Drop into the lobby at the Kimpton Alton Hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf and a Filipino and California restaurant unfurls under a huge skylight and tangle of ferns. Welcome to the nationally acclaimed Abacá in San Francisco, which ran as a pop-up for many years before debuting in this stunning home in 2021.
Star chef Francis Ang and his wife and restaurant co-owner Dian Ang have helped create a richer appreciation for Filipino food in the Bay Area. “We’re blessed to be a small mom-and-pop restaurant inside a hotel, where all walks of life get to discover Filipino food,” Ang says. And they’ve earned so many awards and accolades along the way, including Eater SF’s Pop-Up of the Year, a SF Chronicle Rising Star Chef nod, a place on The New York Times’s best restaurants in America list, and multiple James Beard semifinalist nods.
And luckily for us all, there’s more than one way to explore this lush space and creative menu. Come for dinner to try the paubaya tasting menu, where you’re entirely trusting the chef. For an extra special occasion, preorder the full kamayan feast, laid out on banana leaves to be eaten with your hands.
But no matter what, you don’t want to miss the brunch. Ang started as a pastry chef, so you know this is going to be one of the best brunches in town.
Read on for how to have an epic Filipino brunch at Abacá in San Francisco, and snag your seat on OpenTable.
Not sure where to start? Peruse the Sarap sampler
For the indecisive, the Sarap sampler is all about feasting on a variety of small plates. Snack on buttered pandesal (the quintessential bread rolls), a couple of different spreads like lobster aligue (shellfish paste) or curry sauce, oysters topped with calamansi and habanero, a tombo tuna kinilaw that’s like ceviche, and crispy pork lumpia that you can dunk in a pineapple chili sauce.
For something sweet, smash the stuffed French toast
This decadent French toast takes a thick slice of housemade milk bread that’s piped full of cheesecake and deep fries it until it is as crispy as Hong Kong toast. It’s topped with bananas and a generous drizzle of blueberry muscovado syrup.
When in season, catch that Dungeness crab crêpe
Locals know that if you’re taking a trip down to Fisherman’s Wharf, it’s worth keeping an eye open for Dungeness crab. During the season, Ang takes a Filipino-style buckwheat crêpe, usually seen in fresh lumpia, and tops it with crab, along with a poached egg, crispy yuba, and crushed pistachios.
Wake up with steak and eggs, and get the Wagyu steak silog
This luxurious Wagyu steak silog, a take on the classic Filipino breakfast of grilled meat and a sunny egg on top of garlic rice and seared onions, is Ang’s favorite on the menu. Ang tops it all with a toyomansi sauce, whisking together soy sauce, calamansi juice, and a pinch of sugar to balance the savory and sweet flavors.
Swing by the panaderia, and get a box of buns for the road
Abacá has a panaderia or pastry case in the front to order a few pastries for the table or get a box to go. Choose from a trio of ensaymada buns, a super soft brioche topped with coconut caramel and available with passionfruit or cheesecake fillings. Or consider the bibingka rice cake with salted egg and caramelized brie; a milk bun swirled and knotted with ube jam; and buko pie filled with coconut cream and tinted green with pandan, along with other tempting options.
“Bring your family,” Ang says. “It’s a fun family vibe, especially for brunch.” And don’t leave empty handed. He suggests embracing “pasalubong culture,” the tradition of bringing back gifts. “I definitely recommend bringing a pastry box to share with your friends or family.”
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.
