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Liholiho Yacht Club

Reservations are not available for this restaurant on our site

There are no yachts to be found at its current Mission residence, but hordes of locals and enthusiasts remain quite eager to book passage on Liholiho's love boat. Fusing Californian technique with the flavors of Chef/owner Ravi Kapur’s native Hawaii, this earthy, bustling, and airy space is known for strong cocktails, shareable plates, and near-impossible reservations. Walk-ins are welcome, but make sure you arrive in time to beat the crowds. Pivoted around a large, open kitchen, the dining room hums with groups savoring the likes of short rib bao or whole fried fish marinated with coconut and turmeric. If you turn your nose up at Spam try the house-made version. It just might convert you.

Facilities & Services

• Air conditioning
• Wheelchair access

Credit cards accepted

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Liholiho Yacht Club

San Francisco, US

Inspired by his uncle’s 1980s beach parties, chef Ravi Kapur brings together fun vibes and flavours from his Hawaii homeland at Liholiho Yacht Club, even though sail boats don’t actually form part of the vista. Californian seafood leads the menu, with highlights such as tuna poke with nori crackers and yellowtail sashimi. Other tasty bites include scallops with misoyaki pork belly and kimchi fried rice with homemade spam (a Hawaiian favourite). Book the Ohana Table to enjoy a set menu for between eight and 12 guests.

Key Information

• Average price per person $60
• Tasting menu from $65
• Dinner: Mon – Sat
• +1 415 440 5446
• Visit Liholiho Yacht Club's Website

871 Sutter Street, Nob Hill, San Francisco, CA 94109

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Liholiho Yacht Club

Team Infatuation

December 13, 2023

ICYMI, Liholiho Yacht Club has temporarily relocated to Dear Inga’s space in the Mission, and is easing back into dine-in service for the first time in over a year. According to their Instagram , they have three sit-down tables for now - and reservations are on their way. So swing by to grab an order of their excellent poke or steam buns. This week, Liholiho Yacht Club also brought back their beloved breakfast sandwich with house-made spam, egg, and cheese, which is now available for dinner Wednesday-Saturday.

We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.

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• San Francisco Restaurant Openings

Liholiho Yacht Club Returns to Nob Hill and Debuts New Restaurant in the Mission

Which also means that sadly, Dear Inga is finally and officially closed

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Share All sharing options for: Liholiho Yacht Club Returns to Nob Hill and Debuts New Restaurant in the Mission

Liholiho Yacht Club , the wildly popular restaurant inspired by chef Ravi Kapur’s Hawaiian heritage, is shuffling restaurants and locations again. During the pandemic, the restaurant group shuttered its sister restaurant Dear Inga , and earlier this spring moved the more established Liholiho into Inga’s prime location on 18th Street in Mission Dolores. At that time, it was presented as a temporary move , which made sense during an era of dining restrictions: In terms of neighborhoods, the Mission has been busier than Nob Hill, which made it an approachable spot to serve takeout, and the 18th Street location also boasted a rooftop, which the team repainted as a rainbow paradise for outdoor dining .

But now, there’s another big update from the Liholiho team: Fans and regulars will be relieved to hear that Liholiho Yacht Club is returning to its original location on Nob Hill in spring or summer of 2022. The team will be debuting a new restaurant called Good Good Culture Club in Mission Dolores on January 11. Which means that sadly, if somewhat expectedly at this point, Dear Inga is finally and officially confirmed as permanently closed.

Good Good Culture Club is a team effort from general manager Aimee Arcilla, chef Kevin Keovanpheng, and chef Brett Shaw, and all three have come through the kitchen and dining room at Liholiho. Arcilla and Shaw are married, and the duo behind Hunnybee , the Filipino inflected pop-up that was working out of the Liholiho kitchen during the pandemic. Born and raised in the states, Arcilla is proud of her Filipina heritage, and Keovanpheng his Laotian upbringing, and they’re into what they’re calling “heritage-driven cooking” as “inspired by the Asian diaspora” — defined as Filipino and Laotian flavors featuring Californian ingredients and wood-fire techniques.

The new menu is simply divided into savory and sweet, and the small plates look particularly appealing, including halibut sashimi with tomatillo ponzu and smoked jalapeno, chicken wings stuffed with garlic rice and glazed in adobo, poppyseed steamed buns packed with smoked beef belly, and crispy rice balls with mushroom sisig. For dessert, there’s a “Halo Ha-Lao,” which appears to be a Laotian take on the iconic Filipino dessert, with ube ice cream, jackfruit, mango jellies, and coconut syrup. Check out the full menu below. No word on drinks yet, but bar director Janice Bailon is particularly into agave, so it’d be safe to expect tequila and mezcal cocktails.

With this new opening, Liholiho partners Ravi Kapur, April Storm, and Jeff Hanak shared that they don’t want to go back to “normal,” and say that they’ve raised wages, added a 20 percent service fee, and shortened service hours, in order to better compensate and support their team. In doing so, the Liholiho group is joining a number of other Bay Area restaurants that are trying to cut tips , although some have failed. “We don’t know if these changes will work, but we do know that we don’t want to go back to the old ways,” the trio said in a statement. “We are so grateful to have developed a strong following of diners and regulars in our six years of business. It takes a community to implement change, and we hope you can be part of it, too. That’s what Good Good Culture Club is about: positive change, heritage, love, aloha.”

Boor Projects, the same design team that envisioned Dear Inga only two years ago, is also overseeing the renovation again for Good Good Culture Club, and this time it sounds like they’re leaning into bright colors, several murals, and lush plants.

The Liholiho team declined to comment on Dear Inga: why they decided not to pursue that restaurant and what happened with their partnership with chef David Golovin. When Dear Inga opened in fall of 2019 , it was also a highly anticipated restaurant: Golovin is a sausage expert who supplied the links to Nopa for many years, and with Dear Inga, he dug into Eastern European “grandma food” not often seen in San Francisco, including labor-intensive sausages, smoked fish, stuffed cabbage, and more. During the pandemic, he shared the challenges of adapting that kind of food for takeout . Eater SF reached out to Golovin for comment and did not hear back as of publication time, but will update this story as necessary.

Good Culture Club is opening on January 11, with reservations opening up one week in advance. Hours will be Tuesday to Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.

Liholiho Yacht Club

Good good culture club, chef mourad lahlou to close his restaurant mourad, put away those crab crackers: the start of the bay area dungeness season is delayed, 17 bay area restaurant and bar closures to know this october.

Liholiho Yacht Club

Updated 2 weeks ago

Popular dishes

Beef Tongue

Baked Hawaii

Duck Liver Toast

Fried Oyster

Butter Lettuce Grilled Shortrib

Cornish Game Hen

Poppyseed Steam Bun

Manila Clams

Roasted Octopus

Swirly Baked Hawaiian

Spam Fried Rice

Beef Carpaccio

Coconut Curry

Grilled Short Rib

Steamed Bun

Vanilla Chiffon

Yellowtail Sashimi

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Location & Hours

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871 Sutter St

San Francisco, CA 94109

Leavenworth St & Jones St

Lower Nob Hill

Upcoming Special Hours

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About the Business

Business owner information

Ravi Kealoha K.

Business Owner

Heritage driven food. Cooking and hospitality are the catalyst to gather and enjoy the moment. Grind - Talk Story - Get Jag …

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Do you take some walk in?

Yes, we do! Please click on "walk-ins" on our website for more information. lycsf.com

Are there dishes that are good for kids who aren't super experimental in their eating? We're coming for my birthday next week along with our 9 year old.

They have some dishes that a nine year may like and the staff can also give suggestions. When i was there i told them i was allergic to sea food and they made and bunch of remediations and made sure i was served with no seafood dishes. Really nice… more

Recommended Reviews

• 1 star rating Not good
• 2 star rating Could’ve been better
• 3 star rating OK
• 4 star rating Good
• 5 star rating Great

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Overall rating

Third time here. The last time was before COVID. Very pleasant to discover it survived and is thriving. Servers were all friendly and attentive. I was offered the chef's tasting menu for $85 and it did not disappoint. Will definitely return when I have a future trip to the city.

See all photos from Becca S. for Liholiho Yacht Club

We opted for the tasting menu $85pp since this is our first time here. Many of the items are on the regular menu, just smaller portion. A total about 9 dishes and a dessert to share. We loved the wagyu beef (main) and the duck liver mousse on banana bread (appetizer). All the other dishes were good and they tend to combine some form of crunchy elements in each dish. The only one we did not care for was the ramen cake with vegetables. It is pretty loud in there, good energetic vibes, definitely not your romantic dinner kind of place. We had excellent service. All in all, an enjoyable meal.

I recently visited Liholiho Yacht Club with high expectations but left feeling quite disappointed. Despite making a reservation, my party had to wait an additional 30 minutes before being seated. The dining area was uncomfortably crowded and noisy, which made it difficult to hold a conversation without raising our voices. When it came to the menu, while the dishes were presented beautifully, the portion sizes were surprisingly small for the price point. I found myself still hungry after the meal, which isn't what I anticipated given the restaurant's reputation. Additionally, our server seemed rushed and inattentive, rarely checking in on us and taking a long time to bring our orders. Overall, the experience didn't justify the hype or the cost. I expected a more enjoyable evening and unfortunately, Liholiho Yacht Club didn't deliver on that front.

A GREAT spot! We came here with friends and decided to go family style to get to try a bunch of different things. If you take this route, make sure you ask your server how many of each plate to order. Our server was absolutely delightful and super helpful throughout the whole meal! Our drinks were always topped off too!! - Tuna 4.8/5 (I didn't personally have it because I'm pregnant but was told this was extremely yummy) - Squash dish 4.3/5 - kimchi rice 5/5 - buttermilk chicken 4.7/5 - wagyu 5/5 - mochi cake 5/5 (we decided to split one between two people, but I think we could have done one between 4. Mochi is a bit heavy on the stomach!)

See all photos from Jordan L. for Liholiho Yacht Club

Memorable dining experience that blended creative flavors with good service. For the appetizer, I opted for the poppyseed steam bun with beef tongue, which was a standout. The beef tongue was tender and flavorful, paired perfectly with the light and fluffy steam bun. For the main course, we got the pork shoulder chop; cooked to perfection, juicy and full of flavor, well-balanced with savory and sweetness from the sauce. Lastly got the Baked Hawaii for dessert. It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy flavors, with the light meringue which is a good contrast. Spot is vibrant yet relaxed, and absolutely loved the open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant.

Wow. What a way to enjoy an Asian inspired foods here in SF. The chef took us on a whole trip. FOOD Food was absolutely phenomenal. Instead of choosing a single entree, we opt in for the "feed us anything" option. It's basically a omakase version of liholiho dishes. While it's on the more pricier side, it's absolute a must. While all are good, the tuna poke for the starters really stood out. It was perfectly seasoned while the fish cracker that came with it made it perfect. On top of that, the fried fish with tomatoes was absolutely perfect. The fish was cooked to perfection. It was crispy yet moist. The sauce accompanied it was tart yet sweet. It was bold in flavor and still maintained its elegance. Pure chefs kiss. Other dishes were phenomenal all around, but those two were our top favorites. SERVICE Service is pretty decent. All the hosts and hostesses were attentive. The storefront was pretty cool too. There's a front and a back end of the restaurant that has a similar hip island vibe. ALL IN ALL, wonderful place for a date night. Though it's on the pricier side but it's TOTALLY WORTH!!

See all photos from Dylan S. for Liholiho Yacht Club

Awesome comforting food at LihoLiho the place hasn't skipped a beat since reopening. Great ambience great service, food and music Awesome birthday celebration just wish I had more room for dessert as I was stuffed

See all photos from Andrew L. for Liholiho Yacht Club

Overall really nice meal. Really a 4.5, but for a 5 I like something exceptional that pushes me over and I just didn't get that. Also happy to see that although they are very popular and their reservations book quickly, they do in fact save space for walk ins. My 3 friends and I were able to walk in at 5:30 on a Wednesday and got seated right away at the community table. Having said that, but 6:30 they were definitely full up. We ordered 3 appetizers and 2 mains to share. We weren't exceedingly hungry, and I would say that it was an appropriate amount of food for us. Had we been hungrier I think that a third entry would have been a good idea. The Sashimi was excellent. The internet had told us that the Shaved Pig Head was the THING to get, but we all found it to be a bit weird. Just a strange flavor combination. I was not blown away by the Friend Rice, but everyone else in my party that it was really good. Ha. I do love some kimchi in my fried rice. Both the Ling Cod and the Swordfish Katsu were excellent. Very interesting and complex flavor combos that highlighted, but did not hide the taste of the fish. Both fish were also extremely well cooked - tender but not "fishy." They also have a wide range of drinks including cocktails of which we tried some and all were good, but none of them stand out enough for me to comment on them. It's on the fancy side - like you know, they come wipe your table down with a warm cloth in between courses - that kinda thing. So expect the prices that come along with that. Service was quick - we were initially a little concerned about getting to our 7pm show, but it wasn't an issue.

See all photos from Sarah C. for Liholiho Yacht Club

TLDR: After loving the sister restaurant Good Good Culture Club, I knew I wanted to try Liholiho eventually. The dishes were all quite unique, and the swordfish katsu made it to my list of top dishes in SF. Definitely gets loud in the restaurant and the space itself is pretty standard, but the food was so great and seasonal that I know I'll be back. ------ FOOD: 1. [MUST TRY] Swordfish Katsu (5/5): What Katsu dreams are made of. Perfectly and satisfyingly crispy exterior paired with a tender interior. And the bed of sauce coating the bottom of the plate and the top of the cutlet -- just wow. 2. [MUST TRY] Red Endive Salad (5/5): One of the most unique salads I've ever had. Bright dressing, nutty black sesame "hummus", coco-seed brittle, strawberries, shaved cheese -- this was a combo that worked so well and that I never would have thought of. 3. [MUST TRY] Albacore Sashimi (5/5): I usually don't love albacore but paired with the kick from the chili oil and additions of other garnishes, this sashimi really pleasantly surprised me. 4. Pork Shoulder Chop (4.5/5): Delicious pork chop, on the sweeter side because of the corn polenta side and the sauce. 5. Shaved Pig Head (4/5): The greens and the julienned fruit salsa were fantastic but the shaved pig head just wasn't the flavor I was expecting. I've never had shaved pig head though so if you know what it tastes like, you might think this dish is perfect. 6. Duck Liver Mousse (3.5/5): I think the banana bread was a tad dry and could have been slightly sweeter to balance out the mousse but I can see why pate lovers would rave about this. ------ AMBIANCE / ENVIRONMENT: * It's a large restaurant with lots of seating but reservations are still highly recommended * Tables aren't too close together but you definitely notice when others get seated near you and the music does get a little loud * I wouldn't say the decor wow'd but the restaurant is still very nice and the main attraction is the food anyway ------ SERVICE: * Phenomenal service here -- our water cups were always full, our plates refreshed between courses, and the table wiped down as needed

See all photos from Helen H. for Liholiho Yacht Club

4.5 - The service was great. Everyone was very kind and helpful. The ambiance inside is very chic. The reason I'm giving it 4.5 is because the food itself was not my favorite. The chips and dip were delicious and so was the wagyu. Everything else was ofc high quality and tasted OK. Nothing blew my mind with those. The shrimp didn't really have a lot of flavor itself on the shrimp. The rice noodles had a very strong mushroom taste. Just wasn't my favorite. With that being said, I would definitely come to try something else.

See all photos from Sarah P. for Liholiho Yacht Club

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