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Tuesday 5pm - 9pm Wednesday 5pm - 9pm Thursday 5pm - 9pm Friday 5pm - 9pm Saturday 5pm - 9pm

The Happy Crane

Name: The Happy Crane
Address: 451 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, US
Telephone: +14156101823
Price range: $$$

Modern Chinese, Rooted Flavors. Welcome to The Happy Crane, where authentic Chinese flavors meet thoughtful technique and a spirit of creativity.

Rooted in tradition yet expressed through a modern Chinese lens, our dishes celebrate heritage while embracing fresh ideas — served in a warm, joyful setting.

03/26/2026

Geoduck Clam Egg Custard.

Growing up, steamed egg was a staple on chef Jame’s por por’s table 🥹. Most simply, it would consist of beaten whole eggs and chicken stock. Sometimes the custard might see minced meat or dried 🦐 in there too. Regardless the format, it always brought the comfort.

Our version honors that warmth and memory. Whole eggs and extra yolks meet house chicken stock for a richer custard, steamed to order and served with braised mungbean noodles, seasonal green garlic, pidan (century egg)yolk purée, and scalded chives. We then finish with house sweet soy and lightly torched Washington geoduck, a giant Pacific clam known for its sweet, briny flavor and satisfying crunch.

A quiet nod to something nostalgic. Meant to be shared 🙂‍↕️

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03/19/2026

Introducing two of the people who help shape make The Happy Crane. Meet Nate Basit and Jackson Reed , our Jr. Sous Chefs!

Nate is a CIA grad who spent time at Localis, The Progress, and Nari before joining our team. Jackson got his start cooking between football seasons, making his way to the Bay Area, and spent two years at Mister Jiu’s deepening his understanding of Chinese cuisine.

Nate’s favorite Chinese dish is suāncàiyú (酸菜鱼) while Jackson is more of a làzǐ jī (辣子鸡) kind of guy.

As part of our opening team, they each bring passion and commitment in abundance! We’re glad they’re here and excited to see them continue to grow with us 🙂‍↕️

Group photo: the talented 🥹
Portraits:

03/03/2026

Growing up in Hong Kong, Lo Bak Go was the true start of Lunar New Year for me. A humble radish cake on the surface, but a dish that takes real ‘gong fu’. My grandma would source everything herself and make it from scratch. It was my favorite dish and my favorite time of year. Friends and family would come by with blessings and their own versions to share. You could taste the differences in every home.

These days it is easier to buy one than to make it, and the tradition feels like it is slowly fading. When we began imagining our Lunar New Year menu, this was the first dish that came to mind.

Our Lo Bak Go is made with local purple daikon from seasonal green garlic from and sautéed shiitake. We top it with crispy sakura shrimp, dried scallop, house fermented chili sauce, and wasabina leaf. Pan fried until golden and crisp, creamy in the center. The Ultimate comfort food, The Happy Crane style.

We’re also serving our version of the Lo Hei. Lo hei means tossing up good fortune, rooted in the Cantonese tradition of eating raw fish for the New Year and beloved across Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese communities. Diners are encouraged to mix and toss everything on the plate to bring good luck!

Our version pairs raw hamachi with ginger juice and green Sichuan peppercorn oil. Jicama, compressed pear, salted cabbage, watermelon radish, and pomelo bring brightness and crunch against the richness of the fish.

Two dishes that hold memory and movement. Both meant to be shared with your loved ones, available now on our menu! 🙂‍↕️

- Chef James and The Happy Crane team

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02/27/2026

Wrapping up our first Lunar New Year series feeling deeply grateful and, in many ways, very auspicious. 👀

Cooking alongside chefs, bartenders, and their teams who I truly admire meant more than I can really say.

Thank you for sharing your craft and your trust with us.
It was an honor to welcome over 500 guests across four very special nights.

Now it’s back to the kitchen. We’re developing new dishes and opening up more reservations soon. The Year of the Horse is off to the races 🐎🐎🐎🔥🔥.

Here’s to many more Lunar New Years at The Happy Crane! 🎊

- Chef James and The Happy Crane team

02/18/2026

New year, same intention. Cooking with care, hosting with heart.

With the arrival of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Fire Horse 🔥🐎, we embrace its spirit of boldness and forward motion.

Thank you for being part of what we’re building. Here’s to a year of warmth and long meals shared in good company!

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02/06/2026

Recap time!

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our first-ever pop-up in the space! It was an honor to begin our Lunar New Year series with Chef Gizela Ho of , and to share that first night with so many of you.

We’re also grateful for the festive details provided by the team. We will be selling Ăn Tết (“eating the New Year”), a magazine featuring Chef James and stories rooted in food & tradition.

Onto the next! We’re learning, refining, and excited to keep getting better week by week. See you soon. 🧧

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02/02/2026

To round out the Lunar New Year series we will be welcoming Michael Kim from Yeobo, Darling in Menlo Park. Chefs Michael and Meichih Kim are the husband-and-wife chef owners who have presented an imaginative take on their Korean and Taiwanese roots. Fitting a restaurant operated by a husband-and-wife team, the Korean word yeobo is a term of endearment generally reserved for spouses, meaning honey or sweetheart. The name also reflects a desire to honor the past while embracing the present, as the term yeobo sounds like something one’s parents or grandparents would say, bringing a warm nostalgic quality to the concept.

Michael grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles and spent summers in Korea, where he watched his grandmother make ingredients like gochujang and blood sausage by hand before preparing elaborate family feasts. Meichih was born in Tokyo to Taiwanese parents and raised in Orange County, where her mother’s home cooking, an intuitive blend of Taiwanese and Japanese flavors, formed the backbone of her palate.

We are thrilled to share a slice of this exciting new restaurant to a San Francisco audience.

Reservations available on OpenTable 🫰

portrait:
food:

01/28/2026

As part of our LNY collab series, we’re honored to welcome New York City’s very own 929 (@929.nyc) to The Happy Crane for a bar takeover & live DJ set on February 21st!

For one night only, 929’s Beverage Director Chaoyi Chen () will pour a selection of the bar’s signature cocktails, alongside an exclusive live DJ set by 929 co-owner Haoran Chen (). Chef James Parry will add to the festivities with a curated bar menu of bites designed to pair with the cocktails.

We’re offering two distinct experiences this evening, with vibes curated by 929 all night.

🍤 LNY Tasting Menu:
Reservations start at 5:00pm with a last seating at 8:30pm.

🍸929 Bar Experience:
An abbreviated menu of bar snacks and signature 929 cocktails. Begins at 7:30pm, Last seating at 10:30pm.

Reservations via Opentable Experience recommended; limited walk-ins available.

Whether you’re joining us for the tasting menu or stopping by for a cocktail-focused night, we’re truly delighted to share these two experienced with you!

01/22/2026

YES!! Incredibly humbled to be in such great company in this year’s James Beard Awards . Being recognized as a Best New Restaurant is an honor that belongs entirely to the team and the village that made it possible.

Congratulations to everyone who has been recognized and nominated. Looking through the list is both inspiring and a little damn intimidating! So many people that we look up to and respect, to be mentioned alongside means more than words can express.

Proud of what’s been built so far, and committed to continuing the work: showing up, learning, and doing our best. 🙂‍↕️

- Chef James and The Happy Crane Team

01/19/2026

On February 11th we are thrilled to be welcoming Chef-owners Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper from the critically acclaimed Sun Moon Studio () Based in West Oakland, this 1 Michelin-starred restaurant has received national recognition for its thoughtful combination of farmer and producer-driven cuisine. Alumni of Benu and Per Se respectively, Hsu and Cooper combine their many years of cooking and baking experience in an intimate, unexpected setting. Their approach is technique-driven and aims to combine both the classic and the modern. We are delighted to share this gem of a restaurant with San Francisco.

This evening marks a reunion for Chef Alan Hsu and Chef James Yeun Leong Parry, who first cooked together at Benu and later, alongside Sarah, collaborated on an early Happy Crane pop-up at Pomet (). This Lunar New Year dinner brings their shared history full circle, making the evening especially meaningful as they come together under their own namesakes to share dishes from their respective restaurants alongside collaborative creations.

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portrait: Gabrielle Lurie
custard tart: Teo Crider
tofu: Alan Hsu .hsu

01/13/2026

This February, in celebration of Lunar New Year, The Happy Crane welcomes fellow AAPI chefs for a special dinner series rooted in shared stories and collaboration. We’re excited to begin the series with Chef Gizela Ho ()!

Born and raised in Guam and shaped by Cantonese, Guamanian, and global influences, Chef Gizela’s cooking lives at the intersection of memory and craft. From Michelin-starred to kitchens in Hong Kong, her work is rooted in seasonality and guided by care.

On February 4th, she joins Chef James Yeun Leong Parry for a one-night-only Lunar New Year menu inspired by shared time in Hong Kong and the traditions of the season. This collaboration also offers an early glimpse into her upcoming restaurant, Good Morning 96.

Reservations available on Opentable.

More chefs and experiences will be introduced in the coming weeks. 🙂

01/08/2026

The bird that has rested flies farther. We’ll see you on 1/14 and onward 😗

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Address

451 Gough Street
San Francisco, CA
94102

Opening Hours

Tuesday	5pm - 9pm
Wednesday	5pm - 9pm
Thursday	5pm - 9pm
Friday	5pm - 9pm
Saturday	5pm - 9pm

Telephone

+14156101823

Website

http://thehappycranesf.com/

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