81 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

San Francisco's real life Willy Wonka factory is the fascinating and delicious home of this "bean to bar" chocolatier. Of course, chocolate in many forms is the highlight for guests, whether it's in pure chocolate bars, in drinks, or as a subtle ingredient in some of the city's most inventive pastries. The 16th Street factory holds self-guided tours on most afternoons that it's open. There are two other nonfactory locations in the city on Valencia Street and in the Ferry Building.

This small Castro storefront serves up exceptionally fresh banh mi and rockin' spring rolls. Service is quick, and a couple of tables take in the scene on Market Street.

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.

Claiming to be Chinatown's oldest bakery, this packed space is a must-stop, with the goods to back up its rep. Try the moon cakes and egg custard tarts. Cash only.

While you're sipping your inky strong cup at friendly Farley's, a neighborhood institution on sunny Potrero Hill, you can play chess, check out the eclectic magazine selection, or catch up on the local gossip. There are a few pastries and usually empanadas for a light breakfast or a snack, but it's really all about coffee and tea here.

Family-owned, this light-filled café with a view of Golden Gate Park roasts its beans in-house for a great cuppa. The cold brew is very good, and the food includes vegan options.

Coffee aficionados should head down Valencia Street to Four Barrel Coffee for excellent house-roasted coffee in a fun and funky space, packed with Mission hipsters, cyclists, and artists (be sure to look at the selection of Mission counterpart Dynamo doughnuts as well).

For a take-out sando shop for those in the North Beach know, Freddie's is where you need to go. The calling cards of this off-the-tourist-track time capsule, which first started selling sandwiches to Golden Gate Bridge construction workers, are the combo layered with mortadella, pressed ham, cheese, and salami galore, and the protein trio turkey, ham, and bacon club. No FOMO buzz means there are no lines compared to other institutions.

San Francisco is filled with wonderful ice cream shops, but for the real-deal smooth, airy gelato, this Union Street gelato maker is the address to know. It's all about the ingredients here—pistachios from Sicily, local fruits in season, a sour cherry variety from a particular part of Italy—and the results are delightful whether it's a hot, sunny day or the fog feels as cool as the gelato.

At this line-around-the-corner, no-English-spoken bakery, the delicious dim sum is strictly to-go, so picnic at Woh Hei Yuen Park on Powell Street or Portsmouth Square.

The team behind French baking sensation Le Marais serves some of the greatest savory buckwheat galettes and sweet crêpes in the Bay Area at a kiosk on the water side of the Ferry Building. It's the perfect stop for breakfast, lunch, or a dessert snack. Fillings range from traditional ones like Nutella or ham and Comté, to more atypical choices such as cherry tomatoes and burrata.

Enjoying the barbecue pork buns and curry chicken at this Chinatown icon dating to 1920 is a bite into both culinary history and San Francisco's past. Located on an alley, it's one of the smaller, more homey, and less frenetic sit-down dim sum choices in the city, with a small dining room simply decorated with pieces of Chinese art and a few Bruce Lee movie posters.

Sandwich lovers build up their appetite with a hike up the steep hill and then are greeted with some of the city's consistently excellent sandwiches at this small, friendly shop where the menu seems bigger than the actual space. If you're not in a sandwich mood, there are also a few other items like breakfast scrambles, fish tacos, and salads. Plan on taking your food elsewhere since seating is limited outside.

This quaint, family-run Korean fried chicken–focused establishment serves quite possibly the leading wings in the city. Cover the crispy, tender wings with your choice of more than a dozen sauces, from tangy lime-fish to fiery habanero-mango, and take them to go.

Francesco Covucci brings his concept for a modern, casual Italian pizzeria with quality-driven imported Italian ingredients to storied North Beach. Although hailing from Calabria (an agricultural region of Southern Italy neighboring Campania, Italy's pizza bastion), he has created an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria. Also look for appetizers involving imported buffalo milk mozzarella and burrata. There's a second location in the Castro.

In Italy, the bastion of fresh pasta is Emilia-Romagna, and a trio of entrepreneurs hailing from the region give respect to its claim to carb fame in a mini-empire of fast-casual pasta eateries, with the one in North Beach as its flagship. Come for treats like slabs of lasagna that fool you into thinking you're calorie-loading in Bologna, as well as stuffed ravioli and gnocchi. The space itself is nothing fancy and looks like a deli, but grab your cutlery and a seat and enjoy your feast. While much of North Beach's Italian identity has eroded over the years, new-generation businesses like this one are bringing some of that soul back.

Stop into this bright spot for their famous avocado mash, homemade baked goods and cookies, and coffee from beans roasted in-house. Look for other Janes around the city, including on Larkin Street in the Tenderloin and Jane the Bakery on Geary Street in Japantown.

Come to the Japan Center early to pick up Jina's innovative French-Korean pastries, savory like the kalbijjim short rib croissant or slightly sweet like the mochi-filled injeolmi croissant dusted with soybean flour. The bakery's popular cream puffs are only available Friday to Sunday, and it's strictly takeout every day.

The most well-known—and quite possibly the best—of the burrito choices around town forgoes rice in the filling (almost all burritos in the Mission include rice) to focus on tender meats. The carne asada is the house favorite, but you can't go wrong with the carnitas either. While the burritos deservedly get the hype, the tacos and quesadillas are also worth trying.

Enormous tortas (Mexican sandwiches with meat, avocado, queso fresco, and refried beans on a soft-interior/crunchy-exterior roll) are a culinary specialty of the state of Puebla in Mexico, and they're also the signature item of this Mission District daytime favorite. The tortas come in two sizes (you likely only need the smaller one). Beyond the must-order house specialty, the extensive menu includes everything from coffee and breakfast to tostadas and tacos.

Neighborhood residents love the dauntless Le Beau, one of the few remaining family-run grocery stores in the city. It's fun to browse around, and their sandwiches are a highlight. If you've never had a sandwich on Dutch Crunch bread (a semisweet, softer, baguette-like roll with a spotted crust thanks to a topping of rice flour), this is a perfect place to pick one up to go.

Try something beyond the same old pad thai at this authentic Thai standby. Thai herb sausage and papaya salad with salted egg are good appetizers to share, while the pork belly with crispy rind and basil leaves and duck larb (meat salad) come packed with flavor and heat. The food is such a hit that the restaurant has two other spots in the Mission and Hayes Valley. It's a favorite for late-night dining.

The Soracco family has been baking Liguria's focaccia genovese for more than a century, and their fresh-baked Italian flatbreads (such as plain, rosemary, and tomato slathered with green onions, and on Saturday, pesto) are the city's best. Bring cash and arrive before noon: when the focaccia is gone, the bakery closes.

This charming bakery, done in pinks and pressed tin, features treats by Tartine Bakery alum Kristina Costa that reflect the Jewish diaspora. With tempting cakes lining the marble counter and display cases full of tarts, cookies, babka, and other pastries, you'll be hard-pressed to get away without trying more than one. The Four Barrel coffee is excellent, and the line moves quickly, so don't be discouraged if it stretches out the door.

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 intimate, triangular spot with a beautiful antique oak bar serves great hot focaccia sandwiches, sourcing from nearby Liguria Bakery. Try the toasted combo (ham, salami, cheese), the breaded eggplant, or the meatball drenched in marinara. On sunny days, take your order across the street to Washington Square for a San Francisco picnic.

Hakata-style tonkotsu (pork) and extra-intense chicken paitan ramen are the specialties of this modern-looking Japan Center restaurant that serves what many consider the city's finest bowl of ramen and has expanded into a 10-location chain. Long lines here can be daunting, but tables move pretty quickly inside the bustling yet relaxed space decorated with wood design elements and dangling Edison bulbs. A few izakaya small bites, rice bowls, beer, and both Japanese and locally made sake round out the menu.

Look for the lines on busy Geary Street where Union Square blurs into the edges of the Tenderloin and you'll find what eager ramen fans consider the city's best bowl. This was the first U.S. outpost of a prominent Tokyo-based ramen shop, and the quality and consistency of its noodles and broths continue to be spectacular. The decor on the walls is primarily a series of graphics explaining the scientific aspects of ramen; if you want a doctorate in ramen, this is a good place to start.

Some of the city's flakiest and most impeccably baked croissants, pastries, and other treats draw big crowds every morning. It's walk-up only, so plan on enjoying your tarts, bostocks, sourdough loaves, and coffee elsewhere if one of the few picnic tables outside are full. Many of the pastries and espresso drinks by Paper Son Coffee (a pop-up turned permanent part of the bakery experience) have a unique spice or flavor from Asian cuisines, like a bubbly coffee soda with guava foam or a char siu (BBQ pork)-filled croissant.

A small, colorful space, Parada 22 serves up heaping plates of home-style Puerto Rican cuisine—think plantains, seafood, and slow-roasted pork. There's also plenty of vegetarian fare on offer. The brick-walled interior is accented by old framed photographs, potted plants, and strings of Christmas lights.