The Resy Hit List: Where In San Francisco You’ll Want to Eat in February 2025

There’s much to love about this high-energy, fun and funky Californian Jaliscan restaurant on Valencia St. Let’s start with the bar program, which features a slew of lesser available agave-based spirits like bacanora and raicilla, as well as a nice menu of highly quaffable natural wines. Pair your drinks with tacos, of course, and you should get as many as you can: the fried avocado taco has no business being so good, and the seared tuna taco as well as the taco tropical are non-negotiables, too. (Pro tip: tacos come in twos, but you can get half orders if you’re solo so you can try more things). But tacos are just the start — there’s so much more to explore on the sizable menu. Be sure to check the specials board, too.

Kayla Abe and David Murphy’s oh-so-colorful Shuggie’s is a party in the front AND the back. The dual-roomed space — a vibrantly yellow front room and bar and a glittering green back room — provide ample opportunity for group dining, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a visit from their friendly bulldog Beef. But just what is Trash Pie, exactly? Abe and Murphy make sustainably-minded pizzas with products that would normally go to waste, like their grandma-style pie with dough made from spent oats (usually discarded after producing oat milk), baked thin and crispy, and topped with bruised squash and mushroom stems. This is a restaurant with a mission.

Here’s the thing about creative Californian fare at Rich Table: it’s always consistent, and it consistently hits hard. The Hayes Valley stalwart is heading into its 13th year in operation, and it’s still firing like it just opened. Our favorite seats are the ones at the bar closet to the kitchen, where you’ll find chef/owner Evan Rich or the very talented CDC Gizela Ho either on expo orchestrating orders or on the line plating up pastas. You could just come in for a couple quick bites — menu mainstays like the sardine chips and porcini doughnuts are San Francisco classics that shouldn’t be missed. But really the move is to go with the chefs’ picks: Forgo control, and — you might be sensing a theme — let them choose your adventure for you.

There’s much to love about Trick Dog, one of the best cocktail bars in the world, according to many esteemed lists. Let’s not even talk about the very excellent and creative cocktails, with a menu that’s refreshed a couple times a year (they’re due for one later this month and we can’t wait to see what it holds). The vibe is unmatched, with a downstairs room that’s packed every night with thirsty San Franciscans vying for drinks. Meanwhile, the upstairs room is where you can sit down for a proper meal, feasting on seemingly endless mountains of kale Caesar salads, impossibly crispy French fries, hot dogs, and burgers shaped like hot dogs (trick dogs, if you will). Just remember: Reservations open a week in advance, so keep your eyes peeled.

Is the natural wine haven Snail Bar the best bar in America? It certainly is one of them, according to Esquire’s 2022 list. But it’s also a very, very good place to eat. That’s because it’s chef/owner/oenophile Andres Giraldo Florez has worked in some of the very best kitchens around the world, including the avant-garde Mugartiz in Spain as well as Saison right here in San Francisco. What he’s done is taken all the finesse and attention to detail and applied that to all the food on his menu in a very casual very cool setting in Oakland’s Temescal. The menu chalkboard menu changes multiple times per week (the snails are a mainstay, of course), and he often brings in talented chefs from around the globe to collaborate on the menu. What a special spot.

Bombera, the charming Mexican restaurant by Chez Panisse alum Dominica Rice Cisneros, is housed in an old fire station, which is fitting because the food is fire (sorry, we had to). In all seriousness, the restaurant is aptly named (“bombera” translates to female firefighter in Spanish), and the food features flair and soul. The pozole verde recipe comes from her aunt and features an intense chicken broth fortified with corn. Duck carnitas using Liberty Ducks from Sonoma are rich and crispy, a smart substitute for the usual pork product that’s typically used. It’s served with a green mole and is served with rice and beans and tortillas for you to make tacos with. Pair with some mezcal or a cocktail or two and you’ve got yourself a good ol’ time.

This Oakland stalwart is more than just a noodle shop. Expect plenty of small plates to snack on before you arrive at the main event, which might feature tempura fried maitake mushrooms with spicy corn mayo, pork and shrimp dumplings, and excellent pork fried rice. Ramen Shop comes from Chez Panisse alums who source so much of their product and produce from farmer’s markets nearby (you’ll quickly see how eating local can taste so good). Add to that incredibly thoughtful cocktails and highballs, and a secret private karaoke room in the back of the kitchen where you can dine and sing to your heart’s content.

You don’t need to go to Austin these days to get your meat sweats on — simply head across the bridge to Alameda, where you’ll find Fikscue smoking up brisket and sausage and ribs. (Oh my.) While the meats are traditional simple salt-and-pepper crusted, the sides lean Indonesian. That’s because husband-and-wife duo Fik and Reka Saleh both hail from the island nation. Fik does the meats while Reka makes the sides, and it’s a beautiful marriage: Imagine nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) paired with a super complex and heady rendang made with Fiks’ brisket. Fikscue is only open on the weekends, and there’s always a line, which can start as early as 8 a.m. But this is an emblem of the new wave of American barbecue.

Find more info here.

At Besharam, La Cocina alum chef Heena Patel digs deep into regional Gujarati cuisine.  Gujarat, there are so many dishes that differ city to city — and even block to block — that each household effectively makes their own version, and at her restaurant, it’s no different. Besharam translates to “shameless,” and Patel fittingly does things her own way, presenting familiar dishes in novel ways. Take the dahi wada, for example. These dal fritters are typically soaked in yogurt so that they absorb the moisture, resulting in a sort of soft texture and bite. Patel instead serves hers thin and crispy and freshly fries them so that there’s textural delight. Go with the tasting menu, which is completely vegetarian, and a deal at $85 — and don’t miss lunch here, one of the best ways to enjoy midday in S.F.

Here’s the thing about HK Lounge Bistro: it always hits, and it always hits hard. Though you won’t find carts rolling around the legendary Annie Ho’s small pink-walled restaurant, you’ll find all the dim sum and then some. Come during lunch with a large crew and order all the things: plump pork and shrimp siu mai, juicy Shanghai soup dumplings, baked barbecue pork buns, and more. During dinner, find more family-style Cantonese dishes like honey-glazed walnut prawns and beef chow fun that picks up the wok-hei like nobody’s business (Ho uses a high-quality fatty rib eye cut). For a big crew, plan ahead for the Chef’s Special that serves up to 10 people, a multi-course multi-hour affair where the kitchen decides what to cook for you.

For years she was the right-hand woman for the legendary pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani. But last spring the three-time world pizza champion legend that is Laura Meyer opened up her own eponymous spot on Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley, and it’s epic. She offers big New York style slices by the pie and the slice, but her forte is with squares. She does three versions: fluffy Sicilian style, crispy cheese-crowned Detroit style, and a thinner, crispier grandma style.  Get a nice big group and have a fun little pizza party. Try also the housemade pasta like bucatini amatriciana and corn and clam spaghetti, and Caesar salads for the health, of course.

If there’s one restaurant we wish we could have a standing reservation at, this is it — the closest thing you can get to eating at the new-wave bistronomy restaurants in Paris without having to leave San Francisco. That might be because chef Kosuke Tada spent years in France cooking at some of the finest restaurants in the capital. At his Mission restaurant, which is housed in an old Victorian that was previously home to a sushi spot, Tada and co offer a weekly changing  French meets California pre-fixe menu. They thankfully kept the wooden sushi counter, which are the best seats, of course. Watch as chefs carefully cut meat and fish, sauce plates, and assemble salads—there’s nothing quite like it in town. Save room for all the supplements—they’re always changing and always worth it.

The pasta tasting menu at Flour + Water is heaven on earth, but it’s also an event. For when you just need to dip in for a quicker, casual low-key bowl of pasta, Penny Roma has you. The tonnarelli cacio e pepe will save you a trip to Rome, while agnolotti dal plin is of the same quality as its sibling down the street. But you’d be remiss to miss the pesci crudi — halibut with pluots and shiso is refreshing, while albacore tartare with tomatoes and Calabrian chile and a heaping pile of pistachios never leave the menu (one bite and you’ll understand why). If you’re feeling hungry, add on a meaty main: grilled pork chop with peaches, hanger steak with salsa verde, or a crispy-skinned half chicken with shishitos and charred lemon are all fire. Metaphorically, that is.

Routier remains its intimate, charming, “French-ish” self, thanks to the outstanding work of chef John Paul Carmona, award-winning pastry chef Belinda Leong, and brilliant bread baker Michel Suas. And yes, it’s still the perfect date night spot. The ever-changing three course prix-fixe Formule Routier is a smart way to go. Or order à la carte and share: crispy potato pavés with lemon cream and caviar are a fun splurge, while the ethereally smooth chicken liver mousse with onion and red currant compote might be the best version of this dish that exists. Save room for all the desserts, of course — Leong also runs b. patisserie, so you know you’re in for a treat.

The little horse-themed market on 19th Street originally opened in 2016 from the husband-and-wife team behind Royal Cuckoo, but early last year, longtime bartender Julian Ensworth took over. He largely kept everything the same in the charming equine-filled  space, but created a new drinks menu of low-ABV, vermouth-based cocktails and spritzes. He also started bringing in more pop-ups and somehow has made the space even more vibey and charming than it was before. We really wanted to keep the hybrid bottle shop/bar on the D, our little secret that no one knew about. But Esther Mobley from the Chronicle went and spilled the beans and called it one of the best new bars in her annual list for The Chronicle, so now we’re just going to add fuel to the fire.

Find more info here.

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.