One of SF’s best Italian restaurants is taking a prime space at the Ferry Building

One of San Francisco’s top Italian dining teams will debut a new restaurant in a high-profile space at the Ferry Building. 

The crew behind A16, the pizza and pasta spot with three locations across the Bay Area and Napa, will open Lucania, a concept inspired by southern Italy, in the second half of 2026. It will take over the vacant space at the front of the historic food hall that was occupied for nearly two decades by MarketBar Cafe until its abrupt closure in April 2020. 

The nearly 3,000-square-foot space has a massive patio that the team is renovating in the hopes of echoing the experience of dining al fresco at an Italian piazza. Noting the plan to renovate the Embarcadero Plaza just across from the Ferry Building, owner Shelley Lindgren says she’s excited for Lucania to play a role in downtown San Francisco’s recovery. “It’s almost like a front-row seat,” she says. “This is what we want more of in this city.” 

Lindgren, who opened A16’s first location on Chestnut Street in the Marina in 2004, has had a presence in the Ferry Building since the pandemic. In 2021, she opened a pop-up selling Italian food baskets during the holidays; that eventually became a permanent counter-service restaurant called A16 La Pala, which began serving Roman-style pizzas in early 2024. For now, the plan is to keep La Pala open alongside Lucania, since the former is focused on takeaway rather than full-service dining. 

As for Lucania, Lingren says the menu will be “simple but classic,” with pizzas, pastas, and salads. There will be a “Pesce Blu” section starring little fish like marinated anchovies, roasted sardines, and steamed mussels. As the Ferry Building pushes to become more of an evening destination, Lindgren plans for Lucania to stay open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., making it an option for both a mid-morning coffee or an after-work cocktail — or vice versa if that’s what the day demands. “Be on your own time; the rules are all off,” Lingren says. “You can have your afternoon cappuccino or an early cocktail.”  

The patio, which will seat about 140, will have heaters, “massive umbrellas,” and a wind wall — all intended to make outdoor dining comfortable even if San Francisco has more exceptionally cold summers. It’ll be dog-friendly, with the flexibility to be sectioned off for small or large groups. Lindgren plans to lean into the chaos of the bustling Saturday-morning farmers market by hosting local artists and musicians at the restaurant. 

“I think this is a time in our city when things are coming back to life,” she says, “and we want to be a part of the future of San Francisco.”