Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group to Open Sergeant Ma September 9 in San Francisco’s China Basin

Inspired by Chef Jason Halverson’s mother, the group’s most ambitious restaurant to date brings together Northern California’s seasonal bounty, Asian culinary traditions, and the generous spirit of Ma’s table in a warm waterfront setting overlooking Mission Creek.

 

Images (PC: Hardy Wilson) | Video | Menu | Reservations

 

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA; August 27, 2026) – Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group (HNG) today announced that Sergeant Ma, its new waterfront restaurant overlooking Mission Creek in China Basin, will officially open on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026. Located directly across from Oracle Park, the restaurant marks a significant new chapter for the hospitality group, bringing together a waterfront setting, a deeply personal culinary perspective, and a vision of California dining rooted in connection, generosity, and the simple pleasure of gathering around a table.

 

Nearly four years in the making, Sergeant Ma is the group’s most ambitious project to date and an expression of how Hi Neighbor has evolved over more than a decade in San Francisco while remaining grounded in its founding belief that hospitality comes first. The restaurant was conceived to bring together food, design, service, and setting in a way that feels equally appropriate for a business dinner, a celebratory meal, happy hour with friends, or a pre- and post-event gathering.

Named in honor of Executive Chef and Partner Jason Halverson’s mother, Sergeant Ma tells the story of the woman who shaped his understanding of food and hospitality long before he entered the professional kitchen. Known affectionately within the family as “The Sergeant” for her commanding presence and simply as “Ma” to her children, she built a home where meals were an expression of care—where there was always room for one more guest, one more plate, and one more story around the table.

“For me, this restaurant is incredibly personal,” said Halverson. “My mom came to the United States from Vietnam as a teenager and built a life for our family through hard work, determination, and extraordinary generosity. She always cooked as though there would be more people arriving than expected. There was always another plate, another bowl of rice, another seat at the table. Sergeant Ma is my way of honoring that spirit while sharing the kind of food I love to cook today.”

For Ryan Cole, CEO and Partner of Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group, that spirit of generosity is inseparable from the group’s approach to hospitality. “As we’ve grown, we’ve never wanted to simply open more restaurants—we’ve wanted to create places that genuinely belong to San Francisco,” said Cole. “Sergeant Ma reflects everything we’ve learned over the last thirteen years about hospitality: that the best restaurants are welcoming, memorable, and connected to the communities they serve. This restaurant represents both where our company is today and where San Francisco is heading.”

That commitment has remained consistent since the group’s founding in 2013. While the scale of its projects has changed, Cole says the company’s fundamental approach has not. “We pride ourselves that we’ve kept that core of hospitality,” said Cole. “We will be here. We will be waiting on you. We will be busing your table. We will be cooking your food.”

That philosophy extends throughout the guest experience. Cole describes Sergeant Ma as a restaurant designed around intelligent, attentive service without unnecessary formality, a place where guests feel that they are in good hands without feeling managed. From the moment guests arrive, the experience is intended to feel calm, relaxed, engaging, and connected to the waterfront. “We want you to feel well taken care of, but it doesn’t need to be invasive,” Cole said. “We want you to feel the camaraderie, the excitability of your meal, not only from the food, but your environment.”

The restaurant’s location is central to that experience. Situated along Mission Creek in one of San Francisco’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, Sergeant Ma sits at the intersection of a rapidly expanding residential, technology, sports, and waterfront community. Oracle Park is directly across the street, Chase Center is nearby, and various tech companies have established a significant presence within walking distance. The restaurant was also designed to accommodate the many ways people use a restaurant today. The main dining room offers a polished setting for special occasions, while the private dining room is designed for executive dinners and intimate gatherings. A large indoor-outdoor lounge creates space for group happy hours and casual drinks, while the waterfront deck is positioned to accommodate the energy of Giants games and other events at Oracle Park.

 

A SEAT AT THE FAMILY TABLE

Growing up in Wichita, Kansas, Executive Chef and Partner Jason Halverson was shaped by two worlds. At home, Chinese and Vietnamese traditions informed daily life and family meals, while beyond the front door he experienced a distinctly Midwestern upbringing. At the center of it all was his mother, a strong and formidable Asian matriarch whose instinctive approach to cooking and joyful generosity around the table would become Halverson’s greatest culinary influence. Those experiences continue to shape his perspective in the kitchen, where California’s seasonal ingredients become a canvas for flavors, techniques, and traditions that span cultures. The result is food that feels unmistakably Californian while reflecting the diversity that has long defined San Francisco.

Sergeant Ma embraces contemporary California dining with Asian flavors, techniques, and ingredients woven throughout. The menu reflects both Northern California’s seasonal bounty and the diversity that has long defined San Francisco, encouraging guests to share dishes, linger over meals, and experience the same warmth and abundance that inspired the restaurant itself.

The menu is intentionally designed as a collection of shareable dishes, giving guests the flexibility to build a meal according to their party and appetite. Highlights include Shigoku Oysters with chili, strawberry, and lime; S.F. Halibut & Uni Crudo with carrot-citrus vinaigrette, gooseberry, and serrano; King Salmon Tartare with wood ear mushrooms and chili crisp; and Halverson’s favorite, Tuna Noodle Salad with sesame vinaigrette and smoked soy. The menu will also feature seasonal seafood offerings such as lobster salad or scallop preparations, to evolve alongside the bounty of the Northern California coast.

Other dishes move between familiar comforts and unexpected combinations. Steamed Manilla Clams & Crispy Pork Belly pairs crispy noodles and sour chili mignonette. California produce shines in the Chopped Summer Salad with miso Caesar dressing and the Heirloom Tomato & Yuba Salad with chili crisp, roasted garlic, bok choy, and basil. Grilled Spanish Octopus is finished with a “char siu” glaze, Asian pear, chrysanthemum, and scallion pancake. Stuffed Chicken Wing Katsu is served with mustard cream, while Lobster Mafaldine pays playful homage to Chinese buffets with Chinese black bean, lobster butter, and lime. A Warm Pineapple Bun brings together roasted mortadella, liver mousse, and caramelized pineapple mustard.

More substantial dishes include Whole Grilled Snapper with fermented chili and green garlic sauces, sweet corn, and crispy Koshihikari rice; Grilled Prawns or a seasonal scallop preparation with tandoori spices, nectarines, squash, and Jimmy Nardello peppers; Coriander Crusted Duck Breast with yellow peach, anise jus, and a confit leg crepe; and Dry-Aged Ribeye “Au Poivre” with sansho pepper, fava beans, bone marrow, and pommes frites. Designed to be shared alongside the lighter dishes, these plates add another layer of richness and abundance to the table.

Together, the menu reflects Halverson’s approach to cooking: rooted in the flavors and traditions that shaped him, informed by California’s abundance, and designed above all to bring people together.

 

A THOUGHTFUL POUR

The cocktail program, created by Beverage Consultant Suzanne Miller, takes the same approach to storytelling, drawing inspiration from the history of the China Basin building and the cultural influences that surround it. Miller’s process began with research into the site’s past, including its history as a Southern Pacific Railroad fruit-shipping hub and banana depot, and evolved into a collection of cocktails that are light, bright, approachable, and layered with meaning.

Nostalgic flavors also play a central role. Miller draws on memories of growing up in Oakland and spending time in Chinatown, incorporating familiar flavors from Chinese candies into contemporary cocktails. White Rabbit candy is transformed into a syrup for an Old Fashioned, while Haw Flakes inspire an agave element in a tequila-based cocktail with lychee and hibiscus.

The program’s storytelling culminates in Banana Depot, a banana-pudding-inspired milk punch that pays tribute to the building’s history as a banana depot. The cocktail menu is designed to offer visual and stylistic range, moving across spirit-forward classics, bright and refreshing drinks, and playful expressions while maintaining balance from one end of the menu to the other.

Sergeant Ma also places a strong emphasis on non-alcoholic cocktails, including Patty’s Ransom, a bright, fun, fruit-forward and well-balanced non-alcoholic martini, which takes its name from another fascinating chapter in the building’s history. In 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), which demanded that her family distribute food to people in need throughout the city as part of the ransom. The Hearst family coordinated the food distribution effort from this very building, giving Patty’s Ransom its fitting name. Other offerings use ingredients such as clarified gooseberry and multiple non-alcoholic spirits to create complex, cocktail-like experiences without alcohol.

Together, the food and beverage programs share a common philosophy: familiar flavors can evoke nostalgia, unexpected combinations can inspire discovery, and thoughtful hospitality means making sure there is something for everyone at the table.

 

A NEW ANCHOR FOR CHINA BASIN

Designed by acclaimed San Francisco architect Cass Calder Smith, the restaurant transforms a historic warehouse overlooking Mission Creek into one of the city’s most distinctive waterfront dining destinations. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding water, the design combines warm teak wood, expansive glazing, lush landscaping, and softly curved architectural forms to create a seamless dialogue between indoors and out.

Tall sliding glass doors open directly onto a dramatically expanded waterfront deck, while multiple dining environments—including a lively main dining room, bar, lounge, private dining room, and outdoor terraces with fire pits allow the restaurant to shift effortlessly throughout the day and evening.

“We wanted people to immediately feel connected to the water,” said Calder Smith. “Very few restaurants in San Francisco truly sit on the waterfront in this way. The architecture isn’t about spectacle—it’s about creating an experience where the building, the landscape, and the dining all feel naturally connected.”

Inside, the historic character of the former industrial warehouse remains visible through its original structural elements, contrasted with refined detailing, warm materials, and extensive greenery. A mature tree anchors the main dining room, reinforcing the connection between architecture and nature while softening the scale of the expansive space.

The restaurant occupies a site that has not previously housed a dining destination, and the property management company, McCarthy Cook, has made significant investments to create a one-of-a-kind space unlike anywhere else in San Francisco. Situated at the center of one of San Francisco’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, Sergeant Ma arrives as Mission Bay and China Basin continue their transformation into one of the city’s premier destinations for dining, technology, sports, and waterfront recreation. Surrounded by Oracle Park, Chase Center, leading technology companies, and thousands of new residents, the restaurant was designed to become both a neighborhood gathering place and a destination for visitors from across the Bay Area.

 

ABOUT HI NEIGHBOR

Hi Neighbor Group is a rapidly growing, award-winning hospitality group that now manages and operates six full service restaurants while also consulting on multiple projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. The collection of award-winning dining establishments is operated by partners Ryan Cole, Tai Ricci, Jason Halverson, and Lucas Bierbower. Named Restaurateurs of the Year by both San Francisco Magazine and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, Hi Neighbor’s growing portfolio of restaurants includes; The Vault Steakhouse, The Vault Garden, Trestle (Bib Gourmand recipient since 2015), MAMA Oakland (Bib Gourmand recipient since 2021), 7 Adams in partnership with acclaimed chefs David Fisher and Serena Chow Fisher (Michelin Star recipient since 2024). The group has also launched an artisan ice cream brand with David and Serena, Jack & Remi, as well as The Launch Pad Coffee & Ice Cream, a daytime coffee shop in the 555 California building. Founded on the principle that quality + compassion drive hospitality, Hi Neighbor stays true to its name, welcoming every guest to enjoy a memorable experience rooted in exceptional cuisine and detailed service.

 

ABOUT MCCARTHY COOK & CO.

Founded in 1995 by Thomas McCarthy and Edward W. Cook, McCarthy Cook & Co. is a vertically integrated real estate operating company focused on office, life science, and industrial properties throughout the Western U.S. Guided by its relationship-driven philosophy—Experience the Relationship—the firm is committed to building long-term partnerships with both partners and customers through visionary, service-oriented real estate. Anchored by its “Experiential Workplace Visioneers™” approach and workplace hospitality ethos—“Welcome Meets Workplace™”—McCarthy Cook & Co. delivers destination-worthy environments through its MC+ “Experience the Relationship” service model, supported by in-house expertise across acquisitions, development, hospitality, property management, leasing, and entitlements.

 

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