Review Highlights
“3 restaurants are open, Bun Mee, Littke Chihuahua, and Starbird and illy coffee.” in 4 reviews
“Clean, quiet, aesthetically pleasing, with a generous assortment of food and drink options.” in 8 reviews
“Going through security was a breeze (even though i didn't get my TSA precheck yet, it was quick enough.” in 4 reviews
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- Ben H L.San Jose, CA333176276Dec 6, 2011
As this is part of the older part of SFO, Terminal 1 doesn't look as sharp and snazzy as the new Terminal 2. The walkways are smaller, there's generally more people here in terms of traffic, and the bathrooms can be crowded. But once one makes it through all that humanity, it's easy sailing to the baggage claim area and the long term parking shuttles off-site.
Since I use San Jose more often, I most likely won't come back to SFO unless there's a huge price fare difference that makes it worth the drive and the hassle of dealing with the huge crowds that get funneled through here.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Aug 13, 20243 check-ins
I fly often for work, so having flown mostly out of Terminal 2 for Alaska and now switching to Terminal 1, there's quite a few changes.
Pros:
+ More gates (26), more spacious, more seating
+ Wide walking spaces (yet some folks still don't keep to their right...)
+ Bathrooms are beautifully designed
Cons:
- TSA baggage check point is 100% poor design. If there's a good TSA agent, it might help with organizing the buckets so that you don't wait forever for a gap to insert your bucket. A lot of travelers are not as cognizant of how the system works, so they push their bucket in at any chance of an open gap. Patience.
- Water station at the end of TSA baggage check point doesn't have hot water. T2 offer chilled, ambient, and hot water. I guess that's a no green tea for me.
- Signage unclear for RIDE-SHARE pick up.
Pro-Tip:
+ When you exit T1 through the final glass doors, head left of the baggage claim escalators for the ride-share sign. Look to your right and those are the escalators that will take you UP one floor. Once up there, head to your right and you'll see the bridge that connects to ride-share pick-ups. Zone B.
Food:
- I've only tried Starbird. Don't bother. Save your money.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 1 - 43016696588Jun 28, 2024
This airport terminal was by far the nicest I have ever been inside. It was beautifully designed and beautiful to look at. Even the bathrooms were decorated like an upscale hotel. Art everywhere: wall paintings, hanging sculptures, art installations, and mini museums - a feast for the eyes in so many ways.
The terminal is thoughtfully designed, with clear signage, incredible spacing, nooks for people to gather and rest and work and hang out in everywhere, in so many different configurations. There was ample space for everyone near my gate, with no one left standing or crowded out, easy places to charge all the electronics
Food in my jetblue wing was incredible, affordable, adorable, and just- awesome! Even the way the different restaurant were decorated like little cottages was awesome. It looked like there were some very locally-owned options, and this carried over to some of the shops which also looked local.
What a way to enter San Francisco- with history on the walls.Helpful 8Thanks 1Love this 3Oh no 0 - Apr 22, 2024
What an absolute improvement compared to the pre-pandemic days of the terminal Southwest was utilizing. This terminal has been years in the making but wow is it impressive. It's open, bright, and has some great energy for your travel day. Really enjoyed seeing all of the open seating and different styles of seating. Plenty of great art installations and they even had a mini art gallery you could utilize.
Bathrooms were very nice and were kept up nicely. The hidden gem was seeing a Yayoi Kusama art installation casually sitting in the terminal. If you're wanting an open view of the tarmac with floor to ceiling glass views of the valleys in the back, head towards the very end where one should exit and you'll see a haven of a hangout spot.Helpful 11Thanks 1Love this 10Oh no 0 - Aug 4, 20242 check-ins
Such a clean and well thought out terminal. A probably the quietest I have ever been in. There does seem to be quite a bit of space between gates and the walking escalators were out of service both times we went, but it worked out. The bathrooms are clean and spacious. There are also ample food choices with a variety to choose from. Overall very nice.
Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 0 - Feb 2, 2024Updated review
Flew out of Terminal 1 the other day and it was a quick and easy experience! Drop by was quick and easy by the front door using ride share.
Once inside the terminal, there was clear signage for those that needed to drop a bag or speak with a ground agent.
Security took a minute using TSA Precheck and my mobile drivers license as ID. I didn't even have to take out my physical drivers license or show my boarding pass! Being TSA Precheck, all my liquids, laptops all stayed in my bag while I went through a metal detector.
Post security, I loved how the Harvey Milk terminal is a quiet terminal requesting travelers to wear headsets and keep noise down.
Dining options were plentiful with organic along with other high end options being available.Helpful 5Thanks 1Love this 3Oh no 0Apr 25, 2022Previous reviewFlew out of Terminal 1 the other day and it was a decent experience. Drop off via my ride share was quick and easy
Security was also immediate with TSA PreCheck. The TSA agent wore gloves and only needed my Real ID and was able to let me pass through without seeing my boarding pass!
The actual screening was also a breeze with no need to remove shoes, laptop, belt, or jacket to go through security.
The terminal was pretty quiet with maybe 20% capacity? There were numerous eateries that were bright and clean but the food was lackluster. Pricing is significantly higher than the street so this might be a better spot for expense reporting and corporate cards!
Wif was free, bathrooms were spacious and spotless...there were also gender neutral bathrooms too...
The highlight of the terminal is signage indicating that the terminal is designed to be quiet with an ask for no speaker phones and to use headsets for enjoying calls videos etc. - 86677977May 29, 2024
For a state so concerned with environmental causes the designers used up so much space between gates that you have to walk a mile to get to baggage claim. How about saving some land and the bugs and bunnies by reducing your land footprint. Baggage claim very slow and equally unnecessary large.
Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Nov 22, 20232 check-ins
I must say that for Thanksgiving Holiday travel, the experience of getting through lines (Southwest even) with security included was really great. I love the remodel of this terminal that has nice seating, art, plenty of plug ins and nice restrooms. My only qualm is the abundance of fun restaurants and coffee shops are closed to the early flights. I need coffee at all hours so this is what saddened me (Ritual coffee is incredible SF coffee but they don't open their kiosk until 4:30 am).
The art displays always are so impressive and I'm grateful to the curator that the airport has.Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 - Oct 29, 2023
I had flown in and out of terminal 1 at SFO prior to Dec. 2015 at least 25 times before they broke ground in 2016 to remodel it into what it is today. I left that company in 2015 and as a result, flew into SFO with less frequency. And I thought Terminal 1 was nice back then.
So when I do fly back, my mind is so blown away with Harvey Milk Terminal 1 - it is just an Awesome terminal!! There's beautiful artwork throughout, high/airy ceilings, clear signage, great coffee and food choices. Free water dispensers, easy access to the carousels and from there, easy access to the air train. It's just so organized and a pleasing experience.
Haven't been to the new AA Admirals club yet nor have I tried the Filipino food here. I really love this terminal and I wish I travelled here more so I could spend quality time here.Helpful 36Thanks 4Love this 28Oh no 1 - Brian V.Jersey City, NJ06Aug 29, 2024
The "new terminal" 1 at SFO is a disaster. Add 15 to 20 minutes to your usual time to get through security. The new bag screening system does not utilize humans and it keeps jamming up inside the machine which then does not allow bags to pass out of the other side of the machine. You can put lipstick on, it's still a pig, epic fail SFO!!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - 36816154873Feb 20, 2024
This has got to be one of the nicest terminals I have recently been in.
It's bright, very clean, and spacious. There was a ton of seating available and there is outlets everywhere. Our Southwest flight was delayed 2x but we were very comfortable just hanging out here. It almost felt like we were hanging out in a library.
TSA was a breeze and they were very well organized. The agents were also friendly and fast.Helpful 6Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 0
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