This former Emeryville favorite (founded by a La Cocina alum) made the leap across the Bay, bringing what’s now SF’s best fried chicken to a small outpost in the Fillmore. The southern-style rosemary-spiced skin crackles, the meat is juicy, and once you add a little bit of house hot honey, you’re going to need a moment of silence to keep your sh*t together. Come with a group, chase your chicken with champagne, and tack on an order of mac and cheese.

The first thing that catches the eye is a vibrant mural of Fillmore Street circa 1962, setting the tone with a nod to the neighborhood's rich cultural legacy. Overhead, unique bubble-shaped light fixtures add a playful, modern touch, symbolizing the restaurant's "fried chicken and bubbles" concept. Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement brings Southern comfort to the Bay Area.

Despite the seismic changes to the Fillmore, the spirit of the historic Black neighborhood lives on through Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, which became San Francisco’s best soul food restaurant the moment it opened. Upon entering the cheery, casual restaurant, a black-and-white image of the Fillmore takes you to the past while murals honor chef-owner Fernay McPherson’s inspirations in the kitchen, her grandmother and great-aunt. Minnie Bell’s holds the championship belt for the best mac and cheese in the Bay Area, besting all its foes with cheese two ways: as a gooey pasta binder and a crispy cheese crust.

That’s probably the word that comes to mind for most food obsessives who first crunch into Fernay McPherson’s fried chicken. I remember how the herb gave the bird new woodsy-sweet dimension, but without overpowering its essential pleasure, when McPherson debuted Minnie Bell’s as a stand at the Emeryville Public Market in 2018. Its flavors are even more finely calibrated at her relocated restaurant in the Fillmore District, a historic Black neighborhood where her family has lived for generations.

For six years, I’ve had to brave the Bay Bridge to get my hands on my favorite fried chicken. It comes from chef Fernay McPherson, a La Cocina alum who has been slinging her powerfully delicious soul food out of a kiosk named after her great-aunt Minnie and grandmother Lillie Bell inside the Emeryville Public Market. But as of last week, San Francisco can now lay claim to the best fried chicken in the Bay.

Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement is a welcome story of success in a region where the black population continues to rapidly decrease and soul food operations are scrambling to stay alive. Granted, it’s not a full-fledged restaurant but rather a kiosk in Emeryville’s Public Market, a food scene far removed from the bright lights of San Francisco or even Uptown Oakland. But therein lies the beauty.

Minnie Bell’s was an important restaurant opening in recent months because of its significance to the neighborhood. The Fillmore, a historically African American neighborhood, has seen a significant dip in Black residents since the 1970s. Chef Fernay McPherson grew up in the neighborhood and opened her first brick-and-mortar restaurant on Fillmore Street last year.