a Mano in San Francisco has been hopping since it opened back in 2017, quickly earning a reputation for fresh handmade pasta at affordable prices. Today it still boasts some of the best sidewalk seats in the heart of Hayes Valley. And now the restaurant’s pasta is leveling up even more thanks to the return of an SF pasta maestro.
Chef Freedom Rains was the opening sous chef at Flour + Water, and most recently the opening chef at La Connessa within Bacchus Management Group (Spruce, Village Pub), but Back Of The House group (the team behind a Mano and other local favorites like Corzetti and Tailor’s Son) has always felt like home. Rains was the opening chef at a Mano, and now he’s back as chef and partner.
“I really love Hayes Valley,” Rains says. “It’s such a fun neighborhood, and it’s nice to be so central to all of the theaters in this bustling neighborhood.”
Read on for what to expect now that Reins is back at the helm at a Mano, and secure your spot on OpenTable.
For the first time, you can snag a reservation
That’s right, no more messing around with waitlists. When Rains returned in January, his first request was to finally offer reservations. “We’re all grown up now,” he says. “Let’s do this.” Now you don’t have to wait around, which is especially convenient if you’ve got tickets to the ballet, opera, symphony, or jazz.
Expect a whole new menu
Rains refreshed the menu at the end of February and his current favorites include bucatini in spicy diavola sauce with crushed chiles and ruffled ribbons of mafaldine in creamy ricotta with heirloom broccoli (think lasagna vibes but lighter and looser).
Build on your meal with options like the pizza bianca with marinated artichokes and sweet leeks, an anchovy-forward kale Caesar inspired by the salad at sister spot Beretta, and mains like the chicken leg with crispy potatoes in chicken fat and drizzled with herby salmoriglio sauce. Don’t miss the gianduja sundae flooded with chocolate sauce.
Happy hour is coming in hot
There are even more ways to stop by for drinks now, thanks to a new happy hour menu that runs Monday to Friday from 3 pm to 5 pm. Think $10 negronis and sangiovese along with exciting snacks like $8 Tuscan chicken wings, cacio and pepe fries, and veggies with “Italian ranch.”
Come back for brunch in the summer
Rains plans to bring back brunch this summer. “It’ll be a true brunch menu, not a lunch menu with egg additions,” Rains says. “We’re not taking the lunch menu and adding one frittata.” But he’s not revealing his brunch cravings just yet, so circle back to a Mano in a few months for the exciting additions.
“We’re inviting everyone to come in at all times,” Rains says. “We basically throw a pizza and pasta party twice a day.”
Becky Duffett is a food writer living and eating in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Bon Appétit, EatingWell, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Eater SF, and Edible SF.
