The Resy Hit List: Where In San Francisco You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

This shiny new project from husband-and-wife duo David and Serena Chow Fisher is your next spot for an intimate date night — or any other night. In their new space, they continue to offer the same quality and caliber fare that earned them a Michelin star at Marlena,  in the form of an approachable seasonally changing tasting-menu format. You get five courses, with choices for most. The move is to come here with your beloved, or any willing dining partner, and order the entire thing, supplements and all.

Here’s the thing about Nari, Pim Techamuanvivit’s Michelin-starred love letter to Thai cuisine: you won’t ever have a bad meal. You can pop into the bar for a couple of cocktails and few bites upstairs, or you could have a full meal up in the space that overlooks the kitchen and dining room.  And you have options — à la carte or Nari’s version of a chef’s-choice omakase. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch Pim there, and if you do, have her pair a bottle (or three) of her favorite Rieslings with the impeccably complex and fiery fare.

There’s no question Burdell was the restaurant opening of 2023 — Geoff Davis’s critically acclaimed comforting California soul-food restaurant received wide accolades, landing a spot on Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America list. Davis is going strong into 2024: The recent addition of rich rib-sticking braised oxtails with bone marrow will keep you warm through the winter, while you’ll want to quickly revisit the bar-only fried chicken sandwich, dusted with an umami powder and served on a seeded croissant. If general manager Omar White is there, ask him for his pairing of choice — he doubles as the restaurant’s beverage director.

From your friends who brought you Nob Hill’s Cal-Ital charmer AltoVino comes Barberio Osteria, now several months old on Valencia St. Chef Nick Kelly is keeping things fresh, changing the regional focus of the menu with the seasons while using the finest products and produce possible. From pastas made in house to big 35-ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina, there’s likely to be something for everyone.

We couldn’t imagine a better time than taking our time on a Saturday evening at Snail Bar over a bottle or two of something interesting. Natural wine? Yes, as it were. But more importantly, something highly enjoyable, something to pair with the unreasonably delicious and unique fare coming from the tiny kitchen. Of course you’ll get the requisite snails with cashew butter miso, and maybe some pristine crudité to start, but the chalkboard menu changes daily. Come with a crew and order it all.

The counter closest to the kitchen at Rich Table is one of our favorite places in the world. Watching the cooks dance in the open kitchen, boiling fresh noodles for inventive pasta dishes, and tossing-and-turning smoky pieces of beef before plating up is endless fun. Watch in awe as chef and owner Evan Rich and his talented chef de cuisine Gizela Ho take turns on expo, and just let the kitchen cook for you. Porcini doughnuts and sardine chips are two of S.F.’s forever iconic dishes.

It’s always nice to treat yourself every once in a while, and where better than at the acclaimed Benu? Each and every single one of the 15-plus dishes on the tasting menu from Corey Lee and his talented team hits hard; the food is precise but not precious, intricate and technique driven, while managing to be powerfully delicious. There are Korean influences of course, but you’ll find inspiration from regional China, Japan, and more. The wine pairing weaves in sake and beer and ties the entire experience together.

Call 415-685-4860 for more info.

Come for chef John Paul Carmona’s “French-ish” fare with flair: ethereally creamy chicken liver mousse, and pork rilettes with prunes and hen of the woods mushrooms au poivre. And you’ll stay for Belinda Leong’s bonkers desserts—sweet but not too sweet dark chocolate mousse with coffee crumbles and Greek yogurt panna cotta are just the start. The three course prix fixe menu continues to be one of the best deals in the city.

The energetic Lolo might be the most fun restaurant in San Francisco. Why? The eclectic art that lines the walls from partner Lorena Zertuche. The fun fare from her husband, chef Jorge Martinez (fried avocado tacos is all you need to hear). The hospitality of partner Juan Carlos. The incredible cocktails from Leon Vazquez. We like to go late in the evening and sit at the bar, maybe throw in a little mezcal into the mix, and see where the night goes.

Sure, you could book a ticket to Japan and eat at every izakaya you find. (You actually should do that — it’s a very fun time.) But you also could visit Sylvan Mishima Brackett’s lovely Rintaro. There’s no other restaurant quite like Rintaro, because there’s no other chef quite like Brackett, born in Kyoto, raised in Northern California and the former creative director at Chez Panisse. Sit at the counter closest to the yakitori station and watch his team dance between each other as their twist and turn charred smoky chicken skewers and slowly slice sashimi. All the chefs seem to eat here on their days off, and we can see why.

State Bird Provisions is a perennial favorite, as are its owners, husband-and-wife duo Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski. It’s hard not to order everything that rolls past our tables from the carts, this being one of the places that pioneered dim sum-style service for Western food. But we’ll never not order the menu mainstays at the now 12-year-old restaurant: the insanely delicious fried garlic bread with seven pepper spice and burrata; the tangy herby pork belly “salad”; everything from the pancakes and toasts section, and the “state bird with provisions,” of course: a crispy fried quail over a bed of sweet buttery stewed onions.

Find more info here.

It can be difficult to define Liholiho Yacht Club, but luckily we don’t need to. The food transcends labels, and no one puts chef Ravi Kapur in a box. You’ll find influences from various cultures and cuisines, but especially Kapur’s native Hawaii. There’s the tuna poke on nori cracker; poppyseed steam buns with tender beef tongue, kimchi, and miso aioli; swordfish katsu with a creamy umami caper sauce, and so much more. Pro tip: You can now book out the recently reopened Gen-Gen Room downstairs for  a private family-style dining experience.

Since 2002 El Gallo Giro has been serving up deliciousness in the form of tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more out of a tiny taco truck in a parking lot in the middle of The Mission District. Get whatever you’re in the mood for and it’ll be made with love and mastery, but please do not miss the carnitas taco. It’s finished on the plancha so that the meat crisps up on the outside, while the centers remain juicy and succulent. It’s ridiculously delicious.

More info here.

Another exciting Oakland opening from late in 2023, and another restaurant you’ll likely see on all the lists this year. Chef Anthony Salguero, who worked at some of the best fine-dining restaurants in the city, offers his contemporary spin on Salvadoran fare. He combines top Bay Area produce with a giant wood-fired hearth in the back outdoor patio. The results are delicious. And trust us when we say, you’ve likely never had pupusas quite like his before — masa made from beautiful, colorful heirloom corn, ground and nixtamalized in house, then stuffed with braised beef or sweet potato and cheese before being griddled on the plancha outdoors. It’s served with salsas and a requisite crunchy curtido that helps cut and cool it all.

Trick Dog, one of the best cocktail bars in San Francisco and arguably well beyond, is in its 11th year and on its 20th menu. For this latest, the bar has transformed into The Salty Dog, featuring whimsical tropical vibes and drinks — namely 17 brand new cocktails, each named after a famous pirate ship. Consider the Royal Fortune, a fruity riff on a clarified milk punch made with vodka, clarified passion fruit, orange, and guava juice. An extra twist with this menu? It’s the first time they’ve redone the interior décor and vibe, creating a transportive nautically themed vibe to match the tropical cocktails.

Few things are more comforting than a bowl of noodle soup on a blustery, foggy San Francisco day, and Hai Ky Mi Gia delivers. Originally opened in 1987 by Tuan Hua, the Vietnamese-Chinese noodle house features a decently large menu of different brothy bowls to warm you body and soul. The favorite that keeps us coming back is the No. 4, which comes with a tender braised duck leg with wontons and egg noodles in a deep dark colored and fragrant broth. You get your choice of thick or thin noodles — we’re partial to the thin, but you could go crazy and get a mix of both.

Find more info here.

It’s hard to believe that this Mission District mainstay is a teenager. The restaurant opened back in 2009 and still hits hard. It’s dark and intimate, yet manages to remain its high energy. Come as you are, and get the pasta tasting menu: It gives you a good well-rounded tasting of both the ever-changing pastas on the menu, as well mainstays like the tortellini en brodo and creamy buttery taleggio scarpinocc. Ordering a wood-fired pizza supplement is a highly recommended pro move that you won’t regret.

When we think of duck dishes in San Francisco, the gloriously smoky crispy-skinned version at The Morris is the first that comes to mind. The birds are brined, aged, smoked, then roasted, and come with root vegetables, smashed fingerling potatoes, and a jus fortified with espresso, honey, and Sichuan peppercorns. Starting with chef Gavin Schmidt’s charcuterie would be a wise move, as would asking for wine pairings from owner Paul Einbund and his sommelier team. Don’t forget to save room for donuts with a whiskey maple crème anglaise to finish. Also: The Saturday Poulet et Frites lunch series both showcases Schmidt’s poultry talent, and is a wonderful way to start the weekend.

Pearl is one of those local haunts that make San Francisco special. The intimate seafood-centric charmer is one part Californian, one part Mediterranean and all parts delicious. Co-chefs Mel Lopez and Joyce Conway section the menu into snacks, starters, pastas, and entrees — ordering a little bit from each section is a smart way to experience it all. Selections are ever-changing, but a mainstay is the handkerchief pasta with a white Bolognese sauce — one of the few non-seafood dishes and not to be missed, as is starting the meal off with the Pearl Martini. It comes with pickled onion and sea beans to garnish, like taking a sip of the (boozy) sea.

Often imitated, never duplicated, Zuni is timeless, a San Franciscan institution. We could eat at Zuni every single day and be perfectly happy — its current chef, Anne Alvero, makes multiple runs to the farmers market and changes the menu daily with specials, which are nice to have while you wait for your iconic chicken to be roasted to order. (Yes, even if you think you’re not going to get the chicken, you’ll do so anyway.) Add some crispy shoestring French fries, some oysters, and a bottle of Burgundy, and take your time.

Find more info here.