The first Iraqi restaurant in San Francisco, Baghdad Nights opened its doors on October 1st in the Lower Haight neighborhood, at 682 Haight St.

For Husain Nasir, the owner of the new restaurant, this was a dream that he has carried since he came to San Francisco in 1992 as a refugee after the first Gulf War.

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Nasir, a longtime resident of the Lower Haight neighborhood, which is home to Baghdad Nights, worked at the liquor store next door for years until he was able to buy the liquor store—always keeping the goal of opening his restaurant some day. He aspired to open a restaurant that highlights the food, atmosphere, music and culture of Iraq, not only to share the beauty of his country, but also as a counter-point to the negative attention that it so often receives in the media.

When the owners of the garage next door to the liquor store offered to sell him the space, his dream began to materialize. He converted the space into a restaurant, and called upon an old friend, Mo Alsarifi, Head Chef of Baghdad Nights, who came from Iraq to help him create the menu and atmosphere.

Xpress checks in to see what the opening process has been like, and get a taste fore what the restaurant has to offer.