At least a couple more new restaurants are expected to sneak open before the year is out, and one of those will be Dingles Public House, in the Civic Center-adjacent space in the ground floor of the Inn at the Opera.
A new British-inspired gastropub is taking over what was, a few years back, home to Plaj, the small but well received Scandinavian restaurant that closed in the early pandemic. Dingles Public House debuts on November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, and reservations went live this morning on Tock (11/17).
Eater reported on the place back in May, while renovations were just getting underway. It's the project of British chef George Dingle, formerly a chef a Monsieur Benjamin, and his wife Anissa Dingle, and as he promised back then, "We’re doing something really British."
Local food influencer Sherry Shi, aka @sherryeatworld, was treated to a sneak peek of the food, which is indeed very British, covering well loved dishes like Welsh rarebit, Scotch eggs, fish and chips, and beef and Guinness pie.
As you can see in her video below, the cozy interior has been given a makeover by Saint Architecture — which also designed Birdsong — and it includes hunter green walls, burgundy leather banquettes, and a small-scale bar with the air of a proper London pub.
A sample menu has gone live as well, which features other dishes including oysters on the half shell, a sausage roll with brown sauce (shout out to Bake Off!), chicken Kyiv, an American-style cheeseburger, and a 12-oz New York Steak with green peppercorn sauce.
Early dishes that were teased on Eater also included a beautiful looking beef Wellington, and bangers and mash. And Dingle plans to offer a Sunday roast each week, with Yorkshire pudding.
Dingle also has proven that he knows his way around a meat pie, starting with a pop-up he did at Casements in the Mission in late 2020. As Eater reported at the time, Dingle worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in London and the Cotswolds, and came here to work at Benu chef Corey Lee's restaurant group. But after Casements opened and he started hanging out there, he says, he realized how much he'd been missing the food of his homelands — especially the meat pies and curry chips.
And, for dessert at Dingles, there is a proper sticky toffee pudding with stout caramel and brown butter ice cream.
If nothing else, it is about time Hayes Valley had a hearty, pub-food option like this, with some proper fish and chips.
Dingles Public House - 333 Fulton Street, in the Inn at the Opera - Opening November 28 - reserve here
