The Daniel Patterson-owned, Brett Cooper-helmed, Michelin-starred Mission spot Aster served its last dinner on Saturday after Cooper's previously announced departure for Southern California.
In its place, as early as next month, will be Prubechu, as the Chronicle reports, which has recently been just a pop-up since being priced out of its former Mission digs last fall.
Calling itself "the first Chamorro-inspired restaurant in San Francisco," Prubechu and chef Shawn Naputi spent nearly four years serving the cuisine of Guam and the Marianas Islands in the Mission before facing an impossible rent hike at its space in the former Roxy's Cafe at 2847 Mission Street.
Naputi's food is a mix of Filipino, Japanese, and Spanish influences from this region of the world, with dishes like shrimp pancakes, mushroom empanadas, coconut-brased beef, and a signature, gollai hagun suni, which is a dish of squash, spinach, peppers, onion, coconut milk, and turmeric.
As Eater notes, the move to install a minority-owned restaurant in the space at Guerrero and 22nd follows a pattern for Patterson, who's lately been a behind-the-scenes restaurateur more than a chef. (Patterson for years was the executive chef at Coi, which remains his restaurant, under the helm of executive chef Erik Anderson.) His Alta Group now has under its belt the Palestinian-influenced Dyafa in Oakland, from chef Reem Assil, modern Jamaican spot Kaya in the former Alta space on Market, and Besharam, the modern Indian spot from La Cocina alum Heena Patel in Alta's former digs at the Minnesota Street Project.
Look for Prubechu to open possibly by mid-May.