The Top 100 Restaurants Near Backhaus
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Rank 1. Kajiken
Japanese Noodles
A Nagoya import serving abura soba—noodles without broth, alive instead with housemade oil and sauce—where the springy strands taste compelling on their own, though nine topping varieties invite endless tweaking. Watch the noodles being pulled through the window while you adjust your bowl with house vinegars and hot sauces, the kind of small control that makes eating here feel like collaboration.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #35 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 3. Sushi Yoshizumi
Edomae Sushi
Eight cypress-lined seats, a silent chef, and the methodical construction of Edomae sushi—each piece a small argument for restraint. Chef Akira Yoshizumi's nigiri arrives barely dressed, the fish doing the talking: tender bluefin, creamy ankimo, seasonal buri finished with a brightness of green onion. This is sushi for people who've thought about sushi.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Akira Yoshizumi
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 4. Pausa
Venetian Italian
A bright, late-lit room overlooks the charcuterie aging behind glass while Chef Andrea Giuliani's Venetian cooking—porchetta pizza with gorgonzola, house-cured guanciale in the amatriciana—arrives with the confidence of someone who knows his region inside out. The salumi boards and wood-fired pizzas suggest a place built on a few things done very well, without pretense.
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Rank 5. All Spice
International
All Spice strings together colorful dining rooms and seasonal tasting menus with theatrical flair, favoring polished technique over novelty. A strip loin arrives surrounded by confit mushrooms and smoked kale, the kind of assured execution that justifies the prix-fixe format.
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Rank 6. Pizzeria Delfina
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 7. Rasa
South Indian
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An industrial warehouse outfitted with live tanks and hanging buoys serves as both fish market and restaurant, where the lobster roll arrives in three iterations—mayo-dressed, butter-naked, or seasonal with avocado and bacon—but the main event is the whole lobster plate, available from one to four pounds, preceded by creamy lobster-corn chowder that devotees buy frozen by the quart.
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Rank 9. wonderful
Hunanese Chinese
A cramped Hunanese spot where carved wooden booths face the open kitchen, revealing the work behind dishes of aggressive flavor: smoked pork with leeks, hand-cut noodles topped with fermented black beans and pickled chilies, a whole fish braised in red chili sauce so bright it seems alive. This is Chinese cooking that doesn't whisper.
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Rank 10. Han Sang
Korean
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Rank 11. Saffron
Indian
The dining room opens like a familiar refuge—all breezy ease and quiet style—while the kitchen draws from across India's regions with dishes both rooted and restless. A slow-braised lamb curry spiked with two dozen spices, or kale pakoras in chickpea batter with chutneys, suggest cooks who respect tradition while reaching for texture and surprise.
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Rank 12. Patio Filipino
Filipino-Spanish
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Rank 13. Mazra
Jordanian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Jordan Makableh and Saif Makableh
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #81 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 14. Sushi Shin
Omakase Sushi
Chef Jason Zhan works the counter at this understated Redwood City spot with the focused grace of someone who knows exactly what he's doing. His omakase unfolds through carefully sourced seasonal fish—tempura greeneye dusted with matcha, soy-marinated snail, pristine nigiri—each piece a small argument for restraint and precision over spectacle.
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Rank 15. The Village Pub
Contemporary New American
Behind a modest roadside name lies a polished dining room where the kitchen works with precision: a raviolo bursts with runny yolk and potato; duck breast arrives seared and austere. The wine list tilts toward serious French bottles, but the meal's true anchor is warmth—those Parker House rolls, buttered and golden, arriving at every table.
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Rank 17. La Viga Seafood & Cocina Mexicana
Seafood Mexican
A cheerful room wedged between industrial Redwood City and downtown serves seafood with the urgency of a market stall. Fried snapper tacos arrive with chipotle crema; tallarines con mariscos pile al dente noodles, pristine shellfish, and spicy tomato into something generous and cheap. The kitchen trades precision for volume and heat—a philosophy that works.
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Rank 18. 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 19. Acquerello
Italian
Suzette Gresham's A-frame dining room has sheltered ambitious Italian cooking since 1989, where handmade pastas and pristine seafood arrive with equal finesse and daring. The mignardises cart alone—stacked with housemade chocolates and caramels—suggests a kitchen that understands generosity as a form of rigor.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 20. 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 21. Selby's
Classic New American
A wood-paneled room where old Hollywood lingers: Selby's conducts its modern American menu with genuine ease, from a butter-poached Maine lobster crowned with golden gnocchi to steaks of austere perfection. The kitchen draws from its own ranch, and even the popovers arrive warm from the oven, as if hospitality were still the point of dining out.
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Rank 22. 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 23. 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 24. 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 25. 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 26. Eylan
Contemporary Indian
Chef Srijith Gopinathan's Menlo Park dining room marries regional Indian technique with California ingredients—a flatbread of Dungeness crab and fennel-poppy sauce announces the approach immediately. Wood-fired cooking lends char and smoke throughout, whether to gulf shrimp or whole sea bream, each plate balanced enough to stand alone.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #70 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 27. El Paisa By Los Alegres
Mexican
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Rank 28. Angler
Seafood
A hunter's lodge aesthetic frames the view along the Embarcadero, where an open fire drives the menu—embered oysters with smoked chili butter, a radicchio salad that demands a knife, aged black cod with seaweed-buttered rolls. The kitchen's restraint and deliberation show in every char and sauce, building toward soft-serve sundae in warm salted caramel and cocoa nibs.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Soft Serve Sundae · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 29. Quattro Restaurant and Bar
Modern Italian
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Rank 30. 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 31. Sun Moon Studio
Californian New American
Inside a modest Union Street unit, Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper execute a seasonal tasting menu of technical precision and quiet personality, letting Californian products—Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter, silken tofu, wild mushrooms—speak first. The baked goods, from savory egg tarts to steamed brioche, are revelations. A destination that whispers rather than shouts.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 32. Ettan
Upscale Indian
Srijith Gopinathan's upscale Indian restaurant occupies an airy, skylit bi-level space in Palo Alto where indigo fabrics and floral wallpaper set a refined stage. Kulchas stuffed with seasonal peas and ricotta arrive alongside bright green kale chutney, while crisp branzino meets green garlic and chili—each plate built around local ingredients and a cook's genuine conviction.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Srijith Gopinathan
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 33. House of Prime Rib
Steakhouse
- Esquire 2025 · Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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Rank 34. The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse
Modern Seafood
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Rank 35. 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 36. 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 37. Foreign Cinema
Californian New American
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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Rank 38. 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 40. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/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 42. 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 43. Viridian
Northern Californian
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
- Punch 2025 · Best New Bartenders · Kat Parsons
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
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Rank 44. Madera
Contemporary
Madera's vaulted dining room overlooks the Santa Cruz Mountains while an almond wood-fired grill lends restrained smoke to ingredient-driven pastas and steaks. Silicon Valley's power brokers come here less for ostentation than for quietly confident cooking and the hotel's tranquil, mountain-lodge sophistication.
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Rank 45. Verjus
French
Michael Tusk's wine bar near the Pyramid trades in seasonal French bistro cooking that pivots around impeccable seafood and produce—razor clams with celery and Meyer lemon, a pâté studded with pistachios. The crowd at the bar and counter suggests the kitchen's skill runs deeper than the menu's apparent simplicity.
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 46. Tony's Pizza Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #3 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- Sunset 2025 · Inspired Italian · Where to Eat and Drink
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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- 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 48. Ocean Subs
Sandwiches
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation #24 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation 2025 · #2 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 49. 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 50. 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 New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 51. Pasta Moon
Italian
A lively room with vaulted ceilings and views of creek and garden, Pasta Moon trades pretense for the straightforward pleasures of house-made pasta, crisp thin-crust pizza, and layered eggplant Parmesan that knows exactly what it is. The kitchen's commitment to artisanal products shows in its soppressata pie and in desserts finished with restraint—vanilla affogato crowned with candied peel.
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Rank 52. Yank Sing
Dim Sum Chinese
Yank Sing rolls out cart after cart of dumplings and buns in a dining room where the pace is brisk and the prices reasonable. The silken xiao long bao and paper-thin har gow announce themselves through their fillings, while the Peking duck arrives with lacquered skin that justifies the wait.
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation The 17 Best Restaurants Near The Embarcadero & Ferry Building
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Rank 53. 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 54. 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 55. 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 56. 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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A wood-fired hearth and copper vessels warm this central Palo Alto dining room, where grilled vegetables emerge smoky and tender, lamb souvlaki stays impossibly moist, and pumpkin cheesecake balances sweetness with poached fruit. The scene runs formal and prices follow accordingly, though lunch offers a lighter touch.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Palo Alto Restaurants
- Eater The 17 Best Restaurants in Palo Alto
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Rank 58. Zareen's
Indian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Zareen Khan
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Palo Alto Restaurants
- Eater The 17 Best Restaurants in Palo Alto
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Rank 59. 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 60. 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 61. 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 62. 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 63. Joodooboo
Hyper-Seasonal Korean
- Food & Wine 2025 · Steve Joo · Best New Chefs
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Steve Joo
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #41 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 64. 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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Rank 65. Kin Khao
Thai
Chef Pim Techamuanvivit's restaurant, wedged into a hotel alcove, forgoes fancy surroundings for something more valuable: Thai cooking that honors tradition while sourcing from local farms and letting each ingredient speak. A curry mousse arrives fragrant and studded with mushrooms; even green curry becomes an event when built around slow-cooked rabbit. The spice here pulls no punches.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Pim Techamuanvivit
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #58 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 66. Prubechu
Guamanian
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
- The Infatuation #25 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #53 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 67. Burdell
Southern
Geoff Davis's Temescal restaurant, named for his grandmother, serves soul food refracted through a contemporary lens—collard greens spiked with berbere, fried chicken brined in pickle, halibut crudo with buttermilk and grapefruit. The wine list is notably thoughtful, the kind of place where fried chicken and champagne feel inevitable.
- Food & Wine 2025 · #1 · The Top 15 US Restaurants
- Food & Wine 2024 · Restaurant of the Year
- Food & Wine 2024 · Roast Duck · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
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Rank 68. Fikscue Craft Barbecue
Barbecue
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Fik Saleh and Reka Saleh
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 69. Four Kings
Contemporary Cantonese Chinese
A packed Chinatown counter where Franky Ho and Michael Long riff on Cantonese tradition with claypot rice studded with bacon and eggplant that sings with fermented chili heat. The room thrums with energy and the kind of crowd that camps out before opening; reservations vanish within minutes, but the cooking rewards whatever patience you muster.
- Esquire 2024 · Restaurant of the Year · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Food & Wine 2024 · Squab · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 70. Popoca
Salvadorian
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times 2025 · Guaca-mol With Tortilla and Asiento · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 71. La Ciccia
Sardinian Italian
A narrow Sardinian room in Noe Valley where the kitchen moves with unhurried precision, each dish arriving as though the chef has been considering it all morning. The handmade pasta here tastes of somewhere specific—sea urchin, guanciale, the weight of tradition—and demands a reservation weeks ahead.
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #33 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Francisco Restaurants
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Rank 72. 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 73. 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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Rank 74. 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 75. 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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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 77. Outta Sight Pizza
Thin-crust Pizza
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
- The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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Rank 78. 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 79. Azalina's
Malaysian
In a Tenderloin storefront designed like a tropical sanctuary, Chef Azalina Eusope interprets the Malaysian cooking of her childhood through a California lens—economy noodles topped with barbecued quail and toasted hazelnuts, steelhead trout wrapped in banana leaves. Her seasonal prix fixe menu moves with precision and wit, from savory to a pandan custard finale that shows serious pastry work.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Azalina Eusope
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 80. Bombera
Contemporary Mexican
Housed in a former fire station, Bombera channels wood-fired intensity into refined Mexican cooking, with house-made blue corn tortillas and mole verde that reveals layers of nutty complexity. Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros builds each dish from heritage techniques and local ingredients, never announcing either.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #25 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 81. Mama’s Boy Pizza
NY-Style Pizza
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #7 · 50 Top Pizza Slice USA
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Oakland Restaurants
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Rank 82. 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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An airy dining room built around an open kitchen where Chef Ravi Kapur marries Hawaiian ingredients with Californian technique, drawing crowds who order halibut kinilaw and fried game hen across a bar loud with cocktail chatter. The house-made Spam in kimchi fried rice signals a kitchen unafraid of culinary contradiction.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #57 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 84. Boulevard
American
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Rank 85. Izzy's
Steakhouse
A San Francisco steakhouse that has preserved its original warmth while refining itself for a new era, with dry-aged beef cooked over open flame and a bar that anchors the neighborhood's social life. The dining room balances timber and brass against understated polish, though service can waver.
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Rank 86. Via Aurelia
Tuscan Italian
- Esquire 2025 · Via Aurelia Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #66 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 87. Mrs Khan Uyghur Cuisine
Uyghur Middle Eastern
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #94 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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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 89. Beit Rima
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
- The Infatuation #18 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Francisco Restaurants
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Rank 90. Cotogna
Italian
An open kitchen framed by exposed brick and copper gleams behind wooden tables where Michael Tusk's pastas—agnolotti stuffed with rabbit and veal, rigatoni with guanciale and chanterelle—arrive with the ease of something both refined and casual. The room moves at the tempo of a neighborhood trattoria, though the cooking never settles for rustic shorthand.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
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Rank 91. Outerlands
American
At the edge of the city, in a weathered wood room, Outerlands bakes sourdough that draws pilgrims from across San Francisco—mahogany-dark, thickly sliced, served with house-cultured butter. The seasonal kitchen keeps things simple: roasted chicken with market vegetables, ragu Bolognese with tagliatelle, weekend pastries—each dish a vehicle for ingredient quality rather than technique.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 92. Protégé
Contemporary New American
Chef Anthony Secviar, a French Laundry alum, pairs refined but unfussy cooking—think sablefish with sweet onion dashi, morel lasagna—with a sommelier's wine list in a relaxed modern room. The lounge's à la carte and trolley desserts balance the tasting menu's ambition without pretension.
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Rank 93. Rooh
Indian
Rooh fuses Indian flavors with modern techniques—oysters meet tandoori spices, burrata finds curry leaf. Jewel-toned dining room and inventive cocktails frame small plates designed for sharing and desserts that riff on subcontinental tradition.
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Rank 94. 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 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. Zola
French
Zola trades pure formality for the ease of a French bistro steeped in California light. Mussels swim in vermouth cream; a soft egg breaks over Parisian gnocchi thick with mushrooms; filet mignon arrives with pommes purées and sauce Périgueux. The room splits between intimate dining and a livelier bar where cocktails and a wine list balancing Bordeaux with Napa feel equally at home.
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Rank 97. Hilda and Jesse
Modern New American
A modernist diner where brunch becomes an argument between restraint and excess, Hilda and Jesse serves a surprise tasting menu that pivots on bold flavor and fine technique. The cooking is brash and unmanicured—a riot of stellar ingredients in unexpected combinations—while the room maintains a disarming warmth that matches the hospitality.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kristina Liedags Compton
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #92 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 98. Chibog
Filipino
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Rank 99. 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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Rank 100. 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