Press & Awards
Bravo’s Top Chef season 22
On Season 22, viewers will meet Anna “Anya” El-Wattar who worked as chef at San Francisco’s Birch & Rye. This Michelin-recognized restaurant in Noe Valley served elevated Russian cuisine inspired by the chef’s childhood in Russia.
“Deliciously Twisted Classics”
Features a panel of celebrity chefs and culinary influencers as they sample the most delicious and extravagant spins on familiar dishes – Elevated and modernized Russian Cabbage Rolls – The Nest.
ABC Localish
Curious about Russian cuisine, but don’t know where to start? Birch & Rye in San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood serves modern Russian dishes in California style.
PBS – On a new Check, Please!
In the heart of San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood, Birch & Rye charms guests by reimagining traditional Russian and other Eastern European dishes with Californian flair — and a touch of experimental finesse.
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El-Wattar deftly bridges modernity and tradition with California-ized riffs on familiar dishes; delicate pelmeni stuffed with local Liberty duck float in a luscious duck bone broth, and a stunning vegetarian rendition of stroganoff stars einkorn noodles and wild mushrooms.
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At this cozy nook, the chef combines her upbringing and restaurant chops to offer a unique, ingredient-focused interpretation of Russian cuisine that is in equal measure indulgent and fresh.
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Moscow-born chef Anya El-Wattar is preparing her modern Russian restaurant Birch & Rye. As you would expect of a Bay Area restaurant, it’s taking those cultural touchpoints El-Wattar is so familiar with and looking at them through the lens of California produce.
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Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn's Chef Dominique Crenn, and Anya El-Wattarof the recently opened BIRCH & RYE will be collaborating on the event's large menu also set there at El-Wattar's first restaurant serving modern Russian cuisine.
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This is El-Wattar’s first restaurant, a project her past catering clients and friends have been asking her to do for years. She received her formal culinary training at New York’s Natural Gourmet Institute, and studied at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico…
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As you enter the intimate space that housed my beloved Contigo — a Spanish favorite I cherished one block from home the years I lived in Noe Valley — Birch & Rye’s hospitable glow confirms we’ve been needing a Russian restaurant like this for a long time.
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