San Francisco Food
Sourdough, seafood and flavors from the city's many communities.
FOOD CULTURE
A Taste of the City
I think San Francisco has the best food scene in the country. I first spent an extended period here while traveling around the United States in 1998, and one of the things that immediately impressed me was how much interesting food I could find from around the world, often in places that were casual and surprisingly inexpensive.
That variety is still what I love most about eating in San Francisco. A Mission burrito, North Beach focaccia, dim sum in Chinatown or a bowl of Vietnamese noodles can be as memorable as a special dinner. There are excellent places to eat throughout the city, not just in one restaurant district, and you rarely have to go far to find something good.
I like browsing the Ferry Building, exploring neighborhood restaurants and bakeries, and mixing San Francisco traditions such as seafood and sourdough with Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexican and other cuisines that reflect the communities that have shaped the city. There is always something different to try, and some of my favorite discoveries have been the simplest meals.
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Boudin Bakery and restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
The Ferry Building & Farmers Market
The Ferry Building is one of my essential San Francisco food stops. I enjoy browsing the shops and food counters even when I am not planning a full meal, and the farmers market adds another reason to visit when it is running. It can feel upscale, but you can just as easily pick up something small and eat along the waterfront.
Lunette is a more recent discovery for me and a good example of why I still find San Francisco's food scene exciting. Its Cambodian food introduced me to flavors and dishes I do not often encounter elsewhere, and finding it inside the Ferry Building is exactly the kind of unexpected food experience I love about the city.
Places I Return To
I have accumulated plenty of favorites over the years. Greens at Fort Mason remains special to me for vegetarian food and its setting overlooking the bay. I like combining a meal there with a walk through Fort Mason and along Marina Green.
For something completely different, Darren's Café near Fisherman's Wharf is a casual place I associate with my years around the waterfront, particularly for Vietnamese food. Fang near SFMOMA is another restaurant I have enjoyed for Chinese food, while Yank Sing has long been one of my choices for dim sum.
For a more special meal, I have enjoyed Kokkari for Greek food and its warm dining room, Aziza on Geary Boulevard for Moroccan flavors, and Waterbar for an upscale seafood meal directly on the Embarcadero. Foreign Cinema in the Mission has always stood out to me because the setting is as memorable as the meal, with films projected in its courtyard after dark.
These are personal favorites rather than a definitive list, and restaurants change constantly. Check what is current, but use them as examples of how widely you can eat your way around San Francisco.
Look Beyond the Major Visitor Areas
Some of my best meals in San Francisco have come from simply exploring neighborhoods. Chestnut Street in the Marina, Fillmore Street, Geary Boulevard and the Mission all give you plenty of choices without requiring a destination restaurant.
Geary Boulevard is particularly worth exploring for Asian food, including dim sum and other Chinese cuisines, alongside restaurants representing many other communities. More broadly, leave room for Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Mexican, Central American and other cuisines. One of San Francisco's great strengths is that interesting food is spread throughout the city rather than concentrated in a single dining district.
Budgeting & Booking
Reserve ahead for a restaurant you particularly want to experience, especially for dinner and on weekends. For table-service restaurants, remember that tax, tip and sometimes additional service charges can add considerably to the menu price, so read the bill before calculating the tip.
You certainly do not need an expensive restaurant every night. Bakeries, taquerias, dim sum, noodle shops, cafés and takeaway counters are an important part of eating in San Francisco and often provide some of the meals I remember most. I would mix those casual discoveries with one or two special dinners rather than judge the city's food scene only by its high-end restaurants.
TRADITIONAL FOODS
Local Specialties to Try
It is almost impossible to define San Francisco through a short list of traditional foods. The city’s food has been shaped by generations of immigrants, its location on the Pacific, California agriculture and a willingness to embrace flavors and ideas from around the world.
These nine are simply a sampler. Some have strong historical connections to San Francisco, while others represent communities and food traditions that have become part of how the city eats. There are countless others I could have included, so use this list as a starting point and keep trying whatever looks interesting as you explore different neighborhoods.
San Francisco Sourdough
Sourdough is one of San Francisco ’s best-known foods. Boudin at Fisherman’s Wharf is well worth a visit and a great place to see the city’s sourdough tradition on full display. Be sure to check out the freshly baked loaves sold at the Ferry Building farmers market. Pick up a loaf while it is fresh and try it on its own at first - the crisp crust, chewy interior and distinctive tang are much more noticeable that way. But I am no purist, so I love it with butter.
San Francisco sourdough bread illustration with the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in the background.
Cioppino
This tomato-based seafood stew is closely associated with San Francisco’s Italian fishing community. It developed in the late 19th century among immigrant fishermen, particularly those from the Ligurian coast of Italy, who cooked the day’s catch together with tomatoes, wine and other simple ingredients. The mix varies, but crab, shellfish and fish are central to the dish. It is a great choice for a proper waterfront meal, served with plenty of bread for soaking up the broth—and enough time to work your way through the shells.
Cioppino seafood stew with crab, mussels and clams, illustrated against San Francisco’s waterfront.
Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl
Clam chowder is an East Coast tradition rather than a San Francisco invention. At Fisherman’s Wharf, you will usually find creamy New England-style clam chowder, but served inside a hollowed-out loaf of San Francisco sourdough. That combination has become a local visitor tradition—and, admittedly, a fairly touristy one. Still, hot chowder with tangy sourdough by the waterfront is worth trying at least once. The bread bowl makes it a surprisingly substantial meal, especially if you eat the bowl as you go.
San Francisco clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
Dungeness Crab
Dungeness crab has deep roots in San Francisco’s fishing industry and remains one of the foods I most associate with the city and its working waterfront. Local crab season generally begins in late fall or winter, although opening dates vary from year to year depending on fishing regulations and marine conditions. Having worked near San Francisco’s crab fishing companies for many years, this is also a part of the city’s food culture I’ve seen up close. I enjoy a good crab feast occasionally, but I’m quite happy to skip the work of cracking the shells myself: give me crab that has already been cracked, or, even better, a really good crab cake packed with plenty of Dungeness meat.
Dungeness crab platter illustrated against San Francisco’s historic fishing waterfront.
Mission Burritos
Burritos were not invented in San Francisco, but the oversized Mission-style burrito is a local creation that emerged in the Mission District in the 1960s. Several longtime taquerias have competing claims to its origin, but the style became unmistakably San Franciscan: a large flour tortilla generously filled with meat, rice, beans and salsa, with “super” versions adding cheese, sour cream and guacamole, all tightly rolled in foil. They are filling, relatively inexpensive and perfect for a casual meal while exploring the neighborhood. The Mission’s food scene extends well beyond burritos, with Mexican, Central American and South American restaurants throughout the district.
Mission-style burritos filled with rice, beans, meat and other fillings, illustrated in San Francisco’s Mission District.
North Beach Focaccia
Focaccia is the bakery treat I most associate with North Beach, and Liguria Bakery, across from Washington Square, is the classic place to get it. They make several varieties, but sometimes the simplest are the most satisfying. I remember a colleague stopping there before work and arriving at the office with fresh focaccia topped with a simple tomato sauce. It was still one of the best morning treats. The cinnamon-and-sugar version was another favorite. Go early, choose a couple of varieties to share, and enjoy them while they are fresh; popular flavors can sell out as the day goes on.
Focaccia bread with an illustrated North Beach streetscape and Saints Peter and Paul Church in the background.
Fortune Cookies, Dim Sum & Chinese Bakery Treats
Fortune cookies have a surprisingly strong San Francisco connection. Their exact origins are debated, with roots in Japanese-American baking traditions, but San Francisco’s Chinatown helped turn them into the familiar Chinese-American restaurant tradition they are today. You can still watch them being made at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. From there, explore Chinatown’s bakeries and dim sum counters for steamed and baked pork buns, dumplings, egg tarts, sesame balls and other sweet and savory treats. I like picking up several different things and turning a walk through Chinatown into an informal tasting tour.
Dim sum and Chinese bakery snacks illustrated against a San Francisco Chinatown streetscape.
Japanese Noodles & Japantown Dining
San Francisco’s Japantown is worth including not because ramen, udon or gyoza are uniquely San Franciscan, but because Japanese food has been part of the city’s cultural landscape for well over a century. The neighborhood developed around a Japanese immigrant community in the early 1900s and survived the enormous disruption caused by the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Today, it is one of only three remaining recognized Japantowns in the United States. Come for ramen, udon, sushi, gyoza and Japanese sweets, but allow time to explore the markets, bakeries and shops around Japan Center as well. It is as much a neighborhood experience as a meal.
Japanese noodle bowl and gyoza illustrated with the Peace Pagoda in San Francisco’s Japantown.
Napa & Sonoma Wine
Wine is an important part of the wider San Francisco Bay Area food culture, with Napa and Sonoma wine country beginning just north of the city. Commercial winemaking took hold in both regions during the 19th century, shaped by European immigrants who recognized the potential of Northern California’s climate and soils. Napa later became internationally famous for Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly after California wines gained worldwide attention at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Sonoma is more varied, with particularly strong Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from its cooler areas, alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and other varieties. San Francisco restaurants and wine bars are excellent places to try wines from both regions and discover just how diverse Northern California wine can be.
Napa and Sonoma wine with grapes, vineyard rows and Northern California wine country in the background.