The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Gary Danko
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Rank 1. Gary Danko
Contemporary French
The dining room glows with the formality of another era: dark-suited servers, a towering cheese trolley, an wine list of serious depth. Chef Danko's prix-fixe menu lets you build your own path through French-inflected cooking with global detours—or surrender to his tasting menu. Since 1999, the place has remained a steady draw for occasions that call for ceremony and restraint.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- Wine Enthusiast The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame
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- Sprudgie Awards 2025 · Honoree · Sustainable Cafe or Coffee Roaster
- Sprudgie Awards 2025 · Honoree · Sustainable Cafe or Coffee Roaster
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Rank 3. Atelier Crenn
Contemporary French
Crenn's white-walled atelier channels a painter's precision, each seafood course glazed in silken sauces that speak to her Breton roots and California present. A grandmother's brioche and vegetables from Sonoma orchards anchor the pescatarian tasting menu in something tactile and real, even as desserts from Juan Contreras push toward pure invention.
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Rank 4. Abacá
Filipino
Chef Francis Ang channels Filipino tradition through a prism of California produce and playful technique—pork belly adobo with pineapple, lumpia with pear ketchup—in a sunlit dining room that feels less important than what arrives on the plate. The kitchen's confident hand, honed through years of pop-up work, suggests that restraint is not part of the vocabulary here.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Vince Bugtong
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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Rank 6. Quince
Contemporary
In a refreshed early 1900s room in Jackson Square, Chef Michael Tusk builds menus from his partner farm's seasonal bounty with surgical precision: silky broth married to guanciale and clam, agnolotti tender with white asparagus, lamb from the fireplace scattered with favas and edible flowers. The cooking is restrained and confident, letting each ingredient declare itself.
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Rank 7. Acquerello
Italian
Suzette Gresham's A-frame dining room has sheltered ambitious Italian cooking since 1989, where handmade pastas and pristine seafood arrive with equal finesse and daring. The mignardises cart alone—stacked with housemade chocolates and caramels—suggests a kitchen that understands generosity as a form of rigor.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 8. Scoma's
Seafood
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #78 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 10. Palette Tea House
Chinese
Palette Tea House occupies Ghirardelli Square with a dining room alive in colored light and tilework, where dim sum arrives as theater—pork and duck puffs sculpted into swans, silken rice rolls with XO sauce. The kitchen moves beyond Instagram spectacle with dishes like cognac-glazed Ibérico char siu that justify the elegance of the room.
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Rank 11. Tony's Pizza Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #3 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- Sunset 2025 · Inspired Italian · Where to Eat and Drink
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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Rank 12. House of Prime Rib
Steakhouse
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- Esquire 2025 · Martini · The Best Martinis in America
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Rank 13. Nisei
Japanese
Chef David Yoshimura balances Japanese tradition with American invention—buckwheat tartlets with date miso, uni in almond dashi—with technical assurance and personality. Service is personable, sake pairings thoughtful, and the wagashi cart a delicate finale.
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Rank 14. Hilda and Jesse
Modern New American
A modernist diner where brunch becomes an argument between restraint and excess, Hilda and Jesse serves a surprise tasting menu that pivots on bold flavor and fine technique. The cooking is brash and unmanicured—a riot of stellar ingredients in unexpected combinations—while the room maintains a disarming warmth that matches the hospitality.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kristina Liedags Compton
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #92 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 15. Ssal
Modern Korean
The Baes' tasting menu inhabits a middle ground between Korean tradition and French technique, moving deftly through dishes like sweet potato puffs crowned with caviar and scallop mousseline wrapped in cabbage with spiked beurre blanc. It's cooking that trusts restraint and clarity over elaboration, which in San Francisco's dining landscape reads as its own kind of statement.
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- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #3 · U.S. Barista Championship · Jason Yeo
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
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Rank 18. Mister Jiu's
Modern Chinese
Brandon Jew's Cantonese cooking at Waverly Place marries Bay Area seasonality with classical technique—scallion milk bread that dissolves on the tongue, silken tofu studded with maitake and Sichuan pepper. His Peking duck arrives with whipped liver mousse, a flourish that captures his gift for taking tradition seriously without pretending it needs apology.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Chinese Cuisine Restaurant
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
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- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 20. Original Joe's
Italian
- The Infatuation Zanze’s Cheesecake · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
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- The Infatuation 11 Of The Best Donuts In America
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Doughnuts in the Bay Area
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Rank 22. Izzy's
Steakhouse
A San Francisco steakhouse that has preserved its original warmth while refining itself for a new era, with dry-aged beef cooked over open flame and a bar that anchors the neighborhood's social life. The dining room balances timber and brass against understated polish, though service can waver.
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Rank 23. Good Mong Kok
Dim Sum
- The Infatuation #15 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Doughnuts in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
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Rank 24. The Coffee Movement
Coffee
- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #5 · U.S. Barista Championship · Circle Chan
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 25. Le Comptoir
Pescatarian French
At a marble counter beside Atelier Crenn, a handful of diners watch the kitchen plate delicate courses that weave French technique through California seafood and vegetables. The meal builds toward moments of studied refinement—caviar on buckwheat, brown butter on agnolotti—where restraint and precision feel like the entire point.
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Rank 26. Kopiku Coffee
Indonesian Coffee
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- 50 Best 2026 · #41 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Kevin Diedrich
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Rank 29. Cotogna
Italian
An open kitchen framed by exposed brick and copper gleams behind wooden tables where Michael Tusk's pastas—agnolotti stuffed with rabbit and veal, rigatoni with guanciale and chanterelle—arrive with the ease of something both refined and casual. The room moves at the tempo of a neighborhood trattoria, though the cooking never settles for rustic shorthand.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
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Rank 30. Verjus
French
Michael Tusk's wine bar near the Pyramid trades in seasonal French bistro cooking that pivots around impeccable seafood and produce—razor clams with celery and Meyer lemon, a pâté studded with pistachios. The crowd at the bar and counter suggests the kitchen's skill runs deeper than the menu's apparent simplicity.
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 31. Komeya No Bento
Japanese
A narrow Japanese counter in the Marina where matcha arrives as a ritual and bento boxes are packed with the care of someone who learned the practice decades ago. The place fills quickly before people head to Fort Mason, which tells you something about what locals trust to carry across a park.
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Rank 32. Flores
Mexican
Patterned tiles and bright murals set the scene at this Cow Hollow mainstay, where young families and Marina regulars crowd in for handmade corn tortillas wrapped around tender carnitas and oozy huitlacoche quesadilla. The kitchen treats Mexican cooking with seriousness—generous portions and modest prices suggest ambition beyond the usual neighborhood cantina.
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In North Beach, Comstock Saloon carries the weight of a century with unhurried grace, its wood and brass worn into the shape of ritual. The brussels sprouts arrive blistered and salt-struck alongside a martini that tastes like gin remembering what it was meant to be.
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation The Best Martinis In San Francisco
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Rank 36. Tadaima
Japanese
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Rank 37. Four Kings
Contemporary Cantonese Chinese
A packed Chinatown counter where Franky Ho and Michael Long riff on Cantonese tradition with claypot rice studded with bacon and eggplant that sings with fermented chili heat. The room thrums with energy and the kind of crowd that camps out before opening; reservations vanish within minutes, but the cooking rewards whatever patience you muster.
- Esquire 2024 · Restaurant of the Year · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Food & Wine 2024 · Squab · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 38. Kusakabe
Sushi
At Kusakabe, a serene counter lined in live-edge elm sets the stage for an omakase that moves with theatrical precision yet lands every note. Bluefin arrives with yuzu and sesame; softshell crab swims in sweet corn broth; sea urchin crowns scallop and snapper with cured yolk. The kitchen's command of technique serves a singular purpose: making you remember what you ate.
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Rank 39. Z & Y Peking Duck
Sichuan Chinese
A narrow Chinatown dining room where the cooking announces itself before you sit down: dried chilies heap atop fried chicken; chili oil slicks bean jelly noodles alive with numbing pepper. The space wears its age without apology, service moves at its own pace, but every plate arrives calibrated and uncompromising. Come hungry for heat.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #72 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 40. Friends Only
Sushi
A sushi counter still wrapped in exclusivity despite open reservations, where the steep price tag underscores relentless attention to sourcing and technique. House-aged fish meets inventive touches—cherrywood-smoked eel, grilled spot prawn with ramp butter—that feel earned rather than showy.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #27 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 41. The Brazen Head
American
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Rank 43. Stella Pastry
Bakery/Cafe
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Rank 44. XICA
Mexican
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 17 Best Restaurants Near The Embarcadero & Ferry Building
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Rank 45. Taishan Cuisine
Cantonese Chinese
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Rank 46. The Big Four
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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Rank 47. Cordon Bleu
Vietnamese
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 48. Hillstone
American
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Rank 49. Sorella
Northern Italian
The younger sibling to Acquerello trades formality for exuberance, its kitchen channeling Northern Italy through a Californian lens. A gem lettuce salad might showcase Dungeness crab with anchovy dressing; house-made pasta arrives in intricate forms like beef-and-Comté timballo. The bar hums with cicchetti and cocktails, though the dining room is where the kitchen's ambitions fully unfold.
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Rank 50. Benu
Asian
Chef Corey Lee's tasting menu unfolds with technical precision, each course a miniature study in restraint and refinement. A roasted quail, glazed tableside with maple and soy, epitomizes his gift for marrying tradition with invention.
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An airy dining room built around an open kitchen where Chef Ravi Kapur marries Hawaiian ingredients with Californian technique, drawing crowds who order halibut kinilaw and fried game hen across a bar loud with cocktail chatter. The house-made Spam in kimchi fried rice signals a kitchen unafraid of culinary contradiction.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #57 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 52. Rice Roll Express
Chinese
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Rank 54. Tiya
Modern Indian
Tiya fuses seasonal California produce with contemporary Indian technique, turning squash blossoms and ramps into something genuinely unfamiliar. The elegant dining room and neighborhood-named cocktails elevate what could be gimmick into genuine sophistication.
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Rank 55. Balboa Cafe
American
Balboa Cafe trades in the currency of Cow Hollow visibility, a room where the crowd matters as much as what fills the glass. The espresso martini arrives with the confidence of a drink that knows exactly what it is.
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Rank 56. Goldenette
Diner
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Rank 57. Prelude
American
The Jay Hotel's ground-floor cocktail bar trades the Financial District's noise for moody elegance, where drinks arrive with the precision and restraint of a well-edited film—nothing wasted, every element earning its place on the glass.
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Bars
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 59. Trestle
Contemporary
At Trestle, three courses rotate through the seasons at a price that rewards restraint: creamy tomato soup with thyme oil might yield to fork-tender short ribs on parmesan polenta, finished with frozen chocolate parfait and crushed cashews. The dining room hums with energy, and staff move with genuine warmth, making the whole enterprise feel less like a bargain than like being let in on something.
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Rank 60. Mymy
American
In a Nob Hill corner thick with weekend crowds, Mymy pulls off the trick of casual brunch without the rushed feel that usually comes with it. Lemon pancakes arrive puffy and sharp, corned beef hash arrives crisp, and the whole thing tastes like someone actually wanted to cook for you.
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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 62. China Live
Chinese
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Rank 64. Restaurant Naides
Filipino
Chef Patrick Gabon's tasting menu distills Filipino tradition through a Californian lens—fluffy brioche pandesal with braised chicken gizzards, dry-aged duck adobo with horseradish—each dish as visually composed as it is flavorful. The small room hums with the ease of two people who know their craft, and the cooking feels like an argument that refinement and boldness need not be at odds.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
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Rank 65. Swan Oyster Depot
San Francisco
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Rank 66. Capital Restaurant
Cantonese
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Rank 67. Octavia
Elevated New American
Melissa Perello's restaurant sits among Victorian storefronts in Lower Pac Heights, all cream-colored walls and neighborhood warmth that belies its ambition. She works with pristine local ingredients—crispy fried artichokes, hand-rolled pasta with morels, quail balanced with grapefruit—each dish spare but considered, letting the raw material speak. The bread alone justifies a reservation.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Melissa Perello
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Rank 68. Saison
Californian New American
A warehouse devoted to the hearth, where Chef Richard Lee orchestrates playful, earnest cooking—tuna tartlette, rabbit with morels, antelope with blueberries—for San Francisco's elite. The wine program is exceptionally deep, the crowd studiously cool, the setting rustically refined.
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Rank 69. Caffè Macaroni
Italian
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Rank 70. Little Original Joe’s
Italian
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Rank 71. The Progress
Nordic-Californian New American
Sunlit and wood-lined near the Fillmore Theater, The Progress marries California ingredients with Nordic sensibility in boldly seasoned, share-friendly dishes. Burrata arrives with fried butter beans and strawberries; seaweed noodles swim in brown butter and dashi. The Liberty Farms duck, crowned with crispy peanut fried rice, is a showstopper designed to turn heads.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
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Rank 72. Nari
Contemporary Thai
A dramatic room inside Hotel Kabuki sets the stage for Chef Pim Techamuanvivit's refined take on Thai cooking, where California ingredients meet intense aromatics and a deft hand with heat. A brick-red bumbai curry arrives with crispy fried eggplant and ethereal roti; grilled squid shares the plate with sticky-sweet pork jowl and chili-lime dressing. Family-style dining elevated.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Dreaming of Lod Chong · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 73. State Bird Provisions
Californian New American
At State Bird Provisions, carts wheel through a packed dining room while diners pluck small plates in real time—dumplings, liver mousse, savory pancakes—assembling their own sequence of California cooking. The choreography of choice matters as much as the thoughtful, shifting menu itself.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
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Rank 74. Bombay Brasserie
Indian
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Rank 75. Bix
American
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The wood grill perfumes this San Francisco taverna with charred meat and citrus, where attentive servers navigate tables and fireplaces with easy grace. Bizelosalata arrives bright with feta and scallions; chicken souvlaki emerges from the rotisserie burnished and simple. A galaktoboureko of semolina custard and pistachio ice cream closes the meal with crisp filo and sweet restraint.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 17 Best Restaurants Near The Embarcadero & Ferry Building
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Rank 77. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/Japanese
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Rank 78. A16
Italian Pizza
A16's wood-fired pizzas and seasonal pastas draw crowds eager to watch cooks work the open kitchen, with the smoky Vesuvio and maccaronara with ragu napoletano worth the reservation fight. The wine list roams Italy's lesser-known regions, while desserts—fig crostata, house-made gelato—finish the meal with care.
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Rank 79. 7 Adams
Californian New American
Serena and David Fisher cook with unhurried confidence in this railway-style room, where a seasonal menu balances technique with restraint. Handmade pasta and carefully calibrated broths reveal a distinctly Californian sensibility, one that favors support over spectacle.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 80. Maison Nico
French
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater San Francisco Award Winners
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Rank 82. SAIGONESE CAFÉ
Vietnamese
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Rank 83. Sam Wo Restaurant
Chinese
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Rank 84. Geelou
Bar
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Rank 85. Yo Yo's
Japanese
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Rank 89. Copra
Kerala Indian
Chef Srijith Gopinathan channels Kerala's coastal traditions in a lush Fillmore Street dining room designed for lingering. A shell-on Konkan crab curry glistens with tamarind and dried chiles; fried chicken carries the perfume of street-food memory. The food wears its nostalgia unselfconsciously, indifferent to the room's contemporary gloss.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 90. Causwells
American
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Rank 91. Hon’s Wun-Tun House
Cantonese
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Rank 92. Kapari Restaurant
Turkish
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Rank 93. Angler
Seafood
A hunter's lodge aesthetic frames the view along the Embarcadero, where an open fire drives the menu—embered oysters with smoked chili butter, a radicchio salad that demands a knife, aged black cod with seaweed-buttered rolls. The kitchen's restraint and deliberation show in every char and sauce, building toward soft-serve sundae in warm salted caramel and cocoa nibs.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Soft Serve Sundae · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 94. Azalina's
Malaysian
In a Tenderloin storefront designed like a tropical sanctuary, Chef Azalina Eusope interprets the Malaysian cooking of her childhood through a California lens—economy noodles topped with barbecued quail and toasted hazelnuts, steelhead trout wrapped in banana leaves. Her seasonal prix fixe menu moves with precision and wit, from savory to a pandan custard finale that shows serious pastry work.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Azalina Eusope
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 95. Kin Khao
Thai
Chef Pim Techamuanvivit's restaurant, wedged into a hotel alcove, forgoes fancy surroundings for something more valuable: Thai cooking that honors tradition while sourcing from local farms and letting each ingredient speak. A curry mousse arrives fragrant and studded with mushrooms; even green curry becomes an event when built around slow-cooked rabbit. The spice here pulls no punches.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Pim Techamuanvivit
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #58 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- Esquire 2021 · #15 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 98. Lazy Bear
Contemporary
A warehouse dressed as a hunting lodge stages nightly tastings that toggle between nostalgia and ambition—oysters arrive two ways, one bright with gooseberry, another charred and glazed; butter-soft A5 ribeye meets oxtail and sour cherry tart with architectural precision. The cooking trades subtlety for swagger, and it lands.
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Rank 99. O' by Claude Le Tohic
Fine French
On the fifth floor of a French fine-dining tower, Claude Le Tohic composes tasting menus that marry classical French technique with California's best—a seafood salad layered with dashi and caviar, black cod dusted with five spice and shellfish purée. The experience unfolds with precision, from warm bread to a final cart of petit fours, attended by service that feels both formal and genuine.
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Rank 100. Hed 11
Thai
In a corner of the Kimpton Hotel Enso, Chef Saint Boonprasan orchestrates an eleven-course Thai tasting that weaves regional tradition with contemporary technique, sweet against savory in disciplined succession. Coconut pancakes with caviar and lime, scallop-crowned rice noodles, Thai cheesecake with fried onions—each course arrives as part of a deliberate whole, never indulgent, always precise.