The Best Food in San Francisco: 10 Must-Try Restaurants for Foodies
Across cuisines, neighborhoods, and price points lies the best food in San Francisco. The list itself is a narrative of the seafood in SF Bay, a diverse story told through equally diverse food. From oysters to dumplings, the menus will take you around the world one bite at a time. Whether you are a native to the SF Bay or just passing through, we did all the tasting so you can choose your meals wisely.
Broad Street Oyster Company - Best Restaurant in SF Bay: This southern California mini seafood chain made a splash by opening up their first Northern California seafood shack. Located in the historic Ghirardelli Square of San Francisco, Broad Street Oyster Company is world famous for their lobster roll. A simple dish, done to perfection, served a few different ways: warm with butter, chilled with mayo, or topped with uni and/or caviar. Whatever you choose, it will be undeniably delicious. As their name implies, oysters are also on the menu. Served raw, baked, or fried, you’ll be knockin them back to your heart's content. Try the seafood tower, a platter of pebbled ice cradles top of the line caviar, shrimp, uni, and crab legs. For something less grandiose, the fish and chips are always a solid choice. Enjoy the best view of the SF bay while eating the tastiest food at Broad Street Oyster Company. Elevated, yet approachable, casual and always fun, their vibe is unmatched.
Scoma's Restaurant: Scoma’s is a 60 year old restaurant, located on the dock of the Bay. The menu is full of favorites like cioppino, clam chowder, crab cocktail, and oysters, as well as red sauce pasta and sandwiches. The space is a comforting wood adorned dining room, overlooking the water. It’s a must try when coming to SF.
Abacá: Contemporary Filipino cuisine has found a home in Fisherman’s Wharf. Chef Francis Ang makes familiar dishes with a modern California update: seafood pancit topped with smoked bay scallops, and longganisa pork sausage skewered on a stick and served with egg yolk and cane vinegar. Weekend brunch gets the special treatment with chewy pandan mochi waffle and savory ensaymada French toast. The sunny space heavy with greenery, plants, and woven baskets will keep you coming back.
Maison Nico: San Francisco has no shortage of bakeries specializing in sourdough bread, croissants, and egg tarts. But there’s only one café where diners can get a custardy cannelé and a slab of pâté. Chef Nicolas Delaroque of Maison Nico earned a Michelin star for his eponymous restaurant, but that was pre-pandemic. Now he is focused on brioche feuilletée; pâté en croûte studded with pork, butternut squash, and smoked eel; and seafood aspic made with lobster, red snapper, mussels, and a bouillabaisse gelée.
City View Restaurant: Inside a dark and elegant space with comfortable booths is the best dim sum in the City. Menu must haves from City View Restaurant are the bouncy shrimp, pork-stuffed shumai, and scallion pancakes. Service is prompt for a place without traditional rolling carts. Don’t miss these dumplings.
House of Prime Rib: The name says it all. One thing is perfected to precision and served to all. House of Prime Rib has been doing what they do for 70 years, long before the world of celebrity chefs and tweezer presentations. Within the confines of the limited menu, a few options come to light: meat temperature, cut thickness, mashed or loaded baked potatoes, and of course, martini or Manhattan.
Kin Khao: Michelin star rated, Kin Khao, is the brainchild of chef Pim Techamuanvivit and chef de cuisine James Slagle. Thai flavors take center stage, with boldness being their calling care. Crowd pleasing items include the steamed jar of spicy curry mouse called mushroom har mok or the grilled local squid, topped with peanuts and cilantro.
Pasta Supply Co. : By day, chef Anthony Strong’s Pasta Supply Co. is a retail destination for freshly made pastas of various shapes and cuts, a plethora of sauces, cheeses, butters, and plenty of pantry staples. When the evening sets, the neighborhood awakens to a line outside the door of hungry patrons waiting for dinner service. A few menu favorites from the kitchen team are mafaldine with butter and cheese, salt cod in puttanesca sauce, and fusilli in spicy vodka tomato sauce. Almost everything costs under $20, you can’t afford not to.
Zuni Cafe: Zuni Cafe has seen it all in SF. Having been around for 40 plus years, the Hayes Valley pillar has been a gathering place for brunch, late nights, fancy meetings, and even a date night spot. Their classics have all been praised highly: THE chicken, THE Burger, THE Caesar salad, and THE bloody mary. IYKYK.
Palm City: Neighborhood gems like Palm City are a rare find. With the best Philly-style hoagie outside of Philadelphia, this wine bar is full of surprises. If you have room after the hoagie, make sure to try the Italian American, a massive sandwich built from finocchiona, mortadella, mozzarella, arugula, onions, and parmesan cheese served on a sesame seed roll with a spicy nduja aioli to top it off. Wash it down with a Sicilian wine, and you’ll feel right at home.
The Must Try Restaurant in SF
San Francisco is a wonderland for food lovers. No matter what neighborhood, what time of day, or what budget, quality food can be found for anyone adventurous enough to seek it out. Get to Ghirardelli Square to enjoy and try Broad Street Oyster Company’s new two story location and experience the best restaurant in San Francisco.
Related Blog Post: The Best Seafood Restaurants in Ghirardelli Square San Francisco