San Francisco is blessed with some of the oldest and most storied restaurants in the nation, alongside historic dining leaders like New Orleans. Our 1800s through mid-century restaurants often veer seafood-heavy, one of our city’s strengths, past and present, given our sea and Bay, water-on-three-sides location. Here are four restaurant legends, decidedly old school but still well worth visiting and celebrating, dating from 1965 back to 1849. Read more →
I’d eat wherever San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino is cooking. I’m still missing his ahead-of-its-time Incanto (2002–2014), and his bold Cockscomb (2014–2020). He’s known for his TV runs, from The Next Iron Chef, to winning season four of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, and he spent recent years in Napa running Acacia House. But he’s long lived in SF and I await the day he’ll open a new restaurant in the City. Unexpectedly, since this fall, he’s commuting north to bucolic Tomales Bay in Marin County to run the kitchen at 1931 institution, Nick’s Cove. Read more →
Restaurants/bars reviewed:
— Cozy Italian Comfort: Che Fico Alimentari
— Georgian Food Rarity: Georgian Cheese Boat, North Beach
— Fillmore Seafood House Gets a Remodel: Woodhouse Fish Co., Pacific Heights
— Tiny Thai Hit: Prik Hom, Laurel Heights
— SJ Cocktail Pioneer: Paper Plane, San Jose
Food Recommends:
— Jack and Remi Chef-Crafted Ice Cream
— Van Van Vietnamese Ingredients Read more →
San Francisco is blessed with iconic oyster bars, from the one, the only Swan Oyster Depot for over a century, to the Castro’s great Anchor Oyster Bar since the 1970s. As the city that gave birth to the likes of cioppino and Crab Louie salad, these oyster houses are decidedly West Coast, often showcasing our glorious local oysters and dungeness crab. But we don’t have one like brand new Little Shucker, opening August 9, 2023, on bustling Fillmore Street. Read more →
In this article:
—Sleek New Neighborhood Sushi & Sake Stop: Kuma on Valencia
—Daily Fresh Pasta for Home Cooking: Pasta Supply Co
—Sicilian Gelato & Sweets Haven: Hila Gelato
—Massive Portions of Heartwarming Mexican Fare in Inner Richmond: Caliente Bistro
… and more
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San Francisco’s history is interlaced deeply with seafood. Dungeness crab. Local halibut. Anchovies. Tomales Bay oysters. It’s in our blood and roots. SF’s style of seafood oyster bars are its own.
Popi’s Oysterette, just opened in the Marina from chef/partner Melissa Perfit, a former “Top Chef” contestant who cooked at my beloved Bar Crudo since back in 2005 in its original space (which I still miss). She was asked to run Popi’s by Tacolicious owners Joe Hargrave and Mike Barrow, who also brought on partner/general manager Davin Affrunti, formerly of Larkspur’s Hog Island Oyster. Read more →
I won’t forget my first visit to Palette soon after opening in 2019 when chef Peter Hemsley grilled up rare, local coonstripe shrimp just caught that morning, buttery-fresh and revelatory; like eating our divine local spot prawns for the first time. Midwest-born Hemsley’s hand with seafood was evident from those early days. So maybe it’s little surprise that as Palette closed, Hemsley and team just opened Aphotic in the same space on March 21, 2023, as a sleek tribute to… you guessed it: seafood. Read more →
We step inside Coho, a sustainable seafood eatery inspired by the California coast: Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these five are also worth visiting. Read more →
Opened by Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions and The Progress in October 2020 on Lower Fillmore Street, The Anchovy Bar was a brave entrant in a brutal year. It was easily among my top few new restaurants of that year — and my top two next to Belinda Leong, Michel Suas and John Paul Carmona’s Routier… Having dined since Anchovy Bar opened, both my late 2022 and my January 2023 visit have been the best yet. Read more →