How safe of an area is this? Interested in walking through this area on our trip...any suggested restaurants here?

VERY safe. There are a ton of restaurants in the area, but we I havn't eaten there. Off point, but consider a movie at the theater there - one of the best in the country.

http://www.castrotheatre.com/

bebalm.....Just curious, but who led you to believe that the Castro might NOT be safe??

Very safe, and worth a look, but there isn't much of interest there except the aforementioned Castro Theater and gays bars. You'll get the idea quickly.

Go there on one of the historic tolleys that ply Market Street.

I think the Mission, which is next door to the Castro, is more interesting and Mission Delores is worth a visit.

That said, the Castro has great restaurants and--in addition to the Haight--is one of the most important neighborhoods in the late 20th Century history of the city. It is the Castro which turned San Francisco into the most gay affirming city in the U.S. It is also the Castro which launched the political career of Harvey Milk--who was assassinated with Mayor Moscone--and was the epicenter of both the U.S. AIDS epidemic and the political response to the disease.

While you can now travel all over the U.S. now and see city neighborhoods where the gay community flourishes, it really started with the Village in New York and the Castro in San Francisco.

They actually have walking tours of the Castro that are quite fun.

BeachBoi-

Nothing lead me to think Castro wouldn't be safe...I just haven't heard much about it on this thread at all. I have been warned about other neighborhoods, but usually The Castro Distric wasn't listed in the "safe" or "unsafe" areas. Please don't take offense...I meant nothing by that at all. Just getting all the info before we get there. I am looking forward to seeing this portion of town...

Check out Castro movie theater website as Bardo advised. It's a place for festivals, old movies... something you can't see every day. Last weekend was a silent movie festival.

Castro is safe. And interesting to visit. As for restaurants... maybe Chowdown website?

You can find some recomendation on this website:

http://sfgate.com/food/

pull the drop-down menu of the areas, go down to San Francisco, Castro, they have a list of 20 places with price range and review

I'm unsure as to where exactly one neighborhood ends and the next begins, but when walking through the general Castro area, I remember seeing many beautiful old homes. SF is filled with beautiful old homes!