Flour + Water in San Francisco is Thomas McNaughton's Mission pasta-and-pizza house, with a daily handmade pasta board and a Neapolitan oven up front.
Signature dishes: Tasting of pasta, Wood-fired pizza, Whole-grain bread
Must order: The 5-course pasta tasting, the room's house format since 2009.
Tip: The pasta tasting is the move; ordering pasta a la carte costs the same and gives you less.
Address: 2401 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Park Tavern in San Francisco is Anna Weinberg's Washington Square sister to Marlowe and the Cavalier, with the same burger and a steady neighbourhood pulse.
Signature: Marlowe burger, Brussels sprout chips, Roast chicken
Order: The Marlowe burger with Cabot cheddar on a pretzel bun.
Tip: Sunday roast lunch sells out by 14:00; book two weeks ahead for a window seat onto the square.
Fog Harbor Fish House in San Francisco is the Pier 39 upstairs room with strong clam chowder among the Wharf options, plus a long crab list in winter.
Signature: Sourdough clam chowder, Crab Louie, Sand dabs
Order: Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl with a view of the sea lions.
Tip: Book the 18:00 window seating for the sunset over Alcatraz; it is the room's whole selling point.
Souvla in San Francisco is a counter-service Greek spit-fired meat sandwich house with four sites citywide, and the Hayes Valley original is the test kitchen.
Signature: Lamb sandwich, Pork salad, Frozen Greek yogurt
Order: Lamb sandwich with horiatiki salad and a frozen yogurt with olive oil for after.
Tip: The 12:30 lunch line is faster than 13:00; order ahead via the app to skip it altogether.
The Progress in San Francisco is State Bird Provisions' upstairs family-style sibling on Fillmore, with a four-course menu chosen by the table at the start.
Signature: Family-style menu, Bread course, Whole grain risotto
Order: Whatever the four set courses are on the night; the format is fixed.
Tip: The State Bird kitchen door opens behind the bar; ask for the State Bird supplement if you missed the downstairs reservation.
Outerlands in San Francisco is the Outer Sunset's surf-side cafe and dinner room, with house bread, a tight California menu and the fog rolling past the door.
Signature: Open-faced sandwich, Eggs in jail, Bowl
Order: Eggs in jail: thick toast with an egg cracked in the centre, griddled.
Tip: Walk-in only for breakfast and lunch; the dinner room takes reservations for parties of 4 or more.
Z & Y in San Francisco is the Chinatown Sichuan room that hosted Obama, with a benchmark dry-fried chicken and a real numbing-spice score on the page.
Signature: Chongqing chicken, Dan dan noodles, Mapo tofu
Order: Chongqing chicken: dry-fried with handfuls of Sichuan peppercorns and chillies.
Tip: Ask for the dan dan noodles 'house style' to get the version the kitchen makes for itself; off the menu.
