Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Slurp the bounty of the North Bay with East Bay views at this local, sustainable oyster bar. Get them raw, grilled with chipotle-bourbon butter, or…
Must-see restaurants in The Bay Area
North Beach & Chinatown
The terror of top chefs is the classic French soufflé – but since 1979, Chef Jacqueline has been turning out perfectly puffy creations that float across…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Even before A16 won a James Beard Award, it was hard to book, but persevere: the house-made mozzarella burrata, blister-crusted pizzas from the wood…
Berkeley
A rustic country-French bistro downtown, La Note serves excellent breakfasts. Wake up to a big bowl of café au lait, paired with brioche pain perdu or…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
A casual offshoot of the famous Slanted Door, home cooking gets an upgrade: brunch brings silken scrambled eggs with five-spice pork belly and cinnamony…
Excelsior
You didn't just read some cute hipster name for a precocious restaurant – this is a true, old-school, wood-paneled and worn-carpeted social club, a relic…
Oakland
Homestead has an ever-shifting menu of farm to table goodness ranging from grilled ribeye and sweet potatoes to summer squash risotto – honestly, the menu…
Oakland
This simple spot is famed throughout the East Bay for its carnitas (pork braised in its own fat). Folks will line up for this stuff, which is served in…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Open since 1929, this classic Italian deli is an ideal spot to assemble picnics for Marina Green. Besides perfect prosciutto and salami, nutty cheeses and…
Berkeley
When vegan foodies and passionate farm-to-table types dine out together, they often end up here. Inside a salvaged-wood interior punctuated by green vines…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Bring your sweet tooth to Hookers, named in honor of generations of sweet and salty Tenderloin sex workers. Get lemon blueberry bread pudding and an…
Oakland
This impeccably hip spot does steaming bowls of ramen – ranging from green garlic beef shoyu broth to a vegetarian bowl – as well as rice dishes, served…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Long-standing mom-and-pop deli where the service couldn't be sweeter and the sandwiches still cost under $7. It's perfect for picnic supplies, and the…
San Francisco
Buttery, flaky Argentine empanadas (pastry pockets) with decadent, savory fillings. To find where your empanada is right now, follow El Sur's vintage 1970…
San Francisco
Ingenious: with a built-in rotisserie, this truck turns out perfectly roasted free-range chicken and organic potatoes with lavender and sea salt.
San Francisco
Top-notch dim sum on the run: baked buns and clamshell bao (steamed buns) with gourmet fillings.
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
For flavors that hug your tongue, then deliver a swift kick, it must be Burma Love. Salad gets upgraded to the main event here, and is frequently mixed…
Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe
North Beach & Chinatown
A boho North Beach landmark on Washington Sq, Mario's gave up smoking in the 1970s and turned to piping-hot panini. Generations of artistic movements have…
Oakland
Mac 'n' cheese, the ultimate in American comfort food, gets a long-overdue ovation at this quirky restaurant with a primary-school theme. A menu of…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Haight skateboarders swerve here for legit Mexico City fare on handmade organic tortillas. Flavors come on strong with fresh house-made salsa, but that…
Oakland
Wood Tavern's side venture steals the show with its gobstopping meatball and pork-belly sandwiches. This busy storefront eatery has only a few tightly…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Men and women in rolled-up sleeves stir steaming cauldrons of Dungeness crab at several side-by-side takeout crab stands at the foot of Taylor St, the…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Dinner at Lazy Bear actually requires quite a bit of (worthwhile) effort. Tickets for the supper club must be purchased in advance and tend to sell out…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
What do you get when you cross a croissant with a muffin? Hint: it's not a muffant. It's a cruffin, people! In late 2014, this tiny Tenderloin bakery…
The Peninsula
The crowds are always overflowing out the door at this kitsch, old-fashioned seafood shack by Pillar Point Harbor. Broiled rock cod, San Francisco-style…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Enjoy a flashback to the 1960s, with waiters in white dinner jackets, pine-paneled walls decorated with signed photographs of forgotten celebrities, and…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Would you like a side of humanitarianism with that lamb shank? Brave the Tenderloin and check out San Francisco's only Sudanese restaurant, owned and…
The Peninsula
You’ll rub shoulders with fancy-pants foodies, spandex-swathed cyclists and dusty cowboys at this casual, surprisingly unpretentious fourth-generation…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
To do in San Francisco: see Golden Gate Bridge; ride cablecar; develop opinion on Red Hawk, the distinctively stinky, washed-rind cheese that put Cowgirl…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Most Thai eateries stick to familiar favorites, but Lers Ros imports regional Thai cooking with bold spicing and wild ingredients – house specialties…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Foodies scouring the Mission for the ultimate taco shouldn't overlook this outpost of Middle Eastern authenticity, complete with a Dome of the Rock mural…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
What began as a catering business out of a VW Westfalia graduated into this beloved cafe and Belgian-Californian bakery, now set in a bright, industrial…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Located within the Presidio Officers' Club, this lively Mexican restaurant by James Beard Award–winner Traci Des Jardins features cooking techniques and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Friends, Romans, San Franciscans – join the crowd for Roman fried artichokes, pizza bianca, prosciutto, blood orange and beet salads, and scrumptious…
North Beach & Chinatown
Join early risers for double shots of espresso and crostata (jam tart), or wander in at night between bars and Beach Blanket Babylon for torta di mandorla…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Wrapping your head around chef Sara Spearin's freak flavors may take a hot minute – but your taste buds immediately grasp the appeal of raspberry-black…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Owner/chef Tommy Halvorson took the helm of this lofty, converted tin-can factory in 2017 and shook things up with a dash of cajun seasoning, some…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
In the historic Pacific Telephone & Telegraph building (check out the splendid black-marble deco lobby), Iron Chef star Mourad Lahlou creates such…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Mt Everest is for amateurs – gourmet adventurers brave the Tenderloin's mean streets for Red Chilli's bargain butter chicken, Kathmandu rolls (naan wraps)…
San Francisco
Casually sophisticated La Folie has bravely upheld French standards in laid-back California since 1988. Courses are leisurely paced and chef-owner Roland…
