No one wanted to ditch the past. “We were just looking to update the restaurant and not let a cool legacy die,” says Samantha DuVall Bechtel, a history buff and daughter of founder Sam Duvall. 

Shuttered for nearly a year and a half after his passing, Izzy’s Steaks and Chops—a Marina staple since 1987—reopened earlier this year, seemingly unaltered. But, even though some old features remain, the dark oak wood floors and front booths, burgundy leather seats, ribbed glass partitions, are all new, deliberately chosen to evoke the Barbary Coast era and the kind of interior you might stumble upon in a North Beach eatery serving time-honored fare.

To match, chef Daniel Lucero has conjured up a nostalgic yet stylish menu tuned for contemporary palates.

The revamped two-story interior—designed by New York firm Gachot—features a vintage bar and private mezzanine. A large mural, painted by Matthew Benedict in a 1950s advertising style, depicts the restaurant’s namesake, Izzy Gomez, a salty Portuguese bootlegger from the Prohibition era. With the addition of Fireclay tiles, IRG stone and other artful San Francisco design elements throughout, the capacious restaurant looks frozen in time—yet cozily modern. 

izzysanfrancisco.com