29 Best Restaurants in San Francisco, California

Although Daniel Patterson no longer presides over the kitchen, under chef Erik Anderson his Michelin three-star restaurant is still a can't-miss destination for exquisite, rarefied dining in a womblike space that features natural linens, soft lighting, and hand-crafted pottery. The eight-course tasting menu focuses on seafood and prizes obsessively sourced, highly seasonal ingredients in dishes such as Dungeness crab with grapefruit, Champagne, and bay leaf.

Persian dining is mostly done in homes, with fine dining a modern concept, but Maykadeh hits the mark with authenticity in Persian cooking as well as saucy, elevated, French-influenced twists. Those in the know come for succulent lamb specialties with saffron rice, served in a dining room with an old-school, white-shirt-and-tie vibe. Kebabs, like the chicken joojeh, and other marinated meats are great for sharing. Other options include ghorme sabzee, lamb shank braised with Persian aromatic herbs. There are plenty of starters, like strained-whey-drizzled eggplant dip, to tease the most hearty appetites.

The whip-quick, no-nonsense, food-smart staff behind the counter at this take-out delicatessen have been serving up the most delicious, and quite possibly the biggest, sandwiches in town since 1896. Grab a number, revel in the time warp that Sinatra in the background provides, marvel at the Italian-style cured meats, and let the artists build you an unforgettable combo; then head to Washington Square Park for a picnic. The family-run shop is helmed by the fourth generation; its current torch holder is Italian-Filipino Nicholas Mastrelli, one of the Piedmont-hailing original owner's great-grandsons. Nick takes great pride in upholding his family's legacy and creating community with regulars.

Calabrian-born SF resident Francesco Covucci is determined to continue the Italian legacy of North Beach with trendy, casual, quality-driven regional Italian eateries (he also owns Il Casaro Pizzeria at 348 Columbus Avenue). Here you can slam Roman-style pinsa, which is a modern style of ciabatta-shape pizza made of a multigrain flour mix and gourmet toppings like burrata and pesto or pear, walnut, and Gorgonzola. They also serve the triad of Roman pastas—cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and carbonara—with grace. This is a solid spot to grab a Campari soda and a pinsa, then tuck into a plate of pasta with a bottle of wine and a friend.

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.

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.

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

Wife-and-husband duo chef Jen McMahon and Oakland native Darren Lacy (front of house) strive to create the neighborhood's most thoughtful Italian dining experience. Handwritten menus and linen napkins set the tone for ingredient-driven, high-quality regional Italian–inspired cuisine. The menu includes fresh pastas stuffed with Italian cheeses, West Coast veg-heavy salad starters, and classic Italian desserts with gourmet flair, such as butterscotch panna cotta or torta di cioccolato (flourless) with Amarena cherries.

Claiming to be Chinatown's oldest bakery, this packed space is a must-stop, with the goods to back up its rep. Try the moon cakes and egg custard tarts. Cash only.

For a take-out sando shop for those in the North Beach know, Freddie's is where you need to go. The calling cards of this off-the-tourist-track time capsule, owned by Ed Sweileh, are the combo layered with mortadella, pressed ham, cheese, and salami galore, and the protein trio turkey, ham, and bacon club. No FOMO buzz means there are no lines compared to other institutions.

At this line-around-the-corner, no-English-spoken bakery, the delicious dim sum is strictly to-go, so picnic at Woh Hei Yuen Park on Powell Street or Portsmouth Square.

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.

It's impossible to miss this Stockton Street Cantonese barbecue butchery icon—just look for the air-drying ducks and pigs hanging from above and the sign in the window that reads "Go duck yourself," the name by which many locals know this to-go favorite. Roast duck, crispy roast pork, and succulent honey barbecue pork are the marquee items on the concise menu, and must-try signature tastes of Chinatown history. This isn't a café or an eatery—order a half pound of a few meats with rice and braised greens and enjoy it as a snack on the go or to bring back to the hotel/condo for dinner.

Francesco Covucci brings his concept for a modern, casual Italian pizzeria with quality-driven imported Italian ingredients to storied North Beach. Although hailing from Calabria (an agricultural region of Southern Italy neighboring Campania, Italy's pizza bastion), he has created an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria. Also look for appetizers involving imported buffalo milk mozzarella and burrata.

One of North Beach's last blue-collar eateries has immense character, as if a rosticceria (a type of casual roast meat eat-in or take-away) was plopped here from a small quarter of Rome. This is a simple spot to get classic, hearty meals like half a roasted chicken and sides. Known as a beacon for chicken, Il Pollaio also does roast rabbit and rib eyes. They have a few simple wine options but allow BYOB in case you have a bottle snagged from a day of browsing among the neighborhood's independent food and bottle shops. There's another location in the Mission.

The Soracco family has been baking Liguria's focaccia genovese for more than a century, and their fresh-baked Italian flatbreads (such as plain, rosemary, and tomato slathered with green onions) are the city's best. Bring cash and arrive before noon: when the focaccia is gone, the bakery closes.

This intimate, triangular spot with a beautiful antique oak bar serves great hot focaccia sandwiches, sourcing from Liguria Bakery. Try the toasted combo (ham, salami, cheese), the breaded eggplant, or the meatball drenched in marinara. On sunny days, take your order across the street to Washington Square for a San Francisco picnic.

After a fire destroyed the old-school Italian American restaurant's Tenderloin building in 2007, it moved to North Beach; the "new" place has its charms, but it's quite a different restaurant, with far more sophisticated decor that includes some mid-century design elements. Original Joe's took over the former location of Fior D'Italia and carried on that space's legacy as a destination for fine dining, now marrying a higher-end experience with classic Italian American fare like eggplant parmigiana, saucy meatballs, and fettuccine dishes. It fit into the neighborhood right away and feels like it's been here much longer than its 2012 opening date indicates.

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.

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.

Few restaurants in San Francisco can match the history of this city treasure that has been around since 1908. You'll want to try as much as possible from the menu, which is a unique mix of Cantonese dishes, a few items from other regions of China, a couple Southeast Asia–inspired noodles, and more familiar Chinese American fare. It's a brisk, efficient operation where tables turn over fast.

For a quarter so rich in Italian history, North Beach sadly lacks authentic Italian dolce (sweet) offerings; indeed, this lone sweets bakery is it. Stella has been around since 1942 and has since changed hands from the original owners but still sticks to offering an array of Italian-American-style biscotti, tiramisu, and cannoli with creamy, cloyingly sweet predilections. The bakery stays open delightfully late.

In Italy, the bastion of fresh pasta is Emilia-Romagna, and a trio of entrepreneurs hailing from the region give respect to its claim to carb fame in a mini-empire of fast-casual pasta eateries, with the one in North Beach as its flagship. Come for treats like slabs of lasagna that fool you into thinking you're calorie-loading in Bologna, as well as stuffed ravioli and gnocchi. The space itself is nothing fancy and looks like a deli, but grab your cutlery and a seat and enjoy your feast. While much of North Beach's Italian identity has eroded over the years, new-generation businesses like this one are bringing some of that soul back.

San Francisco’s first wood-fired brick pizza oven, installed here in 1935, is still here, and the pizzas' delightfully chewy crusts, creamy mozzarella, and full-bodied house-made sauce have kept legions returning for decades. Pair one of the hearty pies with broccoli dressed in lemon juice and olive oil and a bottle of chianti, or tuck into a variety of old-school pasta dishes (think: ravioli, spaghetti, manicotti), and old-school favorite dessert, tiramisu.

Repeatedly crowned the World Champion Pizza Maker at the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Tony Gemignani is a carb-friendly legend in the city for his flavorful dough and myriad versions. The multiple gas, electric, and wood-burning ovens in his casual, modern pizzeria turn out many different styles of pies—the famed Neapolitan-style Margherita, but also Sicilian, Roman, and Detroit styles—with salads, antipasti, homemade pastas, and calzone rounding out the menu.

The leather booths and chairs are in high demand at this dark and clubby boho classic from 1919, where well-heeled locals and visitors delight in food that skews to the Cal-Italian genre, meaning local catches and seasonal produce as well as Italian flair in dishes such as halibut crudo and meatballs swimming in red sauce. This is also a great place to park on a stool at the bar, linger over a craft cocktail, and soak up the old–San Francisco vibe.

San Francisco's signature Sichuan restaurant is a wonderful place to sample the often spicy, mouth-numbing (that's the "mala" heat, then the cooling effect of the peppers and chilies) cuisine of that northern China region. It's a long menu, so ask for advice from the servers. Be sure to book in advance for dinner, as the place is equally popular with visitors and diners from all over the Bay Area.