The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Northern China BBQ
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Rank 1. 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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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 3. 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 4. 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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Rank 5. 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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Rank 6. 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.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Harrison Cheney
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Rank 7. 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 8. 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 9. 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 10. 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 11. 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 12. 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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Rank 13. 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 14. 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 16. 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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- 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 18. 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 19. 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 20. 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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Rank 21. 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 22. Dining Yamamoto
Sushi
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Rank 23. 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 24. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/Japanese
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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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Rank 26. Smuggler's Cove
Tiki Cocktail Bar
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Rank 27. SHOWA
Japanese
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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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Rank 29. 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 30. 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 31. 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.
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle The best Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation Mochi Pandan Bar · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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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 34. 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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Rank 35. 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 37. 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 39. 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 40. San Ho Won
Korean
Korean BBQ gets the Michelin star treatment here, and somehow it doesn't feel ridiculous. San Ho Won is a nice-casual spot where the cooking lands somewhere between your favorite home-cooked Korean meal and something genuinely refined, with ingredients that earn the price tag. The room is sleek and minimal, packed with people who planned ahead to get a table. Book early, because you're not the only one who heard about this place.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The New York Times 2022 · The Restaurant List
- Esquire 2022 · #10 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 41. 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 42. Side A
American
- 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
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Rank 43. 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 45. Kantine
Scandanavian-Inspired
A Scandinavian café on Market Street that takes baked goods very seriously, which is exactly the energy you want at 9am. The cardamom buns and gingery caramel cookies taste like someone spent a long, dark winter perfecting them. Grab a tartine on sprouted rye or post up on the sidewalk with coffee and watch the full spectrum of San Francisco walk past. The crowd is relaxed, laptop-friendly, and definitely in no rush.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
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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. 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 48. 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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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 50. Mijoté
French
A French prix fixe in a Mission wine bar that somehow feels like a Paris side street without any of the attitude. The chef trained in Japan and then went deep on French technique, and the cooking shows it: seasonal, ingredient-forward, nothing fussy. Natural wines pair well with pretty much everything on the table. The crowd is neighborhood regulars who know a good thing and aren't rushing anywhere.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kosuke Tada
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 51. 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 52. 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 53. Prubechu
Chamorro
Prubechu is almost certainly the only Chamorro restaurant you'll walk into this year, and the staff know it, so they're genuinely happy to walk you through the menu without making you feel like a tourist. It's a casual Mission spot serving the Indigenous food of Guam, heavy on coconut, grilled meats, and dishes you won't recognize but will want to reorder. The covered outdoor picnic tables, floral oilcloth and all, do their best impression of a Pacific island.
- The Infatuation #25 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants for outdoor dining in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #53 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 54. Beit Rima
Palestinian Middle Eastern
Beit Rima is a Middle Eastern small-plates spot where the room is as loud and maximalist as the food, giant pink roses on the walls, vintage plates everywhere, a Turkish coffee set hanging from the ceiling. The chef grew up eating this food, and it shows: Lebanese, Palestinian, and Jordanian flavors that feel personal rather than generic. Order a bunch of things and share them, which is exactly what everyone in here is already doing.
- The Infatuation #18 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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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 56. 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.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 57. 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 58. 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 59. Good Good Culture Club
Southeast Asian Vietnamese
The neon sign above the open kitchen asks "did you eat yet?" and the correct answer, upon arrival, is definitely no. This buzzy Mission small-plates spot earns its Bib Gourmand by running Southeast Asian flavors through a very California lens, and the results feel genuinely inventive without being precious about it. Reservations go fast, but bar seats are fair game early or late, and the tropical cocktails are a solid reason to linger.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit 2022 · America's Best New Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants for outdoor dining in the Bay Area
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Rank 60. Jules
Pizza
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #12 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation 2025 · #3 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 61. Flour + Water
Italian
Handmade pasta is the whole point at this Mission neighborhood restaurant, and the kitchen takes it seriously without making you feel like you should too. The room stays loud and packed with the kind of regulars who already know to order half portions so they can try more than one. It's casual enough for a Tuesday but good enough that you'll think about it the following week.
- 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
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Rank 62. 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 63. Parachute
Bakery
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Rank 64. Square Pie Guys
Detroit-style Pizza
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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 66. Joujou
French
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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 68. Mission Chinese Food
Chinese
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Rank 69. Loquat
Jewish Bakery
Loquat is a cozy Jewish diaspora-inspired bakery on Gough that earned its chef a James Beard Award, which feels right the moment you walk in. The babka and pistachio cream puffs alone justify the trip, and every drink comes with a little cube of halva like it's the most normal thing in the world. The crowd is mostly Hayes Valley locals with good taste in tote bags, taking their time about it.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Kristina Costa
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Rank 70. Stonemill Matcha
Japanese
- The Infatuation Matcha Cream Pie · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 71. RT Bistro
American
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Rank 72. Arsicault Bakery
Bakery
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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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Rank 75. Piglet & Co
Taiwanese
- Eater 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Absinthe is a French bistro that's been holding down Hayes Street forever, and the pre-show crowd from the opera and ballet keeps it feeling like the city's living room. The menu leans classic French but enjoys taking things apart and reassembling them, which sounds precious but mostly just works. The drinks are genuinely good, and the room fills with people who actually dressed up for the evening, which is a nice change.
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The secret is out back. Arbor is a casual American spot in Hayes Valley where the whole point is the hidden garden patio, a lush, leafy escape you'd never guess existed from the street. The menu runs comfort food, burgers, fries, solid vegan options, that kind of thing. Nothing too precious, and the crowd reflects it: people who just want a sunny afternoon and a cold drink somewhere that feels like a lucky find.
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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 79. El Mil Amores
Mexico City-style Mexican
El Mil Amores is a Mexico City-style brunch spot in the Mission that draws a devoted weekend crowd of locals who clearly know something you don't. The move is the chilaquiles, made with thick, dark mole instead of the usual salsa, and the kind of dish that makes you question every brunch decision you've made before now. Grab a michelada at the newer location down the street and you've got a full morning sorted.
- The Infatuation #21 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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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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A no-frills chicken shack in Hayes Valley that the Chronicle calls one of the Bay Area's best for fried chicken. The spicy sandwich is the move, dressed with apple slaw and pickles and carrying just enough heat to feel dangerous without actually ruining you. Order at the kiosk, grab a spot outside, and watch the neighborhood's particular mix of locals and music venue stragglers figure out how many napkins they actually need.
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The line out the door at this Mission District bakery isn't a fluke, it's a daily ritual. Tartine basically rewired how San Francisco thinks about sourdough, and the bread still sells out every afternoon. The crowd is a mix of locals who've been coming for years and visitors who've heard the hype and want to see if it's real. It is. Get there early, grab a morning bun, and don't overthink it.
- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
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Rank 83. Dingles Public House
British
A proper British pub tucked into the back of a boutique Hayes Valley hotel, which sounds like the setup to a joke but actually works beautifully. The menu runs fish and chips, Scotch eggs, Welsh rarebit, and sticky toffee pudding, all done with enough care to feel like more than a theme. The crowd skews locals who've clearly been before, nursing a pint while the hotel guests figure out what mushy peas are.
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Rank 84. Mashallah Halal Pakistani Food
Pakistani
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Rank 85. Smish Smash
Burgers
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Rank 86. Montesacro
Roman Pizza Wine Bar
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Rank 87. Pizzeria Delfina
Neapolitan Pizza
- Sunset 2025 · California Classics · Where to Eat and Drink
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
- Time Out The 12 best restaurants in the Mission
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Rank 88. Bombay Brasserie
Indian
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Rank 89. Zevi Cafe
Turkish
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Rank 90. 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 91. 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
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Rank 92. Nari
Thai
Nari is a Michelin-starred prix-fixe spot inside Hotel Kabuki where the cooking genuinely earns the dramatic room it's served in. The chef runs contemporary Thai through a California filter, and the results are sharper and more interesting than that sounds. Dishes come family-style, which loosens things up nicely. The curries alone are worth the trip. Expect well-dressed couples and food-curious locals who definitely Googled the menu beforehand.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Pim Techamuanvivit
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 93. Penny Roma
Italian
From the team behind Flour + Water, Penny Roma is a more laid-back Italian spot in the Mission where handmade pasta is the whole point. The courtyard alone is worth the trip, and the room fills up with the kind of people who dress casually but chose their outfit carefully. Stuffed pasta is where the kitchen really shines, and the focaccia arrives looking almost too good to deflate. It won't.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Italian food and restaurants in SF Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
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Rank 94. Nieves Cinco De Mayo
Dessert
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Vegan Japanese that actually tastes like Japanese food, not a compromise. Cha-Ya has been around forever on Valencia, drawing the kind of Mission regulars who've long since stopped explaining why they're here to skeptical friends. Brothy soups, deep-fried tofu in dashi, sushi rolls with real textural payoff, all of it rustic and comforting rather than preachy. Grab a sidewalk table and order more than you think you need.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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Rank 96. Taqueria Cancún
Mexican
- The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 97. Kopê House
Asian-Influenced
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Rank 98. 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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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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Rank 100. Brenda's French Soul Food
French Southern