San Fransisco Restaurants?
 

I am visiting San Fran in July and am looking for a restaurant that is not too formal or stuffy... a place with delicous food, cool bar, lots of people, etc. Price doesn't matter. There are two of us in our early 30s. We'll be staying at Union Square. Any ideas??
Thanks!

Ooops, I misspelled SAN FRANCISCO!! Sorry Californians!

Expensive: The Slanted Door
Moderate: Betelnut
Cheap: Magnolia Pub and Brewery

Thanks! Any other ideas?!

Check Chowhound.com or Yelp.com for hundreds of recommendations, or do a search here for previous recommendations.
What type of food do you want to eat - Chinese, Italian, California Cuisine, Burmese, vegan, etc.?

I'd plan (definitely make reservations) lunch at The Slanted Door on a Saturday. Spend the morning wandering around the Embarcadero, Ferry Building and the Ferry Building Farmers Market (which closes at 2:00), then have lunch. Its a great spot, with great food. The ginger limeade cocktail is really really good.

bummed i missed out on slanted door when we were there in april. i enjoyed r & g lounge for the real deal chinese food. and e tutti qua, for delicious italian across from city lights. magnolia was o.k.

Thanks! There isn't one type of cuisine we are interested in. Have heard lots of good things about Slanted Door. We'll be in Sonoma in the morning so def want to make a dinner reservation somewhere.

Every time we go to SF we can't resist going to The Stinking Rose in North Beach. It is a garlic restaurant so if you don't like garlic forget it. Everything is prepared with garlic. Cerainly not stuffy and a fun place to go with really good food.

ha! the stinking rose is so fun! and actually a really enjoyable meal!

The Stinking Rose is definitely lively and fun, but IMHO the food is not memorable (I've been there, but honestly couldn't even tell you what I ate, other than that it had lots of garlic :).

Here's another option - SPQR, which is the sister restaurant to A16. SPQR is on Fillmore Street (an easy taxi ride from Union Square). The area is nice for wandering --- nice shops on Fillmore, lots of Victorian houses if you wander the east-west streets. SPQR doesn't take reservations, and we recently waited 1-1/2 for a table (on a Friday at 6:00), but there's a very nice new wine bar across the street to bide your time.

I second Betelnut. Great location on Union street with a lot of little shops & 30 somethings cruising the street in their topless BeeMers.

http://www.terzosf.com/
Another Marina/Cow Hollow restaurant. I think it has the atmosphere you're seeking and the food is excellent. Pretty neighborhood, near Union and Steiner.

I like Betelnut as well. The first time I ate there, we were heading somewhere else, but some people were eating outside and their food looked so good -- we asked about the place, and they raved and invited us to taste their food! We declined, but stayed for dinner...It's a very lively place on a lively street in a very nice residential neighborhood. You'll enjoy walking around and shopping, as well as eating there.

Thanks for all the info!! Any other ideas, keep 'em coming! =)

I'm having dinner at Foreign Cinema tonight -- I'll post later if it meets your criteria!

Look at Medjool. Very cool place for the 30-something scene. Great food, roof bar, etc. www.medjoolsf.com

Foreign Cinema is another good suggestion. The scene is definitely very cool, especially for the age. Food was good - didn't enjoy as much as Betelnut (or Slanted Door, but really no comparison there) - but I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to anyone.

scene is definitely very cool, <i>especially for the age.</i>

Which age I definitely am NOT :)

Bistro Yoffi on Chestnut Street. www.bistroyoffi.com. It has an inventive menu and if you time it some cool live music. Without the music the food is still very good.

Sorry dmlove...aren't we all early 30s at heart?

How about &quot;cool for any age?&quot;

Cheers! :)

beanweb, I wasn't offended, just setting the record straight,that's all! (And yes, young at heart!)

Wolfgang Puck's Postrio is excellent and within a few minutes walk of Union Square.

I also am very interested in this thread as we will need a place for dinner on Sat the 21st of this month. We have eaten at Postrio in LV and liked it very much, however my point below somewhat applies even to our beloved Wolfgang....

I would not recommend the Stinking Rose, altho we go there sometimes in LA....b/c it is a chain. It seems that a dinner in SF should be something unique and not an experience you can get elsewhere.

Since you'll in the Union Square area, you have an excellent choice of restaurants right within walking distance.

There's Farallon for seafood.

There's also a number of great restaurants tucked away along Belden Place, the best of which are probably Plouf and Cafe Bastille (you'll probably get an argument over which are the best!)

There's also the higher end restaurants close by like Fleur de Lys, Michael Mina, and Masa's.

There's also Scala's Bistro.

Plenty of great restaurants to choose from!

Have a great trip! :)

R&amp;G Lounge. By far the best Chinese food and experience you'll ever have. And surprisingly not expensive.

I would second Farallon's; it is gorgeous and we've had good food there.

Love Slanted Door.

Another option is Fog City Diner just north of Slanted Door. Try their red curry mussel stew.

I've heard Gary Dankos is excellent but haven't eaten there myself.

I've also heard Boulevard is great.

Check other threads and do a search; it seems to me there are one or two others that have been mentioned that I am blanking on.

Kokkari

www.kokkari.com/home/

<i>It seems that a dinner in SF should be something unique and not an experience you can get elsewhere</i>

Well, at least the Postrio in San Francisco was the FIRST one :)

Report on Foreign Cinema -- absolutely love the ambiance, very good service. The food was &quot;fine&quot; -nothing to write home about. I would go back for a second try because I like the place so much (by the way, we loved brunch there).

Medjool is next door to Foreign Cinema and also looks great. We're going to give it a try soon.

really great food at Fior d'Italia. Enjoyed a good lunch on a beautiful afternoon at The Stinking Rose.

You could try the Empress of China on Grant Ave. in Chinatown. The food is not fabulous, but the view is stunning and the restaurant interesting..besides, you can shop in Chinatown for some great bargains while you are there! Call ahead for reservations if on a weekend...

Even though some think it is a bit past its prime, I still really like the Zuni Cafe.

Point well taken, dmlove....I was unaware of Postrio's &quot;roots&quot;. No matter how many Spagos he may open, the one in Beverly Hills is always memorable and always worth the price, so I take back my comment on Postrio whereas my advice to skip Stinking Rose still stands. :)

<i>my advice to skip Stinking Rose still stands. </i>

No argument from me (see above)!