Welcome to The Industry, a column that explores the backstories of people working in San Francisco’s food and beverage sector. From farmers and purveyors to servers and sommeliers, chefs, chef-de-cuisines, and everyone in between, we take you deep inside the city’s food scene. Next up: Megan Walker, general manager of State Bird Provisions.
Whenever people ask me for restaurant recommendations in San Francisco, State Bird Provisions (1529 Fillmore St.) always makes my list. There’s nothing else quite like its dim sum-inspired service, with carts rolling around featuring beautiful and ultra-creative small plates. When I’m not eating it, I dream of State Bird’s burrata bread, dusted and scented with fragrant seven spice mix. I drool.
Of course State Bird is no secret. Opened on the last day of 2011 by chef Stuart Brioza and his wife and pastry chef Nicole Krasinski, the restaurant has received every accolade under the sun including a spot in Esquire’s Best New Restaurants list in 2012, a Michelin star, and multiple nods from the James Beard Organization. (Brioza and Krasinski are semifinalists for Outstanding Restaurateur this year.)
But it takes a village to run a restaurant (or three, with The Progress next door and Anchovy Bar around the corner). We wanted to check in with general manager Megan Walker to learn about the role she plays in making the State Bird machine run so smoothly.
You were born and raised in DC, right? Is that where you first started working in restaurants?
So I was born in DC, and I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. As an adult, I moved back to DC and that's where I started working in restaurants.
Was that after graduating college?
I actually started doing it at the same time, honestly, for money, initially. They were chain restaurants and I wasn't really feeling fulfilled. But then I met Kevin Tien — he was one of the first chefs that I worked for who really opened my eyes to what culinary really could be, and what food really could be.
He was running a very small Japanese-inspired restaurant called Himitsu at the time. It had about 20 seats inside, no reservations. And that's where I think I learned a lot about restaurants and hospitality and genuine hospitality, which was great.
Also, Carlie Steiner was the co-founder of Himitsu, along with Kevin. And she ran the front of house. I also learned a lot from her as well. Just from her beverage program alone.
How’d you end up in SF?
I moved to SF in 2021. When Himitsu closed, Kevin opened up another restaurant called Emilie’s that was actually inspired by State Bird. That restaurant unfortunately opened up at the end of 2019 so you kind of know how that story went. But that’s how I was introduced to State Bird.
And when his restaurant closed, it just honestly felt like a great time and San Francisco was calling my name. I wanted to challenge myself and, but also go to a city where I could learn a lot. And because of the culinary history of San Francisco, that's why I decided to move here.
I did a cross-country road trip with my dog, which was always a dream of mine. And so when I moved out here, I gave myself a couple of months to get acclimated to the city. And then I applied to State Bird.
What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in Lower Pac Heights, right by Lafayette Park. It’s one of my favorites in the city. Me and my dog love going there. Her name is Lucy. She’s a pit mix with a very sassy attitude.
Where do you like to eat nearby?
Nari has always been one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It's one of the first restaurants I ever went to out here, and I've always really enjoyed it. It's always a solid meal. Their roti is one of the best I've had in my life.
There’s also Sheba Lounge. It’s an Ethiopian jazz bar. They have live jazz on the weekends and the owners are very sweet. It’s also one of the first spots I went to when I moved here.
I would also say that in this neighborhood, really The Progress and The Anchovy Bar. I would go more often if I didn't work and needed some time away from the space. No bias there at all I promise.
What’s your order?
If you’re going to The Anchovy Bar, you have to get the anchovy sundae. It's got crispy candied anchovies and it's one of the most adventurous desserts I’ve had in my life. You’d never think ice cream and anchovies work, but they do. For The Progress you have to get the Prog Dog and a martini.
What about at SBP? What’s your favorite thing there?
Our fried fish parts. Whatever leftover fish we have — we take collars, tails, sometimes bellies — marinate in tamari and mirin, and turn that sauce into a glaze with butter. The fish is fried and topped with sesame seeds. It’s limited availability: we probably have about 6-7 per night, sometimes more.
And where do you go for a drink?
It's not exactly in the neighborhood, but Linden Room in Hayes Valley was one of the first bars that I ever went to in the city and still one of my favorite bars to get a great cocktail. Their cocktails change pretty often, but one of their signatures that has always been my favorite is called the Ralphie Boy. It's almost like a whiskey sour, but elevated and named after Chef Kim's late dog, Ralphie, who just passed away not too long ago.
Where do you like to go out after service?
I don’t go out often after service, but if I was, I’d probably go to ABV. Because you can get an amazing burger and great cocktails.
OK, back to State Bird. What exactly does one generally manage as a General Manager?
One of the main things is being a liaison between owners and the front of house staff or our staff. Hiring, training, mentoring, leading daily lineups, education with the staff and really providing coaching and feedback, performance reviews, and just supporting anybody in any type of new role in the restaurant.
As far as service, it's really overseeing our nightly service. So that's including our table management, that's including our pacing, our flow of reservations that we take in, managing any guest recovery. I'm really just guiding the team throughout service.
What does an average day look like?
I would say my day between 1 pm to 5:30 pm looks the same daily: getting prepared for the day, going over any parties that we have, figuring out floor plans of sections for servers, meetings with chefs, doing any menu changes and really preparing for service.
We have lineups every day as well with our front of house team. So 30 minutes before service we discuss with our team any service notes, any food or wine beverage changes, and go over any large parties and things of that nature, but once service starts, everything is different. Every day is different.
How is SBP different from other restaurants you’ve worked at?
As far as working with Chef Stuart, I think the culture and the values that they have instilled in their restaurant groups is also unlike anything that I've ever seen. Yes, they are business owners, but they put their employees first over everything, which you can really see through the way that they do their staff education and through growth that's within the company. We are a group of over hundred employees and our owners make sure to meet everyone. They know every employee's name and you also don't see that everywhere.
There’s always a line. What’s the secret for getting into SBP? How many seats are there for walk-ins?
Coming in a little bit later. If you’re dining at 9 pm there’s usually no wait or a shorter wait. If you come in at 9 pm you’ll most likely get a table. On the weekends if you come in at 10, you’ll likely get a table.
What’re some diner pet peeves?
For a place like State Bird Provisions, staying too much longer after paying. We are a really busy restaurant and we never want to make people feel rushed or make people feel like they can't enjoy themselves at the restaurant; however, we also want to always make sure that we are ready and prepared for the next table and have people's tables ready.
What’s the best thing about working at SBP?
The collab between the owners and the managers. With all the spaces being so close, if there’s anything we need, we’re able to support each other. If there’s an emergency, I’m able to reach out. I always feel supported, I never feel alone. If I have questions, there’s someone in the building I can go to. There’s a lot of support and more support than I’ve ever received being in the industry.
Megan Walker’s Must List
- Nari (1625 Post St.)
- ABV (3174 16th St.)
- Linden Room (292 Linden St.)
- The Anchovy Bar (1740 O'Farrell St.)
- The Progress (1525 Fillmore St.)
- Sheba Lounge (1419 Fillmore St.)
