Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Escape down an SF alleyway to a sleek French cafe, with zinc bar, umbrella tables outside and staff chattering en français. Lunch is served all day and…
Must-see restaurants in San Francisco
San Francisco
Bite into your ice-cream cone and get instant brain freeze, plus a hit of nostalgia – this is the original Swensen's ice-cream shop, opened in 1948. Oooh…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Food is secondary to people-watching at this glass-pavilion cafe perched atop Union Sq – stake out a prime outdoor table and order snacks at the counter…
North Beach & Chinatown
Meekly suggest an interest in seafood, nothing deep-fried, maybe some greens? – and your server will nod brusquely, grab the menu and return laden with…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Riches beyond your wildest dreams: butter-golden pains au chocolat, cappuccinos with ferns drawn in dense foam and croque monsieurs turbo-loaded with ham,…
San Francisco
Foodies, rejoice: here's one deli where they won't blink if you request aged, drunken chèvre instead of provolone on your sandwich. The specialty is…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
The hero of the downtrodden and burrito deprived, Pancho Villa supplies tinfoil-wrapped burritos the girth of your forearm and lets you add ammunition at…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Gott's keeps it simple with juicy hamburgers made from local, sustainably farmed Niman Ranch beef, plus tasty Cobb salads, mini corn dogs for kids, and…
Excelsior
Hwaro is here to scratch your Korean fried chicken itch – it has three versions (original, sweet and spicy and honey garlic). If super crispy fried bird…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Your posse is hungry, but one of you is vegan, another demands tacos with beer, and another craves Korean fried chicken. So what do you do? First:…
San Francisco
Life is always sweet at Genki, with packaged Japanese gummy candies nonsensically boasting pineapple flavor 'imposing as a southern island king,' ten…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
This is one Greek restaurant where you'll want to lick your plate instead of break it, with starters like chargrilled octopus with a zing of lemon and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Toasted sesame, sloe gin, maple black pepper and salted mango are among the many savory, seasonal, miscellaneous flavors that make this ice creamery worth…
San Francisco
Bright, fresh flavors and comforting Thai classics make Thai House a foggy-day staple, and attention is also paid to tasty $10 lunchtime rice plates – a…
North Beach & Chinatown
When you see shining faces around the table, that's the sign of a happy family – or Spicy King hot pot. Generous dishes are made to share, so you can…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Skip spa treatments and get that Pac Heights glow the natural way at Jane - home to improbably tasty Paleo chicken salads and dragonfruit smoothie bowls…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Consider yourself lucky if you wait outside less than half an hour and get hit up for change only once – but fresh-baked goods come to those who wait at…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Gourmet burgers have taken SF by storm, but In-N-Out has had a good thing going for more than 60 years: prime chuck beef processed on-site, plus fries and…
San Francisco
Get cozy at this bay-window osteria with a sunny disposition, feel-good handmade pastas, excellent DOC Italian wines by the glass, and banquettes that…
North Beach & Chinatown
Take a seat in the sunny dining room and make way for carts loaded with delicate shrimp and leek dumplings, garlicky Chinese broccoli, tangy spareribs,…
San Francisco
Fog banks and cold wars are no match for the heartwarming powers of the Cinderella, serving traditional treats since 1953. Join SF's Russian community in…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Tucked into a small marketplace, this Thai spot's toe-tingling, heartwarming spicy dishes hit the spot on blustery Bernal days. Mae Krua's menu regularly…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
This quick-eats hole-in-the-wall place makes one dish (with a vegetarian variation) – khao mun gai (Thai-style chicken and rice), made with organic…
Excelsior
It’s hard to miss Glaze – look for a gigantic mural of the neighborhood running along the side of the shop on Excelsior Ave. Inside, you’ve got great…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Izzy's casual dining room is a throwback to Barbary Coast saloons, with old-time memorabilia and trophy heads lining the walls. Of all the steak houses in…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
When you're hungry for a wholesome meal but don't want to fuss, Pluto's serves good food fast, with build-your-own salads, burgers, stick-to-your-ribs mac…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Despite its location in a rougher neighborhood of SF, this vegan eatery is bright and cheerful, serving up affordable Pan-Asian soups, salads, noodle…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
If being at Fisherman's Wharf makes you crave fish and chips, skip the expensive restaurants lining the water and instead find this little food truck,…
San Francisco
Surfers and start-uppers cross town and climb hills for Za – because dude, you don't get gourmet, cornmeal-dusted, thin-crust slices like this every day…
Excelsior
Solid Mexican fare is served in a dining room that goes all in for the adobe chic look. The food is very good and packs customers and their families in –…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Parked permanently at Fisherman's Wharf, the Tanguito food truck makes exceptional Argentine empanadas with chicken or steak, stellar saffron rice and…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
You have to know where you're going to find the Brazen Head, a tiny pub with low lighting and cozy nooks, and reliably good onion soup and steaks. The…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
It's remarkable that a food truck could contain a wood-burning oven, but herein lies the secret to Carmel's remarkably good single-serving blistered-crust…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Dating from 1849, Boudin was one of the first five businesses in San Francisco and still uses the same yeast starter in its sourdough bread. Though you…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The Asian Art Museum's new cafe is set in a bright, open space with a dreamy (if weather-dependent) patio perfect for sipping tea over a discussion about…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Obsessive about ingredients, Roam serves burgers of beef, bison and turkey, all locally grown and sustainably farmed. For classics, stick to juicy grass…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Cheerful confections in squeal-worthy flavors - think pink champagne cupcakes, churro macarons, chocolate-chip whoopie pies and lemon-curd-filled Lemony…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Stockbrokers and Paleo dieters line up for organic salads with zingy dressings and bowls of farro or quinoa heaped with locally sourced vegetables – don't…
San Francisco
Russian Hill has a French accent at this neighborhood bistro, where the open kitchen offers glimpses of French chef-owner Mikael Audry, in his element…
