Maria Isabel
Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz named this room for Laura's mother and her sister. The menu is Guerrero, where she grew up, and Sinaloa, run through Californian produce. Evan Williams took the MICHELIN Guide California 2026 Exceptional Cocktails Award behind its bar on 24 June.
Why go
The corn is the spine of the place. The kitchen nixtamalizes heirloom maize in house and pushes it through the courses. An artichoke tetela sits on gold masa. A Choco Taco riff works corn into the ice cream and into the masa waffle shell.5
Evan Williams takes what the tortilla program leaves over, dries it about a week in the walk-in, and grinds it into the drinking chocolate. Chef Laura calls it the ceremony of cacao. Four regional styles run on it: pozol from Oaxaca, tascalate from Chiapas, chilate from Guerrero, and a modern hot chocolate. Each comes out with a cacao bean and a square of dark chocolate from the same varietal, so you can smell it before you drink it. Williams describes what he was after as a holistic view of Mexican drinking culture through the lens of modern technique.
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A salad is dressed in tamarind after the tamarind candies Laura grew up on. Red and green chorizo over molten cheese is Guerrero on a plate. Dalida, the couple's other room in the Presidio, is built on Sayat's Turkish heritage; this one is built on Laura's upbringing in Mexico.4
Eater's heatmap prints the enmoladas as duck carnitas; the Chronicle had a lamb-stuffed one, exclusive to the tasting menu.5
Order this / avoid
- Order: the aguachile negro. The MICHELIN inspector describes it as
Pacific yellowtail and Monterey Bay squid, paired with fried chicharrónes and shaved daikon in a tangy, savory sauce of charred chiles
.1 - Order: the masa buñuelo under guacamole and Kaluga caviar.
- Order: the cacao ceremony to close.
What locals & experts say
- The MICHELIN Guide's inspectors, in their California 2026 write-up:
While Californios sets a standard for contemporary Mexican food globally, Maria Isabel, a Recommended restaurant also in San Francisco, shows a more down-to-earth expression of the cuisine that is compelling in its own right.
2 - Cesar Hernandez and MacKenzie Chung Fegan, San Francisco Chronicle, May 2026, put it on their 25 rooms of the moment and call it
San Francisco's most ambitious Mexican fine dining restaurant since the newly three-Michelin-starred Californios
.4 - The small plates are where the cooking is. That is Julia Chen's verdict for The Infatuation in April 2026, at 8.5: the mains
range from standout hits (the chicken milanesa) to good-but-forgettable.
6 Her pick from the mariscos is the ceviche acapulqueño, with fried shrimp heads and sour oranges.
Good to know
- Getting in: book. Some courses run only on the tasting menu. Tables go up on OpenTable thirty days ahead at midnight.6
- If you only want a drink: the counter takes walk-ins, and a mezcal cocktail with a couple of antojitos is a whole visit.6
- Where: 500 Presidio Avenue.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note (verbatim): "New Mexican crazy awesome place. See ommar."
Verdict
must-visit — Two of you should try for the bar seats, where the drinks are half the reason to come. The guide marks it $$$.