If you haven't been to Mister Jiu's yet, you're missing out on one of the best new restaurants to hit SF in the last two years. (Read some more about it here.) Chef Brandon Jew's modern take on the Chinese-American restaurant, in a sleek and pretty space in the heart of Chinatown, has succeeded both in creating creative yet rustic takes on traditional Chinese dishes, and in remaining fairly humble in its flourishes you're not going to find any molecular gastronomy or fussy plating going on here, despite the Michelin star and general acclaim.
Now, as Eater reports, the year-and-a-half-year-old restaurant is getting ready to start Phase 2 of construction in its historic building, which for decades was home to Four Seas, and before that, going back to about 1880, the famed Hang Far Low. Jew, an SF native, wants to bring back the second-story banquet hall space, noting that his family had a personal connection with the place over the years too. "It was always a banquet room, a place that people celebrated in," he tells Eater. "My uncle got married up there, we had a lot of celebrations here as a kid."
But, there's still some fundraising to do, and a lot of work ahead. Jew posted the photo below of the upper-level space two weeks ago.
Permits are in place, and Jiu has just been in the process of hiring a contractor, with the hope to have the place open by the end of the year and probably, at worst, in time for Chinese New Year in early 2018.
As you may recall, Jew's opening menu at Mister Jiu's focused on family-style, banquet-sized fare, which had to be ordered for the table as a prix fixe. Since then, the restaurant has introduced more a la carte options, though it remains a good place to bring a large group because of the large round tables available, equipped with hand carved lazy Susans in the center.
Also in the works: dum sum. Jew tells Eater that when the upstairs space opens, he'll be introducing dim sum in the downstairs dining room presumably just on weekends. Also upstairs will be a new cocktail lounge, curated by bar manager Danny Louie, and featuring its own separate menu.
Stay tuned for updates on the banquet hall come Fall.
Mister Jiu's - 28 Waverly Place - Reservations here
