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Price Guide: $ = less than $15, $$ = $15 - $35, $$$ = $36-$50, $$$$ = over $50
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French-born chef Alain Rondelli presides over this elegantly understated restaurant featuring contemporary French food. Rondelli's highly intelligent approach to innovation is the kitchen's guiding principle.
Chef Michael Mina's seafood-oriented menu features intricate preparations such as citrus-roasted Atlantic salmon with Dungeness crab stuffing. The high-ceilinged dining room (a former bank) is decorated in restful tones of bone and bisque and punctuated with mirrors and massive bouquets in giant urns.
Here's a one-stop destination for a memorable lunch and shopping spree. Tucked into designer Giorgio Armani's chic retail store is this upscale northern Italian café, serving panini, pizza, salads, antipasto misto, carpaccio, and absolutely stunning desserts.
Bask in the art deco glamour of Bix, a downtown supper club serving updated American fare--chicken hash, smoked salmon with potato pancakes, steak tartare--and one of the best martinis in town. Live jazz nightly.
Celebrated chef Nancy Oakes prepares her legendary American cooking at downtown's stylish Pat Kuleto-designed Boulevard, overlooking the Bay. The menu shifts with the seasons, but many of Oakes's signature dishes, including her heavenly sautéed foie gras and roasted pork loin, are offered regularly.
In this superb cellar trattoria, Tuscan-born Giovanni Leoni serves the dishes of his native Serchio Valley, a garden basket not far from Lucca. The atmosphere is intimate and congenial rather than trendy. Coniglio aficionados return for his extraordinary rabbit dishes, which on some nights number as many as half a dozen different preparations. All of the pastas are made on the premises, and even the coffee beans are roasted in-house.
After discovering this small, colorful café just off glittering upper Fillmore, our reviewers came back again and again--and again--along with a growing throng of our readers, for chef-owner Kirk Webber's East-West cuisine with an occasional Latino touch. A sure winner: crispy duck confit with polenta and wild mushrooms.
The Mexican folk art on the walls of this Marina District hot spot is as authentic as the tamale with Oaxacan mole rojo, the garlicky Zhatanejo-style rock shrimp, and the guacamole spiked with roasted tomatoes.
Culinary legends Bradley Ogden and Jan Birnbaum are tough acts to follow, but chef Todd Humphries now wears the toque in this distinguished kitchen, blending various elements of Americana. The elegant, sophisticated dining room is noted for its fabulous breakfasts and polished service.
The folks running this global outpost are scholars as well as chefs, serving a different cuisine every month at their casual yet stylish little restaurant. This month, the kitchen features a menu from Middle Europe, specifically Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
This funky Caribbean restaurant hopscotches around the islands for inspiration. Feast on spicy Cuban black bean soup, fish baked in banana leaves, and calamari with lemon aïoli.
For decades, our vote for romantic atmosphere has gone to this intimate, paisley-tented dining spot, where the brilliant contemporary French cooking of chef-partner Hubert Keller puts Fleur de Lys at the pinnacle of San Francisco's haute dining.
The out-of-this-world plates of chef Albert Tordjman are guaranteed to impress, especially his superb foie gras and his duck confit. This offbeat Mission District restaurant has become so popular that it has expanded into an adjacent storefront.
Chef Mark Fischer's winning formula of small, shareable plates and upscale versions of down-home food endures here, as does the slick diner-style interior. The booths are among the most comfortable seats in town.
Gerald Hirigoyen's casual French restaurant is a neighborhood favorite. Bistro classics include duck confit, steamed mussels, crab salad, and for dessert, goat cheese soufflé.
Marco Polo would have loved Fuzio. This chic, popular, narrow one-room restaurant offers "universal pastas² that deftly join East to West. Habanero heat marries ginger-braised pork in the firecracker pork fusilli, and the primavera sings with smoky eggplant, ripe tomatoes, and sweet corn. The concise menu offers salads and focaccia sandwiches in addition to "fusion² pasta dishes. Fuzio serves ample portions for a song without skimping on quality. (Edina)
Malvi Doshi translates the food of her homeland with skill and finesse at this popular, astonishingly inexpensive vegetarian restaurant. The curries are sensational; the chai, state-of-the-art.
This modern bistro is a popular late night hangout for food industry insiders. The 40-seat former blacksmith shop is bright with blue and green canvas seat covers, matching the waiters' shirts. American cuisine with an Italian spirit, the menu includes crispy romaine salads and robust homemade pastas served in hand-thrown ceramic bowls. The marinated, grilled sardines are delicious; save room for the addictive paper-thin apple tart with caramel sauce. (Madge)
This is undoubtedly America's best-known vegetarian restaurant, and for good reason. The setting, overlooking San Francisco Bay, is unparalleled, and the kitchen serves meatless dishes that are guaranteed to satisfy even hardcore carnivores.
Ann Harris has redefined the all-American steakhouse for the discriminating diner by offering an elegant, formal setting; 21-day dry-aged beef; and steamed veggies and grilled seafood as calorie-conscious alternatives.
Chefs Anne and David Gingrass inventively bring Mediterranean and Asian influences to the same table. Highlights include an exquisite sautéed foie gras and a top-notch bar menu. Don't miss the delectable desserts concocted by Nicole Plue.
Regulars return for the fresh fish, the fine salads and appetizers, and the unequaled French fries. The crème brûlée is outstanding. Reservations are a must for pre-performance seating during the symphony, opera, and ballet seasons.
Mahmood and Wazhma Karzai have introduced San Franciscans to Afghan food, a complex cuisine that incorporates culinary traditions from Central Asia, India, and the Middle East. The elegant dining room is a pleasant setting for gastronomic experimentation.
At this outpost of Hong Kong's Flower Lounge restaurant empire, the chef regularly experiments with new and unusual dishes in addition to preparing excellent renditions of Cantonese favorites.
This contemporary American restaurant/bar is a natural addition to the Civic Center culturati and worth an extra block's walk from the Hayes Valley nexus. With its deep blue concave ceiling, Indigo has a night-sky feeling, even a tinge of the nautical. Typical of a young restaurant, the food is still evolving, but it leans toward solid, down-to-earth dishes such as warm spinach salad with a smoky bacon vinaigrette; addictive but salty cornmeal-battered rock shrimp; and desserts of warm fruit crisps and an ambitious lavender crème brûlée. The service is young, professional, and enthusiastic. Concertgoers take note: From 5 to 7 p.m., there's a $22 three-course prix-fixe menu. (Brooks)
Catherine Troosh cooks up satisfying renditions of classic Russian dishes at her small and charming Richmond District restaurant, including a borsch thick with beets and cabbage, crescent-shaped potato dumplings, and chicken Pozharski.
Roland and Jamie Passot's lovely, delightfully French restaurant on Russian Hill continues to win applause for its artful plates and cozy provençal decor. Highlights include Passot's signature dish of roti of quail and squab.
The classically trained proprietors of this charming bistro offer a small menu of well-executed bistro standards, including an oven roasted chicken served with a mound of garlic-laced mashed potatoes and a terrific duck confit with glazed turnips.
Tucked into Clement Street's lively restaurant row, the bright and handsome Le Soleil is arguably the best Vietnamese dinner house in the city. Among its offerings are a fragrant raw beef salad, Saigon-style barbecued pork, and a claypot of jumbo shrimp.
The dining room of this modish Mission District restaurant is dominated by a huge brick fireplace recalling the grand hearths of Italy. Delicious specialties such as Sonoma-raised lamb, simple roasted chicken, and daily fresh fish specials emerge from the roaring ovens. Pastas and risottos are first rate.
San Francisco readers have rated Masa's best in the Bay Area since it opened. Chef Julian Serrano prepares French cuisine with stylized refinement. Appearance is paramount here, as are the service and the meticulous wine list.
Grow locally, cook globally: The seasonal "borderless cuisine² at this smart Mission newcomer avoids the mindless goofiness that swamps so much high-concept fusion. Using produce from her partner's farm in Calistoga, chef Jan Gardner creates stylish, eclectic dishes like shrimp-chipotle corncakes, cold beef and mango spring rolls, and pork chops with plum salsa. Only the wobbly service and uneven desserts could use improvement. (Brooks)
Owner and head chef Parvesh Sahi produces a variety of delicious specialties from the clay oven, or tandoor, he brought from India. Some of the best Indian food in this country is available in his Cow Hollow restaurant.
Gerald Hirigoyen's long-awaited casual French restaurant features a sunny interior with a yellow-tinted cement bar and lots of blond wood. Happily, the prices are on a par with those of his Fringale.
Famous for salads and desserts, including sorbets made with homegrown fruits. Pizzas include authentic andouille with fresh basil; roasted Italian eggplant with fresh oregano, provolone cheese, and garlic. Specials change daily. Beer and wine.
Chef Andrew Toy smoothly plays to our current infatuation with pan-Asian and fusion cuisines; the plump Chinese dumplings in a gingery broth, crisp chicken lumpia with a habit-forming yogurt curry sauce, and smoky sea bass on soba were among the highlights. The Filipino pansit with tiger prawns was a little overdone and the adobo chicken not as vinegary as a Filipino cook might have made it, but was good nonetheless and reasonably priced at $12. The resident mixologist serves up a slew of vodka infusions and other concoctions, some with pickled ginger. (Rosa)
Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal share the title of executive chef with Wolfgang Puck in Puck's elegant eatery. Regulars crave the Chinese roast duck with mango sauce, delicate ravioli topped with grilled quail, thin, crisp pizzas in the bar--but Postrio's got some delicious surprises, too.
New chef Sylvain Portay, formerly of Le Cirque in New York, has created a new menu; highlights include a lobster salad with haricots verts, tomatoes, and caviar cream, and roast duck with Mission fig port sauce and polenta gratin.
Reed Hearon's much-lauded restaurant in North Beach features a menu of Genoese and Ligurian food adapted to the Bay Area's bounty, including antipasti plates of cured fish or fresh fava beans with pecorino, main courses of hearty cioppino, wood-hearth braised dishes, and lots of fresh local fish.
This low-key trattoria beckons to neighborhood residents along outer Sacramento Street. Chef Ross Browne regularly changes the menu, but lunch usually features a daily pasta and specialty pizza.
Chef Scott Newman presides over the kitchen at this clubby restaurant where the food takes center stage. The small, appealing menu incorporates fresh ideas, with impeccable fish, lamb, and house-cured salmon among the winners. Save room for delicious desserts like crème brûlée and house-made ice creams.
This good-looking two-level restaurant serves what chef Charles Phan calls "Vietnamese home cooking.² The menu changes weekly and might include delicious imperial rolls, classic fresh spring rolls, "shaking beef,² or caramelized shrimp.
This South Park outpost is the sort of place where you can imagine French statesmen dining on grilled boudin noir with sautéed apples, steak frites, or roasted duck breast. A stack of French publications and the occasional French-speaking waiter add to the Gallic charm.
Techno, jungle, rock 'n' rolls--are these menu items or entries on a DJ playlist? Trendy sushi joints are nothing new, but club promoters (and restaurant co-owners) Martel and Nabiel's tiny sushi spot glows with ochre-sponged walls and blond wood tables accented with red rice paper. Pristinely fresh raw fish fuels their hip, well-heeled clientele with the perfect pre-club fare. East-West salads, the only nonsushi menu items, are uneven due to overpowering dressings and lackluster greens. But the techno roll is a favorite, with tuna, salmon, shrimp, and yellowtail twisted inside-out with avocado, cucumber, and tobiko. (Brooks)
Thai cuisine, featuring basil prawns, poached salmon in curry sauce, minced chicken sautéed with garlic served on Japanese eggplant, marinated quail deep-fried to crispiness, and South Sea (fillet of catfish served with Japanese eggplant and southern Thai spices). Beer and wine.
Serving the rich, honest country cooking of southern China, Ton Kiang offers the Hakka culinary mainstays, from succulent salt-baked chicken to meats and seafood cooked with fermented wine sauces.
Serving the rich, honest country cooking of southern China, Ton Kiang offers the Hakka culinary mainstays, from succulent salt-baked chicken to meats and seafood cooked with fermented wine sauces.
This airy, inviting café is situated on an unlikely semi-industrial Mission District street. Breakfasts include roasted-on-the-premises coffee and housemade granola, and lunches and dinner feature lightly dressed salads, terrific pizzas, plus heartier fare.
Chef Derek Burns's architectural East-West creations are perfectly suited to the setting: San Francisco's much-loved Transamerica Pyramid.
If you regularly daydream about honest trattorie in Italy, you owe yourself a meal at Vineria. Shoehorned into the newly savvy North Mission, this big sister to North Beach's celebrated L'Osteria del Forno crowns thin-crust pizza with pricey porcini, pairs milk-braised pork with roasted potatoes, and strews sage and butter over pumpkin ravioli. In a smart show of jingoism, the Italian-born owners serve only vintages from their homeland.
Middle Eastern cuisine, featuring falafel plates with hummus, tabbouleh, and baba ghanoush; lamb, chicken, or veggie shish kebab plates; lamb or chicken shawarma. Weekend dinner specials. Beer and wine.
For outstanding dim sum brunches, Yank Sing knows no peer. The stylish dining room and personable staff make a meal here a particular pleasure.
At this handsome North Beach bistro serving rustic Mediterranean cuisine, you'll find inviting variations on the French and Italian theme: goat cheese soufflé; warm frisée salad with smoked bacon and poached egg; swordfish with olives, capers, roasted peppers and arugula.
Chef Judy Rodgers presides over one of California's most distinguished restaurants. Her kitchen produces great Italian and southern French menus and a superb list of fresh seafood, including a fresh oyster bar. Don't miss the best Caesar salad in town or the wonderfully crispy thin French fries.
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