3 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

This colorful Spanish-style tapas/pintxos bar deserves a spot especially if you need a quick bite with an appetite-stimulating vermouth-based aperitif before heading off to dinner. The food is delicious, with delightful ambience, and it's a not-to-miss for anyone who could use a night off from Italian. Try the fun pintxos bites like jamon croquetas and sobrasada bocadillo, a paprika-spiced soft salumi (sobresada) slathered on a roll and wedged with nutty Manchego cheese.

Pandemic opening and hardly Italian, this colorful small plates Spanish-style tapas/pinxos bar deserves a spot especially if you need a quick bite before heading off to dinner with an appetite stimulating vermouth-based aperitif. The food is delicious, with delightful ambiance and a not-to-miss for anyone who could use a night off from Italian.

Full-blooded Spaniards swear by the paella at this tiny old-world-style bistro, complete with matador posters on the wall. Also not to be missed is the homemade sangria—or any of the impressive roster of tapas prepared by Madrid-bred chef Lucas Gasco. Arched windows overlook Hyde Street and the cable cars rolling by. Riding the Powell–Hyde line to and from dinner adds to the romance of the evening and saves you the nightmare of parking in this neighborhood.