227 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.

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.  After more than 70 years, Bob's is scheduled to move across the street to 1720 Polk Street at the end of 2025. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 consistently popular spot sets itself apart with homemade charcuterie, plus antipasti, pastas, and pizza that often take traditional standbys for a creative spin or a California slant from local produce. The clever, beautifully balanced cocktails and fun twists on homey desserts are must-orders. In the downstairs space, Che Fico Alimentari, executive chef/co-owner David Nayfeld focuses on more rustic Italian dishes; classic pastas; excellent burrata plates; and a strong Italian wine program focused on small producers and lesser known regions.

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.

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.

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.

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