The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near HK Lounge Bistro
-
Rank 1. HK Lounge Bistro
Cantonese Chinese
A modest storefront in SoMa, rebuilt after fire destroyed its beloved predecessor, draws regulars for pleated Shanghai dumplings heavy with broth and crab, baked pork buns with crackled tops, and silken egg tarts. Dinner expands to roast duck and steamed seabass, but the soul of the place lives in its dim sum service—the artful work of a kitchen that understands both precision and comfort.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #47 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 2. 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.
-
Rank 3. Birdsong
Contemporary
Open flames and assembly-at-table theatrics define Christopher Bleidorn's cooking, where lacquered quail arrives with grilled rolls to be built like Peking duck. The whimsy persists through each course—from creek trout roe suspended in kelp kombucha to lemon mochi concealing blueberries and crème fraîche—a kitchen that treats fire and precision as equal partners.
-
Rank 4. Californios
Mexican
In a cavernous room alive with color and music, Chef Val M. Cantú channels Mexico's culinary depths through meticulous technique and daring reinvention. Tortillas—whether sourdough crisped with mezcal-battered cod or corn kissed with sesame—become the vehicle for a vision of Mexican cooking that feels both rooted and urgent.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- 50 Best 2025 · #14 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Val M. Cantú
-
Rank 5. 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.
-
Rank 6. Niku Steakhouse
Japanese Steakhouse
A gold door admits you to Niku, where Chef Dustin Falcon tends his coals behind an 18-seat counter in a wood-lined room designed for theater. The beef tartare and bone marrow are preludes to steaks—a Tomahawk for two, an Imperial Wagyu filet with aged kimchi and bordelaise—executed with the precision of someone who understands that luxury steakhouse cooking is about restraint, not excess.
- World's 101 Best #49 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation #20 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
-
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
-
Rank 8. Turquaz
Turkish
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation 2025 · #11 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
-
Rank 9. Sons & Daughters
Contemporary
Harrison Cheney's tasting menu moves through fermented vegetables, foraged mushrooms, and carefully butchered seafood with the precision of Nordic technique and the warmth of British comfort—a quail egg wrapped in sausage, rutabaga noodles glossed in pork fat and brown butter. Service matches the cooking's generosity.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Harrison Cheney
-
- 50 Best 2026 · #41 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Kevin Diedrich
-
Rank 11. Kiln
Nordic New American
Chef John Wesley's spare warehouse tasting menu channels Nordic preservation techniques—curing, drying, fermentation—into deceptively simple dishes of intricate craft. A puffed beef tendon or squab lacquered in burnt honey reveals the kitchen's balance of rusticity and refinement across each course.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
-
Rank 12. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/Japanese
-
-
-
Rank 15. The Happy Crane
Modern Chinese
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
-
Rank 16. Rintaro
Japanese
At Izakaya Rintaro, redwood and cedar enclose a kitchen that treats humble ingredients with reverence: crispy chicken wings dusted with sansho pepper, charcoal-grilled tsukune, soft tofu infused with bergamot. The approach is produce-centric and precise, each plate a small argument for restraint and care.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Sylvan Mishima Brackett
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
-
Rank 17. 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
-
Rank 18. Outta Sight Pizza
Thin-crust Pizza
- The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
-
Rank 19. 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
-
Rank 20. Square Pie Guys
Pizza
-
Rank 21. Merchant Roots
Creative
A dinner here unfolds like a theater piece, with advance tickets and custom sets that change with the seasons. The cooking—visually inventive and genuinely flavorful—matters as much as the spectacle; a Mad Tea Party might begin in a hedge maze before unfolding across multiple rooms. Service has charm if not polish, and the whole affair rewards a willingness to be delighted.
-
Rank 22. Zuni Café
California New American
A copper-barred corner institution where wood-fired chicken and Caesar salad draw San Francisco regulars, though the reputation sometimes outpaces the meal. The space—angular, art-lined, perpetually crowded—matters as much as what arrives from the kitchen.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #10 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 23. Rich Table
Californian New American
A compact Hayes Valley room with distressed wood and farmhouse ease fills nightly without pretense. The kitchen moves Californian ingredients through global techniques—salmon tostada with avocado purée, lobster chow mein with charred corn—with the precision of fine dining and none of its stuffiness. Arrive at the bar if a table is gone.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #3 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 24. The Morris
New American
A former sommelier's Mission bistro named for his father, where wine knowledge and warm service frame unfussy California cooking built on house-made charcuterie, grilled squid, and a signature smoked duck with burnished skin and silken meat that justifies its reputation.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Paul Einbund
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
-
Rank 25. 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.
-
Rank 26. True Laurel
Modern Cocktail Bar
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- 50 Best 2025 · #64 · World's 50 Best Bars
- 50 Best 2026 · #14 · North America's 50 Best Bars
-
-
- 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
-
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater San Francisco Award Winners
-
Rank 30. 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.
-
-
Rank 32. Bodega SF
Vietnamese
- The Infatuation Mochi Pandan Bar · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
-
Rank 33. Ernest
Contemporary
Finding the entrance requires a scavenger hunt, but inside this Mission corner spot, Chef Brandon Rice's playful cooking rewards the effort: kaluga caviar crowns tater tots, oysters share a menu with snacks, mains pivot on seasonal ingredients. The kitchen's family-style format lets you taste nearly everything; the bar takes walk-ins for cocktails.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Brandon Rice
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #89 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 34. Sungho
Traditional Korean
In a Tenderloin corner, Sungho serves grandmother's recipes: fall-apart pork stews, hand-cut noodles in beef broth, crisp seafood pancakes meant for sharing. The house-made kimchi and lively K-pop soundtrack frame dishes that taste less like restaurant fare than like comfort borrowed from someone else's kitchen.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation 2025 · #10 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
-
Rank 35. Moya
Ethiopian
-
Rank 36. Smuggler's Cove
Tiki Cocktail Bar
-
Rank 37. Saigon Sandwich
Vietnamese
- The Infatuation #8 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
-
Rank 38. Nightbird
Californian New American
Behind a carved wooden door in Hayes Valley sits a narrow dining room where Chef Kim Alter composes small plates with deliberate artistry—roasted duck breast arranged with summer squash and gooseberry compote, a spiced broth to follow. The menu pivots with the seasons; house-made breads arrive at strategic intervals, each one another small flourish in a meal designed to sustain surprise.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kim Alter
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
-
- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
-
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
-
- Punch Industry Icon
- Food & Wine 2025 · The 10 Top Bars in the US
- 50 Best 2026 · #100 · North America's 50 Best Bars
-
Rank 42. 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
-
Rank 43. Shoji
Japanese
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
-
-
A sleek izakaya where every plate is vegan, yet the kitchen's technical command is unmistakable: tofuna rolls crackling with chili and topped with avocado arrive as compelling as their seafood predecessors, while tempura shiitake mushrooms stuffed with plant-based crab sing with umami depth. The place earns its seat at the table regardless of dietary conviction.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #99 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #99 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 46. Bombay Brasserie
Indian
-
Rank 47. 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
-
Rank 48. Montesacro
Pizza
-
-
Rank 50. Okane
Sushi
The younger sibling to a sushi institution next door, Okane keeps the same rigor with Japanese-sourced fish but trades formality for communal energy—Adobe engineers and large parties share sake bottles over small plates. Pristine nigiri anchors the menu, though the sake-marinated cod and broiled salmon aburi with ikura deserve equal attention.
-
Rank 51. Loquat
Jewish
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Kristina Costa
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
-
Rank 52. Rooh
Indian
Rooh fuses Indian flavors with modern techniques—oysters meet tandoori spices, burrata finds curry leaf. Jewel-toned dining room and inventive cocktails frame small plates designed for sharing and desserts that riff on subcontinental tradition.
-
Rank 53. Arsicault Bakery
Bakery/Cafe
-
Rank 54. Paper Son
Coffee
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
-
Rank 55. 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
-
-
Rank 57. Cavaña
Cental/South American
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · 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
-
Rank 58. Dining Yamamoto
Sushi
-
-
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #56 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
-
-
Rank 62. Omakase
Edomae Sushi
A narrow counter in an industrial corridor serves Tokyo-sourced edomae sushi with methodical precision: kelp-cured sea bream, braised monkfish liver with its butter-soft minerality, mackerel sharp with chive purée. The chef adjusts rice and wasabi to each diner's preference, calibrating the experience bite by bite. Reservations and punctuality are non-negotiable; the ritual demands it.
-
Rank 63. SHOWA
Japanese
-
Rank 64. Zevi Cafe
Turkish
-
Rank 65. Joujou
French
-
Rank 66. Dumpling Home
Chinese
At a corner spot in the Theater District, chefs hand-fold soup dumplings with supple skins and clear, concentrated broth—pork, chicken, beef, or a Sichuan-spiced numbness that lingers on the tongue. Pan-fried baos and hand-pulled noodles round out a casual menu where bamboo steamers stack higher than ambition.
-
Rank 67. 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.
-
Rank 68. San Ho Won
Korean
At this minimalist room where Corey Lee and Jeong-In Hwang command the grill, the crowd hums with the electricity of a place that's difficult to book for good reason. Refined technique marries Korean tradition with novelty—kimchi arrives with surpassing depth, beef with purity, pork jowl with the weight of home cooking.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Jeong-In Hwang
-
Rank 69. 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
-
Rank 70. Mộng Thu Cafe
Vietnamese
-
Rank 71. Yank Sing
Cantonese
-
Rank 72. Miller & Lux
Steakhouse
Tyler Florence's steakhouse rises improbably elegant near the waterfront, all vintage mirrors and modern angles. Oysters arrive from an in-kitchen saltwater tank; dry-aged beef is seared mahogany-dark and finished with barley; tableside Caesar and Dover sole meunière arrive with ceremony. A splurge worth making.
- World's 101 Best #25 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
-
Rank 73. Baklavastory
Turkish
-
Rank 74. Taksim
Turkish
-
Rank 75. Via Aurelia
Tuscan Italian
- Esquire 2025 · Via Aurelia Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #66 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 76. Delah Coffee
Yemeni Coffee
-
Rank 77. Holy Nata
Portuguese
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
- The Infatuation Pastel de Nata · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
-
Rank 78. Parachute
Bakery/Cafe
-
Rank 79. Brenda's French Soul Food
Soul Food
-
Rank 80. Ararat Kebab & Gyros
Mediterranean
-
Rank 81. John's Grill
San Francisco
-
Rank 82. Mijoté
French
Chef Kosuke Tada simmers local ingredients with quiet French restraint at this Mission bistro, letting quality speak without fuss. The seasonal prix fixe and natural wine list feel less like ambition than honest neighborhood cooking.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kosuke Tada
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kosuke Tada
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
-
Rank 83. Dingles Public House
Gastropub
Tucked into a Hayes Valley hotel, this pub trades nostalgia for precision, plating beer-battered fish and chips alongside a Scotch egg with a jammy center and panko crust that arrives with the care of a composed dish. The beverage program moves with equal restraint—draughts, wines, cocktails—each chosen rather than exhaustive, setting a tone that feels both convivial and intentional.
-
-
Rank 85. RT Bistro
American
-
-
-
-
Rank 89. Hayes Street Grill
San Francisco
-
Rank 90. 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
-
Rank 91. Dabao Singapore
Singaporean Hawker Food
-
Rank 92. Prubechu
Guamanian
- The Infatuation #25 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #53 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
-
Rank 93. Jules
Sourdough Pizza
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation 2025 · #3 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
-
-
Rank 95. 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 Wine and Other Beverages Program
-
Rank 96. 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 #14 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
-
Rank 97. Stonemill Matcha
Japanese
- The Infatuation Matcha Cream Pie · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
-
Rank 98. Asha Tea House
Japanese
-
Rank 99. Flour + Water
Californian Italian
Handmade pastas marry California ingredients with Italian technique in this perpetually crowded Mission dining room. Each dish—sea lettuce chitarra, ginger-filled caramelle—demonstrates the kitchen's restless creativity within disciplined simplicity.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #9 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
-
Rank 100. 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