One of New York's most famous restaurants, Tavern on the Green, is now getting a new branch all the way across the country. Tavern on the Green will be opening a massive 40,000-square-foot restaurant at San Francisco's Metreon. The restaurant will be on the the top floor, with an outdoor terrace overlooking Yerba Buena Gardens. The restaurant will have the same luxurious style that makes Tavern on the Green a popular tourist destination in New York with chandeliers, murals and art.

The new Tavern on the Green will focus on catering and special events. Brian Young, the former chef de cuisine of the three-star Michelin restaurant Le Bernardin and executive chef at Citarella the Restaurant, has been hired as executive chef. The restaurant is expected to open during summer 2009 and will focus on contemporary American with an emphasis on local ingredients and wine selections. The restaurant is closely identified with New York and with more formal fine dining than casual California is often used to, it will be interesting to see how they adapt the concept to the West Coast crowd.