The Best Restaurants in San Francisco, by the Record
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Rank 357. Kissaten HiFi
Japanese
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Rank 357. Komeya No Bento
Japanese
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Rank 357. La Corneta Taqueria
Mexican
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Rank 357. La Espiga De Oro
Mexican
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Rank 357. La Palma Mexicatessen
Mexican
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Rank 357. Las Cabañas Mexican Grill & Taqueria
Chiapas-Style Mexican
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.
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Rank 357. Lita
Modern Caribbean
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.
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Rank 357. Los Moles
Modern Mexican
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.
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Rank 357. Lucky Three Seven
Street Food Filipino
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Rank 357. Mamahuhu
Chinese
Open rafters, pale pink tiles, and bright teal accents set the tone at this casual Chinese spot on Clement Street, where Brandon Jew runs a room that looks like it was designed on purpose, because it was. The sweet-and-sour chicken, rice-battered and stuffed into a homemade pineapple bun, is the kind of thing people come back for. Housemade sodas round out a menu that treats the nonalcoholic drinks as a feature rather than an afterthought.
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Rank 357. Maruwu Seicha
Japanese
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Rank 357. Mensho
Noodles
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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.
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Rank 357. Nagomi
Japanese Coffee Shop
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Rank 357. Perbacco
Italian
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Rank 357. Poesia
Calabrian
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Rank 357. Presidio Kebab
Turkish
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Rank 357. Rice Roll Express
Chinese
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Rank 357. Sequoia Diner
American
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.
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Rank 357. Smelly’s
Cajun & Creole
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Rank 357. Sol Food
Puerto Rican
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.
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Rank 357. Super Mira
Japanese
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Rank 357. Super Star Restaurant
Filipino
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Rank 357. Tadaima
Japanese
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Rank 357. Taksim
Turkish
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Rank 357. Taqueria El Buen Sabor
Mexican
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Rank 357. Taqueria Guadalajara
Mexican
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Rank 357. Tato
Mexican
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Rank 357. Three Star Restaurant
Chinese
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Rank 357. Turtle Tower
Northern Vietnamese
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Rank 357. um.ma
Korean
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Rank 357. World Famous Hotboys
Nashville Southern
Hundreds of flags and string lights cover the ceiling, CRT TVs along the bar counter are loaded with old-school video game consoles, and a mural of Walnut Creek landmarks greets you before you even open the door. This hot chicken shop does Nashville-style fried chicken and sandwiches, with heat levels that go from polite to genuinely humbling. The outdoor picnic tables are there when you need air, or perspective.
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Rank 357. Yin Du Wonton Noodle
Noodles
A Chinatown noodle shop where the soup comes piled with roast duck, wontons, and springy yellow noodles, all for around eight dollars. The move, though, is the brisket version, where the braised beef melts into the broth and makes the whole bowl taste twice as serious. Add a side of slow-cooked beef tendon and stir it in as you go. Named among the San Francisco Chronicle's picks for Chinatown, and the line out front tends to agree.
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Rank 357. Yo Yo's
Japanese
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Rank 357. Zevi Cafe
Turkish
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Rank 442. Banh Mi Crunch
Noodles
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Rank 442. Base Camp
Nepali Indian
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Rank 442. Beretta
Italian
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Rank 442. Bombay Brasserie
Indian
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Rank 442. Burger Littles
American
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Rank 442. Cantina Los Mayas
Yucatecan
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Rank 442. Cielito Lindo
Mexican
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Rank 442. Dumpling Union
Chinese
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Rank 442. Eddie's Cafe
American Coffee Shop
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Rank 442. Good Luck Dim Sum
Chinese
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Rank 442. Han Il Kwan
Korean
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Rank 442. Katsuo + Kombu
Fukuoka-style Noodles
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Rank 442. Kevin & Chris’s Noodle House
Vietnamese
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Rank 442. Limón
Modern Peruvian
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Rank 442. Loló
Californian Mexican
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Rank 442. Manitas Cafe
Mexican Coffee Shop
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Rank 442. Manna
Korean
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Rank 442. Mini Potstickers
Chinese
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Rank 442. Moku Yakitori-Ya
Japanese
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Rank 442. My Tofu House
Korean
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Rank 442. New Eritrea Restaurant
Ethiopian
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Rank 442. Otra
Mexican
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Rank 442. Palmyra
Syrian Middle Eastern
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Rank 442. Purple Rice
Korean
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Rank 442. Rusty Ladle
American
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Rank 442. SAIGONESE CAFÉ
Vietnamese
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Rank 442. San Tung
Chinese
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Rank 442. Thai Nghiep Ky Mi Gia
Vietnamese
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Rank 442. Toyose
Korean
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Rank 477. Cassava
California Japanese Coffee Shop
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Rank 479. The Punchdown
Upscale New American Wine Bar
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Rank 482. RT Rotisserie
New American