The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Noodle in a Haystack
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Rank 1. Noodle in a Haystack
Ramen Noodles
A narrow counter in the Richmond seats eight across from the open kitchen, where the chef builds each bowl as a composed tasting. The ramen here—broth calibrated across hours, noodles cut to order—arrives as something between comfort and ceremony.
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
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- Sprudgie Awards 2024 · Finalist · Best New Cafe
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
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Rank 3. My Tofu House
Korean
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Rank 4. Kitchen Istanbul
Turkish
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #55 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 5. Breadbelly
Bakery
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #8 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 6. Lou's Cafe
Sandwiches
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 7. Cinderella Bakery
Russian Bakery
- The Infatuation Honey Cake · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Classic Restaurants in San Francisco
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 8. Mandalay
Burmese
A narrow dining room on California Street fills nightly with the particular warmth of a place that has earned its regulars over four decades. Mandalay's kitchen moves through Burmese cuisine with the confidence of long practice, each plate arriving as proof of that steadiness.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · America's Classics: California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation #4 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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Rank 9. Kiss of Matcha
Japanese
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #5 · U.S. Barista Championship · Circle Chan
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
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Rank 11. Spruce
Modern New American
Spruce pairs California's seasonal bounty with refined technique, as in roasted duck breast crusted with coriander and pistachio. Dinner elevates the experience with careful balance; lunch keeps things approachable, anchored by impeccable ingredients.
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Rank 12. Lokma
Turkish
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 13. Aziza
Moroccan
Chef Mourad Lahlou returns with pale interiors and a restless menu that folds California ingredients into Moroccan spices—the phyllo-wrapped basteeya with chicken and almonds proves some dishes need no reinvention. Bone-in chicken thigh arrives with crisp potato and house curry, a dish that tastes like a chef remembering what he does best.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 14. Moku Yakitori-Ya
Japanese
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Rank 15. Good Luck Dim Sum
Dim Sum
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Rank 16. Pasta Supply Co
Pasta
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 17. MuuKaTa6395
Thai
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Rank 18. Hong Kong Lounge
Dim Sum
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 19. Rose Pizzeria
Pizza
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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Rank 20. Lily
Vietnamese
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #45 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 21. Volcano
Japanese
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 22. Arsicault Bakery
Bakery/Cafe
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 23. Kissaten HiFi
Coffee
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Rank 24. Pizzetta 211
Pizza
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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Rank 25. Pearl 6101
Cal- Italian
A lively neighborhood spot housed in a vintage drugstore, Pearl 6101 pairs an airy dining room and warm service with a sharp Italian wine list and Cal-Italian cooking. Handkerchief pastas swim in creamy Bolognese, caramelle burst with crescenza, and roasted sweet potato arrives dressed in miso tahini—each plate feels both rustic and considered.
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Rank 26. Cantina Los Mayas
Mexican
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Rank 28. Le Soleil
Contemporary Asian
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Rank 29. Wako
Japanese
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Rank 31. Lung Fung Bakery
Chinese
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Rank 32. Han Il Kwan
Korean
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Rank 33. Dragon Beaux
Dim Sum
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Rank 34. Tommy’s
Mexican
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Rank 35. Caché
Seafood French
- The Infatuation 2025 · #7 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Sunset
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Rank 36. Prik Hom
Thai
Siblings run this quiet Geary Boulevard newcomer with a compact menu that distills Bangkok fine-dining technique into vibrant, approachable Thai food. Hand-pounded curry pastes and a smoke-finished coconut ice cream signal a kitchen attuned to aroma and detail.
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Rank 37. Arizmendi Bakery
Bakery/Cafe
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Sunset
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Rank 38. um.ma
Korean
The patio at Um.ma, tucked into the Inner Sunset, hums with the kind of casual energy that makes strangers feel like regulars. Korean classics arrive with the confidence of a kitchen that knows what it's doing, each plate a small argument for why this corner matters.
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Rank 39. Fiorella Sunset
Italian
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Rank 40. 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 41. Sorrel
Contemporary
Chef Alexander Hong coaxes uncommon depth from pasta—smoky zlikrofi with plum mostarda, silken gnudi crowned with fried sage—using herbs from the rooftop garden. Duck breast arrives with crackling skin and kuri squash; the small plates show equal restraint and precision.
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Rank 42. Yuanbao Jiaozi
Chinese
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- The Infatuation #13 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Sunset
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Rank 43. Dalida
Eastern Mediterranean
In the Presidio's leafy quiet, Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz have built something unmissable: a restaurant where Istanbul's flavors—borek, short rib kebabs with sweetbreads, a rolling spread of olives and pickles—arrive at tables meant for sharing. The pita, baked to order in the hearth, arrives pillowy and toasty, a small daily miracle that sets the tone for everything that follows.
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Laura Ozyilmaz and Sayat Ozyilmaz
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 44. Pineapple King Bakery
Chinese
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Sunset
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Rank 45. Yo También! Cantina
Mexican
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Rank 47. Manitas Cafe
Salvadoran
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Rank 48. 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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Rank 49. Sandy's
Cajun & Creole
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #22 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Francisco Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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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 51. Banh Mi Crunch
Vietnamese
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Rank 52. New Eritrea Restaurant
Eritrean
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Rank 53. San Tung
Chinese
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Rank 54. Manna
Korean
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Rank 55. 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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Rank 56. The Yellow Submarine
Sandwiches
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Rank 57. 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 59. 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 60. 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 61. 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
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Rank 62. 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.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 63. 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 64. Maria Isabel
Mexican
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Rank 65. Zazie
French
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
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Rank 66. Presidio Kebab
Mediterranean
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Rank 67. Zam Zam
Bar
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Rank 68. Zentarou
Sushi
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Rank 69. 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.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Harrison Cheney
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Rank 70. The Laundromat
Pizza
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bagels in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #85 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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The modest storefront in NoPa fills with the smell of wood smoke and yeast by seven in the morning, its counter lined with bagels and challah pulled from an in-house oven. Nearly everything arrives from the kitchen—the bacon, the butter, the ambition—which gives the place the feeling of a breakfast operation that refuses to outsource its care.
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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 73. 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
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Rank 74. Kevin & Chris’s Noodle House
Vietnamese
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Rank 75. 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
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- 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
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Rank 77. Routier
French
On California Street, Routier marries French bistro traditions with what the Bay Area grows best: Dungeness crab atop buttery potato pavé, pork cheeks on creamy lentils with mustard greens and apple. Chef JP Carmona's cooking is casual yet precise, the room welcoming, and the desserts—sourced from neighboring B. Patisserie—deserve their own reservation.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation Chocolate Mousse · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 78. Anomaly
Contemporary
An unmarked door on a quiet residential stretch opens onto a hushed, clandestine dining room where Chef Mike Lanham composes tasting menus built on seasonal produce and precise technique—halibut crudo with yuzu bavarois, asparagus in multiple preparations—without descending into modernist affectation. The plates arrive exquisitely plated, each one a study in texture and restraint.
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Rank 80. Mini Potstickers
Chinese
A narrow Sunset storefront where pan-fried pork buns arrive no bigger than a thumbnail, each one a vehicle for rendered fat and ginger-forward filling. The dumplings here—steamed, boiled, fried—suggest a kitchen that has spent decades perfecting pleats and ratios rather than chasing trends.
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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 82. Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement
Southern
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation #23 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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Rank 83. 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
- 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 84. 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 85. 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 86. Woods Cole Valley
Brewery
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Rank 88. 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 90. 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
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Rank 91. 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
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Rank 92. 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 93. Piccino Presidio
Italian
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Rank 94. Sol Bakery
Bakery/Cafe
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Rank 95. Ken
Japanese
An unmarked door on Divisadero opens into Chef Ken Ngai's six-seat counter, where Hong Kong training meets Bay Area sensibility through nigiri topped with cured egg yolk and preserved plum alongside composed plates of silky chawanmushi and poached ikura in ume broth. The cozy intimacy here feels earned rather than affected.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #6 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 14 Best Restaurants In The Lower Haight
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Rank 96. jū-ni
Omakase Sushi
Chef Geoffrey Lee's twelve-seat omakase delivers pristine nigiri with precise flourishes—sakura masu crowned with salt-cured cherry blossom, buttery scallop, ikura finished with frozen monkfish liver. The meal unfolds with studied restraint, from vegetable courses to a gentle mochi finale.
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Rank 97. 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
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Rank 98. Beit Rima
Middle Eastern
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Rank 99. 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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