One of the most gorgeous haunts in San Francisco is becoming a pretty good place to just gorge.
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On Aug. 15, a new food hall called the Mess Hall at the Presidio opened in the Presidio national park site on the north end of the city. The hall features six “concepts” — that’s the buzzword for places you eat and drink nowadays — including restaurants, a cafe, a full bar and a gourmet retail market. The concepts were designed in part by David Chang’s Momofuku Group.
The Mess Hall at the Presidio is open daily at 201 Halleck St., inside the Tunnel Tops Park, a rolling 14-acre green space that opened in 2022 to cover up an underground freeway.
Like most of the Presidio, the food hall is steeped in wartime history. It was constructed in 1897 as part of the area’s military campus, and over time was used as an army depot, a butcher shop, an animal-feed store and a mailroom.
A renovation has opened up the space, cleared out the cobwebs and presented new ways to enjoy the Presidio’s natural splendor.
“Honoring the building’s architectural heritage, the design celebrates its original structure while introducing industrial materials, warm natural textures, and thoughtful details inspired by the 1930s and 1940s,” a Presidio spokesperson wrote in an email.
“The result is a timeless gathering place that feels both rooted in history and distinctly modern, with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Crissy Field serving as the focal point.”
But enough about that – what’s there to eat? Here are details on the six new tenants of the food hall:
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• Dayboat Seafood: raw and cooked seafood including oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktails, crudo, hand rolls and clam chowder
• Boda: Korean and Asian-inspired cuisine including housemade banchan, Korean fried chicken, kimchi fried rice and mandu (dumplings)
• Breadwinner: breakfast sandwiches, smashburgers, salads and subs
• Bar: a full cocktail bar with craft cocktails, local beers on tap and regional wines
• Cafe: a coffee bar featuring the local Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters and Breadbelly pastries
• Retail market: prepared food to grab and go, bottled beverages, cheese, bread and other supplies for picnics
The Mess Hall at the Presidio adds to the park site’s dining options. There are a few restaurants tucked among the rolling meadows, like Piccino Presidio, Colibri Mexican Bistro and the Michelin Guide-recognized Dalida. Tunnel Tops also features a casual cafe, bar and pizzeria called Il Parco, as well as a rotating convoy of more than two dozen food trucks, serving everything from birria to doughnuts to poke.
Details: The new food hall is open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Sundays at 201 Halleck St., San Francisco; messhallpresidio.com
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