26 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

Crowds are a constant fixture at Craig and Annie Stoll's cultishly adored northern Italian spot. Deceptively simple, exquisitely flavored dishes include excellent pastas and the city's greatest panna cotta. The casual chic space received a substantial renovation during the Covid-19 pandemic by increasing in size and adding a handsome bar with the restaurant's first-ever cocktail program. 

Aside from the large, thin savory namesake pancake, this cheerful temple of South Indian cuisine also prepares curries, uttapam (open-face pancakes), and various starters, breads, rice dishes, and chutneys. Dosa fillings range from traditional potatoes, onions, and cashews to green chilies and cilantro, and other popular menu options include mango fish curry, roasted masala lamb shank, and Indian street-food additions such as vada pav (a vegetarian slider).

This handsome and boisterous hot spot with a tiny bar and a sleek yet rustic dining room is synonymous with pasta. The grand experience here is the seven-course pasta-tasting menu (extra charge for wine pairings) with seasonally changing dishes (the one standby is a meatless Taleggio scarpinocc with aged balsamic drizzled over the bow tie–shaped pasta). It also serve top-notch, blistery thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas.

There’s no end to the buzz around chef David Barzelay’s 12-plus-course prix-fixe seasonal and imagination-driven dinners, which might include guinea hen with English peas and morel mushrooms or delicate "sandwiches" of Wagyu 'nduja pimento cheese and fried green heirloom tomatoes. An ode to the Western lodge, the high-ceilinged, spacious dining room includes a fireplace, charred wood walls, and wooden rafters. The upstairs "Den" could be the movie set for a luxury countryside estate's living room, complete with camping-themed decorative items.

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.

Hardly just a plan B for those who didn't score a table at its sibling, Lazy Bear, this excellent cocktail bar and creative small-plates restaurant by the same people offers intriguing combinations and endless conversation starters in a cool modern setting. Menu standouts include California halibut ceviche and fried hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. Don't-miss drinks on the cocktail side include the signature "In the Pines, Under the Palms," a smooth sipper of toasted coconut rye, Terroir gin, and vermouth, garnished with a small redwood sprout.

Lemongrass and softly sizzling chilies perfume this modest neighborhood favorite, opened by Cambodian refugees in the late 1980s. The menu includes an array of curries, salads of squid or cold noodles with ground fish, and lightly curried fish mousse cooked in a banana leaf basket. Vegetarians will be happy to discover plenty of selections. Service is friendly though sometimes languid, so don't stop here when you're in a hurry.

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.

After several years as the chef de cuisine at Rich Table, Brandon Rice set off on his own with this creative restaurant, and it's been wildly successful. Rice's cooking emphasizes local ingredients and is inspired by many cuisines, yet always has a few curveballs involved, like pork tonkotsu inspired by Nashville hot chicken and sushi rice topped with salmon roe and raw beef. The industrial yet affable bi-level space is beautiful but can get loud.

Classic films are projected on the wall of a large inner courtyard in this hip, loftlike space while you're served stellar seasonal California cooking, and weekend brunch brings throngs fighting for a spot on the patio for some of the city's best egg dishes and Bloody Marys. The majestic atmosphere enhances plates of perfectly shucked oysters on the half shell and sesame fried chicken.

Coffee aficionados should head down Valencia Street to Four Barrel Coffee for excellent house-roasted coffee in a fun and funky space, packed with Mission hipsters, cyclists, and artists (be sure to look at the selection of Mission counterpart Dynamo doughnuts as well).

The Liholiho Yacht Club team opened this concept driven by diversity, equality, and inclusion that emphasizes healthy working conditions and fair wages in an industry that unfortunately isn't known for either. The AAPI heritage–inspired menu is divided between starters like a chicken wing stuffed with egg roll filling, and larger courses meant for sharing.

A former chef from the Mission District's acclaimed Al's Place (which sadly closed in 2022) is the culinary talent at this fantastic, dimly lit oasis near the hectic 24th St.-Mission BART station. The menu's focus is on two trendy Italian cuisine items—pasta and fish crudo—that might be hip clichés now, but this kitchen does them as well as anyone in town and always with a unique spin.

The most well-known—and quite possibly the best—of the burrito choices around town forgoes rice in the filling (almost all burritos in the Mission include rice) to focus on tender meats. The carne asada is the house favorite, but you can't go wrong with the carnitas either. While the burritos deservedly get the hype, the tacos and quesadillas are also worth trying.

Enormous tortas (Mexican sandwiches with meat, avocado, queso fresco, and refried beans on a soft-interior/crunchy-exterior roll) are a culinary specialty of the state of Puebla in Mexico, and they're also the signature item of this Mission District daytime favorite. The tortas come in two sizes (you likely only need the smaller one). Beyond the must-order house specialty, the extensive menu includes everything from coffee and breakfast, to tostadas and tacos.

The owners of lauded Delfina channel the culinary traditions of Rome at this lively osteria, where the bar stools are constantly occupied and carbs get glorious treatment: chewy pizza bianca is an addictive starter, while peppery and creamy tonnarelli cacio e pepe is a signature. Finely made cocktails arrive at dark-wood tables on a candlelit tray, and white wall tiles from iconic local makers, Heath Ceramics, which lend a Mission vibe.

Argentine fare, a convivial atmosphere, and talented bartenders help explain the long-running appeal of this contemporary steak house in a sceney two-level space with two bars and a rooftop neighbor (El Techo) that offers captivating views—it's no surprise that the crowd sometimes swings young and noisy. While beef is deservedly the headliner, make sure not to miss the chicken empanadas, with flaky pastry and a slight sweetness.

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.

In an immaculate setting boasting a long communal table, firewood as decor, and an enormous open kitchen, chef-owner Seth Stowaway's complex and invigorating tasting menus change their concept every few weeks. However, the firewood is a hint at the overarching theme of every experience: live-fire cooking incorporated into every dish. That touch of flames might be demonstrated by a more subtle smoke influence in a sauce or delicate, direct grilling for an elaborate meat or seafood centerpiece.

San Francisco's only Guam-inspired restaurant is always an outdoor party with a South Pacific evoking, picnic table–filled patio in an old parking lot. The extensive, contemporary Guam-Californian menu can be a little overwhelming but is always satisfying. Most tables start with a few lighter bites like Chamorro sweet rolls or empanadas before continuing towards the barbecue items and coconut braised beef tinaktak, accompanied by a number of homemade sauces.

In the Mission District, the owners of the popular Ritual Coffee Roasters have plunked their roaster in the back of the café, so you know where your beans—usually single-origin, rather than a blend—were roasted when you order your espresso or drip coffee.

When chef Thomas McNaughton isn’t hosting dinner guests at Central Kitchen, that restaurant’s courtyard turns into a casual hangout for lunch goers who order from this larder and deli. A half-dozen sandwiches as well as salads are on the menu, with daily specials. The pasta salad is made with famed Flour + Water pasta (another McNaughton enterprise), while the salumi is made in-house. You can also provision up here, as the place also serves as a specialty grocer.

A lychee wood charcoal grill in the open kitchen is the star of this excellent contemporary Korean dining destination. Most of the menu is similar to its Korean barbecue peers but given a little twist—homemade soondae (blood sausage) adorns green-onion pancakes and unique banchan (pickled items) like jellyfish and hot mustard. The modern wood-and-concrete-accented room is always bustling and split between counter seats overlooking the grill and generously sized tables.

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.

It's never pleasant to think about food waste, but it's an unfortunate reality in our world today—there is an enormous amount of perfectly fine food thrown away. This colorful, quirky, purposefully over the top restaurant embraces the concept of food waste as a key centerpiece of a pizza-centric menu (the crust is made of discarded whey and oat flour). Guests aren't lectured about the issue; instead, they'll learn from the plates about how oft-neglected or discarded ingredients can be absolutely delicious.

The eastern Mission's seasonal Californian charmer is a delightful stop for a concise menu of "won't ever leave the menu" dishes, plus a few always-changing farmers' market–driven creations. Owner Paul Einbund is one of the city's top sommeliers, so, on cue, the wine list is particularly impressive, and so is the industrial yet cheery dining room and impressive parklet. The bathroom is a trip—literally—where the decor is film footage of a countryside drive set to a soothing musical score.