SF: Mission Dolores
 

Any rants or raves aboutt his place? Also interested in how much time to budget for here, public transportation options and nearby things to do and see.

I would plan at least a few hours for walking this neighborhood - more if you plan to eat there. The local restaurants are wonderful and much less expensive than the more touristed areas of the city. Also a good place for drinks or nightlife in the evening.

It is also near both a BART station and streetcars.

Great to get the quick feedback.

And I've always got open ears when it comes to good places to eat and drink; especially if they are easy on the wallet!

What is the story on Dolores Park?
I heard half of it is a bit seedy and the scene of frequent drug deals.

Mission Delores and Delores Park are in between a traditionally Latino neighborhood (The Mission) and a gay neighborhood (The Castro). I wouldn't necessarily describe it as seedy, anymore than a lot of places in San Francisco. The Mission neighborhood was "hot" during the dot.com era, but has returned to being a mostly Latino neighborhood with relatively cheap rents for San Francisco. That means you will see Toquerias (mexican diners), bodegas, and thrift stores.

The park is really beautiful and lots of people are hanging out, but it is a city park in a non-touristy, working to middle class neighborhood.

The upper part of Dolores Park (at 20th St and Church) has great views of the SF skyline and on a nice day is filled with folks sunbathing. Typically, folks are out with their dogs in the evenings. The lower part (at 18th St) has tennis courts and a soccer field for kids. There is a lovely garden running along a path on the Church St. side of the park. I don't find the park seedy at all anymore. Other than eating and drinking, the only thing to do around Dolores Park is see Mission Dolores which is about 2 blocks from the lower end of the park, at 16th and Dolores St. Or check out the Victorians on Liberty St.
The area has some great food- Valencia Street is full of restaurants, eclectic and easy on the wallet from 16th St to about 24th St. 16th Street from Guerrero to Mission has lots of restaurants as well. I recommend Andalu, Alma, Last Supper Club, Luna Park, Ti Couz, Rasoi just to start. A bit more expensive is Delfina on 18th St, but considered one of the best restaurants in S.F. There is a metro and BART stop at 16th and Mission, which I do find to be a bit seedy. I don't know much about the restaurants on Mission St itself. There is also a Metro stop at Church and Market and one at Castro and Market if you want to explore the many restaurants and drinking establishments in the Castro area. (Chow, Home, Catch are considered a very good value). It is also walking distance from the Mission.

FYI, most of the Valencia St. or Castro restaurants might be tough to get into w/o a reservation, if you are planning on eating during a primetime -- especially on the weekend. The economy is starting to pick up here in SF and the first thing you notice when that happens is that it's hard to get a table!

More great info - keep it coming.

I didn't mean to offend anybody when I asked about the lower part of Dolores Park being seedy. Just repeating what a friend told me and thought it was best to hear other view points.