You could say that San Francisco is a small town masquerading as a big city. On one hand, it’s doable in a long weekend and walkable (steep inclines aside), and each neighborhood is unlike the one it borders. There’s a quirkiness to this place—you can feel it in the unlikely proximity of Haight-Ashbury’s peace-sign-graffitied cafés to Nob Hill’s old money social clubs and South of Market’s tech alley startups, all against a backdrop of candy-colored Victorians. When it comes to eating here, however, there’s nothing provincial about it. San Francisco is the O.G. mecca for new American cuisine. Years before every chef listed the provenance of their salad greens on the menu, Alice Waters and her Bay Area cohort invented hyperlocal cooking. And it’s still got that swagger (the food at Cala or Tartine Manufactory is proof). The city’s pioneering counterculture spirit permeates every corner, fueling constant change.
THE BASICS
Population: 870,887
Average Rent for 1 BR: $3,433
Median Home Value: $1,231,000
Jobs in Tech: 68,000
Number of Minutes it Takes to Drive from SFO to Downtown: 30
Local Talking Points: The awesomeness of Steph Curry; Oakland gentrification; the controversial 61-story Salesforce Tower going up in SoMa.
The Only Shoes You’ll Need: Slip-on leather flats for her (like the ones from Loewe), and dressy-enough sneakers (like Allbirds’ wool runners) for him.
Average wait time at the no-frills seafood joint Swan Oyster Depot: 2 hours
The average number of years servers work at Tadich Grill, California’s oldest restaurant, which still serves the best cioppino in town: 16
WHERE TO EAT
The Reservations to Book ASAP
Cala, Hayes Valley
The chef behind Contramar in Mexico City serves superfresh, elevated Mexican—trout tostadas, kampachi ceviche—in an airy, plant-filled space.
Petit Crenn, Hayes Valley
Atelier Crenn’s low-key sister restaurant does a veg-and-seafood-forward tasting menu (equal parts French and Northern Californian) in an all-white room.
Cotogna, Jackson Square
A cozy, brick-walled corner spot warmed up even more by a wood-fired oven and open rotisserie. Start with the sformato, a creamy-but-light custard, then split a few thin-crust pizzas.
Izakaya Rintaro, The Mission
You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to a temple in the Japanese countryside. Post up at the cedar bar for diver-scallop sashimi and hand-rolled udon noodles.
State Bird Provisions, Western Addition
Small plates like crispy pork belly and kimchi-scallion egg custard are served dim-sum style at this perennially packed standby. For a pre-dinner mai tai, hit the bar at The Progress next door—it’s owned by the S.B.P. team.
Nopa, Divisadero
Its earthy, fresh-from-the-farmers’-market menu still nails it, which means it’s as hot (and crowded) as it was 10 years ago.
Make a Meal Out of Cocktail Hour
Leo’s Oyster Bar, FiDi
An instant Financial District charmer with its tiki-chic decor and retro dishes like Crab Louie and deviled eggs.
Liholiho Yacht Club, Tenderloin
The cocktail menu at this Tenderloin spot is heavy on mezcal and white rum, plus a modern Hawaiian menu (tuna poké, togarashi popcorn).
The Saratoga, Tenderloin
The wall behind the bar at this bi-level Tenderloin watering hole is massive, backlit, and filled floor to ceiling with liquor bottles. Pro tip: The fried-chicken sliders go with whatever you’re drinking.
This City Takes Snacks Very Seriously...
In this old school food town, bread and coffee are basically a religion. Here’s where to go when you’re between meals.
Souvla, Multiple Locations
The frozen Greek yogurt is topped with sour-cherry syrup, baklava crumbles, olive oil, or wildflower honey.
20th Century Cafe, Hayes Valley
It’s all about the fluffy, layered honey cake with a perfectly pulled espresso.
The Mill, Divisadero
Split your inch-thick toast’s toppings down the middle—half pumpkin butter, half almond butter with honey and Maldon salt.
Trouble Coffee Company, Outer Sunset
Ask for the Build Your Own Damn House: a coffee, cinnamon toast, and a coconut served with a straw.
Taqueria Throw Down: What’s the Best Thing to Order and Where?
Gordo Taqueria
“Burrito, black and pinto beans, pico de gallo, with guac or sour cream—never both.” —Hero Shop owner Emily Holt
La Taqueria
“Carnitas taco, dorado style.” —Chef Michael Tusk
Pancho Villa Taqueria
“Carne Asada Super Burrito, refried pinto beans, no sour cream, hot salsa.” —Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann
Tacos Cala
“Huevos taco with rice and beans, green salsa, and an agua fresca.” —Gallerist Jessica Silverman
Namu Gaji
“OK, it’s not technically a taqueria, but their Korean taco with kimchi salsa and pickled daikon is my go-to.” —Dropbox CEO Drew Houston
WHERE TO SHOP
Four Shops with Their Own Brand of Cali Vibes
General Store
In Outer Sunset, nineties-era silk blouses and worn-in Levi’s hang next to ceramic planters and brass incense trays.
Reliquary
This Hayes Valley spot is known for Japanese-indigo jackets, handwoven leather bags, and small-batch scents from D.S. & Durga.
Gravel & Gold
You’ll find printed cotton tops and Salihah Moore’s beaded chandelier earrings in this Mission favorite.
The Perish Trust
At this Divisadero outpost, the apothecary section will make you want to overhaul your bathroom with natural balms and face mists.
NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN
DOWNTOWN: The New SFMOMA Will Blow Your Mind
Now is the time to revisit the city’s buzzy modern-art museum SFMOMA. Its brilliant new Snøhetta-designed addition—all bright, open space and clever details, like a massive wall covered in woodland-forest plants and window seats that look out on the skyline—has given it a second life. Take your time in the chapel-like octagonal gallery filled with Agnes Martin paintings, and don’t miss the Richard Serra installation in the glass atrium. For some post-art fuel in-house, you have options: There’s Sightglass Coffee on the third floor, for a quick cortado, or you can sit down at In Situ, where chef Corey Lee’s rotating-menu concept pays homage to dishes by famous chefs around the world (Albert Adrià’s hazelnut cheesecake; Roy Choi’s braised short-rib stew). From the museum, you could easily Uber to Columbus Avenue, where you’ll stop into Beat-era relic City Lights Booksellers for its radical-leaning stacks, and Tosca Cafe, a former dive revamped by April Bloomfield. Or have your driver drop you at the Ferry Building, a Beaux Arts arcade packed with bakeries, fish stalls, and Boulettes Larder—it’s the best spot to watch the boats come and go over a plate of meze on the back terrace.
HAYES VALLEY: Eat and Shop
Ask any local to rattle off his or her favorite restaurants, and odds are Zuni Café is near the top of the list. This place defined the city’s restaurant culture in the eighties when chef Judy Rodgers (an Alice Waters protégé) transformed it from a Southwestern dive into a warm, Eurocentric establishment. Rodgers passed away in 2013, but her beautifully simple dishes—brick-oven chicken with herbed bread salad, ricotta gnocchi, and a hand-ground burger on grilled rosemary focaccia—live on. (The restaurant is now helmed by co-owner Gilbert Pilgram.) Consider it for a late lunch—that’s when the dining room absolutely glows as the sunlight filters through bottles of Lillet behind the bar. If you have time, explore the rest of Hayes Valley, a stylish residential enclave lined with ficus trees and contemporary designer boutiques, home-decor shops, and galleries (Jules Maeght shows European artists alongside Bay Area locals). Across from Zuni, on Rose Street (the sign sometimes gets attacked by a cheeky vandal to read “Rosé”), is Jonathan Rachman’s floor-to-ceiling antiques-and-design shop. Even if you don’t need anything, go for the interiors inspiration. There are two great stores to hit on Hayes Street: Public Bikes—though you’ll be left to ponder how to ship the brightly colored eight-speeds home—and Gimme Shoes for the latest from Dries Van Noten and Robert Clergerie.
THE MISSION: Picnic in the Park
A short walk from the original Tartine Bakery (and its infamous hours-long line) is the new 5,000-square-foot Tartine Manufactory. The light-filled space is all blond wood and buttery leather, and it runs like a factory, albeit a delightfully pleasant one, churning out country boules, porchetta-and-egg sandwiches, and buffalo-milk soft serve. The restaurant is in the same building as Heath Ceramics’s factory and shop–the latter’s tiny bud vases are truly packable. From there, walk through the Mission’s Technicolor streets to Mission Dolores Park, where all tribes—tech bros, aging hippies, kids with Frisbees—gather on the grass. Grab some local cheeses and a six pack at nearby Bi-Rite Market, and join ’em.
GET OUTSIDE
In the City . . .
Pedal Golden Gate Park
Rent a bike at the end of Haight Street and make your way around the loop road. Stop at the Japanese Tea Garden, Stow Lake, and the James Turrell Three Gems.
Walk Through the Presidio
On the east side of the park, if you walk along Crissy Field you’ll see the Golden Gate Bridge and out to Alcatraz. To the west, wooded trails spill out onto the rocky cliffs above Marshall’s Beach.
See Lands End
The ruins of Sutro Baths, the enormous swimming complex built in 1894, are surrounded by peaceful, wildflower-lined trails best explored at sunset.
. . . And Just Outside of It
Hike (Part of) Mount Tamalpais
You could take all day and go to the summit, but if you’re short on time and stamina, you can trek through the redwoods from Stinson Beach to Forbes Bench in just about three hours.
Eat Oysters in Marshall
Take the 1 instead of the 101 (even if Waze tells you otherwise) and spend the afternoon on Tomales Bay with a shuck-your-own picnic (and plenty of dry white) at Hog Island Oyster Co.’s Boat Oyster Bar.
Drive to Wine Country
It takes only a little over an hour to get to Napa or Sonoma. The post-vineyard-tour move: Head to the coast and spend a few nights at Timber Cove Resort, a boutique lodge on a private rocky bluff.
PRO TIPS FROM OUR LOCAL GUIDES
“Mitchell’s Ice Cream in the Mission has been around since the fifties, and it has crazy flavors like horchata, ube, and three different types of coconut. The mango sorbet changed my life.” —Samin Nosrat, Bay Area chef and author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering Elements of Good Cooking
Car-share app Getaround lets you book and unlock your wheels instantly (without a membership, like Zipcar). Just download and enter your license info to get access to a fleet of nearby Model S Teslas, Fiat 500s, and BMWs.
“If you’re craving dim sum, hit Yank Sing in Chinatown for their minced-pork soup dumplings or Hong Kong Lounge in Outer Richmond for law bok gow, a shredded-turnip cake with a crispy crust and XO sauce.” —Stuart Brioza, chef and owner of State Bird Provisions
Lisa Bühler, Owner of Indie Boutique LisaSaysGah.com, on her Perfect Sunday:
“I’ll start with . . . A hike up the trail in Corona Heights Park, in the Castro. From the top, the views are as good as those from Twin Peaks, but it’s not as well known—and it’s near Courtney Produce, my favorite spot to grab a carrot-beet juice.”
“Then I’ll head to . . . The Presidio, where the weekly Off the Grid market brings together a bunch of food trucks on the main lawn. It has everything from dim sum to banh mi to bagels.”
“Next I’ll hit some shops . . . In the Mission. Anaïse and Le Point are the places to go for Jesse Kamm pants and Clare V. bags. And of all the vintage stores on Valencia Street, No Shop has the best edit, but Mission’s Thrift is worth it if you like to dig.”
“For dinner. . . I love meeting friends at Burma Love in the Mission. I always order the chicken and mint and a tea-leaf salad. I’ll finish the night with a martini at Martuni’s, a dark, old school piano bar.”
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Vitale
Huge rooms that overlook the bay, right across from the Ferry Building. Say no more.
Inn at the Presidio
It’s engulfed by giant eucalyptus and Monterey pine trees, so you’ll feel like you’re in the countryside. The rocking chairs on the porch out front are a nice touch, too.
Ritz-Carlton
The downtown 1909 landmark got a modern revamp in 2015. Plus, it has daily wine tastings with local vineyards.
The Scarlet Huntington
Rooms got a much needed—if kooky—update. Thankfully, the classic wood-paneled bar remains untouched and is still the best place for a burger and a martini.
The St. Regis
It’s a block from SFMOMA, which you can see from giant picture windows in the rooms facing Minna Street. There’s even an indoor pool.
The Battery
It's the Bay area's answer to Soho House. Nonmembers can book one of the 15 guest rooms at the private three-story club (designed by Ken Fulk, who did Leo’s Oyster Bar) and have access to the gym, spa, and restaurant—plus events like a chat with artist Urs Fischer and a performance by the Kronos Quartet.
The Tilden
With a buzzing lobby bar designed by Studio Tack, this boutique spot in the the up-and-coming Tenderloin is squarely aimed at a hip, younger crowd—plus, the café is stocked with scones and brownies from local favorite Jane.
The Laurel Inn
At the outer edge of Pacific Heights and a few blocks from the Presidio, this 49-room hotel (with a brand new mid-century-style renovation) is smack in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood.
