I have multiple food and drink lists for SF, and some Aussie friends pointed out to me that I don't have a "go-to" SF list to share, so here goes...
San Francisco is a foodie town. A little obnoxious at times, but we have amazing quality and diversity of food and love to critique, recommend and post every delicious, unique, food porn-worthy dish that we come across. There's
Michelin-stars to hole-in-the-walls with phenomenal food, so will try to give some context for each.
I write this list for visitors who have a limited number of SF meals and drinks to experience. Includes both corporate/work-appropriate restaurants as well as casual places.
SF has more micro-neighborhoods than a 7x7 mile city should merit. Here's one view of
SF neighborhood stereotypes (funny and pretty accurate). I will try to stick to the names in the map here.
Pro-tip: Download the
Yelp app (also a website). Reviews are user generated so take or leave those, but it's the best resource for restaurant information in the Bay Area.
Check out
SFEater's 38 Essential SF Restaurants, which gets updated every few months with the latest foodie recs.
My Favorites
This list crosses many genres but here's my top list...
- Spruce (Presidio Heights) - food is phenomenal (Michelin one star), bartenders fantastic and one of the few white linen, men-in-jacket fancy restaurants in SF. I love sitting at the bar (burger off of bar menu). Definitely get the beignet for dessert.
- State Bird Provisions (Western Addition/Fillmore) - it's the hot spot in town now. Reservations go 60 days in advance, but you can walk in day-of if you show up right when it opens (literally, people taskrabbit to wait in line). But it's worth it, hard to describe but California/Asian fusion dim sum. Get their eponymous signature dish and definitely get as many small dishes as you can eat off of their carts. Four people is optimal for this, hard for big group. Their new outpost next door, The Progress, is also wonderful if you can get a res.
- Lolinda (Mission) - Argentinean steakhouse and Latin tapas in a trendy former club with great, rich food and fantastic cocktails. Rooftop bar El Techo is nice before or after.
- Kokkari (FiDi) - standard on the SF lists, Kokkari has fantastic Mediterranean, huge brick oven with whole animal specials, extensive wine list. It's in my top two Mediterranean/Greek (other is Evvia in Palo Alto, very similar). Right in FiDi so it's filled with work dinners during the week.
- Burma Love (Mission) - outpost of the better known Burma Superstar, but I love this casual Burmese restaurant and bar on Valencia and Duboce. Signature tea leaf salad and samosa soup are phenomenal, as are most of their extensive menu. No reservations, so prime hours might be tough for a group.
- Beretta (Mission) - wonderful Italian on Valencia at 23rd with fantastic cocktails and wonderful food. Their menu is always changing but always a great experience. Love their small dishes like eggplant caponatina and walnut bread with buratta and truffle oil, and great pizzas. You can call an hour before to be put on the list, or otherwise be prepared to wait
- NOPA (Western Addition) - New American over on Divisadero, phenomenal food and cocktails, get reservations in advance
Asian
There is fantastic Asian food, particularly as you go away from the center of SF in Sunset and Richmond, because, well, that's where all of the Asians live (same with the South Bay... I actually think the Asian food in San Jose is better than SF). These tend to be more casual so they may be less work meal appropriate.
- Basil Canteen (SoMa) - this is my favorite Thai place though it's a dark horse in the SF Thai polls. I love the space, an old warehouse with exposed brick, looks super Brooklyn trendy, but they have legit Thai food and I think it's one of the best here. There's not much else in this immediate neighborhood, but I highly recommend going down the block to Bar Agricole for amazing cocktails before or after a meal at Basil Canteen.
- Kin Khao (Union Square) - close #2 for amazing Thai.
- Dosa (2 locations - Mission, Western Addition/Japantown) - fantastic South Indian place, and quite nice. This could be ok for corporate.
- Lers Roi Thai (3 locations, but the Tenderloin one has best food. Mission is great as it's in the middle of a lot of bars, and Hayes Valley meh) - great authentic Thai but in a nice but casual environment.
- Burma Superstar (Richmond) - really popular Burmese place. Also try B Star, which is nearby with not nearly the wait, and Burma Love on Duboce/Valencia.
- PPQ Dungeness Island (Richmond) - CRABS! They give you bibs but wear clothes that you can get dirty. Also fantastic non-crab Vietnamese dishes.
- Cafe Bunn Mi (Inner Richmond) - casual Vietnamese and delicious banh mi sandwiches, recommend the crispy duck!
Japanese
This is my list of
real Japanese places (aka run by Japanese people). There are very good Japanese places in SF, but if you come from somewhere with good Japanese food and you only had a few meals here, I'd go with other cuisine. If you don't
- Sakana (Tenderloin) and Kiji (Noe Valley) have good sushi
- Eiji (Castro), Izakaya Roku (Upper Market) and Kappou Gomi (Richmond) are good izakayas (small dishes)
- Ramen Yamadaya (Pac Heights/Japantown) or Ken Ken (Mission) for ramen
- Maruya (Mission) for high end Japanese
Mediterranean/Middle Eastern
- Kokkari (FiDi)
- Zare at Fly Trap (SoMa)
- Aziza (Richmond)
- Saha (Tenderloin)
Italian
- Beretta (Mission)
- A16 (Marina) and SPQR (Pac Heights)
- Flour + Water (Mission)
- Zero Zero (SoMa)
Mexican
Like the Asian food, there are a handful of fancy Mexican places and then the really really good $7 meal holes in the Mission.
El Castillito is my go-to burrito place on Church (Upper Market, Mission). Ones below are sit down spots.
- La Urbana (Western Addition) - a new trendy Mexican fusion place with interesting cocktails
- Tacolicious (3 locations - Mission, Marina, North Beach)
- Mamacita (Marina)
Other Cuisines
- Limon Rotissarie (Mission) - I'm partial to the Limon on Valencia/16th, though there's Van Ness too. Great Latin but definitely get their chicken
- Beso (Castro) - Spanish/tapas
- Locanda (Mission) - Californian, great cockails
Someone else's expense account
- Benu (SoMa) - really innovative New American. If you want to be aggressive, the 18-course tasting menu is worth the arm and leg.
- Maruya (Mission) - Japanese
- Saison (SoMa) - New American
- Gary Danko (North Beach) - New American
- Hakkasan (SoMa) - Chinese
- Campton Place (Civic Center/Union Sq) - really fancy Indian fusion in the Taj Hotel, the food is beautiful and the service is out of this world (or at least this country, is it truly exceptional).
Near Union Square
Most of the big hotels are in and around Union Square. Here are some options within walking distance.
- Lunch - Kin Khao (Thai) in Parc 55 hotel
- Small dinners - Aveline (Modern/New American) is my new favorite, in the Warwick Hotel, great cocktails (though Top Chef Casey Thompsen just left...), Millenium (veg), Lers Roi Thai (Thai), Sakana (Japanese)
- Work/group dinners - Bluestem Brasserie (New American), Amber India (Indian), Morton's (steak), Tropisueno (Mexican)
- Expense account - Campton Place (fusion Indian), Farallon (seafood), Hakkasan (Cantonese)
- Bars - Hopwater Distribution (beer), Burritt Room (cocktails), Press Club (wine bar), Bourbon & Branch (cocktails, but for smaller group/reservation), Mikkeller Bar (gastropub), Golden Gate Tap Room (sports bar), Rickhouse (cocktail/whiskey)
Near Moscone
Here are a few lunch spots near Moscone if you want something besides conference food...
- Tin Vietnamese Cuisine is on Howard between 5th and 6th, good pho and other Vietnamese dishes, pretty fast for lunch
- Samovar Tea Lounge is in Yerba Buena, great healthy tea sets and a la carte dishes
- Spice Kit is a little further down Howard at 1st. I call it the Asian Chipotle - fast food, made to order bowls and wraps but with pork belly and fried lotus root chips. My favorite is the ssam wrap with Korean short rib and kimchi rice in a rice paper wrap (like a massive spring roll).
For Views
- La Mar (FiDi) - Peruvian and seafood, on Embarcadero
- Cliff House (Seacliff) - seafood/American place on the western cliffs over the Pacific by Sutro Baths and Lands End
- Greens (Marina) - vegetarian dining with beautiful views of the Marina and Golden Gate Bridge
Veggie Friendly
- Greens (Marina)
- Samovar Tea Lounge (3 locations - Yerba Buena, Hayes Valley, Castro) - one of my favorites when I just want to feel good after a meal. Great teas and tea sets, veggie friendly though their smoked salmon is amazing.
- Gracias Madre (Mission) - vegan Mexican
- Saha (Civic Center) - Arabic fusion food and it's not purely vegetarian but they have a great veggie dishes and a three course veggie prix fixe for $35 that is delicious and filling
- Millenium - sadly the Civic Center location closed and moved to Oakland, would is worth the trip to a every innovative and delicious vegan restaurant for business travelers who are sick of heavy American food
- See this great GitHub list of SF vegetarian restaurants
Brunch
- Mission Beach Cafe (Mission) - best ever. Go at 8:45AM to put your name down so you are in the first seating when it opens at 9AM. Otherwise it can be anywhere from 30-90 minute wait. Four Barrel Coffee is two blocks away for coffee drinkers
- Foreign Cinema (Mission) - like Mission Beach Cafe, go early to sit or make a reservation, lovely brunch or other meals
- Plow (Potrero Hill) - another place with a line, but delicious brunch. I'm obsessed with their potatoes.
Ice Cream
SFers also are religious about their ice cream. I am less so, and there are better lists but here are some places to try
- Bi-Rite (Mission) - kitty corner from the NE corner of Dolores Park. Salted caramel, yum! There's a line for the cones that wraps around the block, but cut to the front to get soft serve or go for a pint, you'll eat it!
- Mitchell's (Bernal Heights)
- Humphrey Slocombe (Mission)
- Smitten (Hayes Valley) - made to order liquid-nitrogen formed ice cream that is actually delicious (and founded by my classmate :)
Beer
Craft microbrews are hipster cool and the state must consume like 80% of the beer industry's hops. We like our beers hoppy and you'll see India Pale Ales and Double IPAs dominate taps in the city.
- Toronado (Lower Haight)
- Monk's Kettle (Mission)
- Hopwater Distribution (Civic Center)
- Southern Pacific Brew (Mission)
- Mikkeller Bar (Civic Center)
- 21st Amendment (SoMa)
Here is also a handy
SF beer map and pub crawl recommendation.
Cocktails
Great "mixology" programs across the city, here are some of my favorites.
- Bourbon & Branch (Civic Center) - this is THE cocktail bar in SF. It's a "speakeasy" so you need a password to get in the door. Recommend getting a reservation online, or if you want to just check it out, say "books" to get in the library, though it can get packed
- Burritt Room (Civic Center)
- Rickhouse (Civic Center)
- Alembic (Upper Haight)
- Trick Dog (Mission)
- Armory Bar (Mission) - a little risque for work engagements, as it's related to the Armory across the street, home to Kink.com. But the bar is a great lounge with fantastic mixed drinks and subtle reference to its namesake in the artwork on the wall.
Here's my
Yelp cocktail list.
You may notice "Wine" is missing as a category. I haven't found wine bars that I love, and any decent restaurant or bar in SF has good wine. If you can get out of the city for half a day, go to the source - here's the
Napa and Sonoma post.
Etc.
Off the Grid is a fun way to experience the SF food scene - the food truck festival happens weekly and you can usually locate the individual trucks on Twitter
#fatkidsaturday - if you have a Saturday afternoon to eat and drink your way through a neighborhood, try this out. We've only done it for
Haight-Ashbury so far, but hope to add more!
All of my Yelp reviews -
http://aki-eats.yelp.com
Favorite global restaurant list on Pinterest -
http://www.pinterest.com/akiwee/favorite-restaurants/
More on visit recommendations for
San Francisco and the Bay Area
