Nate Leonard wants the Mess Hall at the Presidio, an expansive food hall opening in San Francisco this week, to be many things to many people. With three fast-casual restaurants, a cocktail bar, a daytime café and a market, the restaurateur hopes to attract both tourists and Bay Area residents visiting the Tunnel Tops park, Crissy Field and other parts of the national park, along with the 8,000 people who live in the Presidio.
“I’m really excited to fill it up and provide quality food that’s hopefully not going to break the bank,” Leonard said of the project, four years in the making. “Being part of everybody’s daily routine would be an absolute success.”
The Mess Hall opens on Saturday at 201 Halleck St., a 6,200-square-foot historic building with wraparound views of San Francisco Bay, the Palace of Fine Arts and Alcatraz. Leonard, a former chef, partnered with Rob Gaon, a Mill Valley resident and entrepreneur, and Peter Serpico, a chef known for his work at the Korean-inflected Momofuku empire in New York and Stephen Starr restaurants in Philadelphia, who consulted on the menus. In addition, bakery sensation Breadbelly will provide pastries while Ezra Roberts of San Francisco’s acclaimed Verjus wine bar is the Mess Hall’s beverage director.
Studio KDA, the design company behind Bar Panisse, Lunette and other prominent Bay Area restaurants, created the food hall’s look, which incorporates original light fixtures, Douglas fir floors and other features from the former U.S. Army depot, which was originally built in 1897. Some tables have views of the Golden Gate Bridge, while seating at a long black counter looks into an open kitchen shared by the three restaurants: Breadwinner, a sandwich and burger spot; the fish-centric Dayboat Seafood; and Boda, which serves twists on Korean street food…