The Best Restaurants in San Francisco

The salsa flies through the air here, literally flicked by spoon onto your tacos in a move that's part performance, part seasoning strategy. This Chavinda-style taqueria in Richmond cooks its meats together in one enormous steel cauldron, so the chorizo, al pastor, and beef all end up in each other's business. Mix and match fillings at no extra cost. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's finest tacos, which explains the weekend wait.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best tacos in the SF Bay Area

1. Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California

Mesquite coals keep the asada lightly charred and the chorizo properly crisp at this Oakland taco truck, and the tortillas are pressed by hand, which changes the math on everything else. The Villa family runs it Tijuana-style, so each taco arrives wrapped in a paper cone with a thick scoop of guacamole. The grilled meats draw the crowd, but the fatty cabeza with salsa verde is what the regulars know to order.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Mexican restaurants in the Bay Area

Mesquite coals do the heavy lifting at this taqueria in San Lorenzo, where the smoke gets into the chorizo and the asada before anything else happens. The Villa family presses tortillas by hand and wraps each taco into a paper cone Tijuana-style, with a thick scoop of guacamole tucked in. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best tacos in the Bay Area. The fatty cabeza with salsa verde is the one regulars order without looking up.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best tacos in the SF Bay Area

1. San Francisco Chronicle #19 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area

The wheat-fiber "asada" is marinated in beer and smoke until it tastes like a backyard grill, which is a reasonable way to open an argument. This snug Oakland taqueria makes the case that vegan tacos don't need an asterisk, with in-house fillings, mushroom carnitas with real richness, and horchata that holds its own. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best tacos in the Bay Area, vegan or otherwise implied.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best tacos in the SF Bay Area

1. San Francisco Chronicle The best Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area

1. The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
2. The Infatuation Potato Salad · The Best Potato Dishes in SF

The biang-biang noodles here get their name from the sound of dough hitting the counter, which tells you something about the kitchen's priorities. This Outer Sunset restaurant serves Shaanxi cooking, wheat-forward and spiced from the Silk Road, with lamb playing a starring role across the menu. The owner, a former photographer from Xi'an, hung the mauve walls with art and a large shot of the terracotta army, giving the room more personality than the neighborhood expects.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area

1. The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
2. The Infatuation The Best Martinis In San Francisco

The spicy fried chicken sandwich here comes dressed with apple slaw and pickles, hot enough to make you notice but not so hot you regret your choices. This casual counter-service chicken shack on Hayes Street keeps a line at lunch, though two self-serve kiosks move things along. Wings come with drum, flat, and tip still attached, which purists appreciate. Outdoor tables handle the overflow when the compact room fills up.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best fried chicken restaurants in the Bay Area

Chimaek, the Korean pairing of fried chicken and cold beer, is the whole point at this Castro Valley spot. Wings come out of the fryer already tossed in sauce, which means the glaze sets into a proper crunch rather than going soggy. Soy garlic and gochujang are the crowd favorites, and the pickled radish on the side does real work against the sweetness. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's best fried chicken spots.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best fried chicken restaurants in the Bay Area

1. The Infatuation #17 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF

Two Latino chefs who spent careers in Mediterranean kitchens run this casual East Bay restaurant, which wanders freely across Persian, Iraqi, and Afghani cooking without planting a flag in any one of them. The menu splits into grilled and sautéed plates, both arriving with vivid yellow basmati rice. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's top Middle Eastern spots, which tracks for a room this unpretentious doing food this specific.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area

The red and green sign is easy to miss from San Pablo Ave, but regulars know to look. This Lebanese diner has a U-shaped counter and an endearing no-fuss quality that suits heavily spiced shawarma and kafta, served on combo plates with rice, garlic sauce, tzatziki, and brothy lentil soup. The baba ghanoush is flame-roasted and worth the detour. Picnic tables out front if you prefer sky to ceiling.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area

Illustrated cartoon versions of the kitchen's own ingredients cover the walls at this Isaan Thai spot in Oakland's Dimond District, which sets the tone nicely. The khao soi has a creamy, spicy broth that earns its keep, and the nam khao, fried rice with fermented pork and sharp slivers of ginger, has a crunch you can hear across the table. Grilled salmon wrapped in coconut leaves arrives with a sauce that manages sour, sweet, and spicy all at once without negotiating.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Thai restaurants in the SF Bay Area

The servers here will gladly walk you through the nuances of vegan cheeses without a trace of condescension, which sets the tone for this plant-based restaurant in Cow Hollow. The menu reads like a convincing case for skipping meat, and the burgers, built on mushrooms and spinach with chipotle aioli and tomato chutney, give skeptics a comfortable entry point. A good first date for the vegan-curious.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the SF Bay Area
2. The Infatuation The 16 Best Burgers In San Francisco

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area

The grandfather's hummus and falafel recipes from his 1951 Jordanian restaurant anchor the menu at this cheerful fast-casual Middle Eastern spot in Dublin. The chicken shawarma comes with a sharp, garlicky toum that earns its own reputation, and baklava soft-serve with honey and flaky phyllo does the work of dessert. The walls say "We have a great sense of hummus," so you know exactly where you stand. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's top Middle Eastern restaurants.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant

1. San Francisco Chronicle #96 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area

1. San Francisco Chronicle #80 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
2. The Infatuation The 24 Best Restaurants In SoMa

1. Sunset Superior Sips · Where to Eat and Drink

1. The New York Times 2019 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
2. The Infatuation The 17 Best Restaurants Near The Embarcadero & Ferry Building

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
2. The Infatuation The 20 Best Sandwich Spots In San Francisco
3. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond

1. Eater Place Where We Want to Be Regulars · The 2025 Eater San Francisco Award Winners

1. The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF
2. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond

1. The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
2. The Infatuation Matcha Cream Pie · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List

1. Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater San Francisco Award Winners
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
2. The Infatuation #11 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF
2. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
2. The Infatuation The 17 Best Restaurants Near The Embarcadero & Ferry Building

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

The shelves at this Eastern European deli and market run floor to ceiling with imported snacks, spices, and things you won't find at a regular grocery store. Grab a piroshki from the deli counter, a yeasted hand pie stuffed with beef and cheese, and ask them to warm it. The samsas and chebureki are worth the indecision. A courtyard out front makes it easy to eat standing up, which is probably for the best given the portions.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF

1. The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

Old-timey bulbs hang over leather booths inside this rock-and-roll burger joint, where the menu leans loud and the vibe leans louder. The Johnny Cash Burger piles on bacon, crisp onions, peppers, and barbecue sauce in a way that manages to feel both retro and inevitable. A lamb burger with goat cheese is there for anyone who wants to go funkier. Most people pair either with a cold beer from the full bar.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

1. The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland

The spaghetti arrives buried under shredded cheese that stays stubbornly unmelted, swimming in sweet sauce you'd never mistake for Italian. Chibog is a Filipino homestyle restaurant in Daly City where weekends mean families crowded around platters of crispy pata and lechon kawali. Solo diners can work through silog-style meal sets without feeling lost. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best restaurants on the Peninsula and South Bay.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay

A Chinatown noodle shop where the namesake bowl, listed plainly as "Chongqing hot numbing spicy noodles," does exactly what it promises with Sichuan pepper and red chile oil doing most of the talking. The menu is narrow by design, each strand matched to a mood, and the tan tan noodle soup goes richer and heartier for anyone who needs a reason to stay. Prices are firmly in the single digits, which explains why the stools fill fast.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Emily Lim

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

The spiral-tailed monkey painted on one wall gives the place its name and its vibe: a cheerful Peruvian restaurant with wood accents and geometric light fixtures that somehow feels both casual and considered. The antojitos trio is a good way in, landing beef hearts, jumbo corn, and causa on the table before you've made any real decisions. The San Francisco Chronicle named it one of Berkeley's best restaurants.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland

Turquoise glazed tiles, dramatic florals, and a sixth-floor view over Chinatown and Telegraph Hill set the tone before you've touched a menu. This is a tasting-menu Cantonese restaurant from the chef behind Hakkasan, and it carries that same instinct for precise, composed presentations of classic dishes. Come for cocktails if the full commitment feels like a lot; the view alone justifies the elevator ride.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

A no-frills Vietnamese lunch spot on the edge of Portsmouth Square, where the best move on a sunny day is to grab takeout and eat in the park while retired neighbors argue card games at the tables nearby. Pho, grilled meats, rice plates, and vermicelli salads are the whole program, exactly as advertised. The spring rolls, fried in rice paper, come out blistered and genuinely airy in a way that's hard to explain until you've had one.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown

The garlic fries alone have launched a thousand detours off the freeway. Gott's is a California roadside grill doing burgers and shakes with Niman Ranch beef and seafood sourced with the same seriousness, which is more than most places in this price range bother with. The classic cheeseburger hits the produce-and-seared-beef formula cleanly, and when the soft-shell crab sandwich is on the menu, it's the move. Plenty of outdoor tables if the sun cooperates.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

A small French sandwich shop on Cedar Street where the main event is a buttermilk-fried chicken cutlet on a Semifreddi's roll, craggy-coated and topped with a creamy, spicy slaw. The potato puffs are the other reason people come, little pillowy spheres that have built a loyal following on their own. A few sidewalk tables exist, but most orders leave in a bag headed for Live Oak Park.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco

The focaccia at this Italian sandwich shop and pizzeria is springy enough to qualify as a mattress topping, then loaded with stracciatella, 'nduja, pistachio butter, or artichoke cream. A deli counter runs along one side, stocked with mortadella, salami, and prosciutto that get hand-sliced to order. Roman-style pizza sits out in thick, dimpled slabs. Bring cash for lunch and a plan for a slow afternoon.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

Diners at this casual Millbrae Korean spot can be spotted holding oxtails up to the light like jewelers, hunting for every last scrap of meat. Han Sang runs on bone broth soups and sliced beef, the kind of cooking that earns regulars fast. The sul long tang, a cloudy white stock loaded with brisket, tongue, and tendon, arrives unseasoned so you can salt it yourself, which somehow makes it feel more personal.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay

Mojitos are the organizing principle at this Cuban restaurant and bar in Walnut Creek, and the menu runs a dozen or so of them, spiked with guava or prickly pear depending on your mood. Floral-print booths line the walls, a long communal table anchors the middle, and the patio fills fast on weekends. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best restaurants in Walnut Creek. Come thirsty and order the ropa vieja empanadas while you figure out the rest.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

The menu here is basically a suggestion, since the family running this Chinatown restaurant has been known to steer you away from it entirely and just decide what you're eating. That's not arrogance so much as confidence, and the Shanghainese cooking that lands on the table tends to justify the approach. Pork confit egg rolls with basil and chile sauce are a signature. Cash in on the experience; just don't expect to be in charge.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Danny Louie
2. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF

The sweet potato brulée, a potato starch custard torched to a glassy crust, gives you a sense of how this Berkeley izakaya operates: familiar enough to land, unexpected enough to stay with you. The menu shifts constantly around a core of Japanese small plates, with daily specials that swing from nigiri to okonomiyaki depending on the chef's mood. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best restaurants in Berkeley.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

1. The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

La Espiga de Oro is a Mission District mash-up of butcher counter, bakery, and Mexican restaurant, open early enough that the neighborhood is still deciding about coffee. The breakfast burrito is mostly chorizo, with the eggs and cheese showing up like guests who weren't sure they were invited. It's a few dollars, it's counter service, and it works as a full week's worth of protein, so plan the rest of your day around it.

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco
2. The Infatuation The 13 Best Breakfast Burritos In SF

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

A marinated pork spit spinning in the window pulls in foot traffic on MLK Way, which is basically the oldest form of advertising. This Chiapas-style taqueria in Berkeley orders you outside to pick up your al pastor, the ruby meat sweet and charred, with pineapple and a green oil salsa alongside. The chicken mole is a serious plate when you want it. Noah's Ark animals frolic across a mural on the wall, keeping things cheerful.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco

A wall in the back pulses with colored light synced to the reggaeton, which tells you exactly what kind of restaurant this is. Lita does modern Caribbean in a Walnut Creek setting that leans hard into Miami energy, with a marble bar, gold trim, and ferns hanging over the dining room. Fish fritters, coconut curry chicken empanadas, and spit-roast jerk chicken shaved into tacos carry the menu. The cocktails keep up.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

Warm tortillas pressed at a kiosk just inside the door set the tone at this San Rafael Mexican restaurant, where the kitchen takes mole seriously enough to run seven housemade versions on the weekend buffet. The mole poblano and a red guajillo version called Mama Luisa are the ones to pace yourself toward. Cabeza de res, menudo, and pozole rojo round things out. Order a michelada; it isn't included, but it's the move.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland

1. The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco

The Italian sub here is stacked with salami, hot coppa, mortadella, and provolone on a flour-dusted ciabatta, and the bread does at least half the work. Morucci's is an old-school deli that's been a Walnut Creek fixture long enough that regulars actually comment when the line isn't out the door. A few seats inside, more outside, and the counter crew keeps things moving faster than the crowd suggests.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Walnut Creek

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. The Infatuation The 13 Best Pasta Restaurants In SF

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

1. The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

The yeasted waffle is what people come back for at this daytime diner on Macarthur, light enough to make the standard griddle version feel like a practical joke. Sequoia keeps the American breakfast plate honest while also running a loco moco where the gravy soaks into Koda Farms white rice in a way that feels earned. They cure their own pork belly, make three hot sauces in-house, and generally behave like a diner with something to prove.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Oakland

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In Oakland

The pressed French bread announces itself before you even bite down, cracking loud enough to turn heads. Sol Food is a casual Puerto Rican spot in San Rafael with outposts around Marin, built around hot-pressed sandwiches that pull serious lunch crowds. The Paraíso swaps the expected cheese-steak script by folding in ripe plantains, and the Cubano is one of the few worth seeking out in the county.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 11 Best Burritos In San Francisco

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF

1. The Infatuation The 25 Best Meals For Under $15 In SF

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco