36 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

Chad Robertson is America’s first modern cult baker, and this tiny Mission District outpost (along with the larger Tartine Manufactory on the eastern side of the neighborhood) is where you'll find his famed loaves of tangy country bread and beloved pastries like croissants and morning buns. You'll also find near-constant lines out the door; they're longest in the morning when locals (and plenty of tourists) need a pastry punch to start the day, and later in the afternoon when the famed loaves emerge freshly baked.

Rarely found in this country and even obscure to many Chinese, the lightly seasoned Hakka cuisine of southern China is the hallmark of this local favorite, featuring dishes such as salt-baked chicken, braised stuffed tofu, steamed fresh bacon with dried mustard greens, and clay pots of meats and seafood. Ton Kiang opens in the morning for dim sum, serving delicate dumplings and steamed buns; a small selection of dim sum is available at night, too.

A Bay Area worker-owned cooperative, this bakery lures passersby with liberal slogans and baked goodies displayed in its large storefront window. The menu changes daily, offering different types of bread, sweet treats like scones, and pizza. Plop down $28 for a whole thin-crust pizza and enjoy it in the sidewalk parklet for a perfect beginning (or end) to a Golden Gate Park excursion.

At this sleek Presidio Heights daytime café, the wellness-centric menu manages to be so delicious that guests often don't notice how virtuous the dishes are. Bread for the open-faced sandwiches is gluten-free and baked in-house; several items are vegetarian and/or vegan; and even the pappardelle is made of zucchini ribbons instead of wheat. The white-tiled and white-painted interior looks more like a luxury Beverly Hills boutique than an eatery.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the lobby of the New People building, this mini tea shop looks like a little girl's fantasy, with pretty flowered and polka-dotted tablecloths, fancy settings, and nods to the British royal family. Most guests opt for high tea with scones, crumpets, and finger sandwiches, or you can stop in for a sandwich or salad.

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 non-factory locations in the city on Valencia Street and in the Ferry Building.

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.

The menu at this no-frills Formica-and-linoleum spot is big and remarkably cheap. You can order everything from Vietnamese salads to rice dishes and noodle plates. But the soups are what take up the most space on the menu, from the almost two dozen varieties of pho, rice noodles in beef broth, to numerous types of hu tieu, seafood and pork noodle soups. Regulars, many of whom hail from Southeast Asia, favor the shrimp, fish ball, and pork slices soup with clear noodles and the special combo pho with rare steak, well-done brisket, tendon, and tripe.

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 Gruyère, to more atypical choices such as cherry tomatoes and burrata.

Dine here 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.

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.

Homemade thin soba and thick udon, served either hot or cold with various toppings, are the stars of this low-key, charming restaurant with a wooden facade that looks like it was imported directly from the countryside. Seating is at wooden tables, where diners of every age can be heard slurping down big bowls of traditional Japanese combinations.

At a primo location across from Dolores Park, chef Dennis Lee serves innovative, satisfying dishes inspired both by Korean tradition and Northern Californian ingredients such as mushrooms accompanied by tofu and ricotta, and a burger anointed with pickled daikon and bacon jam. Delicate items, like shiitake dumplings, are plentiful, vegan options abound, and many of the ingredients come from the restaurant's own farm.

What do spaghetti and meatballs, Thai noodles with chicken and steak, salads in three sizes, and big burgers have in common? They're all on the eclectic comfort-food menu at this neighborhood standby. Desserts are also among the claims to fame here: the fresh-baked pies and ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream are among the standouts. Kids get their own menu. In cool weather fires roar in the dining-room fireplaces; in warm weather, the outdoor tables are the place to be. There's another Chow in the Castro neighborhood. You can call ahead to put your name on the waiting list.

This shoebox-size spot puts together thin-crust pies topped with the kinds of ingredients that are worth the constant wait. Almost half the menu changes on a biweekly basis, while dependable favorites include the tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza; the Sardinian cheese, pine nut, and rosemary pie; and the San Marzano tomato sauce, wild arugula, and mascarpone pizza.

American comfort classics meet seasonal California cooking in this restaurant in an old barracks building at the eastern edge of the Presidio. The restaurant has a blend of the nostalgic past and the trendy present (deviled eggs with smoked salmon and furikake; grilled beef liver and onions; homemade cheesecake), as well as a lively bar and ample patio seating that allows diners to soak up the Presidio's outdoor beauty.

Salt-and-pepper Dungeness crab is a delicious draw at this bright, three-level Cantonese eatery that always has a packed crowd for its crustacean specialties—crab portions can easily be split for three—and dim sum. A menu with photographs will help you sort through other Hong Kong specialties, including Peking duck and shrimp-stuffed bean curd. Much of the seafood is fresh from the tank.

All the burgers at this laid-back spot, part of a popular Bay Area mini-chain, are responsibly sourced, and the beef is 100% grass-fed. Choose a patty (beef, bison, vegetarian, elk, or turkey), then select a preset "style" or invent your own from the many creative toppings. The homemade quinoa-, brown rice-, and black bean-based vegetarian burger might be the finest of that increasingly competitive genre in San Francisco. A market salad rotates frequently as a solid option for the burger-averse. Kombucha, shakes, house-made sodas, and beer and wine are also available, as is a kids' menu.

Although it's open morning until night, this cozy café is most synonymous with brunch. Sleepy-headed locals turn up for delights like the smoked ham, fried egg, and Gruyère breakfast sandwich; evening favorites lean toward roast chicken, pastas, and seasonal-rustic fare. The ingredients are top-notch, the service is friendly, and the seating is in comfortable booths and at tables and a counter. Heaters above the outdoor tables keep things toasty when the temperature dips.

The food of China's northeastern province of Shandong is the draw at this bare-bones storefront restaurant where specialties include steamed dumplings—shrimp and leek dumplings are the most popular—and hand-pulled noodles in soup or stir-fried. Especially popular are the platters of excellent dry-fried chicken wings, a cult dish in the city.

This sun-filled, family-run restaurant has been a neighborhood favorite since 1988, and not only because it serves breakfast all day—though the hearty chilaquiles always hits the spot. On weekends, regulars opt for birria, a spicy barbecued goat stew, or menudo, a tongue-searing soup made from beef tripe, complemented by beer and sangria.

The original Swensen's has been a neighborhood favorite since 1948.