8 Best Restaurants in Marina, San Francisco

Named after a highway that runs through southern Italy, this bustling contemporary trattoria specializes in the food from that region done very, very well. The menu is stocked with pizza, rustic pastas like maccaronara with ragù Napoletano (a meat sauce), and entrées like braised short rib with polenta. The selection of primarily southern Italian wines, augmented by some California vintages, supports the food perfectly.

There are two personalities to Chestnut Street’s sleek grown-up diner—the double-stack burger that draws burger hounds from dozens of miles away, and the rest of the honest, spruced-up comfort-food menu. It's a local institution that feels partially like a bistro and partially like a modern tavern, and a place where the buzz from the innovative cocktails and delicious eats never disappears.

The tiny kiosk on the Marina's yacht harbor is the perfect spot to grab a pick-me-up before a stroll to the Palace of Fine Arts or along the beach. The doughnuts by a former Foreign Cinema pastry chef are universally terrific, from the vanilla bean standby to chocolate star anise, and there's locally roasted coffee for an extra pre-hike jolt.

Even as diet trends come and go, this vegetable-focused icon (opened in 1979) continues to be a steadfast favorite for carnivores and vegetarians alike. Despite the lack of meat, the hearty and creative dishes—such as griddle cakes with crimson lentils and spiced cashew cream—really satisfy, and floor-to-ceiling windows give diners a sweeping view of the Marina and the Golden Gate Bridge.

This excellent, festive restaurant (part of celebrity chef Gastón Acurio's global group) presents a concise menu of Peru culinary staples like ceviche and flaky empanadas. You won't miss the obligatory pisco sour (Jaranita doesn't have a full liquor license), because the "Nikkei Sour" with citrus sake is just as special.

Hungry Marina residents gather daily to order excellent, often enormous sandwiches at this neighborhood legend. It's the signature takeaway spot for Marina Green and Crissy Field picnic-goers and has been around since the days of the Hoover Administration. Beyond sandwiches, the deli specializes in hearty homemade Italian specialties like lasagna and meatballs. 

This California-cuisine-centric restaurant might be named after the architect of the nearby Palace of Fine Arts, but it's very much a hip place for contemporary cooking. The menu wildly varies in terms of inspiration, from charred avocado to truffle spaghetti, but each dish is compelling and consistently executed perfectly. A horseshoe-shaped bar anchors the dining room and produces some of the neighborhood's finest cocktails. 

Tacos and tequila draw a young and energetic crowd to this perennial hot spot. Tables with big groups or couples out on casual date nights are topped with chips and guacamole and laden with platters of tortillas bursting with carnitas (shredded pork) or spicy shrimp. If you don't want to speak in a raised voice, this is not the restaurant for you, unless you land one of the few outside tables.