The party won’t be restricted to inside Chase Center during NBA All-Star Weekend, which takes place Feb. 14-16 in San Francisco.
Just outside the stadium, Thrive City’s sprawling esplanade will feature some of the city’s most interesting dining options.
From an Indonesian-Texas barbecue joint that was recognized by the New York Times within its first year of opening to a spinoff of one of the city’s most buzzing Burmese restaurants, Thrive City will have options for everybody.
Here are five great places to eat at Thrive City:
Kayah, by Burma Love
The new Kayah incorporates some of the most popular dishes from the popular Burma Love restaurants, while adding new menu items inspired by culinary director Jarvis Yuan’s travels to Southeast Asia. With flavors from Singapore, Malaysia, Burma and Thailand, Kayah considers itself a street food restaurant.
The most popular dish is the traditional Burmese tea leaf salad ($20), a blend of greens with tomatoes, jalapenos, nuts, seeds, shrimp floss, lemon and fish sauce dressed in fermented tea leaf dressing. The wagyu skewers ($20), finished with Burmese curry and green onions, are another familiar hit.
Unique to Kayah are several new menu items, such as Tan’s chicken lollipops ($16). To charge $16 for four chicken wings, they better be good. Fortunately, these passed the test. The crispy, tangy coating wrapped around tender chicken meat, topped with sesame seeds and chives, will inspire even those who don’t like eating skin to clean the bone. The fresh mango glaze shines through, with a charred chile spice that gives a nice sweet and spicy balance. Pair them with a pilsner from Alameda Island Brewing ($11).
The vibe inside Kayah is bright, fun and classy, with friendly servers and a lot of TVs so you don’t miss any of the All-Star action.
Details: Open daily, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., at 151 Warriors Way in San Francisco; wearekayah.com.
Che Fico Pizzeria
Rarely does pineapple serve as the star of a pizza — or any dish, for that matter — but Che Fico Pizzeria has found a way to do it.
By thinly-slicing fresh pineapple and spreading it over the entire pizza, you’ll get a piece in every bite, with the sweetness playing perfectly off the spicy chiles in Che Fico’s red sauce.
Chef and co-owner David Nayfeld says the key to his pizzas is the naturally-fermented dough.
“What a lot of people call sourdough, we in the pizza world call natural fermentation,” says Nayfeld, who’s also behind the award-winning SF restaurants Che Fico and Che Fico Alimentari. “We think it drastically improves the flavor and texture of the dough, and it improves the digestibility of the dough. When you eat our pizza, you feel better, you feel lighter.”
The vibe at Che Fico is all about fun, with a gorgeous view off the outdoor patio, which has heat lamps to keep you warm, and TVs within viewing distance of every seat.
There’s a takeout window to order slices on game nights. Otherwise you’ll need to order a whole pie — the small size serves six healthy slices that can be shared.
As for snacks, try the popular sausage-stuffed olives ($9).
“Even people who can’t stomach olives whatsoever thought they were delicious,” Nayfeld says. “These are flavor crystals of delight.”
Details: Open 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner daily (3:30 p.m. for weekend games) at 1 Warriors Way in San Francisco; cheficopizzeria.com.
Fikscue Craft Barbecue
What happens when two people with no professional cooking experience decide to start a restaurant by merging Indonesian flavors with Texas barbecue?
Instant national recognition, in the case of Fikscue.
Husband-wife duo Fik and Reka Saleh started the restaurant by accident, when Fik was smoking too much meat and didn’t know what to do with the leftover pieces. Reka decided to throw it into her balado plate.
“We tested it out and we were like, ‘woah, this is on a different level,’” Reka says.
And boom, Fikscue was born, first as a pop-up and then by late 2023, as an Alameda brick-and-mortar with a menu divided into smoked meats and Indonesian fare. The popular balado plate ($20) combines diced smoked brisket in Indonesian red chile, rice, kale curry, a runny fried egg, potato fritters and garlic chips.
Nine months after opening in Alameda, Fikscue had four-hour lines. The New York Times named it one of the 50 best restaurants in the country, and Eater called it one of the 14 best new restaurants of 2024.
“It’s such a big surprise,” Reka says. “It wasn’t our goal. It was just to share our passion with the community and share our craft.”
At their new Thrive City spot, the Salehs will use part of the outdoor patio to smoke the meat on location. The patio is shared with Harmonic Brewery, so you can grab a beer to go with it. The new location won’t officially open for a couple of months, but you can check out its Thrive City pop-up during All-Star Weekend.
Details: Opening soon at Thrive City’s esplanade; fikscue.com.
Dumpling Time
Built by the team behind San Francisco’s Michelin-starred Omakase and Niku Steakhouse, Dumpling Time offers indoor and outdoor seating in this dimly-lit, chill space where customers can watch the dumplings and hand-cut noodles being made.
There are shrimp and pork siu mai ($9.50), Maine lobster siu mai ($17) and other dumpling and bao offerings, as well as popular shrimp garlic noodles ($21) served with mushrooms, chili flakes, parmesan and parsley. Don’t miss the wagyu beef gyoza ($16.50 for five) with cabbage, ginger, black truffle and shiitake and a fantastic chili oil.
Details: Open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 191 Warriors Way in San Francisco; dumplingtime.com.
Splash
Walk anywhere near Thrive City, and you’ll hear the happy noise emanating from Splash, a two-story, 30,000-square-foot sports bar that opened just in time for All-Star Weekend.
With 75 televisions, including an 840-square-foot curved LED wall, a DJ booth, golf swing suites, pop-a-shots, pool, shuffleboard and foosball, there’s a week’s worth of entertainment packed into one location that looks like a giant college party. And there’s more than 10,000 square feet of outdoor space, including pet-friendly patios that overlook the courtyard.
Expect an array of sports bar classics and comfort foods,16 beers on tap, wines and a cocktail program designed by 2024 James Beard finalist Kevin Diedrich, who runs Pacific Cocktail Haven.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily at 191 Warriors Way in San Francisco; splashsportsbar.com.