A lot of people are down on San Francisco these days. I know plenty of people in the Bay Area who don’t go into the city at all. It’s expensive, the homeless and drug situation is pretty bad, it’s colder than it should be for California and traffic is awful. It’s not in my top five US cities but I’ve still got love for it. Working in tech this is my 9th or 10th visit now and I think it’s one of the best cities in the world for exploring by foot. The hills give you awesome viewpoints of the bay all round the city. I also love the distinct architecture of the buildings. It makes you feel like you’re walking round a movie set. You can stumble across some incredibly beautiful neighbourhoods. There’s also a lot of great places to eat in the city. I still have a massive hit-list. I also love when it comes to restaurants there are a lot of institutions that have last over 50-100 years. They also have the oldest Chinatown in the US. And when it comes to quality dive bars the city is full of them too.
📝 Drinking in Mission District; Latin America Club for a salty margarita (although the price has gone up a lot), Molotov’s, Doc’s Clock, Clooney’s Pub, Danny Coyles, The 500 Club.
📝 Drinking in Chinatown/Telegraph Hill/Financial District; Li Po Cocktail Lounge (Became famous after being visited by Anthony Bourdain for a Mai tai), Mr Bing’s, The Saloon, Maggie McGarry’s.
📝 Drinking in Richmond; Trad’r Sam’s, Ireland’s 32, O’Keeffe’s Bar.
📝 Others; The Buena Vista. The Silver Spur, Little Shamrock.
📝 If it’s your first time visiting I highly recommend booking Alcatraz tickets ahead of time.
📝 For sport you have three options depending what time of the year you visit; Giant’s for baseball, Golden State Warriors for basketball, and 49ers way down in Santa Clara for NFL.
1. Swan Oyster Depot
Swan Oyster Depot (est 1912) is one place I always try and make the trip back to when I’m San Francisco, and maybe even in my top ten restaurants in the world. It’s not only spoken about as the best seafood spot in San Francisco, but many consider it one of the best in the USA. The restaurant was started by four Danish brothers over 110 years ago who used it as a base to deliver to fresh seafood by horse-drawn carriage across the city. It’s so old school they don’t even have a website, it’s cash only, and the receipts are hand-written. Go early to avoid the queues.
2. House of Prime Rib
House of Prime Rib (est 1949) isn’t just one of my favourite restaurants in SF, but the whole of America. It stretches across five rooms and seats 148 people. They serves more than 500 people a night. The food is traditional English; a slice of prime rib off the cart (like you’d find at Simpsons at The Savoy in London), with Yorkshire pudding, creamed spinach and gravy. The cocktails come with their own shakers so you can pour more when you’re finished, the salad is spun tableside, and the baked potatoes are always at least 50 percent sour cream. Old-school in all the right ways. It doesn’t get much better than this.
3. The Buena Vista
📍Fisherman’s Wharf. World famous for their Irish coffees but they also serve some great food too. Open (and busy) from 09:00am, or 08:00am on Saturdays. They’re the worlds biggest buyer of Bushmills whiskey. The way the barmen pour the Irish coffees is amazing. This is easily one of my favourite bars in the world. I’ve lost hours of my life here.
4. Tadich Grill
📍Financial District. Tadich Grill (est 1849) is California’s oldest restaurant and even the third oldest in the whole of the USA (the oldest being Union Oyster House in Boston and Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans). On the right is a long wooden bar stretching all the way to the kitchen, and on the left are private booths for group dining. In terms of drinks; Manhattan, gimlet, or martini is the way to go. The menu is printed daily based on what is fresh that day. I went for cioppino and bourbon bread pudding. The food was great and I loved the atmosphere but prices are punchy.
5. Balboa Cafe
📍Marina District. Balboa Cafe (est 1913) in the beautiful neighbourhood of Cow Hollow (a few blocks up from the Mrs Doubtfire house) is one of my favourite burger places in San Francisco. Like a few old-school burger spots in the city, they use San Franciscan sourdough instead of a bun. If you order medium-rare, the burger comes super pink like this. They also serve a 10/10 nitro espresso martini – the combo you never knew you needed. A couple of those and you’re flying.
6. Scoma’s
📍Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf is about as touristy as it gets in San Francisco but this spot is an absolute gem. We went for the cioppino (a San Franciscan classic) as well as oysters with spinach, bechemel, garlic & cheese (so good), and fried calamari. They serve an incredible, notoriously strong, Manhattan too.
7. Sotto Mare
📍Telegraph Hill. Nautical themed restaurants will forever have a place in my heart. Cioppino (San Francisco fish stew) featuring crab, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, clams & penne pasta at@sotto.mare.sf. Another dish that was clearly for two people that I tried to eat for one.
8. Deli Board
📍SoMa. Deli Board in San Francisco’s Soma neighbourhood is one of the hottest sandwich spots in town. I went for the Mick which was loaded with wafer thin layers of pink roast beef, american cheese, lettuce, pickles, diced onion, mick sauce, in a sesame seeded french roll. Incredible scenes. All of the sandwiches looked 10/10 here.
9. Good Mong Kok Bakery
📍Chinatown. I’ve been coming to this Chinatown institution for takeout dim sum since I stumbled across a queue coming out the door back in 2012. As I always say – If you see a queue, get in it. The incredibly plump har gau are some of the best I’ve had anywhere. They also do amazing pork buns too. Open 07:00-18:00.
10. Molinari Delicatessen
📍Telegraph Hill. Molinari Delicatessen (est 1896) is one of the oldest Italian delis in the USA. They make their own brand of salami which is sold nationwide as well as some incredible sandwiches. I went for the Molinari special and added some spicy chilli spread and artichokes. They should have one of these in every neighbourhood.
11. Red’s Java House
📍 South Beach. Since 1955. A great spot to come for a burger and beer before heading over to the ballpark for a Giants game. The burger comes in a soft toasted roll instead of a sourdough roll and it works.
12. Sam’s
📍Chinatown. Est 1966. Famous for once being called “top three in the world” by Anthony Bourdain (although he had quite a few drinks in him…). I don’t know about it being in my top three but after having several drinks in me too it sure hit the spot.
13. Lucca Deli
📍Marina District. A beautiful deli in a beautiful neighbourhood that serves beautiful Italian subs. I went for the Italian Combo that features salami, mortadella, ham, provolone, mayo, mustard, peppers, tomatoes, peppers.
14. PPQ Dungeness Island
📍Richmond. There are two places that consistently come up on lists when looking for the best place to eat Dungeness crab in the city: one is Soma’s Restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf, and the other is PPQ. Here they do a Vietnamese-style roast crab, drenched in butter and garlic, and served with a big bowl of garlic noodles. Hell of a combo. The crab is massive. Definitely too much for one person but it had to be done.
15. Golden Boy Pizza
📍 Telegraph Hill. A San Francisco institution for takeout square slices since 1978. Crispy oily bases.
16. B. Patisserie
📍 Lower Pacific Heights. A popular bakery in Lower Pacific Heights. Famous for their ridiculously good kouign-amann here, however the chocolate banana almond croissant (basically half croissant/half banana bread) is pretty standout too. Expect queues.
17. State Bird Provisions
📍Western Addition. The only Michelin Star restaurant on this list. Ask anybody from San Francisco what their favourite restaurants are and it’s likely this will come. It’s great spot if you’re after a fancy dinner. Small plates with American, Chinese & Japanese influence. Book way ahead of time.
18. Dragon Beaux
📍Richmond. Sister restaurant of Koi Palace in Daly City. Great dim sum. Always busy.
19. That’s It
📍Mission. Giant tortas in San Francisco’s Mission district.
20. Orphan Andy’s Restaurant
I love an American diner because they’re basically the American version of a greasy spoon. Orphan Andy’s has been an institution in The Castro district since 1977. I went for the ‘Big 2’ which included two hotcakes (so good), two eggs, two sausages, two bacon and a coffee. I’m a big fan of the over the top Christmas decorations.
21. El Castillito
📍Mission. Some of the best burritos in San Francisco.
22. Panchitas Papuseria
📍Mission. A great spot in Mission for papusas.
23. True Laurel
📍Mission. A cocktail bar in San Francisco’s Mission District that also serves some great food. Try the dry-aged beef patty with cheese, caramelized onions, and pickles, inside two slices of bread toasted in beef fat.
24. Bob’s Donuts
📍Polk Gulch. Find some of San Francisco’s best donuts a few doors down from Swan Oyster Depot. It’s very convenient as they don’t serve dessert there.
James Dimitri 