129 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

A perch on the second floor of a 1920s building provides first-rate views of Ocean Beach across the Great Highway (it used to be a changing room for beachgoers). But the service is just okay, and the food is basic American—burgers, chowders, and steak. Beach Chalet brews its own beers on-site and the atmosphere makes you feel a million miles away from urbanity.

Robin's-egg-blue banquettes and metal chairs in different colors add to the cheer at this sunny spot. Drop in for hearty local coffee and excellent breakfast and lunch sandwiches, including those on the popular cragel, a combination of a croissant and a bagel.

Every night is a party with excellent cocktails and vegetarian dishes from chef-owner Heena Patel's home state of Gujarat, on the western coast of India. A graduate of the La Cocina kitchen incubator, Patel is a truly gifted cook, carefully paying attention to the smallest details on the menu, like the spice level and tartness of the various pickles and chutneys, or the ideal texture for homemade paneer cheese. Most of the traditional and creative dishes can't be found anywhere else in the Bay Area. The restaurant is attached to the Minnesota Street Project and showcases a wall-sized mural from pop artist Maria Qamar.

Chef-owner Bini Pradhan's Nepalese restaurant introduced many city diners to the wonderful dishes of her home country. Pradhan started in San Francisco with the wonderful La Cocina kitchen incubator program (a nonprofit that helps women, immigrants, and people of color) and years later is the region's leading voice for Himalayan cooking. Meat eaters and vegetarians alike love the combination meals for lunch in an area of SoMa that doesn't have too many other tempting dining options.

Chef Matthew Ho cut his teeth at his family's excellent, bare-bones Bodega Bistro, an anchor of the Little Saigon restaurant scene for years. This incarnation elevates traditional Vietnamese recipes with a modern twist and the freshest ingredients. Popular dishes include citrusy bo tai chanh (beef carpaccio) and bun cha (pork belly and meatballs). Warm woods on the floors, ceiling, and walls soften the modern decor at this buzzy and inviting dining room, and black-and-white photos of San Francisco reflect deep city roots. 

With a strong joie de vivre in a spectacularly chic setting, mini croque monsieurs, and juicy steak frites, there's a distinct French Riviera vibe nowadays along the Embarcadero with Bon Délire's arrival in 2024. A dramatic horseshoe-shaped bar anchors the intimate waterfront space (though you can't actually see the water inside) that ultimately toes the line between a bistro, a café, and a cocktail bar with great French cuisine bites. Quietly and surprisingly, the desserts are the best part of the menu.

Tucked into the back of a tiny produce market is a counter serving up some of the biggest, juiciest, best sandwiches in town for lunch—strictly to go. Try the turkey-bacon-pesto Sanfranpsycho sandwich.

Creative, Asian-inspired takes on homey pastries made with elevated ingredients such as bee pollen and Maldon sea salt (with prices to match) draw enthusiastic crowds to this small storefront. The Kaya Toast—bright green coconut-pandan jam on the café's signature milk bread—is a must try. Several sandwiches round out the limited menu, including an egg salad with kabocha squash tempura, yuzu shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice), and cucumber pickle on light-as-a-cloud pandesal (a Filipino roll). Creativity extends to the short drink menu, which includes egg coffee and a substantial black sesame cappuccino. A few outdoor tables are available, but otherwise it's takeout only.

The good times roll at the city's definitive choice for New Orleans cooking. Brunch is the preferred meal here---it's worth the trip for the five $5 breakfast sandwich options---but it's just as good to come for a weekday lunch of gumbo or a fried chicken dinner when the scene is a little more subdued.

Locals make the trek to the "Avenues" for this perennially crowded spot's flavorful Burmese food, including its extraordinary signature tea leaf salad, a combo of spicy, salty, crunchy, and sour tastes that is mixed table-side. The modestly decorated, no-reservations restaurant is small and lines can be long during peak times, so leave your number and wait for the call. Or walk a couple blocks east to B Star (127 Clement St.), owned by the same people but often less crowded and with a welcoming patio.

Start the morning on the outskirts of Fisherman's Wharf with an açaí bowl and strong coffee, or enjoy puffy chicken-and-cream cheese-filled coxinha pastries as a lunchtime snack at this cheery stop by the cable car turnaround. It's refreshing for visitors who are tired of crab and clam chowder. The breezy, tropical-leaning setting is a breath of fresh air in one of the most touristy parts of the city.

San Francisco has plenty of great food options and coffee destinations, but rarely do the two merge together as well as they do at this Mission Bay roastery, which excels at sandwiches on terrific focaccia, virtuous lunch bowls, and coffee in myriad forms. With tall ceilings, ample windows, and a pleasant parklet, the café almost has a Parisian indoor-outdoor feel. Don't miss the juice shots for a quick, powerful jolt minus caffeine.

As part of the revamped Transamerica Pyramid complex (in a separate building across the redwood park from the actual pyramid), this daytime fast-casual café/sleek restaurant in the evening quickly emerged as a FiDi favorite after its 2024 opening. The food is courtesy of chef Brad Kilgore, a major Miami culinary figure who is thriving with his San Francisco debut. Breakfast and lunch are a mix of the familiar and more unique yet casual plates (like a marvelous tortellini en brodo with apple), while dinner shows more of an ambitious side to the compact menu.

After several years as a full-service restaurant in the Outer Richmond and then North Beach, husband-and-wife team chef Kris Toliao and Yuka Ioroi's Japanese-Californian-inspired concept decided to downsize dramatically and switch to a daytime-only café model. However, this new home happens to be a lush palm tree and plant-filled courtyard oasis in the heart of charming Jackson Square. Since its opening in early 2025, Cassava swiftly has become the rare place that is a lunchtime go-to for both the food travel cognoscenti and nearby office workers.

There are several excellent pizzerias and many terrific small breweries in town, but it almost seems unfair that quite possibly the best of both genres is one place located where the Mission blurs into Bernal Heights. Cellarmaker is known for its ultra-hoppy beers and unique Coffee & Cigarettes smoked coffee porter; the pizza side focuses on perfect renditions of thick, crispy-edged Detroit-style square pies. It's a similar concept at the main brewery location in Oakland's Jack London Square. The Berkeley location offers thinner "bar-style" pies, plus aged sour beers from The Rare Barrel, the predecessor in that space which Cellarmaker acquired.

This boisterous institution serves island cuisine—a mix of Cajun, Southwestern, and Caribbean influences—tapas style, in a setting with Technicolor tropical plastic decor. The food is hot and spicy: try the fried calamari or chili-spiked Cajun shrimp, and wash everything down with a pitcher of Cha Cha Cha's signature sangria. Reservations are not accepted, so expect a wait for dinner.

Divisadero Street's always-packed Cal-Italian restaurant, Che Fico, expanded to Thrive City in 2024. But, as the name suggests, this newcomer is indeed focused on sourdough crust pizzas (no pastas here!), along with a few sandwiches, salads, and clever antipasti like Italian sausage–stuffed olives. The Amafi Coast–inspired dining room and a sprawling patio created by star restaurant designer Jon de la Cruz allows for excellent views of the arena just steps away and the Bay Bridge in the distance.

Of course this gourmet market offers an excellent cheese selection---ask for a sample---but it also makes terrific sandwiches to go, available through the sidewalk window. Stop in for a Willie Brown Bird (smoked duck) or charcuterie board and a bottle of wine, or grab a coffee and pastry from their outdoor café.

Dark and sexy, this rooftop restaurant delivers glamour and innovative Japanese-Peruvian dishes such as king oyster mushroom tostadas and Peruvian sea bass ceviche on a menu that includes small bites, several prix-fixe options, and sushi and raw bars. The DJ in the lounge area gives the indoor space a club vibe, and islands of plants divide seating areas in the large restaurant into more intimate spaces. Floor-to-ceiling windows look onto the city and the large outdoor dining area, perfect for sunset.

After an 18-year run near Union Square, this city favorite moved across town in 2022 to a beautiful adobe dining room and firepit–adorned patio in the Presidio Officers' Club. Guacamole and margaritas are must-orders, but the menu jumps much further into regional Mexican specialties as well. The spacious patio is a favorite pre- or post-hike stop for visitors and is nicely heated even on chilly nights.

With its Bay Bridge views and stellar Spanish tapas, the late chef Michael Chiarello's San Francisco restaurant is a big hit that’s equal parts rustic and chic, a lively destination for both small bites and larger meals. Toothpicked pintxos (small snacks) like quail egg with sausage are a tasty way to start, but the real draws are the inventive cocktails, luscious paella, and dazzling selection of cured meats.

This ever-popular specialist in kalbijjim, a Korean braised beef short rib soup, is set in an industrial-feeling space, with serene images of mountains on the walls. Each soup is large enough to feed a small family and comes with a choice of toppings, like rice cakes or oozing cheese (melted tableside, it's an Instagram sensation). Be prepared to wait at peak times.

Everyone has their opinion about the greatest sandwiches in this city filled with amazing bread; but more often than not, locals will name this quirky, humorous lunch specialist. Here, sandwiches are truly an art and usually are taller than can be eaten in one bite. Lunch choices are split between the main menu and "board" specials. All sandwiches are for takeout and can be enjoyed at a park across the street.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dine here, like President Obama did, for fresh, simply prepared Cantonese cuisine, especially the seafood—from tanks that occupy a corner of the main dining room—as well as kid favorites, such as stir-fried noodles, cashew chicken, and fried rice. Dim sum starts at 10 am, but there aren't any carts—you order off a paper sheet, and the dumplings come out of the kitchen piping hot.

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.