Legendary San Francisco chef Charles Phan has died. He had been in the hospital following a medical emergency last week and died of cardiac arrest Monday night, according to a statement from his family. He was 62.
“Charles was a trailblazer, a dreamer who refused to settle for the status quo,” the family’s statement said. “Let’s honor Charles’ extraordinary life and legacy by keeping his spirit alive in the way we savor and share meals with one another —always family style.”
An outpouring of condolences and tributes from across the city and its restaurant community included a post from Mayor Daniel Lurie, who described Phan as a culinary visionary. “San Francisco will never forget what Charles Phan built — his influence will always be part of our city,” Lurie posted on X.
Phan, a pillar of the local restaurant community for decades, opened the pioneering Vietnamese restaurant the Slanted Door in 1995. Originally located on Valencia Street near 16th Street in the Mission, it became a national sensation for elevating Vietnamese cuisine, which was not widely known to the U.S. dining public, and for using local, high-quality ingredients.
Though a self-taught chef, Phan earned some of the highest U.S. dining accolades. He was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California in 2004 and was added to the foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2011. Four years later, the foundation named the Slanted Door as Outstanding Restaurant in America.
At its pinnacle, his empire spanned a diverse portfolio of food and beverage businesses. Over the years, he opened two locations of the fast-casual eatery Out the Door; Rice and Bones on the UC Berkeley campus, in operation from 2017 to 2023; the whiskey bar Hard Water; and a few short-lived concepts, including Heaven’s Dog, The Coachman, and Wo Hing General Store.
Chuck’s Takeaway, a takeout-only sandwich restaurant he launched in 2022, remains open in the Mission. His restaurant group also operates Slanted Door locations in San Ramon, Napa, and Beaune, France. He was expected to open a noodle shop called Moonset this year in Larkspur.
In 2004, Phan moved the Slanted Door from the Mission to the Ferry Building, where it served signatures dishes like shaking beef and crab with cellophane noodles before going dark at the onset of the pandemic. Phan announced last year that he would reopen the restaurant in its original location at 584 Valencia St. this summer.
Though he spent his childhood in Vietnam, Phan moved to the U.S. at age 13 and was a true San Franciscan. He was raised in Chinatown and attended Mission High School. He went on to study at UC Berkeley’s School of Architecture but dropped out before completing his degree. Still, he harbored a lifelong passion for architecture and design.
Phan lived in San Francisco and is survived by his ex-wife and children.
Condolences can be sent to the family at info@slanteddoor.com.