San Francisco restaurants

I'm gonna wade in and ask for a few recommendations now. We're travelling to SFO in June for a week. We like Asian food, some Italian, grill / steak, infact most, but maybe not Mexican. I like fish / seafood although my hubby doesn't. Any recommendations for seafood restaurants would ideally also have a reasonable selection of alternatives on their menu, and not just steak (it's easy to get tired of steak!).

Upmarket is nice, but doesn't have to be - quality of food is more important than swanky surroundings and po-faced waiters! Price range up to $100pp. We're staying at Omni Parker near Nob Hill and Chinatown and willing to travel out a little by taxi if required.

Did the evening Alcatraz tour myself a few years ago - great experience, you get to see areas that aren't open during the normal daytime tours. Highly recommend it.

I am so late replying to my earlier question, but in an attempt to provide a mix of recommendations to balance budgets and styles, here are some of my favourites:

Boulevard - a SF mainstay but still excellent French fare in a beautiful room (Mission and Steuart)
Ozumo - wonderful Japanese and great if you get a table with a view of the Bay bridge (also on Steuart)
Umami - while Ozumo's menu is broad, if you love sushi you might like Umami (Webster Street, Marina district)
Anchor & Hope - less pricey sea food with local brewed beers, always buzzing (Minna Street in SOMA)
Sotto Mare Oysteria & Seafood - pricier than Anchor & Hope but also more genteel, it is popular with hotel concierges but nevertheless a great spot (Green Street, Telegraph Hill)
Bob's Steak & Chop House - at the Omni Hotel, SF isn't a bastion of good steak houses (probably runs against the wholesome Californian grain), but Bob's is great if you like big traditional steak dishes (corner of California and Montgomery)
R&G Lounge - despite the whole Chinatown thing I don't find Chinese food in SF to be generally good, lot's of overpriced mediocre fare, the R&G Lounge is good and inexpensive though esp. for crab, the downstairs restaurant may not be for the feint hearted (once I went, and our waitress said "you hungry", we said "yes", she said "I sort you out" and whipped our menus away, so perhaps book upstairs (Kearny Street)
SPQR - difficult to get in (it's small) but the food is wonderful, mostly pasta (Fillmore Street, go early and walk the neighbourhood)
Fresca - for something different, this time Peruvian food, a colleague found it once when we were working in SF and I loved it (also on Fillmore Street)

I'm going to chime in with my favourites:

Oola - American Food done by a Swedish chap. Great Blood Orange Margaritas and the added bonus of great food served really late ie. 1am!

Yank Sing - Amazing Dim Sum. Only open for 4 hours over lunch. Really popular and fast but great fun. Rincon Center.

Osso - Art Deco Steak House on the top of Nob Hill at the Masonic Center. Great steak as I agree with Slinky, SF isn't particularly known for great all american steak restaurants but I personally rate this over Mortons/Flemings and the like.

I've got loads of bar recommendations if you wanted them too

Gary Danko is a way higher end food experience, but it's hard to beat Waterbar and Epic Roasthouse (right next door, twin restaurants) for views and location.

Bretty, we're a small town, seven by seven square miles. You can go anywhere easily in town. There are some great recommendations in the thread already which would help fill the time. Some more ...

Dosa - south indian, two locations
Osha Thai in the Mission
Darren's And Slinky's sushi recommendations are good

Few more italians

Delfina and Locanda in the Mission
La Ciccia and La Nebbia in Noe Valley
Poesia in the Castro
Inovino, Itlian small plates and a simply spectacular wine bar in Cole Valley - early dinner spot if you spent a day in Golden Gate Park.

Steakhouses ... Alexander's Steakhouse in Soma would be another place over Harris (which is old school)

Couple of really good Cali places in the Castro (which has had a culinary rebirth of late) are Frances and Starbelly. Also Serpentine in Dogpatch, which is the other side of town and the real up and coming 'hood on this boom cycle.

The place to really try if you can get in is State Bird Provisions: it's in the lower Fillmore District, Dim Sum concept with Cali food. Everything's amazingly good, you eat as much as you feel like, it's very reasonable, I'd say the best food for the price in the city right now. Pain to get in, but they open the reservations two months ahead for a given day, so you can basically log in at 8am UK time and grab a table. The Progress next door is by the same people, but it's more of a prix fixe family style and might run you a pretty penny by the time you've grabbed cocktails and all. It's not outrageous, the per head charge is 65, but with drinks, tax and tip you'll easily go over 100 bucks.

I forgot Delfina, lovely place

I forgot Delfina, lovely place

Old mainstay, amazing that they have been there since 1998 ... Locanda is their other proper restaurant (they have a string of pizza places too now), roman food and they have a liquor license unlike the original, so they have a great cocktail program, which I always missed in the original.

I'm going to chime in with my favourites:

Oola - American Food done by a Swedish chap. Great Blood Orange Margaritas and the added bonus of great food served really late ie. 1am!

Yank Sing - Amazing Dim Sum. Only open for 4 hours over lunch. Really popular and fast but great fun. Rincon Center.

Osso - Art Deco Steak House on the top of Nob Hill at the Masonic Center. Great steak as I agree with Slinky, SF isn't particularly known for great all american steak restaurants but I personally rate this over Mortons/Flemings and the like.

I've got loads of bar recommendations if you wanted them too

I'm interested to hear about Osso, it's 2 and a bit blocks from my apt - I'm intrigued to try it, but honestly you're the first person I've heard say something positive about it.

Slinky, Ryan, MarkedMan, thanks so much for so many great ideas, duly copied and pasted into a document and I'll gradually start looking up websites and making some plans for our trip. y) y)

I perhaps should've said $100pp excluding taxes, tip and drinks. We're not big drinkers either, in fact my OH is teetotal so is always a cheap date!

Much appreciated guys, and what a resource this forum is

Thank you all for these restaurant recommendations, I have now decided on the Water Bar for dinner in SF during April, that is of course until I check out more of these recommendations & change my mind again.

Cheers

oldboy

I'm interested to hear about Osso, it's 2 and a bit blocks from my apt - I'm intrigued to try it, but honestly you're the first person I've heard say something positive about it.

Me too, the folks who run the place are OK and the dearth of good steak joints in the city calls for another good one. I did lift their suggested twist on a Manhattan from the sfgate notice about the place last year.

And yeah, a bar thread would be fun too.

Slinky, Ryan, MarkedMan, thanks so much for so many great ideas, duly copied and pasted into a document and I'll gradually start looking up websites and making some plans for our trip. y) y)

I perhaps should've said $100pp excluding taxes, tip and drinks. We're not big drinkers either, in fact my OH is teetotal so is always a cheap date!

Much appreciated guys, and what a resource this forum is

I'm no more than an occasional visitor these days, although I am considering upping my flying with VS again due to a mixture of circs, so will pop in a bit more. They don't make it easy, mind.

Still, every so often a thread is started for fave food & drink in NYC or SF and folks just pile in. No matter what, there's endless amounts of knowledge when it comes to that stuff around here. Other than how to upgrade a flight this is definitely the preferred topic. OK, now I'm going to make myself one of those funky Manhattans