Aziza moving to Jackson Square

[wolfe]

According to Eater the move is to the once Zinnia space

[AndreWilliams]

This is a great move for Aziza.. IMO, Aziza is one of the top 4 or 5 restaurants in San Francisco, and moving to this location will solidify that for those who haven't been able to give it a shot.

It would be great if they decided to keep their Geary location and turn it into a more traditional, somewhat casual family style Moroccan spot, somewhat like what it was 5 or 6 years ago. Either way, congrats to the Aziza team.

[Keesey]

I think this is exactly what they are doing. Moving Aziza to the Financial District and keeping the Geary location as a more casual spot. I don't mind either way... live in the Richmond, work in the FiDi. I will miss the cushy seats in Geary location though.

But I am still worried about the new location. True, out of towners will be more encouraged to dine there, but that area has zero parking, especially with the nearby North Beach crowd.

[pauliface]

I would be soooo happy if they kept the old location open and went more casual/traditional.
I would go to both restaurants in that case.

Moroccan is one of my favorite cuisines, and there's far too little of it that's good in SF.

[lrealml]

I think there is a lot more parking and parking decks around the new location. There is absolutely no parking in outer Richmond ... my first thought when I saw the Eater email was "I hope they are moving somewhere with more parking". We've never been able to park in less then 20-30 minutes.

Does anyone know if the new location is bigger?

[nocharge]

This is a quote from the Inside Scoop article:

"The new restaurant will be approximately 95-105 seats, compared to 130 at the current Aziza."
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/...

As for parking, the Financial District is usually not bad at night so for those that are willing to walk a couple of blocks, it shouldn't be a big deal. Plus, they will probably have a valet like Quince.

[lrealml]

Ahh, thanks... that is what I get for speed reading at 1 am ...
This means that it will be harder to get reservations; esp. now that it is easily accessible to tourist... We are already bad about planning our weekend city excursions...

[charliemyboy]

Actually the stories in Inside Scoop and elsewhere make it clear that Lahou has not yet decided whether to hold on to the Geary St. location or not.

[nocharge]

Kind of brave given that the last three restaurants in that space didn't last all that long. On the other hand, if you have a Michelin star, you definitely want to be downtown where you have a better shot at attracting convention goers on expense accounts, tourists, people from the East Bay, etc.

[vulber]

true, but it's not as if it was struggling to get by.

given the fact that the tasting menu has just about doubled in price over the past few years ($39 to $73) while the portions have gotten smaller and the presentations more elaborate, this worries me.

[nocharge]

I think that's just the point of moving downtown. It's a lot easier to maintain a high price point if you have access to a steady stream of people on expense accounts. Convention goers have an impact on the prices at San Francisco restaurants but I think it's fair to say that most of them don't think it's worth going out to the avenues for dinner when there are so many good restaurants in more convenient locations. The Eater article pointed out that Quince had made a similar move to downtown from Pacific Heights, and I think such moves make perfect sense if you are a restaurant with recognized high-caliber food and a high price point.

[Frosty Melon]

Slanted Door's move comes to mind as well.

[pauliface]

vulber -- I've noticed this too, plus the food has gotten less moroccan.
If I had the choice, I'd wave my wand and take Aziza back to how it was 3-4 years ago...