Embarcadero Center Lights Up for the 40th Time Without Its Rink. Here's What Downtown Has Instead This Season

For years, December downtown had one place you actually stood on, and that was the ice at Embarcadero Center. This year the center lights its buildings for the 40th time, while the newest rink project is on the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf. Downtown's holiday season now happens on the faces of its buildings. You watch it from Harry Bridges Plaza, from inside 101 California, and from the sidewalk on Pine Street.

That shift also changes which blocks matter after dark. Where you stand for the light shows decides where you eat and when you have to leave the office. Next door in Jackson Square, it also decides which favorite lunch room to book before mid-January.

The Rink Went to the Water

The holiday ice rink at Embarcadero Center shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peter Mott, CEO of On Ice Rinks, told KRON4 that the closure started his own plan.

"When they closed I thought well, the city really needs another rink somewhere, but it needs to be on the water," Mott told the station.

His company has run San Mateo On Ice for 16 years. About a year ago he took the idea to the Port of San Francisco, and the result is a new rink at Fisherman's Wharf. On November 6, KRON4 reported crews still preparing the ice, with Mott expecting it to open within days. The city's new skating project sits up the Embarcadero at the Wharf. What stays at the foot of Market Street is the oldest part of the tradition.

Forty Years of Outlined Towers

Embarcadero Center has scheduled its 40th Annual Building Lighting & Holiday Market for Wednesday, November 18, from 4 to 6 p.m., at street level of Three Embarcadero Center. The center calls it four decades of the tradition, with seasonal shopping and festive activities around the moment the lights go on. Admission works by free RSVP through the center's event page.

The 4 to 6 p.m. window matters for anyone who works in the towers. The event starts before most offices empty out and ends around the time evening plans begin. The center has said more participating retailers will be announced.

The lighting is the season's opener. The main event comes about two weeks later, when the faces of downtown's buildings become screens.

Where to Stand from December 4 to 13

Let's Glow SF, hosted by the Downtown SF Partnership, returns December 4 through 13 for its sixth year. It projects animated work by 19 international artists and studios onto downtown landmarks, and it is free. The free opening-night countdown runs from 6 to 7 p.m. on December 4 in front of the Ferry Building. Projections run from 7 to 10 p.m. that night, then 5:30 to 10 p.m. nightly through December 13.

Each building has a recommended viewing spot, and those spots are the main thing to know. Most are a short walk from one another:

The festival also uses Yerba Buena Lane off Market Street, with work by Andy Gilmore x META and Leslie Epsztein. A show by Michaela Mitchum runs at the top of Salesforce Tower at 415 Mission St., and the festival says it can be seen from anywhere downtown. Re4ee's countdown timer appears at every location.

The Ferry Building, 101 California and the Pacific Exchange form a tight loop. From Harry Bridges Plaza it's a few blocks up California to the plaza at 101, then over to Pine. This is the same ground the rink once tied together, and it now holds three shows instead of one rink.

Dinner Before the Glow, on Battery and California

Projections start at 5:30 p.m., so an early dinner works in the Financial District this season. Two of the newest places sit inside the walking loop above.

Shinka opened October 9 on the ground floor of the Jay hotel at 333 Battery St. Chef Fumio Yonezawa cooks modern Japanese food with French technique. Eater reported that the restaurant opened with a tasting menu that included chawanmushi, miso cod and a seasonal tomato-and-fruit ohitashi, and added à la carte dishes on October 12. Eater listed its hours as Tuesday through Thursday 4:30 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. A 4:30 seating on a weeknight leaves time to reach 101 California before the first projection loop.

For daytime, Ritual Coffee opened at 259 California St. in mid-October. The San Francisco Chronicle reported a menu of drip and espresso drinks, a pour-over for two, Saltwater Bakeshop pastries, Dynamo doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. Ritual's FiDi location page lists daily hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., so it covers the lunch-hour walk, not the evening.

The Downtown SF Partnership also publishes a list of festival specials from established neighborhood businesses. It includes Perbacco at 230 California St., Turtle Tower at 220 California St., Sam's Grill at 374 Bush St., Sam's Tavern at 368 Bush St., Boichik Bagels at 22 Battery St., Osha Thai at 4 Embarcadero Center and Polly Ann Ice Cream at 120 Pine. Every one of those addresses is within a few blocks of a projection site.

The Waterfront Storefronts Coming Next

The Embarcadero side of the neighborhood has several big projects in the pipeline, and their opening windows overlap with the holiday season.

• Lucania, from the team behind A16, is in the former MarketBar space at 1 The Embarcadero, Suite 36. The Chronicle described plans for seafood and Southern Italian cooking, two bars, a lounge, a patio, coffee service and an Italian goods shop. Eater described a patio for up to 140. The restaurant posts updates at lucaniasf.com.
• Hayati is planned for 1 The Embarcadero, Suite 48, the former Boulettes Larder space, and the Chronicle listed it as a winter opening.
• Moonchild is taking the former Fog City Diner space at 1300 Battery St., with chef Floyd Nunn and partner Angelyne Tompkins. Eater gave it a late fall or early winter window.
• Sutro Hall is a California-Mediterranean restaurant in the former Mourad space at 140 New Montgomery St., with executive chef Michael Magallanes. The Chronicle reported plans for skewered short ribs with date jus and melted leeks, whole-roasted fish and chicken, and a celery-root rotisserie, with a cocktail program from beverage director Scott Baird.

Two of these four are in the Ferry Building's arcade, a few steps from Harry Bridges Plaza, which is the best place to watch the Ferry Building projections.

Jackson Square's Power Lunch Takes a Winter Break

A few blocks north, the season ends with a planned pause. The San Francisco Standard reported that Cotogna will close for renovations on January 15. Owners Michael and Lindsay Tusk expect the work to take about three months.

The kitchen was built for the 36-seat indoor dining room, not for the 100 or so seats added with the parklet. The renovation will double the cooking and prep space and replace the pizza oven. The parklet covers four parking spaces on Pacific Avenue in front of Cotogna and Quince. It is built from wood salvaged by arborist and sawyer Evan Shively, with a canopy, potted olive trees and standing heaters. That makes the holiday weeks the last chance for a while to eat there.

Cotogna serves lunch and dinner seven days a week until it closes. During the renovation, the Standard pointed to two sister rooms. Quince serves a four-course lunch on Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Verjus opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Tusks' all-day cafe, Bar Coto, is being built out at 596 Pacific Ave., the former home of The Station cafe. It will combine a coffee shop, wine bar and gelateria.

For anyone planning a December client lunch in Jackson Square, January 15 is the date to work around.

At Brad Coy, we track these block-by-block changes because they affect how a Financial District or Barbary Coast home shows. A new restaurant around the corner or a plaza that fills up every December evening is part of a listing's story. If you're thinking about what your downtown condo or loft could bring this season, request a complimentary home valuation and we'll walk you through it with the local detail it deserves.