Chef Srijith Gopinathan’s return to San Francisco’s dining scene is a love letter to the cuisine of his home state of Kerala, on the southwestern coast of India—even the name refers to the dried coconut meat common in the cooking there. Inspector notes: "The sizable menu is geared towards sharing, though the modest portions encourage enthusiastic ordering, from a “palette” of assorted brightly flavored chutneys with pappadom, to a seriously aromatic fried chicken dish inspired by a favorite street food.

Copra has the fanciness levels amped up to 100, but they’re also laid back enough to serve a crab curry that requires you to roll up your sleeves and crack a few claws with your bare hands. Doing so will immediately boost your mood (it’s also delicious), as will the rest of the South Indian dishes. They’re pumped up by gorgeous presentation and exciting twists—think slow-cooked octopus that cuts like butter, ultra-tender black cod, and rasam poori injected with an extra tang from passion fruit.

The wow factor is high in the massive (two-story, 150-seat ) corner dining room whose design is all about texture. With a hint of the tropics and a boho-chic style that would make a modern Stevie Nicks proud, Copra is an Instagram darling. Chef Srijith Gopinathan, formerly of Michelin-starred Campton Place, brings the flavors of his childhood in southern India and neighboring Sri Lanka to the table.

The cuisine of Kerala, India’s southwestern-most state culturally influenced by its millennia as a center of maritime spice trade, has a special place for me: One of my close friends, chef and cookbook author Asha Gomez, grew up in the region. So I was immediately drawn in by the surgical nuance with which veteran San Francisco chef Srijith Gopinathan, who is also from Kerala, imagines his dishes at airy, plant-filled Copra. Take the pork belly, paired with a fruit called kudampuli, and sometimes known as Malabar tamarind, that’s specific to South India.

One of 2023’s sexiest new arrivals on the scene is this Fillmore District Indian restaurant that specializes in the cuisines of the subcontinent’s tropical south. In addition to a number of vegan dishes, Copra also has a significant NA cocktail program, with three standouts designed to appeal to the widest range of palates. Perky yet cooling, the Salty City is a mix of coconut yogurt, cucumber, salt, black garlic and lemon, while the Tiger’s Eye is a beguiling combination of cinnamon, star anise, lemon, Wilderton Lustre and a bittersweet aperitivo.

You can't make a list of the best Indian cuisine in San Francisco without shouting out Copra — where all the authenticity of street food and family recipes, passed down through the generations, meet and travel to California's west coast. The menu at Copra is based on chef Sri Gopinathan's childhood memories in his hometown of Kerala, India, and draws particularly from the food found at regional festivals and from street vendors. The shop binds together this regional fare with California-sourced ingredients.

Ropes and vines descend in thickets from the high ceilings of a former bank building and into the dining room at Copra, one of the year’s most thrilling new restaurants. Lush wallpaper depicting banana plants and coconut trees (Copra means dried coconut) recall chef Srijith Gopinathan’s native Kerala, India. Macrame chandeliers, rattan chairs and floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with clay pots sound a note of West Elm chic, signaling that luxury awaits on Gopinathan’s menu of enticing South Indian food.

An undersung hero of the Bay Area’s booming contemporary Indian cuisine scene, Srijith Gopinathan returns to his upbringing with Copra, the crown jewel of the veteran chef’s growing empire. Here, Gopinathan gives the rambunctious flavors of Southern India and its neighboring Sri Lanka a palatial stage; woven chandeliers, vintage tropical wallpaper and a faux greenhouse lend grandeur to the dining room. Grander still are the menu’s unabashed presentation of spice and the kitchen’s unmatched execution.

A city that has long been a destination for all manner of Asian food continues to deliver on unique, high-end, and regionally focused menus that are barely available anywhere else in the U.S. (see below, Prik Hom, Copra, Blue Whale). And San Francisco remains one of the best cities in the country for fine dining, with the reopening of Quince last month, and new Michelin-worthy and/or starred contenders just open in the last year like the A-team of Aphotic, Anomaly, and 7 Adams.

Ranging from small bites to sharing platters, Copra’s menu is centred around the namesake of the restaurant and a common southwestern Indian ingredient: coconut. Adding California flair to Indian classics, Tiya offers diners a la carte and tasting menu options. Be sure to check out their cocktail menu, too, on which every creation is named for a different San Francisco neighbourhood.

Copra is a Pacific Heights staple serving up South Indian cuisine in a Tulum-esque dining room. It’s all coconut and curry and passion(fruit) at this date-night destination. To kickstart your cocktail journey, we recommend the clarified lassi punch, a milk-washed Monkey Shoulder scotch marinated in a blend of pineapple, mango, cayenne, green cardamom and white pepper.

is a love letter from Chef Srijith Gopinathan to his home of Kerala in southern India. Opened in February by Gopinathan. the former chef of the two-star-Michelin Taj Campton Place, and co-owner Ayesha Thapar, the glamorous restaurant is an expansive tropical oasis adorned with thoughtful design details inspired by materials and textures found throughout South India.

Next on the list is a well-regarded restaurant in the Fillmore District known for its Indian Coastal Cuisine. It is a new restaurant by Chef Srijith Gopinathan, who has bagged two Michelin stars in the past. He aims to bring the flavors and culture of his home state - Kerala!

If you’ve lived in the Bay Area for any amount of time, then I’m sure you’ve amassed a whole bunch of Indian friends who do nothing but talk about how awful Indian food in SF is. This one though… they’re happy with. The only absolute must-get is the chutney palette.

Head Chef Srijith Gopinathan opened Copra to pay tribute to his southwestern Indian home of Kerala. Ranging from small bites to sharing platters, Copra’s menu is centered around the namesake of the restaurant and a common southwestern Indian ingredient: coconut.

Renowned restaurants like Scoma’s and Copra make every trip in San Francisco memorable with their delightful offerings. When in the city, do not miss to taste the original San Francisco flavours in these popular restaurants.

With a menu featuring childhood favorites from Chef Sri this restaurant in San Francisco brings together flavors from Indian street carts, carnivals, weddings and family recipes.