In the week since the unexpected loss of Charles Phan, the pioneering chef who believed Vietnamese food deserved a place at the finest tables in San Francisco, there’s been an outpouring of love from those he left behind too soon.

What’s become more clear than ever before is that Phan’s influence didn’t stop with his own restaurants, which include various outposts of his original Slanted Door, Chuck’s Takeaway, and the upcoming Moonset in Larkspur. The self-made chef was hugely influential for some of SF’s most acclaimed restaurant chefs.

From Kin Khao to Rintaro, here are six local restaurants that may never have existed without chef Charles Phan.

Kin Khao

(Courtesy of @kinkhao)

Pim Techamuanvivit, SF’s doyenne of modern Thai cuisine, described Phan’s success to The Washington Post as “a tide that lifted a lot of boats.” He was a key influence on her first restaurant, Kin Khao, when it opened back in 2014. Like Phan, she rooted her menu in the rich and varied food she grew up with in Bangkok, preparing dishes like khao soi (northern-style chicken curry with egg noodles) and plah pla muek (charred Monterey squid) with locally sourced ingredients. Not long after opening, Kin Khao earned Techamuanvivit her first Michelin star. She’s since earned a second for her follow-up restaurant Nari, too. Phan, who offered to help the chef any way he could in her early days, was proud of her success. “It’s great that you’re doing your own thing,” he told her. “Don’t be like anybody.” // 55 Cyril Magnin St. (Union Square), kinkhao.com

Gigi’s

(Carly Hackbarth)

As news of Phan’s passing spread, chef Tu David Phu paid tribute to the restaurant luminary on Instagram. “I/we stand on the shoulders of chef Charles,” he wrote. He made it “possible for chefs like myself to find a way.” Indeed, Phu’s Vietnamese-influenced wine bar GiGi’s may never have opened if Phan hadn’t led the charge for the infiltration of Southeast Asian flavors on the higher-end food scene. Gigi’s, a joyful spot for a glass of wine or a meal of thoughtfully crafted dishes like bluefin tuna tartare with fish sauce and chili and Saigon-style wagyu hot dogs, follows in Phan’s East-meets-West, Cal-Vietnamese footsteps. // 299 Divisadero St. (NoPa), meetatgigis.com

Prubechu

(Courtesy of @prubechusf)

The time Phan spent as a refugee in Guam before coming to San Francisco as a child gave him a special connection to Prubechu’s chef Shawn Naputi and business partner Shawn Camacho, both of whom were born and raised on the island and believed that the food of their homeland deserved a restaurant of its own. Phan “offered us invaluable advice about longevity and staying relevant in this ever-changing industry,” the restaurateurs wrote on Instagram last week. “We are deeply grateful for the trail you blazed that allowed Chamorro food, and Prubechu, to have a place at the table.” Without Phan’s prowess and humility, SF may have never known the pleasure of coconut titiyas, tinaktak (coconut braised beef with egg noodles), or chicken kelaguen. // 2224 Mission St. (Mission), prubechu.com

Rintaro

(Courtesy of Rintaro)

While Phan’s heart was in Vietnamese cuisine, his passion transcended the barriers behind which a wide variety of food cultures were stuck for generations. Japanese-born chef Sylvan Mishima Brackett took inspiration from Phan when he opened his izakaya restaurant Rintaro in 2014. “Now it seems obvious that you can have an Asian restaurant that serves higher end food, but at the time it was definitely a first,” he told the SF Chronicle. “It was clear [that] if you did something the way he did it, it could be successful. You could bring a different culture here and do it successfully and excitingly and beautifully.” Today, Rintaro’s long-simmered dashis, charcoal-grilled meats, katsus, and karaages have become some of the Mission’s most sought-after eats. // 82 14th St. (Mission), izakayarintaro.com

Abacá

(Courtesy of Abacá)

Although Abacá chef Francis Ang never had the opportunity to work with Phan, his invisible hand helped guide his journey. “Chef Phan paved the way for future generations like myself to step into the culinary world and represent cuisines that were once overlooked,” Ang wrote on Instagram this week. “His journey fueled my ‘what ifs’ and dreams.” Today, Abacá’s contemporary Filipino-California cuisine is frequently featured among the city’s best. With dishes like pork lumpia, kaldereta dumplings made with A5 wagyu, and the super-fun kamayan feast, Ang has successfully reframed the food with which he grew up as a cuisine deserving of the high-end dining scene—just like Phan did 30 years before. // 2700 Jones St. (Fisherman’s Wharf), restaurantabaca.com

Atelier Crenn

(Courtesy of @atelier.crenn)

Phan’s pioneering didn’t just elevate underappreciated culinary traditions, it proved that even a chef without formal training could be successful in SF’s restaurant landscape. That struck a chord with Dominique Crenn, now one of the best known chefs in the world. Phan motivated “new chefs who come here [to] say, ‘If Charles Phan did it, I can do it,’” she told the Chronicle. “It was very inspiring for me.” Since opening her first restaurant Atelier Crenn in 2011—a place influenced by the chef’s French upbringing and the work of local California farmers and producers—Crenn has gone on to be the first woman chef in the U.S. to earn three Michelin stars. // 3127 Fillmore St. (Cow Hollow), ateliercrenn.com