San Francisco Restaurants

Today San Francisco remains a vital culinary crossroads, with nearly every ethnic cuisine represented, from Afghan to Vietnamese. You don't just go out for Chinese here: regional offerings range from the classic Cantonese to the obscure Hakka cuisine of southern China. And although locals have long headed to the Mission District for Latin food, Chinatown for Asian food, and North Beach for Italian food, they also know that every part of the city offers dining experiences. One of the biggest trends to hit San Francisco is pizza—from obsessive pizzaiolos making authentic Neapolitan pies in imported Italian ovens, to chefs doing their own California spin—you'll be able to find quality pizzas in practically every neighborhood. And with the recent explosion of food trucks, renegade street-food stands, and pop-up restaurants, the local dining scene has become even more varied, creative, and exciting.

Diners also have grown increasingly serious about what they're sipping. In response, restaurateurs are offering more sophisticated wine lists, emphasizing new vintners, lesser-known varietals, and emerging wine-making regions, in addition to more environmental choices like biodynamic and organic wines. And cocktail lovers have been treated to an explosion of innovative drinks that are keeping the city's much-admired bartenders busy pouring, stirring, and shaking from one end of town to the other. Last but not least, beer is also gaining a foothold around the city, from new brewpubs brewing their own beer, to quality beers showing up on beverage lists.