Upper Polk's New Places Are Landing at Two Corners. Green Street Went First.

At the corner of Van Ness and Green, the storefront that was Ho's Bootleg Bar & Kitchen before the pandemic now serves Hugo spritzes after 4 p.m. One block east, at 2360 Polk, the same street number sits on a counter that hands out handrolls in folded pink paper bags. Walk south a few blocks to Broadway and there's a bakery under construction across the street from Bi-Rite. Next to it, a martini bar is getting ready behind a takeout window that faces Broadway.

This fall's openings on upper Polk aren't spread evenly along the street. They're bunching at two corners, Green and Broadway. The Green Street pair is open now. The Broadway pair is expected in late November, close to a grocery that has anchored that block for more than two years. For anyone living in the north Van Ness towers, the result is two new short walks, each with a daytime stop and an evening stop.

Key Findings

• Two corners, not a strip. This fall's upper Polk openings cluster at Green and Broadway, about three blocks apart, rather than spreading along the street.
• Green Street is open now. Handroll Hawker (2360 Polk St.) and Torino Bar Aperitivo (2360 Van Ness Ave. at Green) are both serving.
• They split the day. Handroll Hawker runs 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily; Torino is an evening aperitivo bar, open from 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
• Broadway is next, expected late November. Lorella (2139 Polk St.) and Jupiter Room (2065 Polk St.) are set to open near Bi-Rite Market.
• Why it matters nearby. Whether a north Van Ness building sits closer to Green or to Broadway changes the everyday walk, and a corner that adds a bakery and a cocktail room is usually a corner on the way up.

The Green Street pair, open now

Handroll Hawker, 2360 Polk St. Romi Trower opened Handroll Hawker on September 29, and 7x7 reported that the menu comes straight from the Australian handroll shops she knew back home. The rolls are about 3.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. They come whole instead of sliced, wrapped tight with a crunchy strip of cucumber, and the rice is seasoned with aged red vinegar. There are nine styles. 7x7 reported that two Australian staples, cooked tuna and crispy chicken with aioli and lettuce, have been the most popular. The spicy tuna is made the Aussie way, with a whole piece of fish and a thin layer of housemade spicy yuzu mayo in place of chopped tuna. Eater SF's preview also lists shrimp tempura, salmon and avocado, and vegetarian rolls. It's open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The cooked tuna roll is the one to start with. Trower told 7x7 that it is "the staple in Australia, the top roll," and that even her picky son loves it.

Torino Bar Aperitivo, 2360 Van Ness Ave. Tablehopper reported that Torino comes from Sean Halpin, who was a partner in Key Klub, worked at Cellarmaker and brewed at Social Kitchen and Brewery. Because of the Key Klub connection, the newsletter expects natural wines on the list. The Infatuation calls it an aperitivo bar with plenty of wine, Aperol and Hugo spritzes, and classic cocktails.

These two places split the day almost exactly. Handroll Hawker closes at 7:30 p.m. Torino opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. So from mid-afternoon until early evening, both are open within a block of each other. Here's the week at the Green Street corner:

On Sunday and Monday, the handroll counter is the only one of the two that's open.

The handroll idea also reaches a little west. According to Eater SF, Kaiyō Handroll Bar opened September 11 at 1838 Union St. in Cow Hollow. It's a sit-down Nikkei spot that pairs handrolls with ceviche, lomo saltado and a cocktail program. The two restaurants are a few blocks apart and opened eighteen days apart. Kaiyō is a place to sit down, and Handroll Hawker is a grab-and-go counter.

The Broadway pair, expected late November

The Broadway end started earlier. Eater SF reported that Bi-Rite Market opened at 2140 Polk St. on August 29, 2024. It's the company's third and largest store, at 4,000 square feet, with local produce, pantry goods, grab-and-go food, made-to-order sandwiches and a full-service fish counter. It doesn't have a dedicated butcher counter. This stretch of Polk is also home to Juniper, which The San Francisco Standard credits with some of the city's best croissants. The two new projects near Broadway are moving in next to both.

Lorella, 2139 Polk St. Lorella sits directly across the street from Bi-Rite. It's the first storefront from chef-owner Melissa Perello and pastry chef Melissa Loar, and it grew out of their Satur-bakes pop-ups. When the Standard first reported the project in July, it was slated to open before the holidays. The paper's November roundup now expects it in late November. That roundup previews the menu: country levain, savory tomato-basil croissants, and masa milk buns filled with elote-style street corn. Later on, the owners hope to add ice cream, whole cakes and a rotating pizza bianca. One example is topped with Zuckerman potatoes, caramelized leeks, housemade crème fraîche and rosemary. The second floor will have a play space for kids. Lorella's own site describes seasonal pastries, craft coffee, breads and a gathering space.

Jupiter Room, 2065 Polk St. Jupiter Room takes over the former Lord Stanley space. It marks a San Francisco return for chef-owner Peter Hemsley and bar director Trevin Hutchins of the acclaimed seafood restaurant Aphotic. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Deirdre Balao Rieutort-Louis will be head chef and pastry chef. The Chronicle named her Best Pastry Chef in its Top 100 Restaurants, and she plans elaborate, nostalgic riffs on 1950s bar food and desserts, including a reimagined pineapple upside-down cake. Martinis will lead the cocktail list, along with riffs on classic drinks and non-alcoholic options. Food will also be sold through a takeout window facing Broadway. The Chronicle's October update projects a late-November opening. The restaurant's site lists pop-ups, takeout and late-night service among its plans.

Put together, the Broadway corner pairs a morning stop with a late-night one. Lorella is planned around bread, pastry and coffee. Jupiter Room is planned around martinis, dessert and late hours. Bi-Rite sits between them and covers groceries for the rest of the day.

Three blocks, two directions

From a north Van Ness building, the two corners make different walks. Going south takes you to Broadway, where the market, Juniper and the two new projects are close together on Polk. Going north takes you to Green, where the open pair sits on parallel blocks and shares an address number. Here's one way to cover both in a day once all four are running:

1. Morning at Broadway. Lorella for levain and a tomato-basil croissant, then across Polk to Bi-Rite for anything the bakery doesn't sell.
2. Lunch at Green. A cooked tuna or crispy chicken roll from Handroll Hawker, which opens at 11:30 a.m. every day, eaten on the walk.
3. Early evening at Green. Torino from 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for a spritz before dinner.
4. Late at Broadway. Jupiter Room's martini list, or a stop at the window facing Broadway.

Steps two and three are already available, both open since the fall. The Green Street corner is open with set hours, and the Broadway corner is waiting for its late-November openings next to the businesses that have held that block since 2024.

What This Means If You Own or Are Buying Nearby

These corners sit at the north end of the Van Ness / Civic Center corridor, where Polk Gulch runs up into Russian Hill, and for the condos nearby the change is less about any single menu than about how the blocks are trending. Whether a north Van Ness building is a five-minute walk from Green or from Broadway changes how an address lives day to day.

For buyers, I'd treat the half-finished corner as leverage, not a dealbreaker. A unit a short walk from Green already has two everyday spots open; the Broadway corner is only a few weeks behind. Tour at the hours you'd actually use the block, and price the gap honestly, because you're buying the finished version at today's number. My guide to buying a condo in the Van Ness / Civic Center corridor covers the buildings themselves.

For sellers within a few blocks, the opening calendar is a timing tool. Listing once Handroll Hawker and Torino are established, with Lorella and Jupiter Room clearly on the way, lets buyers picture the corridor filling in rather than a street mid-churn. My selling guide for the Van Ness / Civic Center corridor walks through how the numbers read right now.

From experience: new restaurants move buyer sentiment faster than almost any feature inside a unit, and they move it before the reviews land. A buyer who walked a block last year and shrugged will walk the same block this year, pass three new storefronts, and start calling it the up-and-coming part of Polk. The buildings didn't change. The corner did.

For the rest of the street, see my earlier field guide to what's new on Polk Street.

Work With Sean Mamola

Wondering how a wave of new openings on upper Polk changes the value or timing of a home near Green or Broadway? Sean Mamola is a Global Luxury Specialist with Compass and a Bay Area native with 17+ years of experience, from entry-level condos to an $8.7M South Beach penthouse. He can walk you through which buildings sit closest to each corner, and what that is worth in a comp.

Schedule a consultation or call (415) 704-3640.