Regalito's replacement is on deck, El Techo reopens next week as a Cuban spot, and Niku Steakhouse is reopening after a fire, all in This Week in Food.

The big food-world news of the week was Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan's dramatic tale of being called out for a private conference with French Laundry chef-owner Thomas Keller, who flat-out told her he didn't want her dining at the restaurant. Things worked out sort of fine that night, with a lavish comped meal for her and three friends, but the story probably hasn't done much for the image of the restaurant. Former critic Soleil Ho has subsequently come with a similar tale of being recognized at the restaurant several years ago, and being forced to accept extreme VIP treatment — including cigars — that essentially made the visit unusable from a critical perspective.

Also in the news: 32-year-old downtown SF power lunch spot One Market is calling it quits on June 11, leaving a prominent restaurant space up for grabs.

Nearby at 113 Sacramento Street, 35-year-old downtown taqueria Orale Orale is closing sometime next month. As Tablehopper reports, the Mexican restaurant from brothers Carlos and Manuel Aguilar opened just a couple years before One Market did, and the family decided that, after taking a hit during the pandemic, it was time to shut the place down.

In other, more positive news on the Mexican cuisine front, Tablehopper brings word of the Memorial Day opening of Regalito El Mil Amores, in the longtime home of Regalito Rosticeria at 3481 18th Street (at Valencia). We learned last summer that the restaurant was being taken over by the niece of the restaurant's owner, and that niece, Andrea Becerra, would be bringing over some dishes from her other daytime-focused restaurant on 21st Street, El Mil Amores. Now, the new Regalito El Mil Amores is debuting Monday, May 26, with lunch and brunch items like enchiladas, cochinita pibil, and carnitas plates, as well as new dinner entrees including birria, and pork chops in adobo.

The former El Techo space, on the rooftop of Lolinda (2516 Mission Street) reopens next week as Cubita, a Cuban-inspired restaurant and bar. Restaurateur Adriano Paganini of the Back of the House restaurant group says he's always been "inspired and intrigued by the Cuban culture and its bygone era," and the mostly outdoor space has been remodeled with checkerboard floors, palm trees, and a vintage Havana vibe. New small plates include tostones; grilled mojo-marinated chicken wings; and empanadas de ropavieja, a take on the national dish of Cuba. There's also a new clarified pina colada with Cognac on the menu, and Cuban classic drinks like the Cuba Libre, Mojito, and Hemingway Daiquiri. Cubita opens Friday, June 6, and will be open weekdays at 4 pm, and on weekends for brunch at 11 am.

Popular Italian mini-chain Fiorella, which has four locations in San Francisco, has filed for bankruptcy at two of those locations, which are each owned separately by different LLCs. As the Chronicle reports, Fiorella's original Richmond District location at 2339 Clement Street, and the Sunset location at 1240 Ninth Avenue, have both filed for Chapter 11, which allows them to keep operating as they sort out their debts. The Richmond location reportedly owes over $1 million to vendors, while the Sunset location owes between $500,ooo and $1 million. All four Fiorella locations remain open, and the Noe Valley and Polk Street locations are not affected by the filing.

And Niku Steakhouse, which closed temporarily in March after a kitchen fire, is reopening on May 30, according to an Instagram post from the restuarant.

Top image courtesy of Cubita