Warm, intimate Frascati teems with neighborhood folks who appreciate its comfortable ambiance and toothsome cuisine. (For people not so close, the Powell & Hyde cable car runs just beyond the front door.) The menu covers that nebulous territory that unites Italian, Mediterranean, and Californian fare; to wit, lamb carpaccio with minted eggplant caponata, pan-roasted pork tenderloin with Italian sausage and creamy basil farro, and tiger prawn risotto with melted leeks and prosciutto. Cap your choice with artisan cheeses or the restaurant's coveted black and white chocolate bread pudding. Owners Rebecca and Jon Rader are usually on-site and will do their utmost to make you feel at home.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: One of the best Mediterranean-inspired restaurants in the city.
Tom's expert tip: Start off with the Russet Potato Gnocchi, a house favorite, to get a sense of their mastery of adding some California lightness to this Mediterranean staple.
Cuisine leaps to the forefront of this restaurant's appeal, thanks to raw and cooked options that, without exception, deliver on flavor, presentation, and preparation. Diners can choose from teriyaki, donburi, and tempura dishes and then pair them with a selection from the extensive list of sakes. Maki is a specialty, and resident chefs share their time with the Four Seasons next door. Sanraku also boasts a kaiseki menu, a rarity among Bay Area restaurants. Vegetarian items are available. Besides the Four Seasons location, Sanraku is also located in the newly remodeled Metreon, making a dinner date of sushi and a movie very convenient.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Sanraku is consistently rated as one of the best Japanese restaurants in San Francisco.
Tom's expert tip: To insure you're getting the best mix of the fish of the day, order the Chef's Choice, an incomparable selection of Sanraku's best nigiri sushi.
This small but efficient Nob Hill restaurant is routinely praised by neighborhood locals as well as tourists for getting the small things right. With seating for only twenty-eight guests, there's hardly room for error...! Chef and Owner Teague Moriarity opened this California-inspired cuisine hotspot with a clear, specific vision in mind: create dishes made from the most wholesome and local California ingredients, and serve these dishes in a small, intimate setting that brings out the thoughtfulness behind every meal. Nob Hill is not the destination for quick, cheap eats, and Sons and Daughters makes a good argument on why spending money on carefully prepared, expensive meals can be well worth the price.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Sons and Daughters has become a standard for quality for Nob Hill dining.
Tom's expert tip: Put your meal directly into the hands of the masters in the kitchen by ordering the tasting menu.
Although Bay Area cuisine is all about the latest "foodie" craze, if you're not all that much into someone messing around with your steak, then tuck a white linen napkin into your collar at the House of Prime Rib. The iconic House of Prime Rib serves potentially the highest quality corn-fed beef in the Bay Area. Their meticulously prepared meat is aged for 21 days, making it especially tender, juicy and flavorful. Diners enjoy well-marbled prime rib, carved tableside to their exact specifications, along with sides like fluffy mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The dessert cart offers a decadent array of sinful sweets, and assorted wines promise the perfect pairing.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: House of Prime Rib is one of the best steakhouses in the Bay Area.
Tom's expert tip: The traditional Yorkshire pudding is a scrumptious, baked golden dome of crust stuffed with choice meats and vegetable
You'll always meet up with a strong contingent of locals at this rustic, romantic haunt. The cable car line runs outside, and inside a wood-burning oven and Bay views impart a special charm. The menu's Tuscan cooking features gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce and gorgonzola, rosemary grilled lamb tenderloins, veal scaloppini, and seared ahi tuna over buttered spinach. End on a sweet note with mainstays like panna cotta, tiramisu, or Frangelico cheesecake. If you find yourself wandering Nob Hill, and something in the air makes you yearn for Tuscany, you don't have to walk all the way to North Beach for an Italian meal. Head to Venticello!
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: This place is as close to Tuscany as San Francisco gets.
Tom's expert tip: Start off with the house-made meatballs, so warm and juicy it's amazing the mozzarella, marinara, and fresh basil stays in one piece!
This Nob Hill brunch spot offers Bay Area diners a comfortable, bistro-style atmosphere and refreshing mid-morning eats. The menu is centered around fresh organic produce, much of which is gathered from local farms, and changes depending on seasonal availability. Olea only uses cage-free eggs from Glaum Ranch in the nearby town of Aptos. You can always find Olea's signature dishes, however, including the challah custard toast and eggs baked in a cazuela. Or try eggs baked in a cazuela with tomato sauce, steamed farro spezzato, diced niman ranch applewood smoked ham and basil-almond pesto. No matter your order, a cup of Blue Bottle coffee makes the perfect addition.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: In a town obsessed with wave after wave of California foodie cuisine, Olea gets it right.
Tom's expert tip: If you're visiting from out-of-town, Olea is less than a half-mile from one of San Francisco's best free museums, the Cable Car Museum.
For generations, this small eatery has been delighting seafood lovers from all over the city. Distinguished by a marble counter and pull-up stools, the place puts all its attention on fresh shellfish, especially just-shucked oysters. You can also try clams on the half-shell, cracked crab, lobster, and shrimp, along with a few soups and salads. The place doesn't stand out from the street, so keep your eyes peeled. And if you're around during the lunchtime rush, you'll most likely have to wait. If you're in the mood for a throwback kind of seafood restaurant, where simple style counts, then head to Swan Oyster Depot.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Swan Oyster isn't just a top-flight restaurant - it's a civic institution in San Francisco.
Tom's expert tip: This extremely popular San Francisco institution - Anthony Bourdain always made it a point to slurp some oysters at Swan Oyster Depot when he was in town - has only eighteen bar seats, so be prepared for a wait.
When you mix the lofty expectations of French cuisine with the deep pockets of Nob Hill, you get Keiko a Nob Hill, a rich dining experience in every way. For those who want to experience what puts the Nob in Nob Hill, check your humility at the door and strut with all the swanky style you can muster right into Keiko's. You don't have to go farther than the menu to know you're in the place where the elite meet and eat: "Salad L'Extravagance" and "Cornish Hen Galantine" are just a few of the starters. If you want that big, rich, signature meal that will make your vacation but break your wallet, head to Keiko's.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Keiko might be the epitome in Nob Hill style and swank.
Tom's expert tip: Try the King Crab and Lily bulb soup, which tastes as rich and exotic as it sounds.
Elegant and subdued, this intimate restaurant (whose name means "watercolor") exhibits artistry in both cuisine and appearance. Acquerello's mission is simple but effective: "At Acquerello, we believe that refined luxury is always in style." Its serene ambiance and its vaulted, beamed ceiling evoke Acquerello's former incarnation as a chapel. Contemporary Italian dishes are the main draw, though, and a frequently-changing menu features dishes like parsley-encrusted pork loin, beef carpaccio with hearts of palm and black truffles, and tuna in a fennel-dill crust with saffron sauce. The wine list features fine Italian and California vintages. Winner of the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award in 2012.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Acquerello's Prix Fixe menu is legendary in the city.
Tom's expert tip: A meal at Acquerello is an event, so plan to spend several hours and many courses here, including the amazing "Cheese Cart," which will be wheeled to your table with much fanfare.
Named after four of the most famous railroad tycoons of the nineteenth century (C.P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins), Big 4 Restaurant offers not only high-scale dining but a fascinating look into San Francisco's history. Led by Executive Chef Kevin Scott, Big 4 offers meals only railroad tycoons could handle: Seafood Risotto with Maine Lobster Meat, or Rack of Lamb with a Rosemary Rub. Leave plenty of time either before or after dinner to wander the sumptuous hallways of The Scarlet Huntington, and your Nob Hill experience will be complete.
Recommended for Nob Hill's Best Restaurants because: Big Four offers vintage San Francisco history and luxurious dining experience, all-in-one.
Tom's expert tip: Be sure to give yourself time to explore The Scarlet Huntington, which is where this lavish restaurant is located.