40 editor picks in San Francisco.
40 cheap eats places in San Francisco, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in San Francisco: the places editors actually return to. All San Francisco food.
La Taqueria in San Francisco is Miguel Jara's Mission taqueria, James Beard America's Classic, with no-rice burritos and doubled corn tacos since 1973.
OrderThe dorado-style burrito: rolled, then crisped on the plancha with a sear.
TipCash and card accepted; the line moves fast even at 13:00 because each taquero builds with both hands.
Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's Guerrero Street original, redrawing what a country loaf and a morning bun.
TipCountry loaves come out at 16:30; queue from 16:00 to be sure of one.
b. Patisserie in San Francisco is Belinda Leong and Michel Suas's Pacific Heights cafe with the city's best kouign-amann and a Paris-trained pastry programme.
TipThe kouign-amann is best within 90 minutes of the bake; ask the counter for the timing on the next tray.
Arsicault Bakery in San Francisco is Armando Lacayo's Inner Richmond counter, named America's best croissant by Bon Appetit and still drawing a 09:30 queue.
TipPlain butter croissant, not the almond; the lamination tells the whole story.
Neighbor Bakehouse in San Francisco is Greg Mindel's Dogpatch counter, with the everything croissant and chocolate babka that started a small national.
TipEverything croissant sells out by 11:30 on weekends.
Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's Guerrero Street original, with a queue that has not let up since 2002 and a morning.
TipMorning bun and croissant come out at different times; ask the counter when the next bake is due.
La Taqueria in San Francisco is Miguel Jara's Mission counter and a James Beard America's Classic, with the modern Mission burrito and a doubled-corn taco.
OrderCarnitas burrito and tacos
TipAsk for the dorado-style burrito; the kitchen sears it on the plancha for a crisp edge.
La Taqueria in San Francisco is the Mission burrito and taco counter where a twelve-dollar lunch is the city's most-cited cheap eat, since 1973 with no.
OrderCarne asada burrito or doubled-corn tacos
TipGet the dorado-style burrito; the kitchen sears it on the plancha for a crisp edge that costs nothing extra.
Acme Bread Company in San Francisco runs a Ferry Building counter for Steve Sullivan's 1983 Berkeley bakery, with a pain au levain that defined Bay Area.
TipGet there before noon on Saturday; the levain sells out by 13:00 when the market is in full swing.
El Farolito in San Francisco is the Mission's all-night taqueria, opened in 1980 on 24th and Mission, with the super burrito that set the modern bar.
OrderSuper burrito al pastor with everything, plus a horchata.
TipOpen until 02:30 on Friday and Saturday; the 23:00-01:00 window has the fastest line of the night.
Jane the Bakery in San Francisco is Amanda Michael's Lower Pac Heights flagship, with a stone-mill grain programme and the city's best whole-grain country.
TipThe cardamom morning bun is the dark-horse order; ask if they have any left after 11:00.
Devil's Teeth Baking Company in San Francisco is the Outer Sunset bakery and breakfast counter, with a buttermilk biscuit egg sandwich and the city's best.
TipBeignets are fried to order on weekends; ask for them with the powdered sugar on the side.
Josey Baker Bread in San Francisco is the back-of-house bakery at The Mill on Divisadero, with stone-milled whole-grain loaves and the seedy Adventure Bread.
TipThe toast counter at The Mill uses these loaves; eat in once before you take a loaf home.
Sightglass Coffee in San Francisco is the Morris brothers' SoMa roastery cafe, with a mezzanine over the rooftop roaster and the Owl's Howl espresso on tap.
TipThe 7th Street flagship is the best room; the Mission and Ferry Building outposts are quicker but smaller.
Saint Frank in San Francisco is the Russian Hill cafe and roastery known for direct-trade Latin American lots and a quietly precise cortado.
TipThe pour-over flight rotates weekly; ask for the lightest lot if you want to taste origin clearly.
Andytown in San Francisco is the Outer Sunset roastery cafe known for the Snowy Plover, a fizzy espresso-over-soda drink that became a city signature.
TipThe original 43rd Avenue location is the best pour; weekends are quieter at the 18th Avenue outpost.
Linea Caffe in San Francisco is Andrew Barnett's two-counter Mission espresso bar, with a 5-second pull style that won out before the third wave settled.
TipStand-up service only at the 18th Street counter; ask for the macchiato instead of a cortado.
El Farolito in San Francisco is the Mission's all-night taqueria on 24th and Mission, with the super burrito al pastor the late shift orders and a horchata.
OrderSuper burrito and quesadilla suiza
TipOpen to 02:30 on weekends; the 23:00-01:00 window is the city's best post-bar order.
The Sentinel in San Francisco is Dennis Leary's South of Market lunch window, serving a corned beef and Russian dressing sandwich to a long FiDi office line.
OrderCorned beef sandwich
TipOrder ahead via the website by 11:00; the window is a six-deep line from 12:15-13:30.
The Sentinel in San Francisco is Dennis Leary's South of Market lunch window, serving a corned beef and Russian dressing sandwich to a long FiDi office line.
OrderCorned beef sandwich
TipOrder ahead via the website by 11:00; the window is a six-deep line from 12:15-13:30.
La Cumbre in San Francisco is the Valencia Street taqueria credited with the modern Mission burrito format, founded by the Duran family in 1972.
OrderCarne asada super burrito, the room's invention from 1972.
TipPinto over black beans here; the kitchen renders pork fat into the pintos and they sing.
Good Mong Kok in San Francisco is the Stockton Street Cantonese takeaway window the city actually eats at on weekends, with hot trays out from 07:00-18:00.
OrderChar siu bao and a tray of har gow; ten items for under fifteen dollars.
TipCash only; bring a clear list of items because the line behind you moves at speed.
Saigon Sandwich in San Francisco is the Larkin Street banh mi window: six bucks for a roll, with a fast line out the door by noon every weekday.
OrderPork banh mi number one with extra pate, and a Vietnamese iced coffee.
TipCash only; order four at once and bring them home; the bread stays good for three hours wrapped.
Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco is one of the city's third-wave originals, with the Valencia Street flagship and a sharp single-origin filter.
TipThe cortado is the regular order; the Hayes Valley kiosk has the fastest line on a weekend.
The Mill in San Francisco is the Josey Baker Bread and Four Barrel Coffee partnership on Divisadero, with $4 thick-slice toast and an open bread bakery.
TipToast is the order regardless of what else is on the board; the rye-buckwheat is the move.
The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco is the Hyde Street corner where Jack Koeppler perfected the American Irish coffee in 1952, pouring 2,000 of them a day.
TipSit at the long bar to watch the line of pre-warmed glasses come down; the back tables miss the show.
Good Mong Kok in San Francisco is the Stockton Street Cantonese takeaway window with a ten-item haul for under fifteen dollars on a Saturday morning queue.
OrderChar siu bao and shrimp dumplings
TipCash only; bring a clear list of items because the line behind you moves at speed.
Saigon Sandwich in San Francisco is the Larkin Street banh mi window: six bucks for a hot baguette and a long lunch line that turns over fast every weekday.
OrderPork banh mi
TipCash only; order four at once and bring them home; the bread stays good for three hours wrapped.
Marufuku Ramen in San Francisco is the Japantown Hakata-style tonkotsu counter, with a 36-hour pork bone broth and a long queue that turns over fast.
OrderHakata tonkotsu ramen
TipGet the digital waitlist before you head over; it cuts forty minutes off the wait.
Shalimar in San Francisco is the Tenderloin's cash-and-card Pakistani counter, with a tandoor at the door turning out solid chicken tikka under fifteen.
OrderChicken tikka from the tandoor, with garlic naan and dal.
TipEat at the back of the room; the front benches give you a view of the tandoor cook at speed.
Taqueria Cancun in San Francisco is the Mission taqueria on 16th and Mission, the baseline burrito mojado the city falls back on, open late every night.
OrderThe burrito mojado, smothered in three sauces (guacamole, sour cream, salsa roja) and a side of horchata.
TipMission and 16th is the busiest of the three locations; the 24th Street branch at 3211 Mission has a shorter line at lunch.
Caffe Trieste in San Francisco is the North Beach Italian cafe that has poured cappuccino at Vallejo and Grant since 1956, with Saturday opera on the back.
TipSaturday at 13:00 for the opera and accordion set; arrive at 12:30 for a seat in the back room.
Off the Grid Friday Night at Fort Mason in San Francisco is the city's largest food-truck gathering, with 30-plus operators and a bay-view picnic lawn.
OrderRotating food trucks (Friday night market)
TipArrive at 17:00 sharp for the shortest lines; bring cash for the trucks that still take cards slowly.
El Toro Taqueria in San Francisco is the Valencia and 17th corner counter, a 1995-opened Mission taqueria with a strong al pastor and a quick burrito line.
OrderMission taqueria counter
TipThe taco al pastor with onion and coriander is the simplest, fastest order under five dollars.
Shalimar in San Francisco is the Tenderloin Pakistani counter where a tandoor-fired chicken tikka, naan and dal lands under thirteen dollars at lunch service.
OrderChicken tikka with naan and dal
TipEat at the back tables; the front counter has the tandoor view but no chairs.
Souvla in San Francisco is the Hayes Valley Greek spit-roast sandwich counter, with a lamb sandwich, a frozen Greek yogurt and a take-away built for a fast.
OrderLamb sandwich
TipOrder ahead via the app and skip the 12:30 line; the frozen yogurt is the closer.
El Toro Taqueria in San Francisco is the Mission Valencia and 17th corner counter, with a four-dollar al pastor taco and a quick burrito line at lunch.
OrderAl pastor taco
TipTaco al pastor with onion and coriander is the simplest, fastest order under five dollars.
Taqueria San Jose in San Francisco is a Mission taqueria serving Jalisco-style cabeza, lengua and al pastor on doubled corn tortillas since 1980.
OrderA trio of cabeza, lengua and al pastor on doubled corn tortillas, with a horchata.
TipHalf a block from the 24th Street BART; the new 2839 Mission space sits across from the original storefront.
Boudin Bakery in San Francisco is Isidore Boudin's 1849 Gold Rush bakery at Fisherman's Wharf, still running a starter through six generations of bakers.
TipThe bakery's behind-glass museum at the Wharf is free; the clam chowder bowl is the canonical order.
Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco is Francis Ford Coppola's flatiron corner cafe in the Sentinel Building, with a small Italian kitchen and house wine on tap.
TipThe sidewalk tables on Kearny are the seat to want; the cappuccino is the right midday order.
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