Iregeo

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world and I've been there many times, enjoying some of the fine dining the city has to offer (Gary Danko, Elisabeth Daniel, Farallon, Boulevard, Bix...) This time, I'd like to go a different route. I'm looking for good, inexpensive, neighborhood restaurants where locals might go for a casual lunch or dinner in the middle of the week. Location isn't important, so long as its in the city (or a brunch place in Tiburon or Sausalito). So, what are your favorites? Thanks!

snowrooster

Yank Sing (sp?) dim sum for lunch. They have the most fabulous buns stuffed w/pork - tried them at chinese spots that offer dim sum at home but they aren't as good!

MelissaHI

I loooove love love Tartine Bakery for breakfast, lunch, and early dinner.
600 Guerrero Street (@ 18th)
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-487-2600
www.tartinebakery.com

Another place that was good for Japanese food was Sushi Chardonnay. Their combo lunches and dinners are a good deal!
1785 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123
Tel: (415) 346-5070
sushichardonnay.citysearch.com/

If you're with friends and like Thai food, we go to Manora's Thai Cuisine. The reviews say it's "elegant" but my friends & I always just go in jeans, Tshirts, etc.
1600 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
Cross Street: 12th Street
Phone: (415) 861-6224
(sorry, I don't know the URL)

PamSF

Some good cheap eats: try Mifune in Japantown great noodles: udon and soba, Henry's Hunan for fabulous dumplings,Ella's for breakfast(Presido & California Streets)..folks love Dotty's Tru Blue in the Tenderloin for breakfast as well. Check out A16 in the Marina (Italian), Pauline's Pizza (Valencia near Duboce..try their Pesto Pizza). Check out El Cumbre on Valenica for steak burritos. Check out Than Long (in the farthest reaches of the avenues for crab and garlic noodles).Try Swan's Oyster Depot on Polk for crab, oysters and the like. Palmello on Church for "world grains".Mission Rock for burgers and the like,Chez Maman on Portrero Hill (near Connecticut and 18th) for great french lunch and dinner-casual counter food but very good. I had a wonderful blue cheese burger there just the other day and the frisee salad with poached egg and lardoons looked very good. The lilst goes on and on. In the East Bay I just ate at Bendean(check spelling) the other night on Solano Ave in Albany. The food is great. Every night they have a three course dinner from 5-6 pm for $12. Personally..I'd recommend the goat cheese galette, the fries with aioli, the hanger steak.

PamSF

absolutely try Tartine Bakery. Oh my goodness!

Patrick

Late breakfast? The giant granola, fruit, and yoghurt bowl at The Grove on Chestnut.

Another great breakfast, brunch, or lunch spot -- Bay Watch (used to be called First Watch) on Lombard.

Share two or three dishes at Beetlenut on Union Street -- "gourmet" Asian without the prices. Not "cheap" but a bargain, nevertheless.

Mexican? Head to the Mission District. We planned to sample at several places for lunch, but quit, stuffed after our first stop and giant burritos at El Farolito. Our total lunch bill for two was $10.75.

TravelDiva

I agree with MelissaHI...I go to Tartine Bakery every time we're in town and last time my BF and I went three times! (Luckily all the walking we did burned those calories off.) They have the best croque monsieurs anywhere...and I've been to France! It's in the Mission district (where my brother lives, hence the frequency of visits).

Swan Oyster Depot is a SF institution and a must - great fresh oysters. It's a tiny hole in the wall type place with only counter service, you might have to wait in line at lunch, so try to go at an "off" time.

Also Delfina in the Mission, which isn't "cheap cheap", but it's definitely less expensive than Gary Danko. I don't know if I'd classify Yank Sing as cheap for dim sum, since you can spend a fortune there w/o realizing it. I'd opt for dinner at R&G Lounge, which is the best Chinese my BF and I agree we've ever had. (My mouth is watering right now for their salt & pepper crab.)

Another great place up in Pac Heights is Rica, great inexpensive tapas place with awesome mojitos.

Happy eating!

Iregeo

Thank you, thank you!! Taking copious notes! More please!

Spygirl

I mentioned Yank Sing (2 locations-the one closest to Embarcadero is on Spear St.) on another thread, but it ain't exactly cheap!

AZWildcat

My favorite restaurant in the city is Cha Cha Cha (in the Mission for less noise and less crowded seating--in the Haight for original quirky atmosphere.) Their fried plantain/black bean and sour cream tapas are YUMMY! (And I love their sangria!!!)

acwsf

I would agree - Yank Sing does not really qualify as cheap eats, however, you can make it less expensive by not ordering the more gourmet concoctions (which are very good!) that they have. If you stick to basic dim sum, the cost will be more reasonable.

My suggestions -
Ti Couz - 16th and Valencia - crepes from Brittany

La Taqueria - Mission b/n 24th and 25th - mexican - burritos & tacos

Pakwan - 16th b/n Valencia & Guerrero - Indian

Indian Oven - Fillmore and Haight - Indian, but a step up from Pakwan (i.e., table cloths)

Tartine - as the others have mentioned

Definitely head to the Ferry Building for Taylor's, et al.

I live in the Cow Hollow/Pac Heights/Marina area and some of our neighborhood haunts are:

Jackson Fillmore Trattoria - corner of Jackson and Fillmore (not cheap, but reasonable)

Isa - Steiner b/n Chestnut and Lombard - great small plates (not cheap, but reasonable)

Yukol Palace - Lombard b/n Scott and Pierce - Thai

Little Thai - Corner of Broadway and Polk Streets

Mezes - Chestnut b/n Divisadero and Scott (not cheap but reasonable) - Greek small plates

Ella's - corner of Presidio and California - great brunch

The Grove - if you just want a place to have coffee and a snack and linger forever - two locations - Chestnut b/n Pierce and Scott or Fillmore b/n Pine and California.

Not a fan of Betelnut, but I think I may be in the minority. I like the ambiance, but the food just didn't impress.

Good Luck!

FainaAgain

California @ Larkin (on the cable car line) "Janya" for Thai food.

acwsf

Hi again. I would recommend looking on the SF/Bay area message board of chowhound.com. there are a lot of neighborhood places discussed.

dovima

For a casual meal, I like Chow on Church Street, and its sibling, Park Chow on Ninth Avenue near Irving. There are daily specials, including a sandwich of the day. I like their pastas - not fancy, probably not "authentic" in any way, but if your Mom was a good cook, this place will remind you of home meals. I also love their raspberry lemonade. Of the two, I like the original Chow on Church more. Good mix of gay and straight, young and elders, more of a tavern atmosphere - very San Fran, IMO.

jgg

Just wondering if anyone has anything to add to this, as we leave for SF in two weeks.

easytraveler

I looove Cha Cha Cha's in the Haight-Ashbury! Agree, agree, agree that their sangria is great! Also the calamari! (Cha cha cha!!!)

Yank Sing is a bit pricey for dim sum, so if you don't mind driving a bit, try Mayflower out on Geary (waay out!). It's very Hong Kong Asian, so don't expect service. Go early, it's very popular.

PamSF is my oracle for places to dine in SF, but I didn't find Than Long a "cheap eats" place. $30 for one dungeness crab is expensive for me, especially when I can get the same crab - live - for about $7 or less and cook it much better than they can (my family's opinion, not mine!)

One of my favorite greasy spoon restaurants in SF is Louie's, which is just above the Cliff House. It's a real hole-in-the-wall place, but that's its charm. Great view of the ocean - if you can get the one corner table and smash your face against the window.

Japantown has tons of Japanese restaurants, most of them relatively inexpensive, especially for lunch. Try the sushi boat place.

There's a bunch of Asian restaurants on Clement Street (the "second" Chinatown) - Singaporan, Cambodian, Vietnamese, mostly Chinese, but also a Russian restaurant which I haven't tried yet.

Talking about Russian, out on Union there are a bunch of Russian bakeries where you can grab a piroushki for peanuts.

One of my favorite hangouts is the Chocolate Factory in Ghirardelli Square - love their ice cream! Their chocolate is so-so, IMHO.

Pick a neighborhood, any neighborhood, and you'll find some hidden gems. SF is a GRRRRREAT dining town!

Happy feasting!

CaliNurse

If you head over to Marin...Half-Day Cafe in Kentfield. Right across from College of Marin. Delicous brunches and wonderful, big omelettes, in a lovely creekside setting with outdoor patio. My favorite brunch place in the entire Bay Area, worth trip across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge or GG Bridge (dependingon where you're coming from).
Bon Appetit.

TripleSecDelay

Butter, 354 11th St, (at the corner of Folsom Street), serves the best late night snacks in the form of crepes. Normally, one of us will double park or circle the block while another person/people gets the food! The neighborhood is safe : it is dense with foot traffic and a few officers.

sequoia370

24th and Mission, any number of taquerias, or Salvadoran places. Helps to know some Spanish.

JulieVikmanis

Go to the Ferry Building that they've turned into a shrine to food. Best if you can do it on a Saturday morning when the market is in full swing. Fabulous raw ingredients and lots of cooked stuff to make a breakfast, brunch or early lunch of, some offered by some of the best restaurants in town at their food booths. Also check out the Hog Island Oyster Co. while you're there. It's not super cheap, but it's certainly not expensive and it's fabulous. I had a bowl of their clam chowder and one of their fabulous 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwiches (gruyere, Humboldt fog blue and one other on ciabbata) which was the single best food item I had in 2004 (and I ate at several Michelin 3 stars that year.) Take your food outside to one of the communcal picnic tables and eat facing the bay. Doesn't get any better than that.