Portlandia references may be old news, but I can’t help but hear the show’s Dream of the 90’s song in my head when I return to these two great restaurants — Gary Danko and Boulevard — that have been showing San Francisco how it’s done since the 1990s. Here’s multiple reasons why they’re still relevant. Read more →
Change is hard, especially when a beloved restaurant, Gozu, morphs into something entirely new: The Wild, starting September 2024. Read more →
IN THIS ARTICLE:
—At 10 Years, Better-Than-Ever Neighborhood Gem: Causwells, Marina
—House of Prime Rib Pop-Up Tribute: Primebird at Nightbird, Hayes Valley
—Uber-Reasonable Prix Fixe Tasting Menus: Foliage, Precita Park
—Classic French & Classic Cocktails: Le Parc BistroBar, FiDi
—Spritzes, Pizza and Pasta: Fiorella Noe Valley Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from classic French to a neighborhood comfort food and cocktail classic that just turned ten. Alongside my full restaurant reviews, these five are also worth visiting: Read more →
Reviewed in this article:
—Best Kept Secret & Daily Changing Menus: Camino Alto
—Taiwanese Bites & Asian-Influenced Cocktails: The Rabbit Hole
—Wine Bar & Bites Happiness: Cultivar
—Focaccia Pizza With a View: Il Parco
—Top-Notch Palestinian Falafel: Habibi Falafel
—Creative but “Real Deal” Hot Dogs: Hayz Dog
—A Unique, Arty Pop-Up: Sister, Mother, Crone
—Tunisian Hideaway: Gola Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from dim sum to traditional Irish or Russian food. Alongside the latest full restaurant reviews — why SF is the U.S.’ best food city, The Halfway Club, Nick’s Cove, Movida/Bar Gemini/Stoa, Canela, Chotto Matte, 2023’s top new restaurants and bars — these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each one): Read more →
San Francisco has long been rife with world’s best cocktail bars: it was one of three cities, alongside New York and New Orleans, that introduced the world to cocktails in the 1800s, after all. Then SF and NYC led the cocktail renaissance of the past three decades.
Many of these bars also serve killer food. While bars like True Laurel and The Snug are shining examples of this combo, there’s a recent wave of new bars where food and drink shine together, but the vibe is fully bar versus restaurant. Three of the most interesting newcomers? Movida, Bar Gemini, and Stoa. Read more →
The Tenderloin’s (TL) roughly 7-by-5 blocks get a massive amount of bad press as the center of San Francisco’s worst drugs and homelessness. As it has everywhere, pandemic has made conditions worse as Tenderloin’s decades-old issues have expanded a few blocks. But the TL remains a tiny part of our ever vibrant city with top-notch food, as in every SF neighborhood. Yet due to the TL’s location next to tourist central Union Square and hotels, it gets outsized attention compared to much larger difficult neighborhoods in other U.S. cities. Read more →
Did we need another fine dining, tasting menu-only restaurant? “Need” is maybe the wrong choice of words. With the arrival of Kiln, just open May 16th, 2023, in Hayes Valley in the former Cala space, we have yet another upscale restaurant that already exemplifies why San Francisco easily offers the U.S.’ best fine dining, but is also a global player. Read more →
One restaurant, a buzzy pizza-meets-global-plates and natural wine spot on Nob Hill; the other, a sunny Mexican newcomer on peaceful Levi Plaza. They may have slipped your notice, but don’t let them. They may not be getting a lot of press, but they’re two delightful new San Francisco neighborhood restaurants. Read more →