During the Gold Rush, immigrant miners hungry for a taste of home created a demand—and the supply—for small kitchens serving classic dishes from all over the globe. And just like that San Francisco’s restaurant culture was born. Add in year-round access to an unparalleled bounty of local organic produce, seafood, free-range meats, and wine, along with restaurant-obsessed residents and a vibrant chef community, and you’ve got one of the world’s top foodie destinations. It’s virtually impossible to get in and out of San Francisco without having some kind of gastronomic epiphany—or at least a few dining experiences that make you feel that you’ve left your stomach, as well as your heart, in San Francisco.
With more than 4,400 restaurants within its 7 square miles, San Francisco has more dining establishments per capita than any other U.S. city—which creates a heck of a lot of competition. With the rising costs of doing business and staying “relevant” in this trend-conscious city, dining rooms are now finding it harder and harder to keep their doors open. Still, there’s far more to enjoy than you’ll be able to tackle on even a month-long visit here.
Price Categories
The restaurants listed below are classified first by area, then by price, using the following categories: Expensive, dinner for $50 or more per person; Moderate, dinner from $35 per person; and Inexpensive, dinner less than $35 per person. These categories reflect prices for an appetizer, a main course, a dessert, and a glass of wine.
Graze Anatomy
If you’re downtown and can’t decide what you want to eat—or find yourself hungry and without reservations—head to any of these dining smorgasbords, with multiple options all under one roof or along one street. Your toughest decision will be which establishment you want to try.
A litany of spectacular tastes await at the Ferry Building Marketplace (ferrybuildingmarketplace.com), the city’s top culinary destination, overlooking the bay on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. You’ll need a reservation to dine at Slanted Door, but there are many other dining options in this long marketplace flanked with incredible food—perhaps you’ll settle down for oysters, wine, and more at a patio table at Hog Island Oyster Co., or dive a fork into exceptional, unexpected Japanese “deli” items at counter-service-only Delica. Any respectable burger, fries, and shake craving is conquered at Gott’s Roadhouse, while gluten-free diners may actually cry tears of joy over the sandwiches—or just the unbelievably bread-like bread—at Mariposa Baking Company. Grab picnic provisions from various shops selling cheese, caviar, wine, dessert (try Dandelion Chocolate!), and other foods.
Just a few blocks from Union Square, the Financial District’s charming, foot-traffic-only street Belden Place is flanked with European restaurants and sidewalk seating, making it an appealing place to loll away the afternoon, perhaps with a chilled bottle of white wine and a bowl of mussels (with a side of fries, of course), or some paella. The food is hit-and-miss, but in a pinch, you’re sure to find a seat and something to eat. Restaurant hours vary but most are open for lunch and dinner. See the website (belden-place.com) for details.
Chinatown—So Many Choices!
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinese enclave outside of China, so it follows that we have lots of Chinese restaurants, most of them in the inexpensive category. It’s hard to know which place to try. Some look clean and inviting, with bright colored photos of yummy delicacies posted outside; others have sun-faded menus peeling off of dirty windows—but looks can be deceiving. So how do you choose? We think the following restaurants stand out from the pack.
Brandy Ho’s Hunan Food, is rightly known for its Three Delicacies—a main dish of scallop, shrimp, and chicken seasoned with ginger, garlic, and wine. Most dishes are served hot and spicy; just ask if you want the kitchen to tone it down.
R&G Lounge, is a very popular—and pricy—three-story restaurant with plenty of room for large and small parties; best on the menu are the salt-and-pepper crab, and R&G special beef.
Great Eastern, specializes in dim sum, as well as fresh seafood pulled from tanks lining the walls—Prez Obama stopped in here for takeout.
At House of Nanking, abrupt and borderline-rude waiters—half the fun of Chinatown—serve vegetarian dishes as well as perfect sesame chicken. The fish soup is stellar too, though you have to ask for it specially, as it’s not on the English-language menu.
Hunan Home’s, is popular with locals for its wicked hot-and-sour soup, and “Succulent Bread”—baked and then slightly deep fried.
Family-Friendly Restaurants
San Francisco’s trendiest culinary adventures—3+ hours for a multicourse farm-to-table feast—may be beyond your scope, when traveling with little ones who want nothing more a quick bowl of buttered noodles. Still, San Francisco is one of the best cities in the world to visit with children, and we have lots of places where you can painlessly expand their culinary horizons.
Kids and adults can both be satisfied at the Richmond District’s Ton Kiang, a dim sum restaurant where lazy susans in the center of the table make it extra fun to access your pork bun; simple dishes like fried rice can be ordered off the menu, and when all else fails, there’s always a big bowl of fresh fruit at the ready. Downtown, more expensive Yank Sing delivers the same style of deliciousness and fun, though it’s in a much larger and posher environment.
Farallon, with its jellyfish lamps and kelp rising from the floor, is an underwater fantasy perfect for budding marine biologists and Little Mermaid fans; ordering from the a la carte menu means dinner does not have to be a 3-hour affair. Or, for more old-school seafood options, both Scoma’s and Pier 23 offer handy kids menus.
Kids like getting up close to the sea creatures displayed in the Swan Oyster Depot window. Plus it’s so small, loud, and crowded, if your child accidentally drops a bowl of chowder on the floor, no one will even notice.
For an epic culinary scavenger hunt, see 7×7.com’s annual Big Eat list, which shows photos of specific dishes to hunt for. Also don’t miss the San Francisco Chronicle’s annual Top 100 Restaurants list (sfchronicle.com), which will point you to a diverse selection of local flavors.
Food truck fans should check out Off the Grid, a daily gathering of a half dozen or so trucks, usually from 11am to 2pm and 5 to 9pm, occasionally with live music. Check offthegridsf.com/markets for information. They also line up trucks for Presidio Picnic, held on summer Sundays around a grassy expanse in the—you guessed it—Presidio. If it’s a sunny day, there’s no better place to be, especially given trucks like Nopalito (a fantastic Mexican restaurant with California flair, serving up amazing tacos) and the glistening bay as the backdrop. Otherwise, Roaming Hunger (roaminghunger.com) lists locations of food trucks, based on Twitter feeds.
