Best San Francisco, CA Restaurants

  • Kokkari Estiatorio
  • Lolo
  • Zuni Café
  • nopa
  • Sotto Mare
  • Empress by Boon
  • Acquerello
  • Mr. Jiu's
  • Greens Restaurant
  • Akiko's Restaurant & Sushi Bar
  • Kokkari Estiatorio
  • Lolo

    Lolo

    Loló restaurant is a beloved Mission District institution. The restaurant is family-owned and operated by Executive Chef Jorge Martínez, his wife Lorena...

  • Zuni Café
  • nopa

    nopa

    Nopa defies categorization as either old or new because it has some of both. Although it's only been around since 2006, chef Laurence Jossel worked at...

  • Sotto Mare

    Sotto Mare

    Sotto Mare's old-school Italian ambiance and incredibly fresh fare receive rave reviews from North Beach natives and Bay Area visitors alike. The restaurant...

    Photo courtesy of Tom Molanphy
  • Empress by Boon

    Empress by Boon

    Empress by Boon is San Francisco's newest, must-visit destination in the heart of Chinatown. Using fresh ingredients from local sources such as the...

    Photo courtesy of Empress by Boon
  • Acquerello

    Acquerello

    Acquerello's mission statement says it best: "At Acquerello, we believe that refined luxury is always in style. Our desire is to provide our guests with an...

    Photo courtesy of used in book.
  • Mr. Jiu's

    Mr. Jiu's

    Created with equal parts intellect and love, the beautiful Mr. Jiu's restaurant could be described as the brain and love child of talented chef/owner...

    Photo courtesy of Tom Molanphy
  • Greens Restaurant

    Greens Restaurant

    Greens, one of the city's finest vegetarian establishments, is owned and operated by the San Francisco Zen Center, which helps supply it with organic...

    Photo courtesy of used in book.
  • Akiko's Restaurant & Sushi Bar

    Akiko's Restaurant & Sushi Bar

    "If I knew I was going to die tomorrow morning I'd probably be eating some really high-end sushi tonight," Anthony Bourdain, RIP, famously said in 2013. The...

    Photo courtesy of Joseph Weaver
Advertisement
Advertisement

Local Expert Restaurant Recommendations

The LatestLocal Expert Restaurant Recommendations

Advertisement
Advertisement

About San Francisco, CA Restaurants

A great destination for foodies, San Francisco lies at the heart of the California cuisine movement. This trend fuses disparate culinary traditions, including those of Europe and Asia, and incorporates high-quality regional ingredients in a truly local cuisine. Fresh produce and seafood figure prominently, and healthful preparations are standard. A pioneer of the genre, Alice Waters, operates Chez Panisse in Berkeley, one of the top restaurants of its kind in the nation. Today, many variations of California cuisine exist, and many exhibit French tendencies. San Francisco’s best establishments take the impulse and run with it, delighting in organic goods and authentic flavors. Characteristic of these well-received places are Boulevard, whose Art Nouveau interior is as mesmerizing as its fine fare, and Aqua, where seafood is elevated to new heights amid soothing hues and spectacular floral arrangements. Greens Restaurant takes the California premise to a logical vegetarian conclusion, pairing incomparable views with fabulous dishes so inventive that meat is never missed. Fortunately, San Francisco restaurateurs have also capitalized on the city’s beauty, as seen in Slanted Door’s marvelous Bay vista – a wonderful complement to the restaurant’s incredible Vietnamese cuisine. Terrific food can be found, too, in places as unassuming as Mama’s on Washington Square, a North Beach mainstay known for scrumptious morning meals and convivial weekend lineups.
Kelly Sigmon

About Kelly Sigmon

Senior editor Kelly Sigmon is Southern born and Ivy educated. During his tenure with the company, Kelly has prized being a mystery traveler and overseeing the printed 10Best Travel Guides for San Francisco, Miami, and Atlanta.

Read more about Kelly »