Published July 8, 2025, at Virginia Miller’s Substack:
Second only to NYC in number of U.S. Michelin-starred restaurants — at 1/7 the size — for decades, San Francisco has been one of the best fine dining cities globally, and, of course, the nation. It’s not just some of the world’s best, year-round ingredients. It’s about boundary-pushing, wild west pioneering spirit and bold innovation that defines so many of the industries the Bay Area leads the world in, from tech to environmental practices.
But being California and the West Coast, we’re also long exemplified by casual ease and unpretentious refinement. From an affordable Michelin-starred to top Korean, private dinner parties to fish and game perfection, these five restaurants exemplify why SF remains a wonderland of upscale innovation that is simultaneously soulfully delicious.
ARTICLE: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/fine-dinings-latest-wave-in-san-francisco
Reviewed in this article:
—One Michelin Korean Deserves Two Stars: SSAL
—Second-Gen Japanese-American Boldness at Michelin-Starred Nisei
—Bold, Fun Fish & Game Michelin-Starred with a View: Angler, Embarcadero
—Reasonably-Priced Michelin-Starred Tasting Menus: 7 Adams, Pacific Heights
—Osito and Intimate Dinners with Chef Seth Stowaway