Dining recommendations for San Francisco

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by fotze

French Laundry

Is this one the 3 michelin star restaurant?

[troutman]

http://sf.eater.com/archives/2010/01/07/eater_38.php

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Is this one the 3 michelin star restaurant?

yup

doubtful you could get a reservation on such short notice

[squiggs96]

I've been to about five places in Little Italy and they have all been good. I can't recall any of the names, and I don't even know if I actually knew any of them. We just wander around until we find one that looks good and go in. I like the ones that the owner is an old Italian guy and his wife is the hostess. They make you feel like a family you would enjoy going to dinner with, not the family you currently have.

[MoneyGuy]

I've been to San Francisco a few times and that city has great restaurants everywhere. It's one of the finest dining cities in the world. I'd wait until I got there and then take a walk and check some out, or ask at your hotel.

[Captain_Obvious]

Italian in North Beech, heavy on garlic.

[malcolmk14]

Burmese

Burma Superstar - 309 Clement St. - www.burmasuperstar.com

Californian

Bistro Aix - 3340 Steiner St. - www.bistroaix.com
Nopa - 560 Divisadero St. - www.nopasf.com
Sauce - 131 Gough St. - www.saucesf.com
Slow Club - 2501 Mariposa St. - www.slowclub.com
Sons & Daughters - 708 Bush St. - www.sonsanddaughterssf.com
Starbelly - 3583 16th St. - www.starbellysf.com

Chinese

Henry's Hunan - 924 Sansome St. - www.henryshunanrestaurant.com
Yank Sing - 101 Spear St. - www.yanksing.com

French

Cafe des Amis - 2000 Union St. - www.cafedesamissf.com
Chapeau! - 126 Clement St. - www.chapeausf.com
Le Charm - 315 5th St. - www.lecharm.com

Greek

Kokkari Estiatorio - 200 Jackson St. - www.kokkari.com

Indian

Dosa - 995 Valencia St. and 1700 Fillmore St. - www.dosasf.com

Italian

A16 - 2355 Chestnut St. - www.a16sf.com
Delarosa - 2175 Chestnut St. - no website
Delfina - 3621 18th St. - www.delfinasf.com
Flour + Water - 2401 Harrison St. - www.flourandwater.com
Incanto - 1550 Church St. - incanto.biz
Perbacco - 230 California St. - www.perbaccosf.com
Sociale - 3665 Sacramento St. - www.caffesociale.com
SPQR - 1911 Fillmore St. - www.spqrsf.com

Malaysian

Betelnut - 2030 Union St. - www.betelnutrestaurant.com

Mexican

Colibri - 438 Geary St. - www.colibrimexicanbistro.com
Mamacita - 2317 Chestnut St. - www.mamacitasf.com

Sushi

Domo - 511 Laguna St. - www.domosf.com

Turkish

Troya - 349 Clement St. - www.troyasf.com

Vietnamese

Slanted Door - Ferry Building 1 - www.slanteddoor.com

[hungryhun]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I will be sure to check out more than a few of these and report back on my favorites!

[MRCboicgy]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

You think he could get a table for next week?

You mentioned mexican food. I LOVED Maya in Soma (South of Mission), really high quality ingredients, great mexican flair. Recommend the tampiquena.

Second vote for Maya. It was great for a lunch before spending an afternoon at MoMA

[Northendzone]

if you are in the mood for a slice thee is only one place to go.....i may not get the spelling correct but I beleive the name of the place is sbarro's

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

if you are in the mood for a slice thee is only one place to go.....i may not get the spelling correct but I beleive the name of the place is sbarro's

Absolutely my favourite scene in The Office.

[malcolmk14]

Bump! What did you end up trying, hungryhun?

I ended up at a few places on my list above: Colibri for Cinco de Mayo (the best guacamole I have ever had).

Also tried House of Nanking (Chinese) which was pretty decent.

Went to La Taqueria in Mission twice (had to go a second time on the way to the airport, they were so good). They had incredible tacos, highly recommend. They are world-famous so you won't have any problem finding them, but they're on Mission between 24th and 25th St.

Got seafood at Ferry Plaza Seafood, we shared steamed mussels in coconut milk, I had the Cioppino and the girlfriend had Sea Bass on a bed of rice with some veggies. Both dishes were pretty good but it was not a cheap meal. I imagine there are better value places in the area. We really wanted to try Sotto Mare but the only night we had free was Sunday, and they were closed.

The best meal we had, though, was at Domo Sushi on Laguna St.

Started the meal off with a Hawaiian-style tuna poke with marinated thick slices of maguro (tuna) and tako (octopus) over a seaweed salad with tobiko on top, and two small "crudos" which sounds like a Spanish word more than it does a Japanese word, I never asked, but they were two asian soup spoons, one with spicy tuna, sesame oil and avocado, and the other with a scallop with japanese cucumber and tobiko.

Next were the rolls, we got the rock n' roll which is basically unagi, avocado, tobiko, and unagi sauce. Also the Domo roll which was a california roll topped with salmon, scallops, tobiko, spicy mayo, and unagi sauce, and then baked warm in an oven. We also got the alpha roll off the specials menu, I can't really remember what exactly was on it, but it had a delicious large chunk of mango inside.

We wrapped up with some sunazuri (Hamachi belly), walu (hawaiian butterfish or escolar), two pieces of toro (i think it was big-eye tuna chu-toro), and two more crudos (another scallop one for my girlfriend and this time I had the Ankimo (monkfish liver)).

Overall I had a few nitpicks, too many sauces on their rolls, the Ankimo was a little off, I found it a bit flaky and some shiso on top would have helped balance the flavour a little more, but overall I would give the place a solid 9/10. It's a good modern take on sushi and was pretty reasonably priced for the quality (bill came to $100 including tip, no drinks for two people). I had a $200 meal (per person) at Yasuda in NYC a couple years ago and while this doesn't really stack up because it's really not the same kind of sushi, I would probably rather eat at Domo four times than Yasuda once.

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Bump! What did you end up trying, hungryhun?

I ended up at a few places on my list above: Colibri for Cinco de Mayo (the best guacamole I have ever had).

Also tried House of Nanking (Chinese) which was pretty decent.

Went to La Taqueria in Mission twice (had to go a second time on the way to the airport, they were so good). They had incredible tacos, highly recommend. They are world-famous so you won't have any problem finding them, but they're on Mission between 24th and 25th St.

Got seafood at Ferry Plaza Seafood, we shared steamed mussels in coconut milk, I had the Cioppino and the girlfriend had Sea Bass on a bed of rice with some veggies. Both dishes were pretty good but it was not a cheap meal. I imagine there are better value places in the area. We really wanted to try Sotto Mare but the only night we had free was Sunday, and they were closed.

The best meal we had, though, was at Domo Sushi on Laguna St.

Started the meal off with a Hawaiian-style tuna poke with marinated thick slices of maguro (tuna) and tako (octopus) over a seaweed salad with tobiko on top, and two small "crudos" which sounds like a Spanish word more than it does a Japanese word, I never asked, but they were two asian soup spoons, one with spicy tuna, sesame oil and avocado, and the other with a scallop with japanese cucumber and tobiko.

Next were the rolls, we got the rock n' roll which is basically unagi, avocado, tobiko, and unagi sauce. Also the Domo roll which was a california roll topped with salmon, scallops, tobiko, spicy mayo, and unagi sauce, and then baked warm in an oven. We also got the alpha roll off the specials menu, I can't really remember what exactly was on it, but it had a delicious large chunk of mango inside.

We wrapped up with some sunazuri (Hamachi belly), walu (hawaiian butterfish or escolar), two pieces of toro (i think it was big-eye tuna chu-toro), and two more crudos (another scallop one for my girlfriend and this time I had the Ankimo (monkfish liver)).

Overall I had a few nitpicks, too many sauces on their rolls, the Ankimo was a little off, I found it a bit flaky and some shiso on top would have helped balance the flavour a little more, but overall I would give the place a solid 9/10. It's a good modern take on sushi and was pretty reasonably priced for the quality (bill came to $100 including tip, no drinks for two people). I had a $200 meal (per person) at Yasuda in NYC a couple years ago and while this doesn't really stack up because it's really not the same kind of sushi, I would probably rather eat at Domo four times than Yasuda once.

[squiggs96]

For May I'll be in SF from the 19th to the 22nd. I'm looking to trying some of the new suggestions here.

[OldDutch]

Kiss seafood for Sushi. If u love Sushi this is one of my fav places.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kiss-seafood-san-francisco

[squiggs96]

I stayed at the Parc 55 Hotel last weekend. The hotel, rooms, service, bed, etc. was okay, but the Westin on Market was much nicer. What was much nicer than the Westin was the cityhouse restaurant and lounge in the hotel. http://www.parc55hotel.com/experience/cityhouse

On the lounge side they have buy one glass of wine and get the second for 55% off. The service was below average but the lounge had a great atmosphere, was spacious and there were TVs everywhere.

I had dinner there on Saturday night and it was excellent. I ordered the NY striploin with creamed spinach and mac and cheese. I ordered a bottle of Napa Cellars Zinfandel which was featured and came with a chef's choice appetizer, which turned out to be rissotto balls.

At the ball park I tried Pipkin's Pit BBQ. It is extremely overrated. I'm glad I tried it, but only so I would stop wondering what it was like.

[squiggs96]

I was in SF from June 21-26 and tried some new places.

Tuesday night I dined at Scoma's. It is a little place at Fisherman's Wharf that you won't get to unless you are specifically walking there as it's off the path a little bit. They don't take reservations so it's best to not go during peak times. I started with the Firecracker Popcorn Shrimp and then ate the Lobster Ravioli. Both were outstanding. The menu is reasonably priced and the wine list is very underpriced compared to other places at the Wharf. I will definitely be back. www.scomas.com

Thursday night I went to Rose Pistola in Little Italy. The service was great. The live three piece band was great. The food was okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to go back for. I had a baked penne in bolognese sauce. The portion size was a little on the small size. www.rosepistolasf.com

Friday lunch was at Michelangelo Caffe. It was awful. I had the lasagna, which was a quick microwave job and a bland sauce splattered on top. It was bland and in no way represented what Italian food should be. Avoid this place at most costs. www.michelangelocaffe.com

Saturday dinner was at Puccini & Pinetti in downtown. I had been there a couple of years ago and was very unimpressed. This time was excellent. My server looked like she should have been working the 3am shift at Denny's, but was one of the best servers I've ever had. I had the pasta of the day, being a prawn and snow pea rissotto. It was the best rissotto I have ever tasted. www.pucciniandpinetti.com

Sunday lunch was at Cafe Divine, back in Little Italy. Our server was awful. It was pretty much the opposite of the server from the night before. Luckily the food made up for it. I had the spinach & ricotta manicotti. It was a little small, but very tasty. They had a giant coffee machine that produced a phenomenal cappucino. cafedivinesf.com

I'll be back there in a couple of weeks, and look forward to new places, but the first night I am going to Scoma's again.

[LChoy]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I was in SF from June 21-26 and tried some new places.

Tuesday night I dined at Scoma's. It is a little place at Fisherman's Wharf that you won't get to unless you are specifically walking there as it's off the path a little bit. They don't take reservations so it's best to not go during peak times. I started with the Firecracker Popcorn Shrimp and then ate the Lobster Ravioli. Both were outstanding. The menu is reasonably priced and the wine list is very underpriced compared to other places at the Wharf. I will definitely be back. www.scomas.com

Thursday night I went to Rose Pistola in Little Italy. The service was great. The live three piece band was great. The food was okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to go back for. I had a baked penne in bolognese sauce. The portion size was a little on the small size. www.rosepistolasf.com

Friday lunch was at Michelangelo Caffe. It was awful. I had the lasagna, which was a quick microwave job and a bland sauce splattered on top. It was bland and in no way represented what Italian food should be. Avoid this place at most costs. www.michelangelocaffe.com

Saturday dinner was at Puccini & Pinetti in downtown. I had been there a couple of years ago and was very unimpressed. This time was excellent. My server looked like she should have been working the 3am shift at Denny's, but was one of the best servers I've ever had. I had the pasta of the day, being a prawn and snow pea rissotto. It was the best rissotto I have ever tasted. www.pucciniandpinetti.com

Sunday lunch was at Cafe Divine, back in Little Italy. Our server was awful. It was pretty much the opposite of the server from the night before. Luckily the food made up for it. I had the spinach & ricotta manicotti. It was a little small, but very tasty. They had a giant coffee machine that produced a phenomenal cappucino. cafedivinesf.com

I'll be back there in a couple of weeks, and look forward to new places, but the first night I am going to Scoma's again.

Good call on Scoma's. Usually the places on the Wharf are touristy, but Scoma really stands out among the rest

[iginlaforprimeminister]

This is gross. If you are looking for Indian food go to Amber. 25 Yerba Buena Lane San Francisco, 94103. Little more expensive but soo worth it.

[Vansmack]

A friend recently asked me about my favorite parts of SF (besides the Giants).


1) Wander around the Mission and get one of the famous burritos there. They sell them everywhere and they are delicious. You can go hang out in Mission Dolores park and eat the burrito.
2) Tartine is a famous bakery that's also in the Mission.
3) Go to City Lights bookstore in North Beach, which is an Italian part of town. That whole neighbourhood is great. Across the street from City Lights was this really cool bar with a balcony. I can't remember what it was called, but it was really cool inside and many famous beatnik writers used to go there.
4) MOMA and the Legion of Honor Museum. MOMA is modern art, and the Legion has older pieces. Both are cool and the architecture is great.
5) AT&T park is a nice park and a great place to view the Bay bridge.
6) There is a rooftop bar at the InterContinetal Mark Hopkins, a famous hotel. The drinks are about 20 dollars each, so you'd only want to drink one and enjoy the view.
7) At Neiman Marcus there is a restaurant called the Rotunda. It's also expensive, but they serve these amazing popovers to start and the restaurant is underneath a beautiful stained glass dome. A good place for lunch.

Hope this helps.