240 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

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.

The search for San Francisco's greatest fried chicken ends at this casual counter-service restaurant. It started as a COVID-19 pandemic concept at fine dining sibling Birdsong and became so popular that it received its own brick-and-mortar space. That fine dining pedigree can be found in the pitch-perfect sandwiches, "birdboxes" (various sizes of fried chicken with outstanding homemade sauces), and the local, free-range poultry sourcing. Don't worry vegetarians—the hen of the wood mushroom sandwich is just as special as its fried chicken peer.

Oakland-born Blue Bottle Coffee can now be found all over the Bay Area, on the East Coast, and even in Japan. However, this Mint Plaza coffee shop inside a 1912 building (fun fact: it appeared in The Maltese Falcon) remains its spiritual flagship for coffee geeks eager to gawk at the glitzy brewing equipment for sale, then enjoy perfect espresso pulls, powerful Oji cold brew, and meticulously made drip coffee from the eye-popping Japanese siphon bar.

Hidden away on a side street by Patricia's Green is this modest kiosk where the organic beans are ground for each cup and the espresso is automatically ristretto—a short shot. While Blue Bottle is now a global juggernaut (the blue, boutique equivalent of the green mermaid chain, as locals like to say), Linden Street was the first brick-and-mortar shop, and it's still a San Francisco coffee lover's favorite.

This legendary 24-hour doughnut shop has been a neighborhood anchor since the 1960s. The homemade doughnuts, whether an apple fritter or classic raised maple, are always excellent, at 10 am or 10 pm. If you're particularly ambitious and hungry, give "Bob's Challenge" a go; if you eat one truly giant doughnut in three minutes, you get a T-shirt and induction in Bob's Hall of Fame.

Located in the Tenderloin's Little Saigon quarter, this casual Vietnamese bistro brims at lunchtime with fans of its steaming bowls of pho (the beef version is particularly good). For dinner, the round tables are overloaded with signature specialties like roast squab and bun cha Hanoi (broiled pork over rice vermicelli). You'll see many French touches on the extensive menu.

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 new 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. 

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, 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 love the cheery Buena Vista Café, which claims to be the first place in the United States to have served Irish coffee. The bartenders serve about 2,000 Irish coffees a day, so it's always crowded; try for a table overlooking Victorian Park and its cable-car turntable. The café dishes up great breakfasts all day, including crab omelets and crab Benedict.

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-cheese-filled coxinha pastries as a lunchtime snack at this cheery stop by a quiet, grassy square. It's a breath of fresh air for visitors who are tired of crab and clam chowder. Note that seating is pretty tight inside, so it's best to sit at an outside table or take your order to-go.

Sometimes referred to as Cafe Floorshow because it's such a see-and-be-seen place, Cafe Flore serves coffee drinks, beer, and tasty café fare. It's a good place to catch the latest Castro gossip.

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 fresh 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.

Caffe Trieste gives a glimmer of North Beach soul, along with generous slices of cake and possibly the best cappuccino in town that isn't trying to be part of a hipster latte-art competition. Open since 1956 and claiming to be the West Coast's first espresso coffeehouse, this fixture draws a diverse crowd, from young artists writing to the tune of their espresso buzz to old-timers reading the paper as they sip their drip cup. Linger a bit to experience what is left of a community neighborhood feel. Legend has it that Francis Ford Coppola wrote The Godfather screenplay here. The café is open until late, and on Saturday afternoons if conditions allow, you can generally catch local opera singers belting their hearts out.

Casey Crynes' East Coast–style pies are larger and have slightly thicker and sturdier crusts compared to the typical Neapolitan ones. New York expats love that these slices can actually be folded. The small, charming counter-service restaurant centers around a large brick oven; and toppings tend to be simple, fresh, and nicely balanced on the predesigned pies.

The knowledgeable staff at this small storefront pours a perfect latte, Turkish coffee, or French roast. It's the best place in the neighborhood to grab a pound of beans or a cup of quality coffee to go.

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.

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.

A husband-and-wife team serves up classic French cooking and wines at this warm neighborhood bistro where you may run into romantic couples on date night or a small but convivial pre-wedding party. Favorites like bouillabaisse and filet mignon are beautifully served with loving attention. Servers are polite and friendly without being stuffy, and tables are set with white tablecloths and fresh flowers each night.

This unassuming local establishment serves a fiery hot menu of Sichuan favorites as well as Peking duck and other northern Chinese dishes. Traditional Chinese lanterns, watercolors, and calligraphy decorate the walls, and diners are seated at square tables or larger round tables with revolving trays. Perennial crowd pleasers include steamed pork dumplings, Sichuan spicy chicken, pickled vegetables and fish, and anything and everything smothered in chili oil, red chilis, and Sichuan peppercorns. Half of the extensive menu is bespeckled with hot-pepper symbols, so this place is not for the faint of heart.

It's been compared to a Chinatown version of Eataly, but George Chen's ultra-ambitious market, restaurant, bar, and fine-dining-experience project is its own unique place. The main ground-floor Market Restaurant excels at a wide variety of specialties from dumplings to duck, served in a refined, industrial-style dining room surrounded by different cooking areas; upstairs, the intimate Eight Tables is one of San Francisco's most elaborate special-occasion tasting-menu experiences.

This consistently popular and consciously unpretentious, funky-yet-savvy diner serves standards like hamburgers, pizzas, and spaghetti with meatballs, all treated with culinary respect. More budget-friendly than some of the area's other options, it has built its reputation on honest and approachable fare. Diners will discover Mexican- and Asian-style dishes mixed in with the primarily American/Italian menu (the silky wontons are popular), all-day brunch, and a nice list of salads. Don't even think about leaving without trying the ginger cake with caramel sauce. The wine list has some well-chosen picks.

For seriously good local roast in Chinatown, head to this tiny storefront at the entrance to St. Mary's Square.

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, celebrity 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.

The draw at this urban trattoria is chef Michael Tusk's flavorful, rustic, seasonally driven Italian cooking, headlined by pastas, beautifully grilled or spit-roasted meats, and homemade gelato. The look inside and outside is comfortably chic, with wood tables, quality stemware, and fantastic Italian wines by the bottle and glass.