Chaya Brasserie | Franco-Japanese
  • Entrée | $23 - $32
  • 132 The Embarcadero
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-777-8688
  • Nearest Intersection
    Embarcadero and Mission
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Franco-Japanese Cuisine with Gorgeous Bay Views
Chaya Brasserie’s brick walls, bamboo ceilings and crystal chandeliers vie for diners’ attention with the restaurant’s stunning views of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. A sushi bar sits between the front room’s 21-foot zinc bar and open kitchen, and the quieter rear dining room.

A pioneer of "La Nouvelle Cuisine Franco-Japanese," Chef Tetsuya Osaki uses regional delicacies in such offerings as a Dungeness crab spring roll with crab tartare, roasted rack of lamb with vegetable pot-au-feu and black olive tapenade; and filet mignon with Sonoma foie gras.


Boulevard | American Regional
  • Entrée | $24 - $35
  • 1 Mission St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-543-6084
  • Nearest Intersection
    Mission and Steuart
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Hearty American Regional Cuisine
Located in the historic waterfront Audiffred Building, Boulevard possesses an elegant yet warm Belle Époque interior featuring Art Nouveau light fixtures, pressed tin, and artisan ironwork. A peacock mosaic fills the bar’s entire floor, and picture windows display a view of the Bay Bridge.

Chef Nancy Oakes prepares artful dishes that reflect regional influences. Depending on the season, guests may enjoy a fresh Dungeness crab and avocado salad, a wood-oven-roasted pork loin with Asian pears and Brussels sprouts in a braised bacon and hazelnut sauce, or for dessert, a white nectarine and blackberry cobbler.


Fifth Floor | French
  • Entrée | $33 - $42
  • 12 Fourth St.-Hotel Palomar
    San Francisco, CA 94103
  • Phone | 415-348-1555
  • Nearest Intersection
    Fourth and Market
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Swank, Celebrated French Cuisine
Sitting atop the Hotel Palomar, the ultra-chic Fifth Floor’s zebra-print carpet, ebony wood paneling and fine Frette linens give this restaurant a plush, urban appeal.

The Fifth Floor has a consistent reputation for preparing the most innovative French food in the city. Using the finest organic ingredients, Chef Melissa Perello creates unique dishes pairing unlikely combinations such as sea scallops with tapioca and chorizo, swordfish with cocoa nibs, and foie gras with bee pollen and Buddha's hand citrus. A superb wine list complements Perello's creations.


Kyo-ya | Japanese
  • Entrée | $20 - $38
  • 2 New Montgomery St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-546-5090
  • Nearest Intersection
    New Montgomery & Market
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Upscale Japanese Sushi in Serene Setting
Located in the Palace Hotel is Kyo-ya, serving the best and freshest in authentic Japanese food. The atmosphere is minimalist, upscale and serene with glossy wood tables, black lacquered chairs and a small sushi bar with eight seats.

Discriminating diners and Japanese businessmen delight in Chef Kuni Oshikawa’s exquisitely prepared sushi and kaiseki dinner, the latter a traditional six-course dinner based on seasonal ingredients and presented according to century-old standards. Specialties include the super-fresh sashimi, an elegant fixed-price menu and a selection of more than a dozen fine sakes.


Restaurant LuLu | French Provencal
  • Entrée | $15 - $25
  • 816 Folsom St.
    San Francisco, CA 94107
  • Phone | 415-495-5775
  • Nearest Intersection
    Folsom and Fourth
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Californian-Mediterranean in Trendy Warehouse Setting
A festive, communal atmosphere makes Restaurant LuLu a favorite among San Francisco diners. Housed in a 1910 warehouse, LuLu’s loft-like space with its open kitchen and wood-burning oven, rotisserie and grill is always bustling with guests enjoying rustic family-style fare.

Chef Jared Doob’s seasonal, Provençal-inspired menu includes a rex sole with preserved lemon, garlic and chilies filleted tableside, plus some of the city’s best wood-fire oven-baked pizza, rotisserie chicken and grilled meats. A wine bar offers more than 70 varietals to try by the glass.


One Market Restaurant | California
  • Entrée | $20 - $32
  • One Market St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-777-5577
  • Nearest Intersection
    Market and Steuart
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Superb American Cuisine in Lively Setting
Bradley Ogden’s One Market Restaurant is located on the Embarcadero waterfront, with floor-to-ceiling windows giving guests a postcard view of classic cable cars, palm trees and the San Francisco Bay. The interior is decorated in warm brown tones with wrought-iron chandeliers. The open kitchen in back and a jazz pianist in front create a lively ambiance.

Chef Mark Dommen takes an innovative approach to American cuisine. Specialties include pumpkin seed-crusted red snapper, beggar's purses of black truffle and mascarpone risotto, petrale sole soufflé and a truffled pheasant breast with celery root hash and artichoke cream.


Ozumo | Contemporary Japanese
  • Entrée | $14 - $39
  • 161 Steuart St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-882-1333
  • Nearest Intersection
    Steuart and Howard
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Authentic, Upscale Japanese Cuisine on the Waterfront
Ozumo evokes a spare, sophisticated Japanese sensibility with its granite walls, angular furnishings and unobstructed views of bay waters. Guests may dine at its 30-seat sushi bar or enjoy warmer fare from its charcoal robata grill. A sake lounge offers a vast selection of this quintessential Japanese beverage.

Fresh seafood dominates the sushi and sashimi menu, while the robata grill offers such savory items as a Niman-Gyu fillet of beef with a shiitake mushroom and Madeira sauce. Diners who do choose sushi may prefer to order 'Omakase' where the chefs at Ozumo will prepare a coursed selection of the day's best selections.


Roy's | Hawaiian Fusion
  • Entrée | $13 - $30
  • 575 Mission St.
    San Francisco, CA 94109
  • Phone | 415-777-0277
  • Nearest Intersection
    Mission and Second
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Valet
Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine
One of thirty Roy's restaurants encompassed within the Pacific Rim, Roy’s of San Francisco brings “Hawaiian Fusion” cuisine to the Bay Area. The dining room and mezzanine form an L-shape around the open kitchen, and tables feature crystal vases filled with fresh-cut orchids. The sunset-hued art and light patterns flooding the walls create a lively, kinetic space.

Blending Hawaiian/Asian flavors with classic French technique, Master Chef Roy Yamaguchi and Chef Partner Ty Mahler offer diners such delectables as ginger-seared Chilean sea bass in a saffron, coconut and basil crab sauce and Kal-bi-style flat iron steak with shiitakes, Maui onions and chile barbeque sauce.


ThirstyBear Brewing Company | Regional Spanish
  • Entrée | $5 - $19
  • 661 Howard St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-974-0905
  • Nearest Intersection
    Howard and Hawthorne
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Street
Brews and Authentic Spanish Cuisine
Next to the Moscone Convention Center in a renovated brick warehouse is the multi-level ThirstyBear Brewing Company. In addition to ThirstyBear’s excellent brews, guests will enjoy amazing live flamenco shows on Sunday nights. Pool tables, dartboards and an open kitchen contribute to the always-rockin’ industrial-chic atmosphere.

Chef Trish Tracey serves authentic Spanish dishes, including a tortilla de patatas appetizer, escalivada (roasted vegetables) espinacas ala Catalana (spinach sautéed with garlic, pine nuts and raisins) and paella Valenciana, a sizzling combination of chicken, shrimp, sausage, shellfish and saffron-laden rice served in an authentic paella pan.


Town Hall Restaurant | Regional American
  • Entrée | $20 - $26
  • 342 Howard St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-908-3900
  • Nearest Intersection
    Howard and Fremont
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Street
Chic American Cuisine in Charmed Setting
Set in a 1907 ship's engine manufacturing building, Town Hall is an aptly-named gathering spot for those who appreciate sophisticated American cuisine. The two-story exposed brick interior is dressed with cream-colored wainscoting, ebony-stained flooring and chandeliers salvaged from a New York theater.

Under the guidance of Chefs Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal, the menu’s American roots are evident, as exemplified by the sautéed dayboat scallops with smoked andouille sausage jambalaya, basmati rice and crab butter, slow-roasted duck with wild rice, pecans, spiced dates and gingersnap gravy; or, at lunch, a scrumptious Smithfield ham and cheese sandwich with poached egg and jalapeno cream.


Yank Sing | Dim Sum
  • Entrée | $3 - $15
  • 101 Spear St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Phone | 415-957-9300
  • Nearest Intersection
    Spear and Mission
  • Reservations | Yes
  • Parking | Street
Creative and Upscale Dim Sum
Open only for lunch, Yank Sing, the city’s oldest teahouse, produces more than 90 varieties of dim sum deemed equal in quality to that found in Hong Kong. Owner Henry Chan's dining rooms are often bustling with businessmen and families alike, but the soft-toned walls, linen-draped tables, carpets and wood accents lend an air of tranquility.

Diners order dim sum from rolling carts bearing steamer baskets, bowls and tureens filled with pot stickers, spring rolls, plump shrimp dumplings, stuffed crab claws, fried eggplant and other favorites.