Most visitors to the Embarcadero’s Pier 31 are there to board the ferry to Alcatraz Island. By next year, however, a new all-day café will give locals and tourists another reason to visit.
Il Porto Café, from local restaurant operator Buen Rallo Hospitality Group, is slated to open in spring 2027 at the Alcatraz Landing, according to a press release from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The 3,760-square-foot waterfront restaurant will offer “fresh, locally inspired food” as well as coffee and grab-and-go meals to the 1.4 million annual visitors to Alcatraz Island, the release states. Il Porto will stay open into the evenings with a bar program, music and light bites.
“Expanding to Pier 31 felt like a natural next step for us,” Buen Rallo founder Eduardo Rallo said in the press release. “The Embarcadero is such a special part of San Francisco and we are excited to bring what we do to that side of the city.”
Il Porto, which is currently under construction, took over a 1917 bulkhead building that had sat vacant for years. A rendering shows a refurbished, airy space with high ceilings and large windows.
Buen Rallo Hospitality Group has ample experience running restaurants in high-traffic locations. The group already runs two restaurants in a national park — scenic sourdough focaccia spot Il Parco and Colibri Mexican Bistro in the Presidio — as well as El Jardin Tequila Bar, Zazil Cocina Mexicana and Peruvian-Spanish restaurant Suspiro at San Jose’s swanky Santana Row mall. Buen Rallo is also bringing an Italian espresso bar and restaurant, La Piazza, to Union Square next year.
“The Port welcomes investments that bring new energy and vitality to the Embarcadero, which attracts visitors from across the city and the region,” Michael Martin, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, said in the press release. “Enhancing the already-popular Alcatraz Landing attraction strengthens the energy of the Embarcadero and supports the city’s ongoing revitalization.”