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Saison (San Francisco, California) An open layout creates complete transparency between the kitchen and dining area at Saison, designed by Samantha+Hart Architecture, Michael Gibson of Tenant Design, and Jiun Ho. The restaurant's cozy capacity—18 seats—prevents the space from feeling too exposed, however. For the kitchen, the owners imported a custom Molteni stove from Italy, the only one in San Francisco.

Designed by jones | haydu, Coffee Bar's sleek and contemporary second location is built to stand out amongst sprawling high rises. The bold and expansive metal and glass exterior provides an alluring peek into the action inside. Limited by the relatively small space (it is under 500 square feet), Coffee Bar keeps things simple with backlit maple plywood panels and brushed concrete floors. Indoor seating was deliberately excluded from the small space to meet the pace of the bustling demographic; the outdoor teak seating is by Selamat Designs and complements the warm wood interior. 101 Montgomery Street

Hong Kong’s Kinney Chan designed his first U.S. project, Infusion Lounge, to be “outrageous and really, really cool with an infusion of Oriental style.” The space features not only a full and an elevated VIP area, but also highlights a programmable LED lighting system that illuminates etched-glass columns based on Chinese architecture.

At its waterfront location along San Francisco's Embarcadero, The Plant is a comfortable coffee shop by day and a sleek restaurant/lounge by night. The cafe preserved the 18-foot exposed timber ceilings and 16-foot casement windows typical of the historic 1900s warehouse. Conceived and executed by CCS Architecture, The Plant prides itself on being one of the greenest cafes in San Francisco. Solar panels on the roof power the kitchen and cafe, while a water Electrolyzer converts tap water into acidic and alkaline cleaning fluid for the cafe's surfaces. Other standout green materials include reclaimed wood, recycled tiles, and energy efficient lighting, all complemented by the living wall art of Flora Grubb. Pier 3, The Embarcadero #108

Housed in a brick and timber Mission building that saw past lives as both a hotel and auto repair shop, Craftsman and Wolves was created by founder and chef William Werner using simple materials and a relatively modest budget. Werner collaborated closely with Zack | de Vito Architecture + Construction to bring to light his vision for a modern pâtisserie that was masculine and industrial. A cool-toned interior palette is favored, with black quartz counters at the bar and steel-trowel stucco cement walls along the kitchen's perimeter. Modest IKEA cabinetry is seamlessly integrated with custom Italian glass refrigerated pastry cases. 746 Valencia Street