63 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

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. 

Crowds are a constant fixture at Craig and Annie Stoll's cultishly adored northern Italian spot. Deceptively simple, exquisitely flavored dishes include excellent pastas and the city's greatest panna cotta. The casual chic space received a substantial renovation during the Covid-19 pandemic by increasing in size and adding a handsome bar with the restaurant's first-ever cocktail program. 

As soon as the large door swings open to this happening two-level space, diners are greeted with bright colors, a lively bar, and the smell of spices in the air. This is the second location of the popular Dosa on Valencia, but it's definitely the glamorous younger sister, with an expanded menu and much more room. The menu entices with savory fish dishes, tender chicken dum korma, and papery dosas. The restaurant handles group dining often. At lunch, indulge in the Indian street-food selections, and the famed pani puri (little crisp puffs you fill with mint and tamarind water and pop all at once into your mouth).

Aside from the large, thin savory namesake pancake, this cheerful temple of South Indian cuisine also prepares curries, uttapam (open-face pancakes), and various starters, breads, rice dishes, and chutneys. Dosa fillings range from traditional potatoes, onions, and cashews to green chilies and cilantro, and other popular menu options include mango fish curry, roasted masala lamb shank, and Indian street-food additions such as vada pav (a vegetarian slider).

This handsome and boisterous hot spot with a tiny bar and a sleek yet rustic dining room is synonymous with pasta. The grand experience here is the seven-course pasta-tasting menu (extra charge for wine pairings) with seasonally changing dishes (the one standby is a meatless Taleggio scarpinocc with aged balsamic drizzled over the bow tie–shaped pasta). It also serve top-notch, blistery thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas.

This charming neighborhood trattoria is the only restaurant in the city exclusively serving Sardinian food. The island's classics are all represented—octopus stew in a spicy tomato sauce; spaghetti with bottariga (cured roe); and macaroni with sea urchin and cured tuna heart. Many choices on the extensive wine list are Sardinian. The staff is both friendly and efficient. This is not only a locals' favorite, but a restaurant industry one as well, so book seats in this unassuming spot in advance. Ask for a table on the lovely, light-speckled patio to set the mood for a romantic date night.

Persian dining is mostly done in homes, with fine dining a modern concept, but Maykadeh hits the mark with authenticity in Persian cooking as well as saucy, elevated, French-influenced twists. Those in the know come for succulent lamb specialties with saffron rice, served in a dining room with an old-school, white-shirt-and-tie vibe. Kebabs, like the chicken joojeh, and other marinated meats are great for sharing. Other options include ghorme sabzee, lamb shank braised with Persian aromatic herbs. There are plenty of starters, like strained-whey-drizzled eggplant dip, to tease the most hearty appetites.

Half fish market and half diner, this small, slim, family-run seafood operation, open since 1912, has no tables, just a narrow marble counter with about 18 stools. Some locals come in to buy perfectly fresh salmon, halibut, crabs, and other seafood to take home; everyone else hops onto one of the rickety stools to enjoy a dozen oysters, other shellfish, or a bowl of clam chowder—the only hot food served. All of the seafood is served up with a side of big personality from the jovial folks behind the counter, who make you feel like a regular. Come before 11 am or after 2 pm to avoid a long wait, and bring a full wallet: old-school Swan takes cash only.

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.

For lunch on the go, don't submit to fast food when you've got Arlequin, the café offshoot of trendy Absinthe. Whatever you choose—breakfast, a hot or cold sandwich, lamb burger, roasted chicken—take it back to the lovely outdoor patio, a surprising oasis that makes Arlequin a standout.

This sharply designed spot is just as notable for its food menu as its renowned mixed drinks. Owner Thad Vogler is the city's leading voice on single-origin spirits, so any visit should include a few sips of Bar Agricole's own spirits. To go with the beverages, the culinary side is fresh and fun, often uniquely partnering global influences with local ingredients.

The busy sister restaurant to neighboring Perbacco offers affordable small Italian plates, such as the chef's salumi selection and chicken thighs alla cacciatora, as well as plenty of Italian wines to explore by the glass. Financial District workers crowd in to the chic Milanese-style room for lunch or happy hour at the communal tables and long counter.

Calabrian-born SF resident Francesco Covucci is determined to continue the Italian legacy of North Beach with trendy, casual, quality-driven regional Italian eateries (he also owns Il Casaro Pizzeria at 348 Columbus Avenue). Here you can slam Roman-style pinsa, which is a modern style of ciabatta-shape pizza made of a multigrain flour mix and gourmet toppings like burrata and pesto or pear, walnut, and Gorgonzola. They also serve the triad of Roman pastas—cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and carbonara—with grace. This is a solid spot to grab a Campari soda and a pinsa, then tuck into a plate of pasta with a bottle of wine and a friend.

Calabrian-born SF resident Francesco Covucci is determined to continue the Italian legacy of North Beach with trendy, casual, quality-driven regional Italian eateries (he also owns Il Casaro Pizzeria at 348 Columbus Ave.). Here you can slam Roman-style pinsa, which is a modern style of ciabatta-shaped pizza made of a multigrain flour mix and gourmet toppings like burrata and pesto or pear, walnut, and Gorgonzola.

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.

Located in the Tenderloin's Little Saigon quarter, this casual Vietnamese bistro brims at lunchtime with fans of its steaming bowls of pho (the beef version is particularly good). For dinner, the round tables are overloaded with signature specialties like roast squab and bun cha Hanoi (broiled pork over rice vermicelli). You'll see many French touches on the extensive menu.

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.

Casey Crynes' East Coast–style pies are larger and have slightly thicker and sturdier crusts compared to the typical Neapolitan ones. New York expats love that these slices can actually be folded. The small, charming counter-service restaurant centers around a large brick oven; and toppings tend to be simple, fresh, and nicely balanced on the predesigned pies.

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.

This boisterous institution serves island cuisine—a mix of Cajun, Southwestern, and Caribbean influences—tapas style, in a setting with Technicolor tropical plastic decor. The food is hot and spicy: try the fried calamari or chili-spiked Cajun shrimp, and wash everything down with a pitcher of Cha Cha Cha's signature sangria. Reservations are not accepted, so expect a wait for dinner.

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.

It's been compared to a Chinatown version of Eataly, but George Chen's ultra-ambitious market, restaurant, bar, and fine-dining-experience project is its own unique place. The main ground-floor Market Restaurant excels at a wide variety of specialties from dumplings to duck, served in a refined, industrial-style dining room surrounded by different cooking areas; upstairs, the intimate Eight Tables is one of San Francisco's most elaborate special-occasion tasting-menu experiences.

After an 18-year run near Union Square, this city favorite moved across town in 2022 to a beautiful adobe dining room and firepit-adorned patio in the Presidio Officers' Club. Guacamole and margaritas are must-orders, but the menu jumps much further into regional Mexican specialties as well. The spacious patio is a favorite pre- or post-hike stop for visitors and is nicely heated even on chilly nights.

Wife-and-husband duo chef Jen McMahon and Oakland native Darren Lacy (front of house) strive to create the neighborhood's most thoughtful Italian dining experience. Handwritten menus and linen napkins set the tone for ingredient-driven, high-quality regional Italian–inspired cuisine. The menu includes fresh pastas stuffed with Italian cheeses, West Coast veg-heavy salad starters, and classic Italian desserts with gourmet flair, such as butterscotch panna cotta or torta di cioccolato (flourless) with Amarena cherries.

Everyone has their opinion about the greatest sandwiches in this city filled with amazing bread; but more often than not, locals will name this quirky, humorous lunch specialist. Here, sandwiches are truly an art and usually are taller than can be eaten in one bite. Lunch choices are split between the main menu and "board" specials. Most guests take their sandwiches to-go.

The Liholiho Yacht Club team opened this concept driven by diversity, equality, and inclusion that emphasizes healthy working conditions and fair wages in an industry that unfortunately isn't known for either. The AAPI heritage–inspired menu is divided between starters like a chicken wing stuffed with egg roll filling, and larger courses meant for sharing.

Dine here for fresh, simply prepared Cantonese cuisine, especially the seafood—from tanks that occupy a corner of the main dining room—as well as kid favorites, such as stir-fried noodles, cashew chicken, and fried rice. Dim sum starts at 10 am, but there aren't any carts—you order off a paper sheet, and the dumplings come out of the kitchen piping hot.

Even as diet trends come and go, this vegetable-focused icon (opened in 1979) continues to be a steadfast favorite for carnivores and vegetarians alike. Despite the lack of meat, the hearty and creative dishes—such as griddle cakes with crimson lentils and spiced cashew cream—really satisfy, and floor-to-ceiling windows give diners a sweeping view of the Marina and the Golden Gate Bridge.