SMASH BURGER POP-UP SENSATION SMISH SMASH OPENS AT SAN FRANCISCO’S SALUHALL

San Francisco’s popular two-story marketplace Saluhall is getting a burger upgrade. Smish Smash, the smash burger pop-up flipping crispy-laced patties for the Bay Area over the last five years, will start a residency at the Burgare Bar counter and launch on Saturday, January 25.

Chef Victor Donado and his partner Amy Han are readying a tight menu of their pop-up favorites for the debut. Regulars will surely recognize the OG, a smashed burger patty topped with yellow American cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and the S1 sauce, as well as the Cheeseboiga, which pairs the patty-American cheese combo with caramelized onions, pickles, and “Vic mac sauce.” Rounding out the menu are the Signature, Classic, Wow, and Reggie Miller options, featuring different sauces from Donado’s repertoire. And for those who know of Saluhall’s roots as a “plant-forward” food hall — meaning 80 percent of food offerings are plant-based — Smish Smash will offer a veggie patty substitute for its burgers to keep things inclusive.

Meanwhile, the wilder Smish Smash burgers that helped popularize the brand will make guest appearances as specials. Diners can expect to see Dac Biet, a burger-ized take on Vietnamese pho, on the menu at some point or the LA Strami, a pastrami burger sold during a recent Saluhall pop-up. The menu will launch with beef tallow curly fries as a side, but the team plans to expand options later down the line, possibly introducing hand-cut fries. The drink options will include soda classics such as Mexican Coke and Squirt, but Han tells Eater SF she hopes to eventually include other drinks; one potential addition is a small selection of smoothies from the couple’s San Leandro-based business, Be Well Juice Co.

It’s an exciting moment for Donado and Han. Donado has over 20 years of restaurant experience, including four years working with award-winning chef Ludo Lefebvre at Petit Trois in Los Angeles. But rather than continuing down a fine dining track, when Donado and Han moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles in 2019, Donado focused his attention on burgers. The smash burger scene was big in Los Angeles and he wanted to bring that heat to the Bay with his own perspective on burgers. The smash burger format, which has since become a nationwide trend, let Donado play around with his takes on comfort food, zig-zagging through his and Han’s favorite dishes. Take the Dac Biet, for instance, or the Mk’Rib, a play on — what else? — that disappearing-reappearing McDonald’s favorite, the McRib sandwich. That willingness to experiment earned the pop-up devoted fans, who would show up for “shock drops” of Donado’s latest concoctions in the pop-up’s early days.

Donado and Han have been on the hunt for a permanent space for the last four years, coming close to locking in a location last year before it fell through. Now with this residency, Han says, they’ll be able to have a consistent spot, seven days a week. The new space also offers a place to experiment with burgers and invite food friends in for collabs, such as previous pop-ups with chef Anthony Salguero of Oakland’s Popoca. “We’re excited,” Han says. “This is just the next chapter of where we’re going.”

Smish Smash at Saluhall (945 Market Street) debuts on Saturday, January 25, and will be open seven days a week.

2025-01-10T22:19:12Z