Alta Group (Daniel Patterson’s restaurant group) and chef/co-owner Nigel Jones of Oakland’s Kingston 11 Cuisine opened Kaya in the original Alta Mid-Market space with smoldering hot, modern Jamaican dishes, festive island cocktails and hard-to-find Jamaican films showcased on the wall. While many (rightly) beeline toward the jerk chicken with plantains and rice, our favorite is the spicy-sweet black pepper crab.
On the weekend, stop by for the coconut french toast, brown sugar plantains and jerk chicken sandwiches and stay for the rum cocktails. It doesn’t hurt that Kaya has one of the longest brunches in SF (Saturday 10am–3pm, Sunday 10am–5pm).