to the neighborhood determined to show the small businesses and immigrants that captivated her.

“After moving to Tenderloin, I wanted to amplify and share the positive narrative this neighborhood have to offer,” she said.

Hed 11, whose number stands for the restaurant’s 11-course seasonal tasting menu, opened two months ago in Japantown’s Kimpton Hotel Enso. The endeavor came from the minds of chef Piriya “Saint” Boonprasan and Naruephon “Billie” Wannajaro, the founder and owner who also opened Hed Very Thai in Chinatown last year.

Wannajaro described his team as a “group of new-generation restaurateurs,” as most of the staff is under the age of 30. They all moved from Thailand in 2023 “to pursue our dream in America,” he added.

“This recognition is beyond our expectations,” Wannajaro said. “Our goal is to represent our food, culture and a new perspective on Thai cuisine to the people of San Francisco.”

Rather than prepare popular Thai street with which local patrons might already be familiar, Hed 11 serves dishes enjoyed in Thailand The menu, which changes every three months, is being turned over in celebration of the Michelin Guide addition. Wannajaro said that through September, guests can enjoy a southern Thailand food experience, which consists of 80% seafood.

“This achievement means everything to us, validating our efforts and motivating us to keep improving,” he told The Examiner.

Tiya, an Indian restaurant that combines a curated menu with a selection of cocktails, opened two months ago in the Marinat. The restaurant is the first solo collaboration between chefs and brothers Sujan and Pujan Sakar .

Pujan Sakar told The Examiner that Tiya’s staff aims to help guests experience Indian cuisine’s vibrant flavors through the restaurant’s tasting menu that includes dishes such as gunpowder seabass — baby courgettes and alleppey curry served alongside bay shrimp. Tiya’s cocktail program includes beverages named after and inspired by San Francisco neighborhoods .

“It is absolutely enthralling,” Pujan Sakar said of Tiya’s appearance on the Michelin Guide California. “A complete sense of accomplishment is what we feel being noticed by an elite panel.”

“We set certain goals when we tread the path of being a restaurateur,” he added, noting that most of the them revolve around customer loyalty and product branding. “In the back of our minds, we always want that Michelin crown — we just don’t talk about it. Hence, hearing that we were recognized brought us unparalleled joy.”

He ended by saying the inclusion “means everything to us and what we want to stand for.”