Where the Mission burrito met natural wine and never looked back.
San Francisco eats with the conviction of a small city that has shaped how the rest of America thinks about food. The Mission gave the country its burrito, Chinatown ran the longest Cantonese kitchen line in the diaspora, and North Beach kept Italian American cooking honest. Alice Waters wrote a manifesto across the bay in 1971 and the Ferry Plaza market still answers to it every Saturday. The third-wave coffee movement started here in three roasters within ten blocks. Today the city eats Dungeness crab in winter, chinook in spring, stone fruit through summer and mushrooms into autumn, with kitchens from Saison to Mister Jiu's and Atelier Crenn writing the modern grammar. The price of rent has thinned the middle, yet taquerias hold the line.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in San Francisco, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The plates that define eating in San Francisco.
The Mission burrito is San Francisco's defining sandwich: a giant flour tortilla packed with rice, beans, meat, salsa and sometimes cheese or sour cream, foil-wrapped to the table.
Where: La Taqueria, El Farolito, Taqueria Cancun, Taqueria El Buen Sabor
Cioppino is a tomato-and-wine seafood stew of Dungeness crab, clams, mussels, prawns and white fish, invented by Genoese fishermen in San Francisco's North Beach.
Where: Sotto Mare, Tadich Grill, Anchor Oyster Bar, Scoma's
San Francisco sourdough is a tangy, open-crumb white loaf made with a wild starter unique to the city's foggy climate, used for sandwiches and as the base of cioppino bread bowls.
Where: Boudin Bakery, Tartine Bakery, Josey Baker Bread, Jane the Bakery
Dungeness crab is the sweet, brown-meat Pacific crab the city eats from mid-November to June, served steamed and cracked at Swan Oyster Depot, Tadich Grill and the Wharf.
Where: Swan Oyster Depot, Tadich Grill, Sotto Mare, Anchor Oyster Bar
San Francisco dim sum is the longest-running Cantonese tea service in the United States, with carts at Hang Ah on Sacramento Street and bamboo-steamer counters citywide.
Where: Yank Sing, Hang Ah Tea Room, Good Mong Kok Bakery, Dragon Beaux, Z & Y Bistro
Hangtown Fry is a Gold Rush omelette of oysters, bacon and eggs, named for the mining camp of Placerville and kept on the menu at Tadich Grill in San Francisco.
Where: Tadich Grill, Sam's Grill, Brenda's French Soul Food
Chinese chicken salad is a California Chinese American plate of shredded chicken, romaine, fried wonton skins and a sesame-soy dressing, popularised through San Francisco.
Where: Mister Jiu's, Z & Y Bistro
The American Irish coffee was perfected at the Buena Vista Cafe by the wharf in 1952, a glass of black coffee, brown sugar, Irish whiskey and a layer of softly whipped cream.
Where: The Buena Vista Cafe, Tosca Cafe
Mission-style tacos are the doubled, soft, charred-corn-tortilla tacos served the length of 24th Street and Mission, with lengua, carnitas, al pastor, asada and pollo.
Where: La Taqueria, El Farolito, Tacolicious, Taqueria San Jose, Taqueria El Buen Sabor
Rice-A-Roni is the boxed pilaf of rice and broken spaghetti born in 1958 in San Francisco's Mission, marketed as the San Francisco Treat across the United States.
Fermented green tea leaves mixed with crunchy fried split peas, peanuts, garlic, sesame seeds, dried shrimp, lime, sliced tomato and shredded cabbage. Burma Superstar's defining San Francisco dish.
Where: Burma Superstar, Mister Jiu's, Ferry Building Marketplace, House of Nanking
Where to eat Lephet thoke (Burmese tea leaf salad) in San Francisco →
San Francisco's signature pastry: a croissant dough rolled in cinnamon-sugar with orange zest, twisted in a muffin tin, dusted with more sugar after baking. Crisp shattered exterior, custard-soft buttery interior.
Where: Tartine Bakery, Arsicault Bakery, Jane the Bakery, Ferry Building Marketplace
A lightly sparkling cocktail of Peruvian pisco, pineapple-infused gum syrup, lemon and a touch of cold water. The defining Gold Rush-era San Francisco drink.
Where: Comstock Saloon, Bourbon & Branch, Pacific Cocktail Haven
Cold-cracked Dungeness crab piled over iceberg lettuce, hard-boiled egg, tomato and asparagus, dressed with a tangy pink Russian-style sauce. The classic San Francisco lunchroom plate.
Where: Tadich Grill, Swan Oyster Depot, Sam's Grill
A crackly Vietnamese baguette stuffed with grilled meats, pate, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro. The Tenderloin sandwich SF perfected.
Where: Saigon Sandwich
Salt-crusted prime rib roast wheeled to the table on a silver cart and carved to order, served with creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding and a spun-tableside salad. The SF mid-century steakhouse rite.
Where: House of Prime Rib
Where to eat Prime rib carved tableside (House of Prime Rib) in San Francisco →
An amber lager brewed with lager yeast at warm ale temperatures, fermented in wide shallow open vessels. San Francisco's native beer style, invented during the Gold Rush.
Where: Fort Point Beer Company, Magnolia Brewing, Cellarmaker House of Pizza
Where to eat California Common (Anchor Steam) in San Francisco →
Egg noodles in a coconut-and-turmeric chicken curry, finished tableside with crispy fried garlic, hard-boiled egg, chilli oil and a splash of fish sauce. The SF-Burmese restaurant template.
Where: Burma Superstar
Where to eat Burmese coconut chicken (ohn no khao swe) in San Francisco →
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in San Francisco.
Zuni Cafe in San Francisco is the city's most enduring California room: Judy Rodgers' roast chicken for two with bread salad has not left the menu since 1987.
Signature: Roast chicken with bread salad, Caesar salad, Burger
State Bird Provisions in San Francisco runs a small-plate dim-sum-cart format under Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, James Beard winners in 2015.
Signature: State Bird with provisions, Sourdough pancake with ricotta
Mister Jiu's in San Francisco is Brandon Jew's Cal-Chinese flagship in old Chinatown, holding a Michelin star and a separate cocktail bar worth a visit alone.
Signature: Hot and sour Dungeness, Quail in roses, Whole crispy duck
Tartine Manufactory in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's larger Mission site, with bread, pastry, plates and a wine bar under one roof.
Signature: Country loaf, Morning bun, Wood-oven pizza
Nopa in San Francisco is the neighbourhood room that defines the western Divisadero corridor: wood-grilled California food, kitchen open until 01:00.
Signature: Wood-grilled flatbreads, Rotisserie chicken, Burger
Foreign Cinema in San Francisco is the Mission's open-air courtyard room from Gayle Pirie and John Clark, with a film projected on the back wall after dark.
Signature: Pomegranate-glazed lamb, Brunch oysters, Fried chicken
The Mission is where the burrito got its modern shape and where natural wine and taquerias share the same block. Loud, sunny, late.
Best for: Burritos, Tacos, Natural wine, Ice cream
The oldest Chinatown in North America, still doing dim sum at 09:00 and barbecue duck windows by lunch. Crowds at the Stockton Street produce stalls all day.
Best for: Dim sum, Cantonese, Roast meats, Bakeries
Italian American at its most stubborn. Espresso bars, red-sauce rooms, and Tony Gemignani throwing pizzas a block from City Lights bookstore.
Best for: Italian, Pizza, Espresso, Pastries
Walkable two blocks of modern American cooking, Smitten ice cream, Ritual coffee and Zuni's roast chicken on the bend toward the opera house.
Best for: Modern American, Wine bars, Ice cream, Coffee
Sunny, monied, brunch-leaning. Chef-driven mid-range rooms on Chestnut and Union, plus the city's most reliable burger lineup.
Best for: Brunch, Burgers, Chef-driven, Italian
Foggy oceanfront with a surf-cafe scene that has quietly become the city's best brunch belt. Outerlands, Andytown, Devil's Teeth and a string of bakery counters on Judah and Noriega.
Best for: Cafes, Brunch, Bakeries, Burgers
Peak food season: November to February for Dungeness crab. April to October for the Ferry Plaza market at full tilt. September and October bring stone fruit, mushrooms and the warmest local weather.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:30. Dinner 17:30-22:00, with last seatings creeping earlier than New York. Many kitchens close Sunday or Monday; Chinatown dim sum runs 09:00-14:30.
Tipping: Tipping is expected: 18 to 22 percent on the pre-tax total at full-service rooms. Counter spots and taquerias commonly add an iPad prompt; ten percent is fine, twenty if the kitchen does real work.
San Francisco's signature dishes include Mission burrito, Cioppino, San Francisco sourdough, Dungeness crab, Dim sum. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map San Francisco by district. The Mission, Chinatown, North Beach, Hayes Valley are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in San Francisco include Atelier Crenn, Saison, Quince, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in San Francisco, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's San Francisco dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.