New Mission Mexican: Chispa
Superstar chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz just opened Chispa — the Mission’s first dedicated Mexican restaurant — bringing Michelin-level pedigree to casual, comfort-forward Mexican fare Chispa opening in Mission. The chefs’ backgrounds include Ambrosía Centro Culinario training and stints in Michelin kitchens, so expect refined technique folded into approachable dishes Chispa opening in Mission.
No major outlets or local listings report a restaurant called "Chispa" opening in the Mission; searches instead turned up a Napa tequila-bar project named Chispa [whatnow.com] and a community housing nonprofit called CHISPA [chispahousing.org]. Local coverage documents that chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz opened a Mexican-focused restaurant called Maria Isabel on March 3 at 500 Presidio Ave in Presidio Heights [sfgate.com], a follow-up project to their Presidio restaurant Dalida (opened 2023). modernluxury.com SFGATE reports Maria Isabel is named for Laura’s sister Maria and mother Isabel and highlights a chocolate program using single-origin cacao from Oaxaca and Chiapas plus a spirits list featuring raicilla, bacanora, sotol and Mayan pox [sfgate.com]. Eater and other local outlets describe Maria Isabel as a seafood-forward, coastal-Mexican concept seating roughly 56 people in the former Ella’s American Kitchen space at 500 Presidio Ave, framing it as the Ozyilmazes’ second brick-and-mortar after Dalida. sf.eater.com
