The best restaurants San Francisco & Bay Area

Here the concept is simple: it's a sushi the size of a burrito. Taken by storm by the employees at noon, the little store is always full! Prepared in front of your eyes with original recipes (tuna, lotus chips and crunchy vegetables or salmon, ginger guacamole and green banana chips) and fresh ingredients, these large makisare a delight for raw fish lovers. The must: take out and enjoy your Sushirrito on the sunny tables of Union Square Plaza right next door. Several restaurants in town.

Of course, the place is touristy, but we love its old school side. Bar and wooden wall, white tiles on the floor, you would think you are in an old brasserie. They serve a typical American cuisine, based on omelets, grilled meats and fried fish. Opened in 1849, it is one of the oldest restaurants in San Francisco, and it is proudly written on their front. Beware, it's often full! You'll have to be patient or opt for the tasting at the bar. Let's emphasize the good wine list.

One of Oakland's oldest restaurants is a real institution that locals love. Famous for its brunch and soul in a dinner decor. Specialty: the Reggie Jackson Special.

Two dishes have made the reputation of this Vietnamese restaurant run by three generations of women who fled the Vietnamese communists in 1975: the garlic noodles and the roasted crab. That said, the garlic mussels and king tiger prawns are also worth a visit. Be warned: the use of fingers is required to avoid leaving anything on your plate. You can go there with your eyes closed, you will enjoy yourself. The decoration of the restaurant has on the other hand not much of particular, one comes here for the card.

This bistro, which tries to recreate the atmosphere of a French brewery also acts as a bar where you can taste absinthe, in soft version of course. A chef and a pastry chef regularly renew menus around classic French cuisine, such as onion soup or dessert, which is a great luxury version. Cheese trays and desserts are also carefully worked out.

One of San Franciscans' favorite restaurants, Zuni is especially famous for its roast chicken. For dinner, it is wise to make a reservation. Located in a lovely brick building, this restaurant has two levels. The mezzanine overlooks the bar on one side and the open kitchen on the other. The atmosphere is warm, you feel good. The menu changes every day, but you may find the day of the cassoulet with thyme and olive oil, or the grilled tuna with asparagus... Excellent choice of wines and champagnes.

Located in the Visitor Center building in Golden Gate Park, between the ocean and the park, the Beach Chalet is a perfect place for a culinary break with a cold beer from the nearby brewery. On Tuesdays and Fridays, a live band plays in the evening. Don't miss the Lucien Labaudt murals at the Golden Gate Park Visitor Center.

A water restaurant with panoramic views over San Francisco Bay. We really feel like being in a boat. The kitchen is refined with specialities of fish and seafood. An excellent address for dinners in lovers.

For a successful dinner with a changing menu, tinged with French and Italian influences. An address with the appearance of a Mediterranean bistro, much appreciated by the locals. The cable car that passes by at regular intervals adds a romantic note to this neighborhood restaurant. The cheese platter is served with fruit pastes and the desserts are delicious, like the warm black chocolate pudding with hazelnut ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce. By the way, all these desserts and ice creams are home made. And the wine list is just as good.

Mathilde is a French restaurant located in the SoMa neighbourhood south of Market Street, right next to the Yerba Buena Center. By pushing the door of the restaurant, a story begins: cosy, modern atmosphere, outdoor patio: ideal for a two-way dinner. The map includes classic French cuisine. Like the premises, you will surely spoil yourself with the bucco or verbal osso, but one thing is certain: keep room for desserts, they are excellent.

In a pretty impersonal room, you will be used as excellent sushi with good value for money. The card is varied and the prices are really interesting. You can also eat good udon soups or good grillades grill. A good address for an economic lunch and also the advantage of being a block of the Golden Gate Park and its large museums and gardens.

The meeting place for French people and Francophiles. You can have a black coffee at the counter while reading Le Monde, L'Équipe or Paris Match at the Café de la Presse. You'll find the atmosphere of a 1920s French brasserie flanked by a Parisian-style terrace, with a corolla canopy and a small tobacconist's carrot. A perfect spot to eat real tasty dishes, salads or sandwiches from 11 am onwards, or to enjoy a caloric breakfast of all kinds, without forgetting gourmet dinners in the evening.

Family restaurant without much charm, but with very good sandwiches with pastrami, smoked ham, salami, bacon, sprouts, cheddar cheese, aioli, pesto... Even the bread is good, you will enjoy it. And everything is prepared in front of you, a guarantee of freshness. On weekends, at lunchtime, locals flock to the place and sit in the adjacent park. The establishment is a bit far from the center, but it is located near the beaches. Perfect for a picnic on the sand, between two dives in the Pacific!

Mission has dozens of taquerias and it's hard to find your way around. This one is popular with the locals, which makes things easier. A good, popular address with colorful Mexican decor and friendly tables. The star of the menu: the burrito mojado, reputed to be twice as big as normal and served with a beef filling and avocado. The house also serves pechugas suizas - chicken breast with green tomato and chilli sauce - barbecued meats, and tasty enchiladas.

In a former bank, this spacious restaurant, fitted out as a trendy cantine, has the rare characteristic in the neighborhood of staying open late at night. Ask the waiters for advice, they know the origin of all their products, all organic and from the region. The cooking is even done in a wood-fired oven. We recommend the fried chicken with Moroccan spices and chili honey. And in the dessert section, we have a weakness for the Sopaipillas, a vanilla, cinnamon and caramel pastry. A good address for a relaxed dinner.

The local meeting place for a cheap lunch in a young and relaxed atmosphere. The free wifi can sometimes make this little neighborhood restaurant look like a Starbucks, where young students and creative people line up at tables in front of their computer screens. On the menu: salads, bagels, burgers and superb French-style crepes. Something to enjoy at low prices. And it's also the ideal place to make trouble between two emails to a young digital nomad or a student in gender studies, but shhh...

Restaurant opened in 2012 by chefs Evan and Sarah Rich in a former renovated municipal hall, with exposed beams, wooden work plans and walls in cream tones. On the kitchen side, the ingredients are worked with simplicity, finesse and a hint of originality. Stroke for Mijotée pork chest (belly pork). Take several dishes and share them, this is the best way to explore the inventiveness of the menu. Taste the chips for sardines and cotta coconut coconut. The menu is constantly changing!

This small Puerto Rican restaurant on Haight's shopping street serves hearty, flavorful cuisine, ideal for lunch. On the menu: rice, vegetables and beef or chicken. You'll appreciate the many salads, with their varied, tasty seasonings. The atmosphere is simple and cheerful. The façade is magnificent, with its turquoise-painted bricks and Puerto Rican flag, and the interior is appropriately rustic, with bricks and photos of the island. It also boasts a terrace with pleasant, intimate spaces.

We sit around large wooden tables to share between guests in the Ferry Building, full of charm with its metal structure and its large windows overlooking the sea crossed by boats. Organic juices, excellent sandwiches, nice salads, various coffees, chocolates with all sorts of garnishes, wraps, mixed salads... The plus: free wifi. Needless to say, the laptops are all open, in addition to being a friendly meeting place, it is a popular work meeting spot for Franciscans.

It is the benchmark for traditional Italian cuisine in the Nob Hill neighborhood, just steps away from the prestigious Mark Hopkins and Fairmont hotels. For over twenty years, this family-owned restaurant has served fine, classic cuisine in a Tuscan trattoria atmosphere. Locals come here for a coffee to read their newspaper or to enjoy a small pasta dish with a salad, and take advantage of the terrace to soak up the atmosphere of the neighborhood. Good value for money in a neighborhood with high prices.

In the heart of the Chinatown district, this typical restaurant is very popular with the locals. Located in the basement of the building, the room is filled with large round tables where San Franciscans come to dine with their families. On the menu, more than 240 dishes (!); so much to say that the choice is large and that one finds there all the great classics of the Chinese cooking. The soups are particularly good, as well as the Mongolian beef, a delight! Authentic and surprisingly economical, certainly one of the cheapest restaurants in town.

Traditional French cuisine in this small restaurant in La Marina. Here no frills, the owner, Stephen, put emphasis on good dishes from home served in good quantity. An ideal place to change the French neighbourhood of Union Square.

It's located in the Ferry Building Market, but retains a casual, vintage, seaside feel. This oyster bar and seafood restaurant also exists in other cities around San Francisco Bay; it's a quality local brand. The grilled sardines are delicious, as is the clam soup, and so are the seafood platters. But don't miss the house specialty, oysters, beautifully served with a parsley vinegar, all accompanied by a small white wine, just like at home.

This small stand in the Ferry Building, run by a Napa Valley-born family business, offers only empanadas from Buenos Aires. It's hard to resist the traditional recipe for these filled puff pastries from Argentina. We loved the carne made with beef, onions and green olives, as well as the champiñones with mushrooms sautéed with shallots and crème fraîche. Enjoy them sitting on a bench in the sun, hair blowing in the wind, watching the container ships sail by in San Francisco Bay.

Flour + Water is an excellent restaurant with minimal but warm decor, offering an Italian-inspired menu with a distinct Northern California influence. Since opening in 2009, chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow have made a name for themselves, opening several locations in San Francisco, including a pizzeria in North Beach. On the menu: revisited specialties such as grilled cod, duck ravioli, rum baba... All washed down with Italian wines, of course. You're in for a treat!

This benchmark burger restaurant in San Francisco has opened a table in the Ferry Building, on the first floor, allowing it to spread out a very pleasant outdoor terrace. The menu features delicious, affordable burgers, which we recommend you accompany with crunchy sweet potato fries. On the menu: the classic double cheese burger, the impossible burger with a vegetarian steak, the Korean kimchi burger, the california burger with egg, cheese, arugula and brioche bun, the Texas burger with avocado and pico de gallo.

This restaurant on lively Polk Street is a fine Californian Mexican fusion address. We love the stylish, colorful setting and the creative cocktails. Its affordable menu features tacos, house-made antojitos (fried Mexican corn tortilla with chili sauce), soups, salads, burritos and fusion dishes. Very appetizing! You can opt for an assortment of tacos (formula of 2 or 3 tacos) to sample everything. Special mention for the braised pork in banana leaves with red onion, cilantro, lime and habanero.

This vegan restaurant right on Union Street in Cow Hollow isn't cheap, but the flavors are well matched and the compositions original. The classic San Francisco veggie "impossible" burger sits alongside the signature burger with spinach and mushroom steak, onions, lettuce, tomato chutney and black bean aioli. Equally recommendable are pizzas, salads, and bowls like the "probiotic" with rice, tamari-marinated mushrooms, yams, chard, black beans, kimchi, hemp seeds and green godless avocado sauce.

Located upstairs in the Ferry Building, this new restaurant offers Jamaican flavors not so common on the streets of San Francisco. There aren't many dishes on the menu, but they're all delicious, fresh and full of flavor. Starting with the legendary jerk chicken, a braised chicken with a bouquet of 100% Jamaican spices. Of course, there are "patties", meat and vegetable fritters served with fried plantains. But there are also tasty vegetarian ital dishes from the Rasta culture. For a drink, try Jamaican hibiscus

In Japantown, restaurants are plentiful. Only one stands out for its playfulness: Tenroku. Slip onto a stool at the helm of this restaurant, and watch the circular conveyor belt parade sushi made by the minute. This gustatory duck fishery is color-coded for price: green, red, white, black and so on. Everything is spelled out on the menu in front of you. The sushi prepared is quite simple, even the more expensive ones, but the experience invites you to try new dishes quickly, and the atmosphere is popular and pleasant.

In Japanese, Kui Shin Bo means "person who likes to eat". This restaurant in the heart of Japantown is a great address for epicureans who want to try excellent sushi and ramen. The special rolls are particularly creative and ultra gourmet. You can also opt for even more exotic dishes, popular Japanese specialties on the menu, delicately presented: donburi (a kind of chirasi with lots of ingredients), soba and udon noodles, okonomiyaki (savory pancake) and other exquisite Japanese dishes. A very fine address.

This Chinatown restaurant offers specialties from southwest China, Sichuan. A region with delicious hot pepper. The house is a classic in the neighborhood, it doesn't look like much, but you can go in with your eyes closed. This simple room, with its print-covered walls and strange, elongated lights hanging from the ceiling, is an unrestrained delight! We loved the pork ravioli served with an ultra-fine spicy sauce, as well as the aged duck eggs, fish fillets and fried green beans.

This restaurant dedicated to contemporary Chinese cuisine has a modern design with a concrete ceiling and large wooden tables, all organized around the kitchen. Go for the Sichuan pork dumpling with hyperfine sauce, the small duck sandwich and the green beans with mushrooms. All washed down with a 2017 Mayacamas chardonnais, it'll go down easy... The house also has a cozier VIP restaurant, a whiskey lounge bar, a tea room and a boutique area to leave with tea, cookies and condiments.

If you're wandering around the Haight's bars, you're going to have to stop at some point and swallow something to soak up all that beer. That's where Escape from New York comes in, an institution that dates back to 1986. At the time, the Full Moon Saloon, a nearby concert hall, had a window overlooking Escape that allowed patrons to order pizza directly! The Full Moon has closed, but Escape still has a great collection of concert posters.

The Pescatore Trattoria at Hotel Zoe, a terrace café on Fisherman's Wharf, is very good. We recommend it for the house specialty, Italian-Californian cioppino, a soup of crabs, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish, then tossed with fresh tomatoes in a white wine sauce. But you can also opt for fried calamari with shrimp ravioli, chicken fettuccine or spaghetti bolognese. For dessert, tiramisu also works wonders.

One of the city's most designer addresses. Black and white lines cross and uncross endlessly in this 1920s-style brasserie on the first floor of the Clift Royal Sonesta, named after the hotel's creator Frederick C. Clift. You can eat there at any time, but we recommend breakfast or brunch. Special mention for the cinnamon rolls, the Union Square sandwich, the California omelette and the eggs Benedict. A stylish way to start your day!

The Argonaut hotel has opened a very nice restaurant with a marine atmosphere, between woodwork and ropes on a brick background. And of course, at the Blue Mermaid they serve seafood: steamed mussels, crab and squid casserole, fish and chips... The selection of wines, beers and cocktails is also up to par. Enough to enjoy with friends or in gallant company before continuing your walk on Fisherman's Wharf. That said, we don't guarantee that you will walk lightly...

In this elegant Japanese restaurant of wood and raw concrete design, you sit at the counter to watch the cooks prepare sushi and take your time choosing a sake, the bottles of which are displayed in the background. The menu changes daily according to fish arrivals, but guarantees a wide selection of sashimi, nigiri and chirasis. On the small plates, the Tombo tatai of just-seared Hawaiian tuna served with a spicy bouquet of black radish and chrysanthemum leaves is divine, as are the special rolls.

Located in the heart of Japantown, this ramen house is famous and crowded, so remember to make reservations for evenings and weekends. The star of the menu is the Hinodeya Ramen, a noodles soup with bonito (tuna), kombu and scallops. You can also add pork cha-shu, soft-boiled eggs, dried seaweed and green onions. Vegetarian ramen is also popular, with soy milk, sesame and spinach noodles, a creamy soup that can be topped with a tofu cake, pepper, fried kale and shitake mushroom. A must try!

In this tourist district, this street food restaurant on the pedestrian waterfront is delicious and reasonably priced. The family behind the stoves has mastered California seafood specialties: the famous clam chowder, crab cake, fish & chips, shrip'n'chips, lobster, fried oysters, seafood combos and shrimp popcorn. You'll want to try it all, it's all delicious! The star of the sandwiches is the lobster roll, expensive but delicious.

This California-based Thai cuisine brand has several restaurants in the state (including one in San Francisco). The Berkeley address is particularly elegant, with Asian-design furniture focusing on wood. On the menu, you'll find daring and delicious proposals: for starters, tom yum granita; for main courses, crab pad thai, beef with yellow coconut curry, volcano cup noodle with braised pork... All accompanied by equally refined creative cocktails.

This Mexican taqueria is a true delight, as it handles the art of tacos, burritos and other Mexican delights... but only with vegetables: it's entirely vegan. Specialties include "impossible" vegetarian steak, which imitates meat very well, as well as black bean, potato and chickpea compositions. You'd expect bland dishes, but everything is tasty and perfectly balanced. Reasonably priced, with fast service, this is a great place to stop for lunch in Oakland.

A quintessential Californian address that only exists in Oakland, with character. Serving both fine cocktails and Mexican-influenced gourmet plates. It's a busy restaurant by day and a lively bar by night. We love the floor, the refreshing chick-yellow and water-green colors, and the sunny bay windows. The à la carte menu features simple, affordable dishes, with veggy, vegan and gluten-free options, prepared with a variety of toppings (seeds, etc.). Brunch at weekends.

This little takeaway-only counter is easy to spot from the street, it's always full, and all the customers are Chinese! Ideal for a picnic break in a park (either Washington Square or Porthmouth Square). The food is authentic, inexpensive and delicious. We loved the pork buns, steamed shrimp and coriander dumpling, fried corn cakes, egg rolls, sesame balls... It's easy to choose: all the dishes have photos on the wall and in front of the counter with corresponding numbers.

Blackwood is an elegant new Thai-American restaurant on Chesnutt Street in Marina. Two inviting communal tables can be found by the fireside on the terrace, while inside there are more cosy banquettes with marble cushions and tables. Classic Thai dishes, such as pad thai, oyster mushroom egg rolls and crispy-crusted tiger prawns, coexist with American dishes twisted with Thai flavours, such as the BW Burger, wagyu seasoned with white cheddar, coriander aioli and Thai sesame salad on a brioche bun.

We're not in Napa Valley yet, but this address already sets the tone for this wine and food region. Located in the center of Sausalito, an upscale town where restaurants are expensive, this small, unpretentious address offers affordable burgers. What makes them special is that they are prepared with ingredients from the Napa Valley. The wood-and-brick interior is very recent, but the best part is the sunny terrace. We regret, however, that it is not open for dinner.