The 10 Restaurants That Defined San Francisco Dining in 2022

Step inside the colorful and chaotic Shuggie’s and you’ll instantly feel like you’re on an acid trip. The bright yellow room in front has cheetah murals on the walls and painted disco globes that hang from the ceiling, while the glittery green room in the back features chairs that look like hands and has a friendly English bulldog named Beef literally standing behind the bar. The pizza — aka “trash pie” — is unlike anything you’ve ever had before: the thin, crispy flatbread-like dough is made with whey and milled oat flour (the byproduct of oat milk production) and is topped with things like “ugly” mushrooms and bruised squash — produce that would otherwise be discarded — in an effort to fight food waste. This maximalist climate-conscious restaurant by partners Kayla Abe and David Murphy is getting constant buzz for a reason: Shuggie’s is a restaurant with a mission.

There’s a lot to love about Automat, the restaurant and bakery from Matt Kirk and David Barzelay (Lazy Bear) located on a quiet corner in NOPA. The charming old building was once home to a butcher shop way back in the 1890s, but now the space pumps out highbrow takes on humble classics during the daytime. Crispy fried chicken sandwiches dusted with gochugaru (Korean chile flakes) and dehydrated serrano powder. Juicy double smashburgers with garlicky cheddar. Beautiful behemoth breakfast sandwiches layered with fluffy steamed “omelet” egg, housemade sausage, and aged cheddar pimento cheese. Much of what makes Automat great is the bread program, which is managed by Casey Wentworth (Ad Astra, Tartine alum) — they’re doing the absolute best burger buns in the city and one of the best baguettes around.

The restaurant we missed the most during the last few years was Liholiho Yacht Club, which recently reopened with a remodel and refresh after almost three years. The heritage-driven cuisine by Ravi Kapur and his talented team features unique flavor bombs and combinations unlike any other. The team has a magical way of creating powerful dishes that are familiar yet refreshingly innovative. Crispy swordfish katsu with Russian dressing and a creamy caper sauce evokes filet-o-fish vibes, but to the nth degree. Fluffy poppy seed-studded buns stuffed with seared housemade Spam with sesame seeds and scallions. Spicy, thinly shaved pig’s head salad. And don’t forget the oh-so-‘grammable “baked Hawaii” for dessert, of course.

There are few restaurants where we’d like to have a recurring weekly standing reservation; Mijote is one of them. This new-wave Californian French bistro of sorts comes care of Kosuke Tada, who spent years studying the classic cuisine and cooking in Paris at restaurants like Le 6 Paul Bert and the multi-Michelin-starred restaurant David Toutain. The set menu at Mijote changes multiple times a week depending on what’s available at the farmers market. There could be maitake with harissa beurre blanc for one course, or hanger steak au poivre for the next, with tableside sauce finishes for each. Order a bottle or two of natural wine to pair, and pretend you’re in Paris.

Find more info here.

La Cocina alum Tracy Goh’s new Malaysian restaurant in Noe Valley on Church St. may be just a little over one month old, but it’s quickly become one of our favorite places to eat in San Francisco. The space she’s created, and the food she’s doing is so warm and welcoming: nasi lemak comes with crispy fried chicken and turmeric pickled vegetables, gailan is topped with an insanely delicious onion sauce and finished with a flourish of crispy fried garlic (it’s called “the best greens” on the menu for a reason, and the laksa — perhaps a little bit thinner than other versions of the popular noodle soup — is sure to warm your body and soul and keep you coming back for more.

No reservations. Find more info here.

To best experience chef Kristina Liedags Compton’s fine-dining flair (she’s cooked at Atelier Crenn, Avery, and Range back in the day), you’ll have to go with the Chef’s Adventure Menu at Hilda and Jesse, the fun modern brunch and dinner restaurant in North Beach. And you’ll be glad that you did, for you’ll be treated to unique bites that delight. Avocado “toast” on a sweet potato tempura. Cured mackerel in a fennel-kiwi broth with peaches and basil oil. Rolled omelet with bonito butter and caviar. Yes, please, and thank you. Fluffy, buttery pancakes for dessert might seem like an extra and unnecessary move, but when you see the tall glistening stacks fly by your table you’ll know the move is to add it on — it’s the right thing to do.

Until recently, San Francisco had been severely lacking in the casual slice shop department, where New York excels. Thankfully, seasoned San Francisco chef Eric Ehler has helped change that this year with his Larkin Street pizza spot Outta Sight. Here, he does large, thin, and crispy pies properly topped with the right amount of curly pepperoni (not too much, not too little) or white pies adorned with a mushroom medley of trumpet, shiitake, cremini, or whatever else happens to be available. Grab a slice, grab a pie, snag a glass of beer or wine, stay a while, or take it to go — the choice is yours.

No reservations. Find more info here.

Seth Stowaway’s live fire communal fine-dining tasting restaurant Osito is worth checking out, but it’s his low-key cocktail bar Liliana that keeps us coming back for more. The menu changes often and with the seasons, and like the big brother restaurant next door, many of the dishes are cooked using the same wood-fired grill, like the embered sweet potatoes topped with crème fraiche and salmon roe or the smoked pig head with pomegranate and pineapple. Meaty mains like smothered pork chop with creamed collard greens and whole roasted chickens are big and shareable, and you should probably pair the fare with a couple of unique cocktails by bar manager Uzziel Orea, who has a particular knack for incorporating atypical ingredients into the mix, like avocado leaf in his margaritas or goat’s milk in the clarified milk punch.

San Ho Won — the glossy and shiny white on the outside, minimalist on the inside Korean restaurant by Jeong In Hwang and Corey Lee in The Mission — has kept us coming back time after time, with each visit offering a new experience. At the heart of the menu is charcoal barbecue, which features various cuts of meat like prime beef rib cap or center-cut beef tongue grilled in the kitchen over lychee wood charcoal specifically made for the restaurant. But there’s so much more to explore, be it from the extensive appetizer section (griddled galbi mandu, aka beef dumplings, are a must) to the larger soups and stews. Consider the house menu, which gives you a little taste from each section of the menu.

Call 415-868-4479 for reservations.

We realize Hi Felicia is in Oakland, but if you want to really party, you’ll have to head to that side of the Bay — and Imana’s pop-up turned brick-and-mortar, where the music is loud and the vibes are right. The restaurant is bright green on the outside and dimly-lit on the inside, where you’ll find just a few counter seats and one long table where everyone is dining together communally on a multi-course tasting menu.

To help execute the menu and run the kitchen, Imana has brought on Selasie Dotse (Lazy Bear, Copas), who’s helping create a comforting menu with things like spicy smoky barbecue-rubbed lamb belly and braised short rib with uni butter grits and pickled okra. You’ll find masa makes its way throughout the menu in the form of caviar-topped sopes and tetelas stuffed with Swiss chard, cheese, and mushrooms — it reminds Imana of growing up in Los Angeles.