Cristina Wu Feng was prepping to cater a gala event in May 2025 when she got an anxious text from a member of her staff: Someone from City Hall was at Cantoo Latin Asian Rotisserie (opens in new tab), the subterranean Tenderloin restaurant she’d opened in late 2022. “They told me it was some very important politician,” she says. “I checked the camera and noticed, ‘Oh, it’s Bilal Mahmood!’”

Mahmood, who was elected to represent District 5 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2024, wasn’t visiting on official business. He and his then-fiancee and now wife, Cynthia, were there for a plate of fried wontons and a bowl of braised brisket noodle soup. He planned to feature the restaurant in “Bites With Bilal (opens in new tab),” an occasional series he posts on Instagram. 

Cantoo, Wu Feng claims, is San Francisco’s only Venezuelan-Chinese restaurant. In the three and a half years since she and her father opened it, it has built a fan base among members of both communities, as well as the curious neighbors on O’Farrell Street who pop in for empanadas, “Venezuelan chop suey,” and Cantonese roast duck. Still, she credits Mahmood’s video, a soothing shoutout characterized by ASMR-style narration, for a marked uptick in business. “Absolutely, we got a boost, yes,” Wu Feng says. “Customers came in, like ‘Oh, I’ve seen that video from the supervisor!’”

In his 16 months in office, Mahmood has leaned heavily on Instagram to get his message out, frequently addressing viewers directly. He uses it for important matters, such as hearings on the future (opens in new tab) of Market Street and legislation that would require ICE agents to identify themselves (opens in new tab), as well as for lighter topics, such as wishing constituents a happy Star Wars Day (opens in new tab) by wielding a light saber on the steps of City Hall. 

His most direct impact for some constituents might be felt through “Bites With Bilal,” when he moonlights as a low-key food influencer repping small businesses. “A lot of it is just my merchant walks through the district,” Mahmood says. “It gives small-business owners a chance to voice concerns about public safety issues, but also, it’s a lot of fun to do.” 

Mahmood is not City Hall’s only part-time food influencer. His political ally, Mayor Daniel Lurie, also has a communications strategy that relies on Instagram videos punctuated with the sunny catchphrase “Let’s go, San Francisco!” But whereas the city’s booster-in-chief promotes everything from high-flying tech conferences and massive outdoor raves to the Golden State Valkyries and ribbon-cuttings for restaurants, the supervisor focuses on sharing positive opinions on the places he eats — because he represents his district’s restaurants in city government and because, well, the food is good. 

Admittedly, Mahmood’s reach is small. On Instagram, he has fewer than 5,000 followers — less than 2% of the mayor’s quarter million. But “Bites With Bilal” seems to punch above its weight, with several restaurateurs echoing Wu Feng that they saw a spike in business after the mild-mannered supervisor with the shaved head stopped by.

The impact on Hayes Valley’s Christopher Elbow Chocolates was obvious. Manager Amanda Nicklow says Mahmood posted a video about the shop’s Dubai chocolate (opens in new tab) even before the company announced it in August 2025. That meant customers who came in asking for white chocolate hearts with pistachio filling could have heard about it only from the supervisor’s Instagram.

“This was really the first time we saw a significant number of people coming in saying they had seen our product promoted on social media,” Nicklow says.

Some credit may go to D5’s culinary bounty. Shaped like a dragon in mid-flight, D5 encompasses several thriving commercial corridors, including much of Hayes Valley, lower Polk Street, the Fillmore, and a bit of Lower Pac Heights, plus almost the entire flourishing length (opens in new tab) of Haight Street. Japantown’s conveyor-belt sushi spots, Little Saigon’s pho shops, the Tenderloin’s Yemeni coffeehouses — Mahmood represents them all.

Instagram has proved to be a strong vehicle for outreach for Mahmood. Since the February 2025 closure of the Fillmore Safeway, a wide swath of his district has been without a full-service supermarket. It’s clearly top of mind for many constituents, who comment on Mahmood’s posts asking for status reports. In addition to posting updates (opens in new tab) — the city has received an application to build 1,800 residential units on the site, plus a grocery store — the supervisor and his team regularly engage commenters on the nitty-gritty of housing policy.

Mahmood has posted videos about high-profile restaurants such as Rich Table spinoff RT Bistro (opens in new tab), Michelin-recognized Korean comfort food spot Sungho (opens in new tab), and viral pizza sensation Jules (opens in new tab). But he mostly gravitates toward lesser-known spots — affordable, mom-and-pop businesses or one-of-a-kind gems. In addition to the buzzy openings across his district, he has extolled the $3 onigiri (opens in new tab) at Japantown’s Kissako Tea, highlighted the $5 sashimi (opens in new tab) happy hour at Nono Baru, and raved about the rigatoni (opens in new tab) with shiitake mushrooms at Ciaorigato, which claims to be the country’s first Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant.

The neighborhood dearest to Mahmood’s heart is the one he calls home: the Tenderloin. As a child, long before he became the city’s first Muslim supervisor, he and his Pakistan-born parents frequently ate at Shalimar on Jones Street, which at the time was the only restaurant serving saag gosht and goat karahi. Shalimar’s employees are deeply proud of Mahmood, noting that they’ve worked with his office on street cleaning and other quality-of-life issues.

Mahmood also shouted out the city’s first halal pizza place (opens in new tab), Pronto Pizzeria on Eddy Street, which has been making its own fennel sausage for 25 years. Owner Abdou Messaoudi, who is grateful to have stayed in business throughout the neighborhood’s ups and downs, was excited to be featured on the supervisor’s Instagram. “We were one of the first,” he says. “It was a while ago, but there was a boost.”

As a content creator, Mahmood is distinctly understated: Viewers won’t have to endure excessive gushing or other influencer cliches like drumming one’s fingers on a sandwich with amazement that such a thing could exist. Most “Bites With Bilal” clips are quick and simple, although some involve lengthier interviews with operators. In February, Mahmood commemorated the 40th anniversary of Haight Street slice shop Escape From New York Pizza (opens in new tab) and got owner Tim Parker to reminisce about his early days hawking coupons for pizza on Haight and Clayton.

“As an older small business, we appreciate support,” Parker told The Standard, adding that he came away impressed with how Mahmood is pulling for the Haight. “As far as the supervisor’s reel goes, my daughter says it did pretty well on Instagram.” 

Esteemed for its garlicky potato-and-pesto slices, Escape From New York is a San Francisco Legacy Business and a neighborhood icon. But Mahmood makes a point of patronizing under-the-radar new businesses too. A few blocks down Haight Street, Samia Sidhoum opened Cafe Velora in September, serving varieties of baklava passed down from her grandmother in Algeria. Mahmood stopped in a month later (opens in new tab) to sing the praises of her sticky-flaky phyllo treats, offered in contemporary flavors such as chocolate cherry and peanut butter, as well as traditional pistachio.

Sidhoum, who runs Cafe Velora with her son, says her fledgling business got an immediate shot in the arm from Mahmood’s endorsement. “Many people saw his videos,” she says. “I was very happy to hear that.”