Busser

We built Dalida on the hospitality, culture, fresh ingredients and familiar flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Our food is best enjoyed shared across the table. The legacy of Istanbul, once Constantinople, is greater than meets the eye. It's the palace and the countryside, the business and cultural capital. It's a little Turkish, a little Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Arabic and Persian. From the Eastern-most to the Western-most point of the Western world, we tell a story of an Istanbul that could have been, a story of the Eastern Mediterranean that manifests itself in San Francisco, a city also built on seven hills, one that welcomes, empowers and celebrates all that want to be here.

We invite guests to follow the principle of “little little in the middle,” savoring an assortment of mezes while enjoying lively conversation with companions.

In addition to sourcing responsibly from nearby farms and purveyors and collaborating with local artists to decorate the restaurant’s interior, the team also works to select products with the lowest ecological footprint. In particular, they are committed to building flexible and plant-forward menus that give diners the option of having a fully vegetable-driven experience. Dalida’s team also strives for full utilization of ingredients, candying spent walnuts from their homemade nocino or making stock from limes that have already been juiced. Products that don’t get used go back into the park’s compost structure and are ultimately used to enrich the community garden where the chefs grow a number of their ingredients. And because they are leasing the space from the Presidio, proceeds from the restaurant also go towards supporting a national park site.

Of course, we put a great deal of thought into the food, beverages, music, design, and all the other details. However, the business of restaurants is all about the people who make it happen, and we put our team at the heart of this concept.