Top 25 restaurants in San Francisco

Creating a list of top restaurants in a city like San Francisco is a controversial effort.

Everybody has their favorites, and there are said to be more than 4,000 restaurants to choose from. In fact, according to Trulia, San Francisco has more bars and restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States.

To say there’s a restaurant on every block is a complete understatement. And new places are opening up every day.

Dining out here is the thing to do. It’s a topic of conversation, and it’s a big part of life.

In fact, you’ll almost always find Dave and me out to dinner Saturday night (well, you would, before we had a baby and moved to the East Bay). Trying new restaurants is one of our favorite activities.

Top 25 restaurants in San Francisco

That being said, we’ve dined at more than 200 restaurants in the Bay Area. But I’m not judging all of those experiences here today. In order to keep it manageable, I’ve created a list of restaurants located strictly in San Francisco city proper.

My criteria for selecting restaurants:

  • I’ve been to the restaurant with Dave for a sit-down dinner. Fast-casual spots are not included, nor are brunch or lunch-only spots.
  • I enjoyed everything I ate and drank. That means one stand-out dish does not qualify a restaurant if something else we ordered was lacking.
  • I had a good experience there and would want to return.

I’ve been to plenty of “big-name” San Francisco restaurants that I didn’t love. But all of the following wowed me with great food, good settings and excellent customer service.

So let’s get to it …

Arranged in no particular order, here are my top choices for restaurants in San Francisco.

Top 25 Restaurants in San Francisco from A Lady Goes West

I got Dave’s input on this list, and he agreed with me.

Since moving to the West Coast, we’ve become major foodies, and it’s clear this is a trend we’ll keep building on!

The best restaurants in #SanFrancisco ... Click To Tweet

Questions of the day

Do you keep track of the places where you eat dinner? 

What’s your favorite San Francisco restaurant?

, , ,

13 Comments

  1. Great list! You should also try Elephant Sushi if you liked Zushi Puzzle 🙂 I love so many on your list, and am reminded to go to others (like Zare, District, Ozumo… the list goes on!)

  2. Great list (Nopa was the place my husband and I had our very first date, after meeting at Ruby Skye 😡 )! My absolute favorite place for both dinner and cocktails (the most amazing, imaginative, well-balanced concoctions I’ve ever had) is Saison. It’s a place to go if you love seafood and have reason to seriously splurge. 🙂

    EyeForElegance.com

    1. Thanks, Heather! I just took a look at her list and definitely agree with some of them. I sampled many of her suggestions during a couple walking tours of SF neighborhoods. So much good food! Thanks for sharing that link! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.