Souvla

Greek-American owner Charles Billilies cut his teeth working at the French Laundry and Michael Mina. Now he’s a runaway success story in San Francisco’s exploding “fine casual” dining scene. He launched his first tiny Hayes Valley restaurant in spring 2014 serving just two things: wraps and salads, plus Greek wine and beer. The genius was in the atmosphere—a gleaming copper bar, white subway tile, fresh flowers—and the high-quality ingredients. This isn’t any old wrap: fillings include American Homestead pork shoulder, Mary’s free-range chicken and Superior Farms lamb, each complemented by flavorful toppings like pickled red onion, navel orange and garlic-spiked Greek yogurt. Whole chickens twirl on a row of rotisserie spits behind the bar (souvla translates to “spit” or “skewer” in Greek), and are available for take-out for $20 apiece. Billilies has expanded his empire over the past few years, launching sister locations in NoPa and, in early 2017, the Mission. Finish your meal with a cup of frozen Greek yogurt, which can be garnished with sour cherry syrup, Greek olive oil and sea salt, baklava crumbles or Cretan wildflower honey.