The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Deli Board
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Rank 1. Benu
Korean
Corey Lee's three-Michelin-star tasting menu in SoMa is the kind of meal people fly to San Francisco specifically to eat. The cooking is deeply technical but rooted in Asian flavors, and the progression from tiny precise bites to full courses feels almost architectural. The room is quiet and grown-up, full of people who booked months out and are absolutely keeping the receipt. Plan your whole evening around it.
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Deli Board is a takeout-only sandwich counter on Folsom that takes its pastrami very seriously, and honestly, so should you. The meat is loaded onto thick bread in a few different builds, each one leaning into a different level of chaos. Everything comes with fat pickles on the side, which you will need. It's not cheap for a sandwich, but the kind of person who finishes one never seems to complain.
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Rank 3. Birdsong
Contemporary
Live fire runs through everything at this two-Michelin-star tasting menu spot in SoMa, where the chef somehow makes open-flame cooking feel playful rather than primal. The room is tall and elegant, the crowd is dressed up and leaning in, and the kitchen keeps finding ways to surprise you right up to dessert. It's the kind of meal where rugged technique and genuine whimsy end up in the same bite.
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Rank 4. Saison
Fine dining
Everything at this two-Michelin-star warehouse spot revolves around a roaring open hearth, which sets the mood instantly. The crowd is Bay Area tech money dressed down just enough to seem unbothered, and the kitchen matches that studied cool with wildly creative Californian cooking. The wine team is genuinely great and won't make you feel bad about your budget. Wear something nice but not a suit, and clear your evening.
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Rank 5. HK Lounge Bistro
Cantonese Chinese
This SoMa dim sum spot has been around forever, and the regulars who pack it at lunch will make you feel like you found something real. Families, suits with their ties loosened, the whole cast. The pleated dumplings and baked pork buns are the move at lunch, while dinner shifts into bigger shared plates. It's a modest room that doesn't need to try hard, which is usually the best sign.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle Best dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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Rank 6. Californios
Fine dining
Two Michelin stars for a Mexican tasting menu sounds like a fever dream, but Californios pulls it off without a trace of self-importance. The room feels more like a dinner party than a temple, with colorful art on the walls and a playlist that actually slaps. The chef takes Mexico's culinary heritage seriously and then runs with it somewhere unexpected. Dress up a little, bring someone you want to impress, and clear your evening.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- 50 Best 2025 · #14 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- Eater 2015 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 7. Niku Steakhouse
Japanese Steakhouse
A Michelin-starred Japanese steakhouse tucked behind a gold door in the Design District, Niku takes the idea of a steakhouse seriously in ways most don't. The kitchen runs a whole-animal butchery program, ages its beef carefully, and cooks everything over a binchōtan robata grill. The crowd skews tech money and special-occasion couples who dressed up for this. Grab a counter seat if you can and watch the fire do its thing.
- World's 101 Best #49 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation #20 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar
- 50 Best 2026 · #41 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
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Rank 10. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/Japanese
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Rank 11. Kin Khao
Thai
Michelin-starred Thai in a hotel lobby sounds like a trap, but Kin Khao is the real deal. The room is nothing to write home about, yet the cooking is genuinely exciting, drawing on Thai tradition while leaning hard into Northern California produce. It's creative without being precious, and the spice levels are no joke. The crowd skews adventurous eater over tourist, which tells you something.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Thai restaurants in the SF Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #58 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Bini's Kitchen is a casual counter spot that basically put Nepalese momos on San Francisco's radar. The steamed dumplings are plump, satisfying, and come with a bright tomato-cilantro sauce that makes the whole thing feel like a proper meal for not much money. The combo plates with vegetarian stews and grilled meats are an even bigger deal. The crowd is mostly locals who've figured out the lunch math here and aren't telling anyone.
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Rank 14. Kiln
Nordic New American
A two-Michelin-star tasting menu in a stark warehouse space that somehow feels warm once you're inside. The kitchen leans Nordic, leaning hard into curing, fermenting, and drying things until something quietly extraordinary comes out the other side. The food looks almost too simple, then lands with real force. The crowd tends toward people who planned the reservation months ago and are dressed just enough to feel like they earned it.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 16. Turquaz
Turkish
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation 2025 · #11 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 17. Bodega SF
Northern Vietnamese
Northern Vietnamese with an upscale edge, Bodega SF sits in the middle of downtown and draws the after-work crowd in from the cold. The wood-heavy room feels genuinely polished without trying too hard, and the menu earns it, running from solid lunch phở to dinner dishes where turmeric cakes arrive topped with caviar. The family behind it has been doing this for years, and it shows in how composed everything feels.
- San Francisco Chronicle The best Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation Mochi Pandan Bar · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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Rank 18. Azalina's
Malaysian
Malaysian cuisine done with real California soul, in a prix fixe format that changes often enough to keep regulars guessing. The room feels like a tropical escape, which is a genuinely funny trick to pull off in the Tenderloin. The chef grew up eating this food, and it shows in every handmade detail. Expect a crowd that came specifically for this, not just to fill a table, and dessert that proves pastry training never goes to waste.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #64 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 19. Rintaro
Japanese
An izakaya that feels like someone built it in a forest, Rintaro holds a Bib Gourmand and earns it. The space is genuinely beautiful, all redwood and cedar, and the kitchen brings a NorCal farmers-market instinct to Japanese small plates. The crowd skews creative-class, speaking quietly over charcoal-grilled skewers and soft tofu that somehow tastes like a flex. Come hungry enough to order widely and you'll leave very happy.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Sylvan Mishima Brackett
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 20. Sons & Daughters
Fine dining
Two Michelin stars in a spot that feels more like a dinner party than a temple of fine dining. Sons & Daughters does a Nordic-influenced tasting menu where vegetables and foraged things get treated with the same obsessive care as anything else on the plate. The room is roomier now, the service is genuinely world-class without being stiff, and the crowd leans creative and curious rather than expense-account.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Harrison Cheney
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Rank 21. Agrodolce Provisions
Italian
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
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- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 23. Square Pie Guys
Detroit-style Pizza
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Rank 24. O' by Claude Le Tohic
Fine French
Perched on the fifth floor of a six-story French food complex, this Michelin-starred tasting room is the serious, quiet-down-everyone capstone of the whole operation. The chef pulls off something genuinely tricky: classic French technique grounded in California ingredients, with results that feel neither fussy nor casual. The room runs on polished, unhurried service, and the crowd dresses accordingly.
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Rank 25. Outta Sight Pizza
Thin-crust Pizza
Outta Sight is a slice shop with actual personality, the kind of place where the walls are covered in skate photos and a Mos Def painting, and the pizza is good enough that nobody's just there for the vibe. The thin, New York-style pies are the move, but the sandwiches pull real weight too. It draws a creative, laid-back crowd who know a good thing when they find it, and they keep coming back.
- The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best sandwich spots in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
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SanJalisco is a family-run Mexican breakfast and brunch spot that has been around for decades, and the name says it all: half San Francisco, half Jalisco, fully the real deal. The chilaquiles and huevos rancheros are the kind of morning-after cure that actually works, and the weekend birria special draws a crowd of regulars who already know to get it with the broth on the side. Small, homey, zero pretension.
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Rank 27. Mister Jiu's
Chinese
Mister Jiu's is a Michelin-starred fine dining room in the heart of Chinatown that does something genuinely hard: it makes modern California cooking feel completely at home in Cantonese tradition. The crowd skews date-night and special-occasion, everyone dressed just enough. The Peking duck is the move, and the cocktails are serious enough to linger over. Go hungry, go with someone you want to impress.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Chinese Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 28. Rooh
Indian
Progressive Indian in SoMa, where the menu takes the subcontinent's flavors and runs them through a very modern filter, think oysters and burrata sharing a menu with tandoori and proper spice. The cocktails are genuinely creative rather than an afterthought, and the small-plates format means you can graze widely. The crowd skews date-night and tech-adjacent, everyone dressed up just enough. Prices reflect the ambition, so come hungry and order around the table.
- Sunset 2025 · Top Tables · Where to Eat and Drink
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Indian, Pakistani, and South Asian restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 29. Mashallah Halal Pakistani Food
Pakistani
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Rank 30. Merchant Roots
Creative
Dinner here is less a meal and more a ticketed theatrical production where the set changes every season and you're cast as the audience. It's an immersive tasting experience on Mission Street where the food, the rooms, and the whole vibe shift together around a single concept. The cooking actually holds its own amid all the spectacle, which isn't a given. Bring someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously.
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Rank 31. Shoji
Japanese
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 32. Omakase
Edomae Sushi
Serious Edomae sushi in a room so small it feels like the chef is cooking just for you, because essentially they are. Fish comes straight from Tokyo's Toyosu market, cured and aged the old-school way, and the nigiri are the kind that make you put your phone down. The crowd is quiet, attentive, slightly reverent. Show up on time, or don't bother showing up at all.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Sushi Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
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Rank 33. The Happy Crane
Cantonese
Snagging a table here is half the battle, but this chef-driven Cantonese restaurant in Hayes Valley is absolutely worth the effort. The kitchen takes the food seriously without taking itself too seriously, folding in unexpected ingredients like artichoke and fennel alongside the classics without making it weird. The room runs young and food-curious, full of people who planned this dinner a week out and are visibly pleased with themselves for getting in.
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
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Rank 34. Liholiho Yacht Club
American
Hawaiian soul meets California cool at this lively restaurant on Sutter, where the kitchen blurs the line between the two in ways that actually make sense. Shareable plates and strong cocktails keep the mood loose, and the room fills with groups who came for a good time and stayed for another round. The house-made Spam dish is a genuine flex, and ordering it is basically a personality test.
- Eater 2015 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 35. Zuni Café
Californian
Zuni has been around forever and it still runs the room, a California institution where the wood-burning oven perfumes the whole place and the copper bar fills up early with people who know exactly what they're doing. The brick-roasted chicken for two is the reason most of them are here, and ordering it feels like passing a test. Business lunchers, tourist converts, and locals who never need the menu all share the same sun-drenched dining room.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle Best classic San Francisco restaurants
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Rank 36. Bombay Brasserie
Indian
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Rank 38. Sungho
Traditional Korean
A homey Korean spot in the Tenderloin doing slow-simmered stews and hand-cut noodle soups that taste like someone's grandmother actually cared about you. The menu leans into dishes you won't easily find elsewhere in the Bay, the portions are built for sharing, and the house-made kimchi is the real deal. Regulars, curious neighbors, and the occasional K-pop fan fill the room, all of them looking very content about it.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation 2025 · #10 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 39. Acquerello
Italian
Acquerello is the kind of two-Michelin-star Italian fine dining room that actually earns the fuss, with handmade pasta and bold, precise cooking that makes other places feel like they're just trying. The vibe is warm and grown-up, full of people who dressed up and mean it. The Italian wine cellar goes embarrassingly deep, and when the mignardises cart rolls over at the end, you'll understand why everyone looks so smug.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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A low-key sushi bar in SoMa where the regulars clearly have a standing reservation in their hearts. The rolls are crowd-pleasing and loaded, but the real draw is the omakase, a roughly 20-course ride that wanders well beyond sushi into lamb chops and yuzu cheesecake territory. The service is genuinely warm, which is why the neighborhood keeps coming back like it owes the place money.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Sushi Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
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Rank 41. Rich Table
American
Buzzy Hayes Valley dinner spot that books out fast and earns every reservation. The room feels like a farmhouse someone made actually cool, all distressed wood and low-key energy, with the bar crowd in their best casual eating whatever the kitchen sends out. The food is California at its core but pulls in flavors from everywhere, and the whole thing lands with way more finesse than the laid-back vibe lets on.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #8 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 42. Paper Son
Coffee
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 43. John's Grill
San Francisco
Dark wood, white tablecloths, staff in all black, and a replica of the Maltese Falcon watching over the second floor. John's Grill is an old-school San Francisco steakhouse that's been around forever, and it wears every year well. The menu is meat and potatoes done properly, the kind of room where you half-expect someone to be tailing you. Noir buffs and old-city romantics feel right at home here.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best classic San Francisco restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 44. Smuggler's Cove
Tiki Cocktail Bar
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Rank 45. Montesacro
Roman Pizza Wine Bar
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Rank 46. Mộng Thu Cafe
Vietnamese Coffee Shop
A tiny Vietnamese soup shop on Hyde Street that earns its cult following one bowl at a time. The room is small and unpretentious, full of people who clearly know exactly what they're ordering before they sit down. The soups are the whole point, rich and fragrant in ways that remind you soup can actually be interesting. Come hungry and plan to sop up every last bit of broth with bread.
- San Francisco Chronicle The best Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
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Rank 47. Quince
Fine dining
Three Michelin stars in a beautifully restored Jackson Square room, Quince is as serious as San Francisco fine dining gets. The chef and his team are obsessed with what's growing right now, most of it from their own farm, and the seasonal Italian-leaning menu shows it. The crowd is dressed up and unhurried, the kind of night that stretches past midnight without anyone noticing. Budget accordingly, and book well ahead.
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Rank 48. Cavaña
Cental/South American
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 49. Saigon Sandwich
Vietnamese
- The Infatuation #8 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
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- Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater San Francisco Award Winners
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
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Everything here comes on a stick, which is either the best or the most efficient way to eat, and honestly it's both. This casual Jilin-style BBQ spot in the Inner Sunset skewers lamb, duck tongues, frog legs, and an embarrassing number of vegetables you'll also want. The crowd is low-key, the vibe is loud and smoky, and nobody in the room is having a bad time.
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Rank 53. Smish Smash
Burgers
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Rank 55. Zevi Cafe
Turkish
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Rank 56. True Laurel
American
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- 50 Best 2025 · #64 · World's 50 Best Bars
- 50 Best 2026 · #14 · North America's 50 Best Bars
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Rank 57. Yank Sing
Cantonese Chinese
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Rank 58. Okane
Sushi
Okane is the more relaxed sibling to the fancy omakase spot next door, which means you get fish flown in from Japan without the reverent silence and the jaw-dropping bill. It's a proper sushi bar where tech workers from the neighborhood fill the room at lunch and larger groups take over at dinner, passing sake around like they've earned it. The nigiri is clean and serious, but the small plates hold their own too.
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Rank 59. Moya
Ethiopian
A small, welcoming Ethiopian spot in SoMa where the food is the whole point and the room fills with people who clearly know exactly what they're ordering. The vegan sampler is a genuinely good place to start, piled with spiced lentils and stewed greens, and the meatless dishes hold their own against anything on the rest of the menu. Warm, unpretentious, and the kind of neighborhood place that earns real loyalty.
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Rank 60. The Morris
New American
The wine list here is the real reason locals keep coming back to this unfussy Mission bistro, built by a sommelier who clearly knows what he's doing. The food holds its own too, leaning into California meat and seafood without any fuss. The smoked duck is genuinely worth ordering. Regulars at the bar look like they've never once glanced at the menu, which is always a good sign.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 61. Hayes Street Grill
Seasonal Seafood
Been around forever and somehow still the right call before a show at the Opera House or Davies Symphony Hall, this classic seafood restaurant keeps things simple in the best way. The crowd is pre-curtain couples and regulars who've been ordering the same thing for decades, which tells you everything. Sustainable fish, prepared cleanly, no showboating. Old-school San Francisco in a room that never felt the need to reinvent itself.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best classic San Francisco restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 62. Kaiyō Rooftop
Peruvian Japanese
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Danny Louie
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
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Rank 63. Restaurant Naides
Modern Filipino
Modern Filipino tasting menu done with genuine heart, tucked into a cozy jewel box room on Bush Street. The cooking pulls traditional flavors into something fresh and beautifully plated, leaning on Californian foraged ingredients without ever losing the plot on what makes Filipino food so satisfying. The crowd is adventurous and date-night-dressy, the service warm and sharp. This one earns its Michelin nod the old-fashioned way, by actually delivering.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
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Rank 64. Shizen
Vegan Sushi
The all-vegan thing sounds like a punchline until the food arrives and your skepticism quietly folds. Shizen is a lively izakaya and sushi bar in the Mission where the kitchen does genuinely clever things with tofu and vegetables, rebuilding Japanese seafood classics without the seafood. The crowd skews young and plant-curious, but plenty of committed carnivores end up here too, looking a little sheepish and very full.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Sushi Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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Rank 65. Holy Nata
Portuguese Bakery
Holy Nata does one thing: warm Portuguese pasteis de nata, straight out of the oven on a side street downtown. The custard filling is thick enough to make you rethink every other egg tart you've ever had, and the crust shatters exactly the way it should. Go plain, add cinnamon, or show up on a Thursday when Nutella enters the chat. The crowd is mostly people who know, plus a few lucky tourists who stumbled in.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
- The Infatuation Pastel de Nata · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 66. Lazy Bear
Fine dining
A two-Michelin-star tasting menu spot in the Mission that somehow feels like a very wealthy person's mountain cabin, and pulls it off without irony. The food is big and confident, the kind of cooking that winks at comfort and nostalgia while doing something genuinely ambitious with it. The crowd leans festive and dressed up, people celebrating something or just treating a Tuesday like it deserves a occasion.
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Rank 67. Arsicault Bakery
Bakery
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Rank 68. Via Aurelia
Italian
- Esquire 2025 · Via Aurelia Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #66 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 69. Nightbird
Californian New American
A tasting menu spot in Hayes Valley where the food is as considered as the carved owl on the front door. The chef changes the menu with the seasons, so whatever lands on the table feels intentional rather than tired. Arrive early and duck into the adjacent Linden Room for a cocktail first, because the crowd here, the kind who wear a blazer like it was their idea, knows that's part of the deal.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kim Alter
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Rank 70. Ernest
Californian
Ernest is a Michelin-selected Mission spot where the cooking is deliberately a little unhinged, in the best way. Think caviar and tater tots sharing a plate without any apology. The crowd leans creative-class cool, the kind of people who have opinions about natural wine but won't bore you with them. Book ahead or just walk up to the bar, which is genuinely worth doing on its own.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #89 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Brandon Rice
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- Punch Industry Icon
- Food & Wine 2025 · The 10 Top Bars in the US
- 50 Best 2026 · #100 · North America's 50 Best Bars
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Rank 72. Miller & Lux
Steakhouse
Tyler Florence's elegant steakhouse near Chase Center is a genuine reason to dress up, even if the arena next door is doing its best to lower the bar. The room has quiet glamour, marble and leather, the kind of place where couples on big nights and suits celebrating deals both feel at home. The dry-aged steaks are the main event, the raw bar is serious, and the martinis arrive exactly right.
- World's 101 Best #25 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 73. Delah Coffee
Yemeni Coffee
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Rank 74. Taksim
Turkish
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- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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A sandwich shop that has committed fully to pork, and respects you enough not to pretend otherwise. The house porkstrami, a brined and smoked pork butt, anchors almost every sandwich on the menu, often alongside coppa, salami, or mortadella. The crowd skews toward people who did not come here to compromise. Wash it all down with novelty sodas from a bygone era, which somehow feels exactly right.
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Rank 77. Dining Yamamoto
Sushi
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Golden Era is a vegan Asian spot that actually makes you forget to care that it's vegan, which is a harder trick than it sounds. The menu runs from pad Thai to pho to claypot rice, and the kitchen puts real work into getting the textures right, so the soy "beef" in the broth chews like the real thing. Prices are gentle, the crowd is a mix of True Believers and curious neighbors, and nothing on the menu phones it in.
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Rank 79. Joujou
French
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Rank 81. Four Kings
Cantonese
Snagging a reservation here is basically a sport, and if you lose, you line up outside before doors open and hope for the best. This buzzy Chinatown spot does contemporary Cantonese in a lively, quirky room where the crowd is young, loud, and very pleased with themselves for getting in. The cooking leans on traditional flavors but wears them loosely, and somehow that formula just works.
- Food & Wine 2024 · Squab · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Esquire 2024 · Restaurant of the Year · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Sam's Grill is an old-school seafood institution in the Financial District that makes you feel like you've stumbled into a city that still has some dignity. Tuxedoed servers, curtained back booths, and coat hooks from the hat-wearing era set the scene. The lunch crowd is regulars who know exactly what they're having before they sit down. Go on a weekday, order a martini, and don't be surprised if the guy in the next booth basically runs the city.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best classic San Francisco restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 83. SHOWA
Japanese
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Rank 84. Friends Only
Sushi
Once technically invite-only, this intimate omakase counter in the Tendernob is now open to anyone willing to pay for the privilege, and the price is genuinely bracing. What you get is a long, unhurried parade of impeccably sourced seafood, much of it dry-aged in house, plus cocktails that feel like they belong here rather than at the bar next door. The crowd dresses up and pretends not to notice the bill.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #16 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Sushi Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
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A beloved halal Pakistani spot in the Tenderloin that's been around forever and somehow kept prices low enough that you'll order way more than you planned. The crowd is a good mix of regulars who know exactly what they want and first-timers loading up on tandoori platters and curries, all sharing the same slightly stunned look when the bill arrives. Grab a bunch of naan and just start ordering.
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A little French sandwich counter tucked among the downtown towers, Cafe du Soleil is where the office crowd lines up on their lunch break, badges still clipped to their blazers. The prosciutto sandwich is the move, and the niçoise combo gives you salad credit so you feel like an adult. Seating is basically a rumor, but Yerba Buena Gardens is right there if you're willing to eat outside like a civilized person.
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Rank 88. Capital
Cantonese
A no-frills Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown that's been around forever, Capital earns its spot on every local list with salt-and-pepper chicken wings that have genuine cult status. Wok-tossed with garlic and jalapeño, the crunch is loud enough to embarrass you in public, which is part of the charm. The crowd is a mix of regulars who come specifically for those wings and families working through the full menu, nobody dressed up, everyone happy.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best fried chicken restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #97 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 89. Dumpling Home
Chinese
Soup dumplings are the whole point at this casual dumpling shop in Hayes Valley, and the Michelin Bib Gourmand crowd eating elbow-to-elbow knows it. The skins are thin and the broth inside is genuinely good, with fillings beyond the standard pork, including a Sichuan numbing version that earns its spot on the menu. Everything is folded by hand, all day, and the bamboo steamers stacked on every table tell you exactly where you are.
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Rank 90. Ararat Kebab & Gyros
Turkish
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Rank 92. The Big Four
Old-school American
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
- The Infatuation The Best Martinis In San Francisco
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A no-frills Thai spot in the Tenderloin with the kind of loyal regulars who never bother looking at the menu. The barbecued pork shoulder is the reason people keep coming back, charred and punchy with a fish sauce marinade, and you can get it three different ways. Keanu Reeves is apparently a superfan, which the window display will remind you of constantly. Cash-and-plastic crowd, nothing fancy, just good food done right.
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Rank 94. Angler
Seafood
Angler is a Michelin-starred seafood spot on the Embarcadero where live fire does most of the talking. The open kitchen pulls focus the whole night, and you can taste the smoke in almost everything that comes out of it. It draws the kind of crowd that orders confidently and dresses like they mean it. The wine list is serious, and dessert is genuinely not optional. Budget accordingly, and snag a reservation.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Soft Serve Sundae · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 95. Baklavastory
Turkish Bakery
Most baklava is fine. This is not most baklava. Baklavastory is a small Turkish bakery in the Mission where the phyllo is made by hand, which is apparently rare enough to be worth crossing town for. The layers shatter in a way that feels almost theatrical. They keep it simple: walnut or pistachio, sold by the tray. Get the pistachio. The walnuts will understand.
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Rank 96. Parachute
Bakery
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Rank 98. Hamburguesa Bar
American
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Rank 99. Prelude
Southern Cocktail Bar
Tucked into the ground floor of the Jay Hotel, Prelude is a dimly lit cocktail bar with serious Southern food running underneath all that atmosphere. The kitchen draws on Alabama roots to turn comfort classics into something a little more composed, and the crowd seems to dress accordingly. It pulls the kind of people who'd rather linger over small plates than rush anywhere, which is pretty much the correct approach here.
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Bars
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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