The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near True Laurel
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Rank 1. 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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- 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 3. 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 4. 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
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Rank 5. 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
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Rank 6. 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
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- 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 8. 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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- 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
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Rank 10. Penny Roma
Italian
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Rank 11. Regalito El Mil Amores
Mexico City-style Mexican
- The Infatuation #21 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation 2025 · #12 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 12. 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
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Rank 13. 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
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Rank 14. Marigold
Coffee
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 15. 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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Rank 16. Foreign Cinema
Californian New American
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
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Rank 17. 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 18. 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
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Rank 19. Reem’s
Middle Eastern
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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Rank 20. 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
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Rank 21. Itria
Modern Italian
Chef Daniel Evers strips Italian cooking to its essence—dayboat scallops with preserved lemon, house-made mafaldine with pecorino—letting simplicity speak. A welcoming Mission spot where modern technique and classical restraint make each dish feel inevitable rather than fussy.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #72 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 22. Taquería El Farolito
Mexican
- The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco
- The Infatuation #5 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
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Rank 23. La Taqueria
Mexican
The line outside Miguel Jara's Mission Street counter never quite disappears, a mix of neighborhood regulars and Sunday families drawn by carne asada burritos that need no introduction. Order the off-menu Dorado taco—a corn tortilla crisped on the plancha, doubled with cheese, then loaded—and you understand why simplicity, when executed this well, requires no apology.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco
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Rank 24. El Metate
Mexican
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Rank 25. Base Camp
Nepali
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Rank 26. Mission Chinese Food
Chinese
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Rank 29. 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 30. La Vaca Birria
Mexican
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #40 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Francisco Restaurants
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Rank 31. Good Good Culture Club
American
Southeast Asian flavors collide with California ingredients in small plates like fried chicken wings stuffed with egg roll filling and mango-glazed. The open kitchen hums with energy, and a walk-in bar seat rewards early arrivals with creative cocktails and a version of halo halo topped with shiso ice.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
- Bon Appétit 2022 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 32. 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 34. Piglet & Co
Taiwanese
A narrow Mission storefront conjures the clatter and steam of a Taipei night market, serving reimagined Asian comfort food that tastes both familiar and surprising. The brunch menu, studded with house-made dumplings and tender braised pork, arrives in quick succession, each plate a small vindication of nostalgia.
- 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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Rank 35. 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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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
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Rank 37. Loló
Californian Mexican
- Esquire 2024 · Mandarini · The Best Martinis in America
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
- Time Out The 12 best restaurants in the Mission
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Rank 39. Wildhawk
Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- The Infatuation The Best Martinis In San Francisco
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Rank 40. La Espiga De Oro
Mexican
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Rank 41. La Palma Mexicatessen
Mexican
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Rank 43. Basa Seafood Express
Seafood
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- 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 47. Lunette
Cambodian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Nite Yun
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 48. Fu Hui Hua
Chinese/Japanese/French
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Rank 49. Yamo
Burmese
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Rank 50. Donaji
Oaxacan Mexican
Chef Isai Cuevas brings his farmer's market tamales into a cheerful brick storefront, where masa-forward Oaxacan cooking unfolds with the precision of a man who has mastered his craft over years. The handmade tortillas and deeply layered mole negro that bind the enchiladas together suggest a kitchen that understands restraint and flavor as the same thing.
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Rank 51. Do-Re-Mi
Japanese
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Rank 52. Taqueria El Buen Sabor
Mexican
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #2 · U.S. Latte Art Championship · Weian "Andy" Liang
- Eater The Absolute Best San Francisco Coffee Shops
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Rank 54. Anatolian Table
Turkish
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Rank 56. York Street Collective
South Asian
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Rank 57. Baklavastory
Turkish
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Rank 59. Barberio Osteria
Californian Italian
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Rank 60. Nieves Cinco De Mayo
Ice Cream
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Rank 61. Panchita’s #2
Salvadoran
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Rank 62. 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
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- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- Esquire 2022 · #34 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 64. Delfina
California Italian
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Rank 65. 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.
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Rank 67. 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 68. 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
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Rank 69. Joujou
French
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Rank 70. Hi Hat
Pizza
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Rank 71. Angie’s Pizza
Pizza
A narrow storefront on 16th Street holds the kind of casual Mission romance that unfolds over thin crust and wood smoke. The pizzas arrive properly charred, the sundaes arrive properly cold, and the whole affair feels engineered for the particular pleasure of two people sharing.
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Rank 72. Limón
Modern Peruvian
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Rank 73. Beit Rima
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- The Infatuation #18 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Francisco Restaurants
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Rank 74. Plow
American
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Rank 75. 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.
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Rank 76. 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 77. 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
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Rank 78. 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
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Rank 79. 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 80. SHOWA
Japanese
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Rank 82. Wolfsbane
American
In a spare Dogpatch room, Chef Rupert Blease builds tasting menus that fold Nordic and Japanese touches into California's best ingredients: Dungeness crab with sweet potato and blood-orange sauce Maltaise, each dish balanced between richness and clarity. The work is precise and unhurried, letting pristine flavors speak through refined technique.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #71 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 84. 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.
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Rank 85. Dining Yamamoto
Sushi
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Rank 86. 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 87. 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
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Rank 88. Loquat
Jewish
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Kristina Costa
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
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Rank 89. Blue Plate
American
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Rank 90. Saru Sushi Bar
Sushi
A narrow Noe Valley sushi counter where the energy builds as you squeeze in: nigiri of kampachi and snow crab, seared ankimo with scallions, a tempura-fried seaweed cracker topped with spicy tuna. The kitchen respects Japanese foundations while slipping in a grilled shishito with ponzu, the kind of small gesture that suggests confidence rather than confusion about what it is.
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Rank 91. Kantine
Scandanavian-Inspired
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Rank 92. Thorough Bread & Pastry
Bakery/Cafe
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Rank 93. Anchor Oyster Bar
Old-School Seafood
Diners queue out the door of this bare-bones Castro seafront, where a stool at the counter remains the best seat in the house. The menu is small but precise: briny oysters need no mignonette, Dungeness crab arrives on a sesame bun, and the cioppino—rich, silken, paired with garlic bread—justifies the wait. A place that has earned its reputation through constancy rather than pretense.
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Rank 94. Besharam
Vegetarian Indian
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #83 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Heena Patel
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Rank 96. 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 98. 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
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Rank 99. 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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- Esquire 2023 · Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- The Infatuation The Best Martinis In San Francisco