Opened just two doors down from Perbacco on California Street, Umberto Gibin and Staffan Terje's spinoff wine bar and casual restaurant is all about the filigree that surrounds Perbacco's renowned Northern Italian food: the wine list, the housemade salumi, the scrupulously curated cheeses, and... More >>

Bix is San Francisco's closest approximation of a supper club, with a superb bar and very good food that ranges from tony snacks to more serious dining, including thoughtfully composed salads followed by carefully cooked fish, flesh, and fowl, and amazing desserts. Dinner is served in a... More >>

Don't let the well-groomed, Armani-suited crowd at Perbacco's elegant bar in the Financial District intimidate you - head to the back and you'll find plenty of nondescript S.F. foodies chowing down on unusual dishes from the regions of Liguria, Piemonte, and the Veneto. The daily-changing menu... More >>

Sam's Grill and Seafood Restaurant has been at its present location, anchoring the corner of restaurant-laden Belden Place and Bush Street in the Financial District, since 1946, but its history dates back to 1867. Enjoy a traditional American and Continental menu in a classic wood-paneled... More >>

Young and daring, chefs Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara apply El Bulli and Alinea's avant-garde idiom to farm-to-table cooking at Sons and Daughters, working with herbs and vegetables from McNamara's mother's garden as well as potions and devices from Le Sanctuaire, San Francisco's molecular... More >>

The puffy, slightly pear-shaped popovers that arrive with your cocktail aren't the most memorable aspect of a meal at celebrity chef Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern. Conceived as a fancy turn-of-the-20th-century American bar in the Financial District, the multistoried restaurant's menu includes... More >>

Delicious food inspired by Southern barbecue is on offer in this small, chic downtown Financial District room. Wexler's new American menu changes seasonally. At lunch, sandwiches star (the pulled lamb is wonderful). At dinner, the smoky chicken liver mousse is superb, and the frequently... More >>

Named for top-quality Wagyu beef, this postmodern steakhouse also wants to be an inviting cocktail lounge. 5A5 Steak Lounge's menu offers new American and Asian-fusion twists on classic steakhouse fare. The Wagyu, sold by the ounce (at a four-ounce minimum) is very pricey; a World Wide Wagyu... More >>

A subtly illuminated, luxuriously appointed temple to the four Nob Hill robber barons who built the first transcontinental railroad across the United States. The menu is as robustly American as the restaurant's Gilded Age ambiance. The food isn't as ethereal as the stratospheric prices might... More >>

This tiny corner of Paris, tucked away in the downtown alley it's named for, is decorated with furnishings rescued from an old Paris cafe, including a curving zinc bar at which to enjoy your glass of red wine or kir royale. The bistro menu features French classics at lunch and dinner. Live jazz... More >>

This restaurant in the Campton Place hotel offers ambitious and expensive New American cooking in a warm setting featuring golden walls, comfy booths, and starched white linen. Multicourse tasting menus with optional wine pairings are also available. More >>

Enjoy specializes in strict Buddhist vegetarian cuisine: no meat or fish, of course; little dairy or eggs; no MSG, for modern customers; and also no onions or garlic. Making savory, satisfying food given the cuisine's restrictions is like giving kids a box of red, green, and purple markers and... More >>

The years have been kind to Farallon, whose over-the-top under-the-sea décor, fresh and wacky in 1997, now feels like a classic. The vaulted ceilings and huge sea-urchin light fixtures at this Union Square restaurant are almost worth the (hefty) price of admission alone. Chef/owner Mark Franz... More >>

Tucked off the lobby of the Mark Twain Hotel in Hayes Valley, this clubby, polished restaurant offers dependable, classic American fare made with sustainably raised meats and vegetables grown on a farm in Petaluma. Fish & Farm is the kind of place where the pork chops are as thick as a closed... More >>

We know Frontera Fresco is in Macy's basement and not the sainted Mission, that it's part of a chain run by a guy from Chicago, that the portions are small and the prices are hefty, and that the service can be on the downright surly side. But the fact remains that the sweet corn tamales served... More >>

Classic all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch buffet is served up in the beautifully refurbished surroundings of the Palace Hotel, a 130-year-old landmark. Quality is erratic, but the chandeliers and potted palms make it all worthwhile. More >>

The family-run convenience store sells Korean dishes like kimbap (sushilike rolls, which appear in the early morning), spicy beef stew, and bento boxes. However, it's best known for its Korean burritos, which replace beans with sautéed kimchi and carnitas with bulgogi, short ribs, or spicy... More >>

Exquisite Japanese fare - including top-notch sushi, a monthly changing multicourse kaiseki dinner, and sophisticated, unusual hot and cold dishes - is the draw in this rather underdecorated series of rooms tucked away in the back of the posh Palace Hotel. More >>

Once known as Larkin Express, this Civic Center spot has renamed itself for its extensive menu of Burmese specialties. Ordering one of the signature crunchy salads (tea leaf, ginger, or crispy fried pea) is essential. Other favorite dishes include the unusual long-stewed beef with lemongrass;... More >>

This is a lavishly decorated restaurant, with seating ranging from lounge-y sofas to semicircular booths. There's a separate bar area in the soaring atrium entry off the elevators, which is dominated by a huge sculpture of dancing women and a flickering gas fireplace. The multicultural,... More >>

This venerable Moroccan restaurant is exotically decorated, with low banquettes, brass tray tables, and hassocks. The prix-fixe menu includes three starters, a choice of entrée, dessert, and mint tea (a la carte entrées are available for less). The food is well-prepared and sincere. Excellent... More >>

This tiny, homey Japanese spot (with a 10-seat counter) does a brisk lunchtime business nevertheless, lots of it takeout. Specialties include the dark brown vegetarian curry sauce, served over brown or white rice, that can be augmented with beef, chicken, prawns, pork, salmon, or tofu. Donburi... More >>

There are many other choices available on Plouf's classic French bistro menu, but the most popular dish, glimpsed on most of the eatery's canopy-shaded outside tables on festive, restaurant-lined Belden Place, is the mussels, served in a big bowl and offered in six different preparations (as... More >>

This divey hash house may be one of our favorite restaurants in San Francisco: We love the matchless location, right on Pier 30, with a million-dollar view of the bay from its spacious patio; the classic diner cooking (especially the tuna and egg salad sandwiches and the fish and chips), which... More >>

This glitzy, cream-and-gold restaurant on the fourth floor of Neiman Marcus features great views (of Union Square below and the dazzling landmark stained-glass dome above) and thoroughly conceived, luxurious, pricey food in generous quantities. The traditional demitasse of chicken broth and... More >>