5 Places To Eat In The San Francisco Bay Area Now

If you’re wondering where you should be eating in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, here are five of the most news worthy and buzzy restaurants to check out right now. From the city’s most trendy new nightlife spots atop the 21st floor of The Beacon Grand to the one of San Francisco’s most iconic seafood establishments launching a midday lunch special, to where to eat for a special night out in wine country, these are places that making waves in the San Francisco Bay Area’s dynamic food scene now.

Starlite Room

Formerly known as the historic Sir Francis Drake, Union Square’s The Beacon Grand, reopened its doors in in 2022 after a renovation which included a redesign of the iconic Starlite Room. Currently one of the most sought after, new nightlife spots downtown, Starlite’s glamorous Art Deco era-esk interiors are by San Francisco-based designer Alice Crumeyrolle.

When it comes to libations, The Gimlet, the Porn Star Martini, Strawberry Grasshopper and the Cable Car Redux are must haves according to Scott Baird of Trick Dog, the Mission District’s award-winning cocktail bar. He crafted a playful cocktail menu inspired by San Francisco’s iconic fog, cable cars, gold and more.

“The inspiration for the cocktail menu is classic style cocktails in a celebratory environment,” says Baird. “The idea is to have a simplified and delicious not precious experience for guests, also providing long form context with the menu so they have a visceral understanding of what is in their glass. San Francisco has always been known as a place for poets, artists and Bohemians with a wild streak and we’ve tried to embrace that with our menu.

In addition to the cocktail program, Michelin-award-winning chef and raw bar expert Johnny Spero, crafted a menu that celebrates San Francisco’s exceptional culinary artistry and international fare.

“The food menu at Starlite is inspired by my trips to the Bay Area and my ideal bar snacks,” says chef Spero. “Although I’ve been booze-free for 6 years, I’ve spent a lot of time in bars and don’t think there’s any reason you can’t have a little fun. Bar nuts are always a must, but fried chicken buns and grilled oysters have a place on the menu as well.”

Copra

Acclaimed chef Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan’s Copra is hands down one of San Francisco’s most beautiful restaurants complete with a wooden greenhouse with macrame, floor-to-ceiling shelves with local artisanal, hand-woven chandeliers and a slew of unique design elements creating a chic, sexy environment. Named after the dried coconut kernel used to extract coconut oil, Copra pays homage to the coastal cuisines of India’s southern states: Kerala where Gopinathan was born, as well as, Tamil Nadu where he grew up. From fresh local Indian spices to fresh heirloom seasonal ingredients from Northern California, the restaurant offers inspired brunch and dinner menus.

The restaurant offers flavor-driven, bold dishes such as the Shrimp Vennai Roast, cooked in chili chutney, brown butter, curry leaves, and lime and the Thattukada Fried Chicken, a classic street food from Trivandrum. On the larger plates, diners will can enjoy coastal dishes like the Black Cod Pollichathu, in which the fish is encrusted in a shallot coating before being wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on cast iron and a Varuval Spice-Crusted Hamachi Collar, simmered in a rich gravy and served with snow peas and coconut rice. Don’t miss out on sharable dishes like the vegetable of the day with three homestyle vegetarian recipes or the chutney pallete for the table which is served with pappadom.

Farmhouse

The beautiful Russian River property Farmhouse Inn’s upscale restaurant helmed by husband-and-wife duo, Executive Chef Craig Wilmer and Executive Pastry Chef Amanda Hoang’s is celebrating its one-year anniversary of guiding the culinary team at Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant. Using ingredients straight from property owner’s Joe and Catherine Bartolomei’s ranch or discovered by the chef on his daily farm stops en route to the inn, the cuisine is seasonal and ever-changing.

The property celebrated this milestone with a special eight course anniversary menu that featured hen egg spaghetti, crispy aromatic squab and more. With over 33 distinctive tasting menus created this year alone, each dish payed homage to the chefs’ Hispanic and Asian heritage, while also reflecting international cooking techniques refined during travels in South America and Southeast Asia.

Going forward, the property will be offering Chef’s Seasonal Tasting Menu consisting of specially curated courses along with some additional bites from the chef and changes both weekly and seasonally. For those looking for an abbreviated experience, they can enjoy the Vignette Tasting Menu which is composed of the chefs’ favorite vignettes of the Full Tasting Experience.

Expect dishes that highlight ingredients such as Masami striploin, Mt. Lassen Trout and white asparagus, caviar topped peas and other inventive interpretations of fresh produce, meats and fish sourced from Sonoma County and its surrounding areas.

Scoma’s

San Francisco’s beloved Scoma’s restaurant located at Fisherman’s Wharf has just unveiled it new two-course prix-fixe lunch from Monday-Friday. The menu offers three choices for each course and features some of their most classic dishes including the Clam Chowder (they sell over 40,000 servings a year), the Petite Crab Louie (on the menu since day one), as well some modern favorites like the Gulf Shrimp Mezzi Rigatoni with gremolata or True Cod with wild mushroom spaetzle and green garlic. The full menu can be found here.

Don’t miss out on The Don, their Famous Bloody Mary topped with a chilled shrimp, a bacon wrapped scallop, a crab cake fritter, and two fried Castelvetrano olives. Other popular items include The Lazy Man’s Cioppino, Scoma’s original take on the classic seafood stew and the ever-popular crab cakes. When in season, fresh local Dungeness crab, petrale sole, sand dabs, and halibut are also fan favorites on the menu.

Broad Street Oyster Co.

Ghirardelli Square’s newest seafood spot, Broad Street Oyster Co., made quite a splash with their viral caviar and uni topped lobster rolls. Based out of Los Angeles, the popular seafood restaurant is known for its vibrant aesthetic and fresh seafood-centric menu that also happens to be very Instagrammable. Not to mention the views from this location include the iconic Alcatraz and Aquatic Park.

The menu offers a nice selection of dishes that include fish and chips, calamari strips, a decadent uni pasta and a raw bar selection of oysters, clams and so much more. There’s even non-seafood items if it’s not your thing, along with specials like razor clams depending on what’s in season. If you want to go all out, get the epic seafood tower pilled high with prawns, stone crab claws, lobster tail, caviar and more. The location also offers specialties that pay homage to San Francisco like our cioppino and fresh Dungeness crab.