Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but you should arrive with an appetite.
In San Francisco, dining out is a civic duty. There are more than 4,000 restaurants and bars within the city’s seven-mile by seven-mile borders, including Michelin-star darlings, dim sum joints, taco trucks, sourdough bread bakeries, and the historic Ferry Building, with 50 restaurants, bars, cafes, and a thrice-weekly farmers’ market showcasing Bay Area produce and food.
See my Ferry Building Guide here
From a fish stew created by Italian immigrants to the recently launched Martini Trail that celebrates the hometown cocktail, these are the dishes and drinks you have to sample on your next visit to San Francisco.
1. Cioppino
Born on the docks of North Beach in the late 1800s, cioppino ‘happened’ when Italian fishermen brought home the day’s catch, tossed everything into a pot, added tomatoes and wine, and called it cioppino, supposedly from a Ligurian (northern Italian) word, ciuppin, a fish stew traditionally made by fishermen using the day’s leftovers. When Italian immigrants from Genoa settled in San Francisco in the 1800s, they adapted their cuisine to the Bay Area’s seafood bounty, creating San Francisco’s signature dish.
Where to Get It?
Everyone has a favorite, but you can’t go wrong at Sotto Mare in North Beach, Anchor Oyster Bar, and Tadich Grill, the oldest continuously run restaurant in California.
2. Mission Burritos
For a burrito as big as your forearm, head to the Mission District, San Francisco’s oldest neighborhood.
Created in the 1960s–70s, the Mission Burrito is a steamed flour tortilla stuffed with rice, beans, salsa, and meat like grilled carnitas, chicken, carne asada. Make it ‘super’ for a little more, and you’ll get guacamole, cheese, and sour cream added before it’s all wrapped tightly in foil for maximum portability.
Where to Get It?
Ask five different people for the best place for burritos, and you’ll probably get five different answers. El Faro claims to have created the first “super burrito” in 1961, while Taqueria La Cumbre introduced its own version in 1969.
Throughout the neighborhood, there are plenty of burrito dens, and honestly, I have yet to find one I didn’t appreciate for its girth and goodness.
A guided food tour with a local expert could help you choose.
3. Irish Coffee
The Buena Vista Café claims to have introduced the Irish Coffee to America in 1952 after reverse-engineering the original drink from Ireland. Legend says the bartender tested 30+ versions.
A Buena Vista Irish coffee contains four main ingredients: hot coffee, Irish whiskey, two sugar cubes, and a layer of lightly whipped heavy cream. Dee-lightful!
Where to Get It?
The Buena Vista Café, aka the BV, is still serving the hot, strong, and boozy near Fisherman’s Wharf. Rumor has it they make close to 2,000 a day.
4. Dungeness Crab
Sweet, buttery Dungeness crab has been a winter staple since Gold Rush days, and is my go-to for New Year’s Eve. Locals mark the season’s opening like a holiday, and restaurants and tables around the city serve it hot, cold, cracked, whole, and in various dips, salads (Crab Louis), dumplings, and more. Grab a bib, plastic gloves, crab crackers, lemons, and long picks, then go for it.
Where to Get It?
Swan Oyster Depot on Polk Street is an old-school, cash-only, line-out-the-door place and worth the wait. I personally like Scoma’s on Pier 39.
Yes, it’s touristy, but it’s been family-run for 60+ years, and the pier-to-table food is typically very good, including the crab cocktail, cracked crab, Crab Louis Salad, and other crab-a-licous dishes.
5. Sourdough Bread
San Francisco’s foggy climate gives local sourdough its signature flavor. Bakeries kept their starters alive through earthquakes, fires, and the Gold Rush. It’s believed miners relied on wild yeast (rather than commercial yeast) in their starters to make bread in their remote camps. In fact, the term “sourdough” became a nickname for the miners themselves.
Where to Get It?
Tartine Bakery is synonymous with artisan bread in San Francisco and has a cult-like following, with people lining up like they’re giving away free Taylor Swift concert tickets at the counter.
Boudin is the “original” San Francisco sourdough, and a historic landmark on Fisherman’s Wharf. Drop by and watch bakers hand-craft batches of sourdough loaves through their 30-foot observation window, then order a sourdough bread bowl full of piping-hot clam chowder
6. Egg Custard Tarts
Flaky, custardy, and buttery, these egg custard pastries, known as dan-tat, arrived with Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s and never left. We are so thankful for that. They are not super sweet and are especially delicious straight from the oven. Grab one or a dozen.
Where to Get It?
The Golden Gate Bakery in San Francisco’s Chinatown is considered the best place to grab an egg custard tart, but the problem is…you never know when the business is open, which I guess is part of its charm. So, if you’re cruising down Grant Avenue (address: 1029) and you see a line-up, jump in—-it’s your lucky day!
Even if Golden Gate Bakery is closed, other places make them too, and the entire neighborhood is worth eating around on a food tour.
7. The Martini
While the martini’s true birthplace is debated, the Bay Area is deeply tied to the Occidental Hotel (now the Galleria Park Hotel) in the 1860s, where a sweeter precursor to the modern martini, called the Martinez, was supposedly created.
The cocktail evolved over time, leading to the use of London Dry gin and dry vermouth, creating the drier version popular today. San Francisco has launched a Martini Trail featuring bars honoring the hometown tipple.
Where to Get It?
For a classic cocktail in a classic supper-club-like setting, Bix is one of my favorites. In North Beach since 1919, Tosca is another old-school bar that looks like a movie set. Their gin martini is sometimes made with fresh berries and a splash of chartreuse, for a little twist on the tradition.
8. Oysters
Oysters were big in SF long before they became the hipster appetizer of choice — the Gold Rush crowd slurped them by the thousands.
Where to Get It?
Hog Island Oyster Co in the Ferry Building, the city’s premier food hall with 50 restaurants, cafes, and shops.
For something upscale or a special occasion, book a table at Waterbar, located in a prime location on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, with sweeping Bay Bridge views. They feature a different oyster every day between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., and 5¢ from every oyster sold is donated to a local charity. Aww, shucks, I love that!
Dining is just one of the many amazing things to do in San Francisco
