12 mid-range rooms in San Francisco, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good rooms in San Francisco — no surprise on the bill, real cooking. All San Francisco food.
Tartine Manufactory ★ 4.6
the-mission · 595 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110
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.
Tip: Skip the queue at the Guerrero Street original; the Manufactory has the same bakes plus a sit-down kitchen.
Dragon Beaux ★ 4.5
richmond · 5700 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
Dragon Beaux in San Francisco is a 2015 Outer Richmond room from the Koi Palace family, with modern dim sum at lunch and Cantonese hot pot at dinner.
Tip: Dim sum is lunch-only; book ahead for weekend brunch or arrive before 11:30 for a walk-in seat.
Cotogna ★ 4.5
embarcadero · 490 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
Cotogna in San Francisco is Michael Tusk's casual Italian next to three-star Quince, with a wood oven turning out pizza and a Piedmontese pasta board.
Tip: Walk in at 17:30 for the bar seats; the dining room books two weeks ahead.
Outerlands ★ 4.5
outer-sunset · 4001 Judah Street, San Francisco, CA 94122
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.
Tip: Walk-in only for breakfast and lunch; the dinner room takes reservations for parties of 4 or more.
Brenda's French Soul Food ★ 4.5
lower-pac-heights · 652 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco is Brenda Buenviaje's Creole counter on Polk Street, with crawfish beignets and a strong brunch shrimp and grits.
Tip: No reservations; arrive at 09:00 sharp or join the digital waitlist that opens at 08:30.
Tony's Pizza Napoletana ★ 4.4
north-beach · 1570 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco is Tony Gemignani's North Beach room, with 13 ovens running 7 pizza styles and a long list of World Pizza Cup wins.
Tip: The Margherita STG is capped at 73 per day; arrive at 17:00 to lock one in or expect a sell-out by 19:30.
Z & Y Restaurant ★ 4.4
chinatown · 655 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
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.
Tip: Ask for the dan dan noodles 'house style' to get the version the kitchen makes for itself; off the menu.
Burma Superstar ★ 4.3
richmond · 309 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118
Burma Superstar in San Francisco is the Clement Street Burmese room that taught the city to eat lahpet thoke; the tea leaf salad is the order.
Tip: No reservations; put your name in then walk down Clement to B Star for tea while you wait.
Souvla ★ 4.3
hayes-valley · 517 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
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.
Tip: The 12:30 lunch line is faster than 13:00; order ahead via the app to skip it altogether.
Yuet Lee Seafood ★ 4.2
chinatown · 1300 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
Yuet Lee in San Francisco is the Chinatown all-night Cantonese counter at Stockton and Broadway, open to 03:00, with salt-and-pepper squid the late shift orders.
Tip: Cash only after midnight; the kitchen window seats fill the fastest at 23:30.
Z & Y Bistro ★ 4.2
chinatown · 606 Jackson Street, San Francisco CA 94133
Z & Y Bistro in San Francisco is the contemporary sister to Chinatown's Z & Y on the same Jackson Street block, with yakitori, Lanzhou ramen and Sichuan classics.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays; the bistro books up earlier than the main Z & Y on weekends.
Tacolicious ★ 4.1
marina-cow-hollow · 2250 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA 94123
Tacolicious in San Francisco is the Mexico City-inspired taqueria on Chestnut Street in the Marina, with a Mission-style sister on Valencia.
Tip: The bar pours a sharp tommy's margarita; sit there for walk-in tacos before the dining room fills.