I know there are hundreds of restaurants to choose from but was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for specific restaurants or streets/neighbourhoods where there is a good selection to choose from. We'll be staying on Union Square and enjoy most types of cuisines!

right near Union Square - Cortez (small plates to be shared, excellent food and trendy/nice atmosphere). A nice walk away, Belden Alley (multiple restaurants, seafood, french, italian; the consensus is probably that Plouf is the best of the lot). On California St., again a nice walk, Perbacco (northern Italian). There are just so many!!

Hello dmjapril, may I suggest that you specify what budget range you are thinking of spending at a restaurant. Almost each and every neighborhood has a good selection of restaurants in San Francisco.

So again, if you advise what you wish to spend per person for your meal (assume you are referring to dinner), drinks and/or wine and tip and what type of food you wish to enjoy (or at least what type of food you do not want to eat) I am sure you will get a lot of thoughts. But personally I find that without a budget and a more concrete idea as to what type of food you want it would be a waste of time to list restaurants at this point.

For your review here is the food/dining section of the San Francisco Chronicle website section which should be of some help to you and give you an idea as to what San Francisco has to offer. Best regards.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/

Oops forgot to mention budget - thanks for the prompt loveitaly. Yes, referring to an evening meal. Probably around $40 per person, although as I'm from the UK I don't really know what you can expect to get for your money in the States. We're in SF for 5 nights so can't afford to splash out every night. We love Italian, Chinese, Thai, Indian but are willing to try most things. Hope that helps!!! What % tip would you normally expect to give?

15% is the typical tip for "average" service, more for better service, less for worse. Tips are NOT included here unless you're with a group (usually 6 or more people).

Tips should be at least 15%; we usually tip 20%, especially in big cities. Less than 15% indicates punishment for some sort of server sin.

I second Cortez, which is in the Hotel Adagio and as dmlove said, very near Union Square. Excellent small dishes, great service, you can probably escape for $40 per person before tax and tip and excluding alcohol (SF is an expensive city). They make a great negroni, if you like that sort of thing...

You might like the Ferry Building, down on the water. It's an indoor market with loads of specialty shops (cheese, wine, bakery, chocolate, olive oils) and several restaurants, all pretty casual. The Mexican place is great. One night we bought cheese, wine, bread and chocolate and hauled it all back to our hotel room for dinner--divine!

Hi dmjapril,

A couple of Italian restaurants in charming neighborhoods other than North Beach:

Incanto
On Church Street in Noe Valley. Take the J-Church streetcar. They make a lot of their own foodstuffs - bread, salumi, ice creams, etc. Very very good wine list.
http://www.incanto.biz/

Amarena
In the Russian Hill area. Nice neighborhood feel and mix of regulars/visitors. I had the best frito misto in years here.
http://www.amarenarestaurant.com/

I agree with the suggestions for Cortez and also the places on Belden Lane. FarmerBrown is another place I like that is convenient to Union Square - it serves new style "soul" food with an emphasis on organic provender. The area immediately surrounding FarmerBrown is a bit gritty though not dangerous - just be careful walking back to your hotel if you've had a bit to drink.
http://www.farmerbrownsf.com/

I like Da Flora in North Beach. Unique food...the sweet potato gnocchi is amazing. I don't drink wine, but I am told they have a great wine list with unusual selections not normally found here.

www.belden-place.com