New French Brasserie from Lazy Bear Team to Open in SF

JouJou is the latest venture from Chef David Barzelay and Managing Partner Colleen Booth, the duo behind the two-Michelin-starred Lazy Bear. Barzelay, a former lawyer, famously started Lazy Bear as an underground dinner party in his apartment in 2009 before opening a brick-and-mortar location in the Mission District in 2014. The new restaurant, located at 65 Division Street, marks a significant departure from Lazy Bear's tasting menu format. JouJou will offer an à la carte menu in a sprawling 6,500-square-foot space, aiming for a lively, walk-in-friendly bar scene alongside fine dining. The concept is a seafood-focused French brasserie, with ambitions to be a vibrant, see-and-be-seen destination reminiscent of New York's Balthazar or San Francisco's legendary Stars. The menu will feature classics like steak frites and French onion soup, alongside grand seafood towers and twists like black cod with pineapple. Entrée prices are expected to range from $35 to $75. The kitchen is led by Chef de Cuisine Nick Vollono, an alum of esteemed San Francisco restaurants Quince and Atelier Crenn. He is joined by pastry chef Yesenia Castañon from Birdsong and beverage director Matteo Villano, formerly of the Quince & Co. restaurant group. The opening comes as San Francisco sees a resurgence of French restaurants, a change from the relatively static scene just a few years ago. JouJou's team aims to blend the quality of a fine-dining experience with a more accessible and energetic atmosphere, hoping to give diners a compelling reason to go out. The restaurant's design, by Jon de La Cruz, features multiple seating areas, including a raw bar, a main dining room with gold-rimmed mirrors, and an enclosed patio with a glass ceiling. This design aims to create different vibes within the same grand space.