One of the most anticipated and buzzed-about restaurant openings of the year is coming in on schedule. Via Aurelia, from Che Fico partners David Nayfeld and Matt Brewer, will be opening September 30 in Mission Bay.
We first learned of Via Aurelia back in the spring, after hearing in early 2024 that the Che Fico team was planning a large new restaurant in the Mission Rock development. That four-building development has since filled out with outposts of Flour + Water Pizza, Arsicault Bakery, Ike’s Love and Sandwiches, and a still-to-come Quik Dog location. But Via Aurelia remains the largest restaurant in the mix, with 216 seats and 8,000 total square feet in the base of the new Visa headquarters, and views overlooking McCovey Cove and the Bay.
The restaurant is named for an ancient road through Tuscany that connected Rome with Pisa, and Nayfeld said back in April that he envisioned the restaurant as a throwback to the old-world style of fine dining that has been largely erased from American restaurant culture in recent decades.
“I’m trying to give San Francisco a reason to dine [out] again,” Nayfeld told the Chronicle. “We want the country … to stand up and be like, ‘San Francisco is still taking major swings at restaurants.'”
Via Aurelia arrives at a good moment for this, as SF’s dining scene and economy feel like they’re on another upswing after some years of stagnation and contraction. And it will have its public debut on Tuesday, September 30 after months of buzz — becoming the first fine-dining venture from Nayfeld and Brewer, who now have a second Che Fico in Menlo Park, and Che Fico Pizzeria at the Chase Center.
As the Chronicle reports today, the menu will be centered on a classic bistecca alla Fiorentina ($225) — a 30-ounce American Wagyu porterhouse served with a Sangiovese jus and a green salad that will likely serve three or four people.
But Nayfeld is keen on introducing Americans to more aspects of Tuscan cuisine beyond the “small aperture” of this grilled steak and the bread soup known as pappa al pomodoro. He sounds proud of a sformato preparation — here with layers of chanterelle custard, Brentwood corn soup, and Parmigiano fonduta — telling the Chronicle it’s a “high-wire act” of a dish in terms of technique.
Nayfeld plating a tomato dish at Via Aurelia. Photo via Instagram
That finished tomato dish. Photo via Instagram
He foresees wood-roasted game birds and wild boar coming onto the menu this fall, and both lamb and hare in the spring. Several handmade pastas will be on offer, including a tagliatelle verde with duck ragu. And the menu will be rounded out with non-traditional dishes, like a Tuscan-inflected tuna belly tartare dish with pickled seaweed, shaved tuna heart, and Tuscan white tamari.
A five- to seven-course tasting menu ($155) will be available nightly as well, sometimes featuring roasted meats not on the a la carte menu, like squab.
Spongey, Tuscan-style bread (though, unlike the traditional kind, here it is salted) is being made by Amanda Michael of Jane the Bakery, and will be served with olive oil and whipped lardo instead of butter.
Nayfeld plating crudite. Photo via Instagram
The 68-seat main dining room is outfitted with custom touches, like individual speakers in the arch-framed booths with volume controls so parties can adjust the music volume for the evening as they see fit. And the vibe is decidedly Tuscan, with earthtones, dark wood furnishings, and ochre-hued, sandstone-esque walls.
And Nayfeld and Brewer have clearly envisioned a restaurant that is both fancy and bustling. As Nayfeld tells Eater, “Maybe it doesn’t want to be a three-Michelin-star restaurant, this little jewel box, but also maybe it’s not this raucous punk rock kind of thing. It’s refined cuisine, but not pretentious; food that is recognizable as food, someplace that you can go eat every week … but also a place where you come and celebrate your anniversary.”
There is also ample private dining space — at least 100 seats worth in multiple rooms by my count, but the layout isn’t clear and I haven’t had a tour.
The wine list will be heavy on Italy, especially Tuscany, with France and California mixed in — wine director Jason Alexander has reportedly put together 650 bottle selections in all. And cocktails include the Piccolo Pomodoro, a refreshing sounding concoction of white whiskey, tomato water, lovage, cucumber and lemon — as well as a martini made with gin that’s made from Italian olives.
There’s no word for now on the dessert cart Nayfeld had hinted at back in the spring, and we’ll update you if we get a peek at the full menu.
Via Aurelia – 300 Toni Stone Xing (Visa Building), Suite A – Opens September 30 – Reserve here
Previously: Details Revealed About Che Fico’s Mission Rock Expansion Project, Which Will Be Tuscan
Dining and Cooking