The Best Fine Dining in San Francisco

Seafood heavenAngler is run by Joshua Skeenes and the team behind Saison. A seafood-centric restaurant focused on live-fire cooking with a great wine list.I love to start with a bottle of Pliny, some local oysters while I'm checking in the menu.Do not miss the grilled Radicchio with Radicchio X.O sauce, wonderfully smokey flavour and super tasty. Prawns or tuna from the grill and to finish the meal a Soft Serve Sundae. That's a great way to start the CA-trip.

I had a beautiful meal at Saison in San Francisco. This was the second time I visited the place. That menu was a highlight of my trip. Saison serves a kind of Californian cuisine that is Japanese inspired, product driven but very modern. The restaurant has an open kitchen and they cook on an open wood fire.Photos: Adahlia Cole

This classic San Francisco at its best. This classic San Francisco at its best. Amazing ingredients, sophisticated food, yet in a casual and cozy ambience. Besides the quality of the food, there is something very unique about this place. The love for food and hospitality shines from everything you see, smell, taste and touch here: the large flower arrangements, linen blinds and chair covers, wooden counter and tables, and the tableware, kitchen utensils and pantry items organized neatly but unpretentiously on open shelves. And the food, for sure. The owners, Lori Regis and Chef Amaryll Schwertner are there every day. That reminds me of Italy where running a soulful restaurant is a lifestyle. Chef Amaryll’s food makes me feel happy, healthy and nourished. In the morning, I would have fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, freshly pressed citrus juice and maybe some toasted bread with butter. For lunch, a selection of mezze, maybe, or a fantastic pizza and some salad on the side. The last time I ate lunch in Boulettes Larder, I had a salad made of shredded roast chicken breast with some crushed walnuts, dates and chestnuts, cilantro leaves, extra virgin olive oil and little gem lettuce. Sounds too simple? It was wonderful. The sister restaurant Boulibar next door is just as lovely food wise, but for some reason, I always gravitate towards Boulettes Larder; the airy open space with all the beautiful ingredients displayed is too delicious to pass.

New Akikos is better than ever.

‍

Since re-opening in it’s gorgeous new space in January 2023, 1987 family classic, Akikos, has evolved into a world class sushi bar… the elegant and striking new space, along with consummate service and sushi, make it one of SF’s sushi destinations.

Two Michelin-starred, Californian-Mexican cuisine by talented chef Val Cantú.A chic restaurant in SoMa, Californios is where I send diners looking for a memorable, high-end dining experience in SF (it’s strangely not on everyone’s radar). It's all about the patio that makes you feel like you’re in the Condesa in Mexico City (chef-owner Val says it’s like Tulum meets Inverness). The tasting menu is an exploration of Californian and Mexican cuisines, with everything made in house. You’ll taste some of the best tortillas and masa here—just wait until you try their fish taco. The dish with grilled baby banana with savory caramel and cold-smoked caviar sounds so strange, but is deliciously unique. It’s a high-end tasting experience here but still playful, relaxed, and full of surprises (and a fun soundtrack). I love how much you eat with your hands at Californios—it gets you closer to your food, and keeps things from ever feeling stuffy. The beverage pairings from Charlotte Randolph are also very inventive and engaging.

Still high on last night’s experience at Dominique Crenn’s amazing restaurant. I was seated in Bar Crenn but got the menu from Atelier. A cascade of 19 courses. To my surprise, having eaten on this level before, there was taste! Not only perfect presentation but real taste, something that’s Dom’s hallmark. The menu is totally pescatarian and without lactose so even though the multitude I felt light and totally satisfied as I left. Dominique is taking her light and flavorful cooking to Europe to be enjoyed at The Golden Poppy in Paris. I’ve tried it. I recommend it. Go!

Simply my favorite restaurant in the world, I could eat here every single day. I have eaten here 100s of times. It is a joyous place. Food is outstanding - inventive, creative and life-affirming. Chefs Stuart and Nicole created this wonderful place and have now given the reigns to the very talented and wonderful Chef Gaby. They are obviously still very much involved whilst letting Chef Gaby take it to the next level.Protip - before or after have the secret off menu prog dog at their other restaurant The Progress which is right next door.

Such a bananas meal at Rich table—truly one of my favs in San Francisco. A good order strategy is to get most of the bites section—porcini donuts, sardine chips and beef dumpling are menu mainstays and musts—a couple pastas (hello uni cacio e pepe) , maybe a main if you have room and sarah’s off menu ode to the thin mint for dessert hashtag iykyk. I usually skip over the “appetizer” section but last night they had this burrata with cauliflower tikka masala walnut crumble with little dots of caper raisin purée and a crispy paratha that was calling my name —omg jfc so fkn good. who does that? So creative. So random. So different. So delicious. Love it so much. Don’t take it off the menu evan!

Sorrel is a gem of a neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco's Pacific Heights. Alex Hong’s menu has a solid core of pasta and it’s easy to see the influence Quince’s Michael Tusk had on him.

On a short trip to San Francisco, we were really craving some good sushi, and more specifically, a good omakase at the counter. We found Ju-Ni which offers an omakase, where one chef serves a maximum of four guests, and they have three chefs total, offering 12 seats total, hence the name Ju-Ni that means twelve. We got served by Geoffrey Lee, the executive chef, and little did we know, this was going to be one of our best omakase to date. The restaurant is beautiful, and the sushi was spectacular, traditional but at the same time incorporating some modern nigiri like a frozen and shaved ankimo over ikura nigiri. It's no wonder they have one Michelin star.Some of our favorite pieces were:-Akami (lean bluefin tuna)-Frozen and shaved ankimo (monkfish liver) over ikura (salmon roe).-White soy cured king salmon.-Shirako (Cod Milt)

Bar Crenn is the relatively new sister to 3* Atelier Crenn. It’s menu features a classic French style as well as being a little more rustic, which is welcome.

Exceptional service, nigiri, sake pairings and a long, sleek counter.

‍

SF is home to many Michelin-starred, Tokyo/edomae-style sushi bars, but one of my newer favorites since 2018 is The Shota. Exceptional service, nigiri, sake pairings and a long, sleek counter feel upscale and elegant compared to more traditional, wood-lined sushi bars (which I also love). No wonder it also gained a Michelin star in 2021.

Beautiful bistronomy style fare from a Michelin starred chefHeavy bistronomy vibes coming out of the corner of 20th and Harrison. Say hey to mijote, the french-ish restaurant from the talented kosuke tada in the mission.Housed in the old sasaki sushi spot, the food/format is much akin to those new wave bistros in Paris—places like clown bar, le chateaubriand, etc.—likely because chef spent years studying the classic cuisine/technique and cooking its modern version in Paris, where he was head chef at le Paul Bert (love the bistro!). 4-course set menu changes daily—get the cheese supplement. Lots of fun wines fairly priced.This is actually the closest I’ve felt to eating at all the fun spots in Paris I love while in San Francisco. My meal from two nights pictured below. Can’t wait to come back—maybe, just maybe might be a reg here for once in my life

Let the kitchen cook for you for an absolute feastFor $95, you should choose the “let the kitchen cook for you” menu, which covers many of the greatest hits on the eclectic and delicious menu. It’s worth paying the supplement for the uni and jamón serrano toast, isn’t it always?

The Japanese tasting menu by David Yoshimura is full of incredible surprises. This one is destined for awards. Nisei just passed the year mark as it opened last year. It is very Japanese with tasting menu only, but the chef, second generation Japanese-American David Yoshimura, calls his food Cal Japanese. The flavours are bold and fascinating - they are traditional Japanese ethos, but absolutely not traditional in flavour. This one is destined for awards and other accolades. The tasting menu is full of incredible surprises, like the signature dish Dorayaki, little Japanese pancakes that are stuffed traditionally with red beans, but he stuffs them with banana and tops them with caviar. They're incredibly playful and decadent and this dish epitomises the direction Yoshimura is going, with a tasting menu always full of surprises. They also serve a saké pairing and a sake and wine combo adds even more layers.

Luxurious California-Vietnamese food in the Inner Richmond.Chef Rob Lam is fulfilling a dream of cooking Vietnamese dishes from his upbringing, with a luxurious, ingredient- and technique-driven focus (he’s French-trained, so the pâté in his banh mi is next-level). Go with a posse so you can taste a number of dishes since the portions are quite generous. It’s open for weekend brunch and dinner. The busy dining room has an elegant yet approachable style, and there’s a bar where you can perch if you're dining by yourself (enjoy a bowl of sublime beef pho) or just want a casual bite. My favorite seasonal dish is the Bun Rieu with numerous types of crab and dry-farmed tomato. I also love the Cha Ca La Vong—it’s a turmeric-fried catfish with noodles and it's funky-fresh. For brunch, they're making some of the best banh mi in the city, plus a great Saigon breakfast plate and chao (porridge). Their wine list is by James Yu of Great China, so you’ll see some fantastic selections, and they also have a full bar.