San Francisco Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in San Francisco - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in San Francisco - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
Defeating the cliché that restaurants in hotels can't be citywide draws, chef Francis Ang's longtime Pinoy Heritage pop-up is thriving at its permanent home within the Kimpton Alton Hotel. Ang's exciting contemporary Filipino cooking has gained rave reviews from national publications and well-deserved awards. The chic space has a slight tropical edge to it and includes a small patio at the front and a bar reserved for those who can't score a reservation.
Folks line up on weekends for the amazing breakfast sandwiches here: fluffy eggs, thick bacon, pepper jack, avocado, and lemon-garlic aioli on a melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk biscuit. Made-to-order beignets are another favorite. Lunch options include chicken curry salad sandwiches, BLTs, and a seasonal soup of the day. Browse the bakery's selection of used books from local favorite Green Apple while you wait, and if you can't get a spot among the limited sidewalk seating, the beach is close by. A second location in the Outer Richmond (3619 Balboa St.) has the same crowd and delectable menu, but parking is much easier here.
Some of San Francisco's most exquisite French pastries are baked daily at this serene, cheery shop. On the savory side, most choices tend to be some form of pâté-filled pastry and are presented with all the artistry of haute cuisine; sweets are split between croissant-type items and proper dessert treats. Lunch seekers will be satisfied by the tiny selection of quiche, salads, and sandwiches.
Chad Robertson is America’s first modern cult baker, and this tiny Mission District outpost (along with the larger Tartine Manufactory on the eastern side of the neighborhood) is where you'll find his famed loaves of tangy country bread and beloved pastries like croissants and morning buns. You'll also find near-constant lines out the door; they're longest in the morning when locals (and plenty of tourists) need a pastry punch to start the day, and later in the afternoon when the famed loaves emerge freshly baked.
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.
At this sleek Presidio Heights daytime café, the wellness-centric menu manages to be so delicious that guests often don't notice how virtuous the dishes are. Bread for the open-faced sandwiches is gluten-free and baked in-house; several items are vegetarian and/or vegan; and even the pappardelle is made of zucchini ribbons instead of wheat. The white-tiled and white-painted interior looks more like a luxury Beverly Hills boutique than an eatery.
Your search for the perfect kouign-amann (a traditional glazed, butter-enriched Breton pastry made of croissant dough) ends in this buzzy café from baking wizard Belinda Leong.
A perch on the second floor of a 1920s building provides first-rate looks at Ocean Beach across the Great Highway (it used to be a changing room for beachgoers). But the service is just okay, and the food is basic American—burgers, chowders, and steak. Beach Chalet brews its own beers on-site and the atmosphere makes you feel a million miles away from urbanity.
Robin's-egg-blue banquettes and metal chairs in different colors add to the cheer at this sunny spot. Drop in for hearty local coffee and excellent breakfast and lunch sandwiches, including those on the popular cragel, a combination of a croissant and a bagel.
Oakland-born Blue Bottle Coffee can now be found all over the Bay Area, on the East Coast, and even in Japan. However, this Mint Plaza coffee shop inside a 1912 building (fun fact: it appeared in The Maltese Falcon) remains its spiritual flagship for coffee geeks eager to gawk at the glitzy brewing equipment for sale, then enjoy perfect espresso pulls, powerful Oji cold brew, and meticulously made drip coffee from the eye-popping Japanese siphon bar.
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.
The good times roll at the city's definitive choice for New Orleans cooking. Brunch is the preferred meal here, but it's just as good to come for a weekday lunch of gumbo or a fried chicken dinner when the scene is a little more subdued.
Start the morning on the outskirts of Fisherman's Wharf with an açaí bowl and strong coffee, or enjoy puffy chicken-and-cheese-filled coxinha pastries as a lunchtime snack at this cheery stop by a quiet, grassy square. It's a breath of fresh air for visitors who are tired of crab and clam chowder. Note that seating is pretty tight inside, so it's best to sit at an outside table or take your order to-go.
San Francisco has plenty of great food options and coffee destinations, but rarely do the two merge together as well as they do at this Mission Bay roastery, which excels at sandwiches on fresh focaccia, virtuous lunch bowls, and coffee in myriad forms. With tall ceilings, ample windows, and a pleasant parklet, the café almost has a Parisian indoor-outdoor feel. Don't miss the juice shots for a quick, powerful jolt minus caffeine.
This consistently popular and consciously unpretentious, funky-yet-savvy diner serves standards like hamburgers, pizzas, and spaghetti with meatballs, all treated with culinary respect. More budget-friendly than some of the area's other options, it has built its reputation on honest and approachable fare. Diners will discover Mexican- and Asian-style dishes mixed in with the primarily American/Italian menu (the silky wontons are popular), all-day brunch, and a nice list of salads. Don't even think about leaving without trying the ginger cake with caramel sauce. The wine list has some well-chosen picks.
The tiny kiosk on the Marina's yacht harbor is the perfect spot to grab a pick-me-up before a stroll to the Palace of Fine Arts or along the beach. The doughnuts by a former Foreign Cinema pastry chef are universally terrific, from the vanilla bean standby to chocolate star anise, and there's locally roasted coffee for an extra pre-hike jolt.
The team behind French baking sensation Le Marais serves some of the greatest savory buckwheat galettes and sweet crêpes in the Bay Area at a kiosk on the water side of the Ferry Building. It's the perfect stop for breakfast, lunch, or a dessert snack. Fillings range from traditional ones like Nutella or ham and Gruyère, to more atypical choices such as cherry tomatoes and burrata.
Stop into this bright spot for their famous avocado mash, homemade baked goods and cookies, and coffee from beans roasted in-house. Look for other Janes around the city, including on Larkin Street in the Tenderloin, on Grant Avenue in Chinatown, and Jane the Bakery on Geary Street in Japantown.
Enormous tortas (Mexican sandwiches with meat, avocado, queso fresco, and refried beans on a soft-interior/crunchy-exterior roll) are a culinary specialty of the state of Puebla in Mexico, and they're also the signature item of this Mission District daytime favorite. The tortas come in two sizes (you likely only need the smaller one). Beyond the must-order house specialty, the extensive menu includes everything from coffee and breakfast, to tostadas and tacos.
The Soracco family has been baking Liguria's focaccia genovese for more than a century, and their fresh-baked Italian flatbreads (such as plain, rosemary, and tomato slathered with green onions) are the city's best. Bring cash and arrive before noon: when the focaccia is gone, the bakery closes.
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