Smish Smash at Saluhall - San Francisco

Located at Saluhall and just steps from Moscone Convention Center. Born as a popup in 2020 by Chef Victor Donado and partner Amy Han, Smish Smash quickly became a local favorite, bringing the smashburger craze from Los Angeles to the Bay Area. Our signature smash technique transforms the burger experience into a savory, crispy, and juicy indulgence, with every patty smashed to create a perfect “meat lace” while locking in all the juices for an unforgettable bite. We use only 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef, ensuring a rich, full flavor that’s both sustainable and delicious. Chef Victor, an LA native with a French culinary background, marries these two worlds—crafting each burger with the precision of fine dining while keeping the fun, fast-food vibe alive. The result is an elevated, crave-worthy burger that takes the concept of “fast food” to a new level. At Smish Smash, we don’t just serve a burger—we serve an experience.

About Smish Smash

Smish Smash is a smashburger popup that started in May 2020 by Chef Victor Donado and partner Amy Han.. Smashburger is a specific style of burger that has taken the LA food scene by storm. Our style of burger requires smashing the beef patties to obtain a thin, crispy meat crust termed “meat lace” while keeping the center juicy. Vic, a LA native, wanted to bring a big of LA to the Bay mixing two of his favorite admirations – his blend of fast food mixed with his French culinary background.

Since our start in May 2020, we’ve made a lot of noise in the Bay Area as one of the first smashburger pop up. Some of our most notable distinguishes include: one of the six pop ups mentioned in The Best Bay Area Food Pop Ups of 2020, SF Chronicle’s Top 25 Restaurants in the Bay Area, and yearly upholding the Bay Area Top Burger List.

We started our pop up in a controlled kitchen (Lana’s Oakland – formally known as Cookiebar & Npetune’s Alameda) running service 4 nights a week. This year, we transitioned to an outdoor pop up at local breweries operating 1-4 times a week along with catering private events and taking part of Off The Grid Fort Mason series. For the past 2-3 years, we’ve had the success of being food vendors at Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.

Although we serve classics such as double beef patties with double American cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and onions, we take pride in our specials to uphold our standout and unique styles. Our most notable specials are our “Dac Biet” described as an elevated smashburger inspired by Pho (a Vietnamese beef noodle soup) and our “Uni Burger” (Santa Barbara sea urchin, housemade yuzukoshu & ponzu aioli, shisho leaves with a beef patty). These two highly recommended specials are continuously mentioned in our featured articles. Due to high demands for our specials, we practice a tradition of keeping these items on the menu for 1-2 weeks at a time to keep our customers satisfied while maintaining anticipation for what Chef Vic will concoct next.

Chef Vic has over 20 years experience in the culinary world ranging from food trucks to fine dining in Los Angeles. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, he worked 4 years as a Sous Chef under Michelin starred Chef Ludo Lefebvre at Petit Trois, a 21 seat French restaurant. Chef Ludo had offered him the Executive Chef position, but Chef Vic had established plans to move up north. Prior to COVID, Chef Vic worked for a private chef collective called Mise En Place SF that catered to high end clientele. In addition to his evolving success, Vic also owns a successful juice bar in San Leandro, CA.

With our own space and first brick & mortar, we will be able to expand our hours and our menu. We have a strong customer base and we would love to provide our smashburgers to more people ot expand our passion in food. Attached are several articles you can find that have highlighted the immediate and continued success of our popup.

IN THE PRESS

Recent Articles

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-smash-burger-finds-home-ikea-20025848.php

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/downtown-sf-restaurant-one-of-a-kind-burger-20030755.php

https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/03/san-francisco-peak-smash-burger/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/smish-smash-burger-ikea-sf-20022647.php

https://sf.eater.com/2025/1/10/24341023/san-francisco-smash-burger-smish-smash-pop-up-saluhall

Smash Burger Pop-up Smish Smash Joining Saluhall

May 2024 – smashburgers ranked

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/best-smashburgers-bay-area-19470479.php

SF GATE

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Oakland-pop-up-Smish-Smash-burgers-Cookiebar-Cream-15469649.php

SF CHRONICLE

https://www.sfchronicle.com/restaurants/article/Crispy-snackable-smashburgers-are-sweeping-the-15688978.php

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/best-burgers-sf-bay-area/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/restaurants/article/The-best-Bay-Area-food-pop-ups-of-2020-15795436.php

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/best-sf-restaurants-bay-area/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/best-burger-oakland-berkeley-east-bay/

INFATUATION SF

https://www.theinfatuation.com/san-francisco/features/smish-smash

https://www.theinfatuation.com/san-francisco/reviews/smish-smash-burgers

https://www.theinfatuation.com/san-francisco/guides/best-outside-lands-restaurants-sf

EATER SF

https://sf.eater.com/2020/12/9/22159865/smish-smash-burger-pop-up-mcrib-mcdonalds-alameda

https://sf.eater.com/maps/hot-new-restaurants-takeout-east-bay-oakland-berkeley/smish-smash

https://sf.eater.com/2023/8/14/23831370/best-food-drink-outside-lands-2023