10 Best Restaurants in The Richmond District, San Francisco

The search for the best, flakiest croissant in San Francisco ends at this tiny French bakery off Clement Street. Other popular items include an assortment of scones, cookies, and kouign-amann (a Breton pastry); coffee and tea complete your treat. Lines may be long but move fast and are well worth the wait.

Rarely found in this country and even obscure to many Chinese, the lightly seasoned Hakka cuisine of southern China is the hallmark of this local favorite, featuring dishes such as salt-baked chicken, braised stuffed tofu, steamed fresh bacon with dried mustard greens, and clay pots of meats and seafood. Ton Kiang opens in the morning for dim sum, serving delicate dumplings and steamed buns; a small selection of dim sum is available at night, too.

Creative, Asian-inspired takes on homey pastries made with elevated ingredients such as bee pollen and maldon sea salt (with prices to match) draw enthusiastic crowds to this small storefront. The Kaya Toast—bright green coconut-pandan jam on the café's signature milk bread—is a must try. Several sandwiches round out the limited menu, including an egg salad with kabocha squash tempura, yuzu shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice), and cucumber pickle on light-as-a-cloud pandesal (a Filipino roll). Creativity extends to the short drink menu, which includes egg coffee and a substantial black sesame cappuccino. A few outdoor tables are available, but otherwise it's takeout only.

Locals make the trek to the "Avenues" for this perennially crowded spot's flavorful Burmese food, including its extraordinary signature tea leaf salad, a combo of spicy, salty, crunchy, and sour tastes that is mixed table-side. The modestly decorated, no-reservations restaurant is small and lines can be long during peak times, so leave your number and wait for the call. Or walk a couple blocks east to B Star (127 Clement St.), owned by the same people but often less crowded and with a welcoming patio.

A husband-and-wife team serves up classic French cooking and wines at this warm neighborhood bistro where you may run into romantic couples on date night or a small but convivial pre-wedding party. Favorites like bouillabaisse and filet mignon are beautifully served with loving attention. Servers are polite and friendly without being stuffy, and tables are set with white tablecloths and fresh flowers each night.

This unassuming local establishment serves a fiery hot menu of Sichuan favorites as well as Peking duck and other northern Chinese dishes. Traditional Chinese lanterns, watercolors, and calligraphy decorate the walls, and diners are seated at square tables or larger round tables with revolving trays. Perennial crowd pleasers include steamed pork dumplings, Sichuan spicy chicken, pickled vegetables and fish, and anything and everything smothered in chili oil, red chilis, and Sichuan peppercorns. Half of the extensive menu is bespeckled with hot-pepper symbols, so this place is not for the faint of heart.

The menu at this no-frills Formica-and-linoleum spot is big and remarkably cheap. You can order everything from Vietnamese salads to rice dishes and noodle plates. But the soups are what take up the most space on the menu, from the almost two dozen varieties of pho, rice noodles in beef broth, to numerous types of hu tieu, seafood and pork noodle soups. Regulars, many of whom hail from Southeast Asia, favor the shrimp, fish ball, and pork slices soup with clear noodles and the special combo pho with rare steak, well-done brisket, tendon, and tripe.

When the fog and wind roll into the Richmond, savvy locals dive straight into this all-you-can-eat joint serving Japanese shabu shabu and other hot pot options. Guests can pair an inventive soup base, like fire coconut crab or spicy miso, with the restaurant's signature, perfectly marbled Wagyu beef or Kurobuta pork for a satisfying meal. There's a full bar and a karaoke option for large groups.

This shoebox-size spot puts together thin-crust pies topped with the kinds of ingredients that are worth the constant wait. Almost half the menu changes on a biweekly basis, while dependable favorites include the tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza; the Sardinian cheese, pine nut, and rosemary pie; and the San Marzano tomato sauce, wild arugula, and mascarpone pizza.

Plenty of locals come to this tidy space known for remarkably friendly service and the dry chicken wings fried in garlic and roasted red peppers, as well as for thinly sliced Mongolian beef and dan dan noodles. Run by two former Hong Kong restaurant owners, it specializes in mostly southern Chinese fare, like Cantonese cuisine, and has a few Sichuan specialties, too.