25 Classic Restaurants In SF – San Francisco – The Infatuation

A basic restaurant is sort of a basic automobile. They’re acquainted to plenty of individuals, usually endearingly imperfect, and also you’ll greater than seemingly see Jerry Seinfeld sitting in one in all them. We don’t consider a basic as one thing that solely equates to age although. Like, let’s be actual, that previous stain in your kitchen wall isn’t “a basic stain.” It’s the scene of a so-so ragu you cooked ten years in the past. One thing as particular as a basic restaurant wants greater than longevity and greater than excellent meals. It must make you’re feeling one thing.

You see, a basic restaurant doesn’t must be faultless. It could possibly have nice dumplings however unhealthy lighting, or soggy caesars and an incredible environment. However so long as it provides everybody that feeling—that contentment that solely a real establishment can supply—nicely, then that’s what makes it a stone-cold basic. These are 25 basic eating places in San Francisco.

THE SPOTS

This Nob Hill institution appears to be like just like the offspring of a Renaissance truthful and an English pub. A choreographed workers in crisp white button-downs spins home salads dramatically from above, carves prime rib out of roving stainless-steel carts, and ensures your martini glass stays full. All it’s a must to do is settle again right into a soft purple sales space and benefit from the spectacle. Is consuming your body weight in baked potatoes and 21-day aged beef subsequent to a roaring hearth one thing you should do on the common? In all probability not. However each San Franciscan ought to be obligated to expertise the managed chaos at this 70+ year-old establishment no less than as soon as.

 Thanh Lengthy is likely one of the solely eating places we all know of that guards its recipes with the identical degree of secrecy reserved for the Krabby Patty. The garlic noodles and roast crab on the Vietnamese seafood spot within the Sundown are nonetheless made in a secret kitchen enclosed inside the primary kitchen—and the dedication to confidentiality pays off. The butter-drenched noodles and peppery complete crabs (additionally drenched in butter) nonetheless draw crowds nightly from everywhere in the Bay. Households celebrating first or seventy fifth birthdays lick butter off their fingers in matching plastic bibs, and teams of associates have a good time graduations and work promotions with a number of rounds of lychee martinis. A visit to Thanh Lengthy ought to no less than be a yearly custom—and in the event you’ve by no means been, or are lengthy overdue for a go to, take this as an indication to get there now. 

Just like the awning out entrance states, Sam Wo has been cooking for over 100 years, and is likely one of the oldest eating places in SF’s Chinatown. The 2-story Cantonese restaurant—full with a dumbwaiter—was famously house to “San Francisco’s Worst Waiter” earlier than closing and transferring to a brand new location on Clay Avenue again in 2015. The service as of late is decidedly extra well mannered (and so they’re now not open till 3am), however not a lot else has modified. BBQ pork noodle rolls and youtiao are mainstays on virtually each desk, and also you’re simply as prone to see multi-generational households doling out large parts of fried rice as you’ll a gaggle of 20-somethings nursing hangovers over bowls of fish jook and wonton noodle soup. 

A meal at The Outdated Clam Home begins with a shot of complimentary sizzling clam juice. It’ll prime you for all of the sautéed shellfish, seafood pastas, creamy chowders, and different completely stable fish-forward specials you’ll devour at this Bayview seafood basic. The salty drink is a becoming begin to dinner on the metropolis’s oldest working restaurant in the identical location (established in 1861), which closely leans into the nautical theme. Outsized fish mounts, hanging fishing nets, and ocean-inspired images and knickknacks would possibly make you’re feeling such as you’re on a grand ship prepared for an equally grand voyage. If not, the fish-themed silverware and vodka-infused clam shooters positive will. 

At Bix, there’s stay jazz each night time, cocktail glasses are chilled in mounds of shaved ice, and buttoned-up waiters would possibly sneak you an order of succotash on the home. It looks like a Thirties nightclub trapped in time (although it did open within the ’80s). Consuming a martini is virtually a requirement at this old-school American spot within the Monetary District. And regardless that the meals, from soggy caesars to mildly complicated open-faced burgers, can solely very loosely be described nearly as good, we don’t care. What Bix lacks in mind-blowing caesars, it makes up for 100 instances over in character.

Brazen Head might be the one place on the town the place you possibly can roll in at 11pm, and gobble up completely charred NY pepper steak, some tacky french onion soup, and marinara-drenched meatballs which can be the consolation equal of Lenny Kravitz’s blanket-scarf. The Cow Hole steakhouse has no signage out entrance and all the pieces we would like in a late-night spot that appears like an 1800s Scottish pub: work of bearded previous males, velvet curtains, a dim purple glow, sports activities bobbleheads for kitsch, and powerful cocktails that pair nicely with tales that start with, “Again within the day…” No marvel Brazen Head’s been firmly rooted right here since 1980. 

Working for over three a long time at sixteenth and Valencia, Panchita’s is the place to go for among the metropolis’s finest pupusas. Each is filled with scrumptious meats and greens, and loads of cheese that oozes out to type crispy edges across the griddled masa. At any time when we head to this counter-service Mission spot for fast meals, hearty lunches, or evenings once we need to stave off a hangover, we inevitably find yourself with a few revueltas—a basic mixture of chicharron, bean, and cheese—after which ensure that so as to add an additional serving of Panchita’s recent curtido on high earlier than heading out.

Sure, Scoma’s on Fisherman’s Wharf is a tried-and-true seafood basic, however Sotto Mare is divier, extra rambunctious, and finally feels extra like a celebration we need to be invited again to, many times. Tickets fly throughout the restaurant on a clothesline whereas workers grill scallops and plate humongous parts of linguine with clams from behind the bar. And life-sized swordfish, images of previous visitors and metropolis scenes, and different maritime-themed paraphernalia cowl each sq. inch of the wall, in case you forgot this place is all about seafood. Ordering the cioppino (and carrying the plastic bib that comes with it) is non-negotiable right here—it’s loaded with all the pieces that swims, from crab legs and shrimp to mussels and squid, and so large you might virtually fall in.

La Taqueria is to Mission-style burritos what “Jingle Bell Rock” is to songs that get caught in our head within the month of December: not essentially our high choose, however an iconic standby nonetheless. Whether or not you’ve lived right here all of your life or visited as soon as for precisely 72 hours, odds are excessive that you simply’ve spent a late Friday night time in line on Mission Avenue in pursuit of a superb riceless burrito. La Taq has been doing its factor because the Nineteen Seventies, and is extra often related to town than Karl the Fog. Simply load up your tremendous burrito with carnitas or their tender carne asada, and all the time ask for it dorado (crisped as much as an ideal golden-brown on the plancha). 

Ask anybody on the town the place to go for dry-fried wings, and the reply will all the time be San Tung. These stunners coated in shiny garlic, ginger, and purple pepper sauce with a caramel-like consistency have single-handedly remodeled this informal Chinese language restaurant right into a beloved Sundown establishment. Ready hours in line for these wings, some crispy-bottomed potstickers, and satisfyingly thick black bean sauce noodles—is just about a citywide pastime (San Tung doesn’t take reservations). So simply drop your identify on the small whiteboard up entrance and construct up anticipation exterior on the sidewalk with everybody else. 

You can randomly level at a map of SF and land inside scootering distance of a Burma Celebrity, one in all their many offshoots, or any of the opposite implausible Burmese locations throughout city. However the definitive Beyoncé of all of them is Mandalay, an off-the-cuff Richmond spot that now we have to thank for being the primary Burmese restaurant to open in SF again in 1984. It’s unimaginable to be in a foul temper right here, due to the intense yellow partitions and colourful umbrellas hanging overhead. That, and the truth that their dishes—from nutty tea leaf salads and coconut rooster noodle soup to pumpkin pork stew—explode with funky, savory, and candy taste. Include a gaggle, order sufficient meals to cowl each sq. inch of your desk, and wash all of it down with beer, sake, and $10 glasses of home wine.  

Tadich Grill is the longest repeatedly working restaurant in California (they opened again in 1849), which is fairly rattling cool. However historical past alone isn’t the one motive to return right here. You’re additionally on the Monetary District spot for meaty crab muffins value e-scootering throughout city for, free hunks of sourdough, and an old-school setting full with servers in white jackets and a bar so lengthy you possibly can barely see the top. Wanting round, you’ll see regulars who are available in weekly for a cioppino and martini on the bar, vested finance bros taking shoppers out for an influence lunch, and seafood-hungry households visiting town for the primary time. Put on your plastic bib with delight and experience the truth that the martini glasses are most likely older than your house constructing. 

Like by no means bothering to cross the bay to Alcatraz, standing in line for Golden Boy is a neighborhood ceremony of passage. As is ordering one in all their fluffy Sicilian focaccia squares with a crispy backside. This North Seashore establishment with its iconic purple neon finger signal makes among the thickest and most cost-effective slices on the town, beginning at $3.50. There are additionally solely six sorts on the menu, however we zero in on the pepperoni or the meaty combo with sausage. Inside, punk music blares, the partitions are coated with stickers, and loads of beers move from the faucet. However for now, hop within the line and maintain it transferring. Golden Boy continues to be takeout-only.

Virtually 50 years after they first opened, Tú Lan continues to be serving the identical final meal-worthy imperial rolls, big bowls of phở, and grilled meats over rice and vermicelli as they did again within the day. The Mid-Market Vietnamese spot is fairly simple—it has only a few seats behind the lengthy area, a kitchen the place you possibly can see pork scorching in direction of charred perfection on the grill, and fast service that’s environment friendly with out feeling impersonal. The very best half? Parts are big, and you will get out and in for about $10, making a meal right here probably the most cost-efficient within the metropolis. 

Very similar to sourdough, the Truffle Man, and Buster Posey’s proper arm, Zuni Cafe is a beloved SF treasure. The Civic Heart spot has been holding down the roast rooster recreation because the ‘70s, and is the place we go once we need to fake we’re retired in a Pacific Heights mansion and eat oysters on daily basis for lunch. The roast rooster (plated over a heat bread salad) ought to completely be in your desk, as ought to the textbook caesar salad and mountain of shoestring fries that appear to defy all legal guidelines of physics. Take pleasure in all of it whereas sitting in opposition to the massive home windows alongside Market Avenue and feeling very refined. 

Typically, you might have one drink too many and want some no-fuss french toast and rooster fried steak smothered in gravy at 1:30am. This two-level, retro-style diner is a uncommon 24-hour spot that’ll pull you in with purple swivel chairs, shiny neon lights, and a menu of hearty breakfast classics that by no means fail to hit the spot. Orphan Andy’s has been a Castro mainstay because the Nineteen Seventies, and based mostly on the after-bar crowds, locals, and vacationers who repeatedly pack this joint—whether or not it’s the morning or the stumbly finish of the day—this place won’t ever exit of fashion. 

Again in 1979, earlier than phrases like “seitan” and “zoodles” had been a part of town’s lexicon, Greens debuted within the Marina with a completely vegetarian menu. It’s hands-down probably the most stunning locations to eat in SF—there are large home windows that look out onto the water, so that you would possibly see boats bobbing by or sea lions enjoying round within the bay when you eat, plus colossal wooden sculptures within the eating room. Come right here for leisurely meals consisting of spring rolls, pizza on cornmeal crust, and heirloom pepper panzanella. The meals gained’t blow your thoughts, however it doesn’t must. A meal at Greens will all the time be an expertise to attempt no less than as soon as. 

Convey up R&G Lounge round your boss, uncle’s cousin, or yoga trainer, and also you’re certain to listen to no less than one nostalgic story about that point they took down a whole salt and pepper crab in a single sitting, or had a commencement celebration on the highest flooring with one too many lychee martinis. The multi-story Cantonese restaurant has been going robust since 1985, so it’s exhausting to seek out an individual within the metropolis who doesn’t have fond reminiscences of sitting at one of many banquet tables and passing round plates of shrimp with scrambled eggs and crispy salt and pepper tofu. And in the event you do, take them to this Chinatown establishment instantly. Glorious seafood awaits. 

This old-school Italian restaurant is caught in 1984 (the yr it opened), in the absolute best approach. The 2-story Russian Hill spot has striped curtains, framed newspaper clippings and superstar images on the wall, and twinkle lights strung all through the place. The truth that you possibly can come right here along with your prolonged household, whether or not you are celebrating a birthday or your cousin’s soccer championship win, makes this place really feel like one large (and energetic) reunion. Coming right here with lots of people additionally means you will get into each large bowl of pasta that requires no rationalization, like spaghetti and meatballs, purple sauce-topped gnocchi, and creamy rooster fusilli.

Yank Sing is town’s most well-known dim sum spot—it’s been round since 1958 and is thought to attract big crowds, particularly on the bigger Spear Avenue location contained in the Rincon Heart. And whereas they’re arguably not the most effective dim sum spot within the metropolis, Yank Sing continues to be a basic we love, and coming right here no less than as soon as is a quintessential eating expertise. As soon as inside, steel push carts with bamboo steamers will zoom previous you, and also you’ll have your choose of all the pieces from phenomenal kurobuta pork and Napa cabbage dumplings and steamed BBQ pork buns to scallop siu mai. Get one in all all the pieces and don’t maintain again.

This all-day Russian cafe and bakery has savory piroshkis, flaky pastries, and a endless menu of cookies, tarts, and muffins (there’s additionally a full menu of entrées). Mainly, this Richmond spot, which has been round in some type because the Nineteen Fifties, is the one-stop store for all the nice and cozy, candy, savory, and comforting dishes that can make you’re feeling like a well-worn cable knit sweater. The remainder of the neighborhood is aware of this, too, since there’s all the time a line, and folks warming up on the parklet over some meat-filled pelmeni or delicate honey muffins that nail the sunshine, spongy texture each time. 

A super summer season night time for us often entails oysters, a glass of glowing wine, and the patio at International Cinema. The Mission spot tasks motion pictures onto the partitions of their hidden again area, and there’s an orange-y glow from the twinkling string lights overhead that make us really feel like we’ve left town completely. You’ll discover us right here kicking again on particular date nights or celebrating associates’ final weeks within the metropolis over seasonally altering plates like pasta with zucchini and tomatoes or curry fried rooster. 

If we ever opened a ski lodge within the mountains, we’d furnish the foyer precisely just like the eating room at Kokkari Estiatorio. The Greek restaurant within the Monetary District all the time has lamb and rooster slowly roasting away on rotating spits alongside the wall, making the entire place scent unbelievable. We may simply spend hours within the high-backed armchairs whereas sipping on Greek wine and feeling dignified. Wanting round, you’ll see enterprise execs taking an influence lunch with shoppers and households gathering round one of many large tables, sharing plates of grilled sea bream and lamb chops. Kokkari has been a FiDi staple since 1998, and we’re assured it’ll keep that approach for the subsequent few a long time. 

This place has been within the Interior Sundown for over thirty years, and continues to be filled with individuals going for simple rolls, nigiri, and handrolls, and very good appetizers, like miso-glazed eggplant and agedashi tofu. Issues at this informal spot additionally run easily: Regardless that Ebisu is loud and the tables are considerably cramped, the service is fast and the individuals working it are all the time checking in on you. Put up up on the sushi counter the place issues really feel much less chaotic, keep on with the rolls, and pay further consideration to the specials on the board, like half-shell oysters.

You gained’t discover penne alla vodka or fettuccine alfredo on the menu at Flour + Water. As a substitute, corn and chocolate mint are stuffed into cappelletti, preserved blood orange brightens up a clam and inexperienced garlic corzetti, and veal tortellini will get a chew from recent shaved horseradish. In different phrases, the flavour mixtures make about as a lot sense as a notes app apology. However one way or the other, they actually, actually work. Very similar to each different “Cal-Ital” spot on the town, Flour + Water modifications up their menu as often as we stalk our nemesis’ Twitter likes (usually). However that’s simply another excuse coming again to this Mission restaurant continues to be simply as thrilling as ever.