20 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

This is the good-food granddaddy of the hot corridor of the same name. The Cali-rustic fare draws dependable crowds regardless of the night, with attractions including a beloved Moroccan vegetable tagine; crisp-skin rotisserie chicken; and a juicy hamburger with thick-cut fries. Thanks to an excellent beverage program, lively bar, and high ceiling, the energy is always high—as are the decibel levels.

The constantly evolving tasting menu that chef-owner Teague Moriarty serves at his standout, two-star Michelin restaurant serves as a primer for how to do highly seasonal cuisine right. Though the preparations are intricate and often luxurious, there is a pretension-free, contemporary elegance that makes this one of the most relaxed (and fun) fine-dining experiences in the city. The accompanying wine list is equally stellar.

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.

Many avid San Francisco diners trek to the southeast part of the city for what are often considered the city's premier breakfast sandwiches. The eight different offerings are available all-day and arrive warm on griddled brioche buns with cage-free eggs (except the vegan, gluten-free version). Burgers and a few nonbreakfast sandwiches and salads round out the menu.

A perch on the second floor of a 1920s building provides first-rate views of 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.

The search for San Francisco's greatest fried chicken ends at this casual counter-service restaurant. It started as a COVID-19 pandemic concept at fine dining sibling Birdsong and became so popular that it received its own brick-and-mortar space. That fine dining pedigree can be found in the pitch-perfect sandwiches, "birdboxes" (various sizes of fried chicken with outstanding homemade sauces), and the local, free-range poultry sourcing. Don't worry vegetarians—the hen of the wood mushroom sandwich is just as special as its fried chicken peer.

There are two personalities to Chestnut Street’s sleek grown-up diner—the double-stack burger that draws burger hounds from dozens of miles away, and the rest of the honest, spruced-up comfort-food menu. It's a local institution that feels partially like a bistro and partially like a modern tavern, and a place where the buzz from the innovative cocktails and delicious eats never disappears.

Whether you're looking for a New Orleans-, Mexican-, or California-inspired breakfast or lunch, this beloved café is the place for you. The signature pillowy beignets deserve all the considerable hype and people drive an hour just to try them. But there's no going wrong on the extensive menu, served in a warm, welcoming space that feels like a modern diner. Weekends get quite festive when the pint-sized mimosas are flowing.

It may seem like everyone at this bagel shop/pizza joint knows each other, and they probably do. This place has become so popular in the neighborhood that several new businesses have sprung up around it. Come in the morning for some of the best New York--style bagels in the city (takeout only) or in the evening for thick-crust rectangular pizza. Favorites include the classic pepperoni and the broccoli with shaved fennel; spring for the truffle honey for a surprising lift. Wednesdays they also serve smash burgers---beef and veggie---and there's always a good wine and beer selection.

Hearty American bistro fare and hip design draw crowds to this neighborhood favorite that's ambitious enough to be a citywide draw. The menu boasts one of the city's best burgers, and the dining room gleams with white penny-tile floors and marble countertops. Weekend brunch is always a draw for candied bacon and Parmesan gougères (cheese pastries). The weekday lunch-only crispy fried chicken sandwich deserves to be in the city's sandwich hall of fame.  Avoid the crowds and order a burger at the bar.

Cold beer, Fernet on tap, semi-frequent live music and a prime waterfront setting keep this venerable Embarcadero standby humming on weekdays and weekends. Although you'd expect to sit elbow to elbow with fishermen, you're more likely to share the space with tourists and nearby office workers drawn by the no-frills cocktails, shrimp melts and cheeseburgers from the kitchen (skip the fried food here), and of course the prime vantage point for gazing across the bay.

Weekend or weekday, the brunch lines are as constant as the excellent scrambles, biscuits, and fluffy lemon-ricotta pancakes. The atmosphere is also winning—bright and pastoral, with rustic wood floors and huge windows—and the Little Plowers menu dishes out smaller-portioned pancakes, French toast, and grilled cheese for younger brunch-loving guests.

American comfort classics meet seasonal California cooking in this restaurant in an old barracks building at the eastern edge of the Presidio. The restaurant has a blend of the nostalgic past and the trendy present (deviled eggs with smoked salmon and furikake; grilled beef liver and onions; homemade cheesecake), as well as a lively bar and ample patio seating that allows diners to soak up the Presidio's outdoor beauty.

This waterfront, outdoor gathering place brings diners from all over town for sunny day brunches and a beachy-bohemian Key West vibe. This is San Francisco's definitive destination for leisurely daytime eating and drinking—always slinging beers, burgers, and fish tacos to guests fighting hangovers or just relaxing after a busy day of work.

For a real cup of joe without any sense of pretension, join the savvy construction workers, Giants fans, and young suits at the Embarcadero's seven-decade-old waterfront classic, where the coffee typically follows a double cheeseburger on sourdough and a cold beer, and the gorgeous view of the East Bay is priceless.

Although it's open morning until night, this cozy café is most synonymous with brunch. Sleepy-headed locals turn up for delights like the smoked ham, fried egg, and Gruyère breakfast sandwich; evening favorites lean toward roast chicken, pastas, and seasonal-rustic fare. The ingredients are top-notch, the service is friendly, and the seating is in comfortable booths and at tables and a counter. Heaters above the outdoor tables keep things toasty when the temperature dips.

With coffee, sandwiches, and salads by day, and superb drinks at night, this spot right by the California Street cable car terminus is a charming place to visit. Its sunlight-filled atmosphere is refreshingly low-key for FiDi—the rare downtown establishment that feels like a true neighborhood gathering place.

American fare with Southern flair is the headline at this power broker's pit stop where barbecue gulf shrimp, juicy fried chicken, and butterscotch-chocolate pot de crème highlight a menu with enough variety (and large enough portions) to satisfy nearly everyone. The converted-warehouse space, with dark-wood floors, exposed brick walls, and contemporary art, comfortably blends old with new. You can curl up with a cocktail (like a sterling bacon-washed old-fashioned) on the heated patio while you wait for your table. The decibel level here can wear down your vocal chords, so ask for a quieter spot.

This energetic and upscale American tavern owned by TV chef and personality Tyler Florence is rich with upscale turn-of-the-20th-century Americana, including brick walls, comfortable booths, and a billiards room. It also tips its hat to tradition—and comfort—on the menu with deviled eggs, fresh seafood, and several signature dishes that are considered the best of their categories in the city (the burger with Marin Brie, for one), plus noteworthy cocktails that complete the full experience.