Zuni Café

Zuni Café is a restaurant in San Francisco, California, named after the Zuni tribe of indigenous Pueblo peoples of Arizona and New Mexico.^[1] It occupies a triangular building on Market Street at the corner of Rose Street.^[2]

Zuni Café
Zuni Café
Restaurant information
Established	1979 (1979)
Owner(s)	Gilbert Pilgram
Head chef	Anne Alvero
Food type	California seasonal; French; Italian
Street address	1658 Market Street
City	San Francisco, California
Postal/ZIP Code	94102
Country	United States
Coordinates	37.773656°N 122.421447°W / 37.773656; -122.421447
Website	www.zunicafe.com

History

Zuni Café was established in 1979 by Billy West. In 1981 he hired Vince Calcagno as the manager, who became a business partner in 1987.^[3] From its inception it was a gay gathering place.^[4] Originally there was little money or space for cooking equipment: West grilled steaks illegally in the alley on a Weber grill. After a recommendation from Elizabeth David, Zuni Café became popular, and in 1984 Patricia Unterman wrote in a San Francisco Chronicle review: "The open kitchen at last has stoves, grills, counters, and refrigeration. ...There's enough money in the bank to support a good wine list."^[4] West and Calcagno hired Judy Rodgers (formerly of Chez Panisse) as head chef in 1987.^[3] Calcagno and Rodgers became co-owners; West died in July 1994.^[4]

Originally a Southwest-themed café, Zuni Café expanded in the 1980s into the adjacent space that had been a cactus shop, and under Rodgers came to serve primarily Italian- and French-inspired cuisine.^[2] With her at the helm, Zuni Café won the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: Pacific" in 2000, "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2003, and "Outstanding Chef" in 2004.^[5] Rodgers published The Zuni Café Cookbook in 2002.^[6]

Gilbert Pilgram, also formerly of Chez Panisse, became the co-owner when Calcagno retired in 2006.^[1][2][7][8] Rodgers died on December 2, 2013.^[6] Subsequently the head chef was Nate Norris, who was succeeded in October 2022 by Anne Alvero.^[2] In 2018, the restaurant received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Service.^[9]

On reopening in 2021 after the COVID-19 shutdown, Zuni Café replaced tips with a service charge for diners, applied to the pay of back-of-house workers as well as servers.^[10][11] A San Francisco Chronicle review in 2024 noted that most long-term servers had chosen not to return because of the resulting reduction in their income, and that as a result service was now more uneven.^[12]

Bar at Zuni Café

With gay artist George "Bubba" Geiger, West made the original furniture for Zuni Café, using mesquite trunks and slabs of wood.^[4] The restaurant has a piano and a changing exhibition of modern art, both instituted by West. West also added a Parisian-inspired copper bar; since there are no bar stools, Rodgers had a metal rod added for people to prop a foot on.^[2] Rodgers also designed the brick oven, used for roasting chicken over wood.^[13] The building underwent a seismic retrofit in 1991, when the interior was given exposed ceiling beams.^[2]

The restaurant has a secret menu.^[14]