The Resy Hit List: Where In San Francisco You’ll Want to Eat in Oct. 2025
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There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
Consider it your essential resource for dining in San Francisco and the Bay Area: a monthly-updated guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Four Things In the Bay Area Not to Miss This Month
- Give a Warm Welcome: Octavia, chef Melissa Perello’s sophomore restaurant, is now on Resy. Jack Irving runs the kitchen as chef de cuisine; he’s doing a menu of deliciousness that screams California cuisine with items like heirloom tomatoes with whipped ricotta spiked with umeboshi and black cod with butter beans and squash blossoms. Best to let Irving cook for you and go with the chef’s tasting menu. Also say hello to Sunset Cantina, also now on Resy, serving up all the tacos and tortas that your heart (and stomach) desires.
- Pencil It In: Speaking of Octavia, they’re hosting the legendary chef Jeremy Fox on October 7th for a special book release dinner for his new book “On Meat: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen.” Each ticket comes with a welcome drink, a signed copy of his book, and of course a multi-course collaborative meaty menu. Later in the month, head to North Beach for the Italian Heritage Festival and Parade. Reserve a Stockton Street table for you and your besties outside of Red Window, where you can enjoy a bevvy and tapas galore from the restaurant.
- New Chef, New Menu. True Laurel, one of the best cocktail bars in San Francisco (and beyond), recently picked up a new chef de cuisine: the talented Te’sean Glass (Saison Smokehouse, Ernest). He’s taken over the menu and added his own spin with creative things like the chicken Caesar katsu (!) and sweet corn gazpacho speckled with Sungold tomatoes and popcorn. Don’t worry — the fried mushrooms and the best darn patty melt in the world are still on the menu.
- East Bay Day: A fun thing for San Franciscans to do: Head across the beautiful Bay Bridge to Oakland and plan a whole day of eating. Here’s a nice itinerary: start your day with coffees and pastries at Sirene, grab a quick glass (or bottle) at Ordinaire down the street, then head across the street for lunch at Almond & Oak, which makes the best burger in Oakland. Watch a movie and Grand Lake Theater, then head back to Sirene for seafood and fried chicken for dinner. You don’t even have to leave Grand Ave.!
New to the Hit List (Oct. 2025)
Lazy Bear, mijoté, The Morris, Osso Steakhouse.
1. mijoté Mission District
One way to to fill that Eiffel-tower sized void in your life is to book a Resy at mijoté. Here, chef Kosuke Tada cooks French bistro fare with flair, served alongside a curated selection of natural wines. It really is the closest you’ll come in San Francisco to France’s cool new-wave bistronomy places (it also helps that Tada spent years training and cooking in the City of Light). Try to get a counter seat, and watch as the cooks do their dance, running hot skillets from the kitchen and carving meats a la minute and saucing tableside. Ordering and sharing one supplemental dish is doable and recommended — two might leave you rolling home, though happily.
2. Outerlands Outer Sunset
Outerlands remains a San Francisco classic. You already know about the epic weekend brunch — one of our favorites in the city, really — with those big, buttery Dutch pancakes and cast iron grilled cheese sandwiches that ooze. But Outerlands is equally awesome during dinner, and best of all, you don’t even need to wait in line. Pro tip: The menu is ever-changing, but on Wednesdays they do a burger featuring a thick patty of beef in between a housemade potato roll served with hand-cut French fries, and on Monday night, the menu leans a bit more Southern, with options like corn bread, smoked salmon hush puppies, and crispy, juicy fried chicken
3. Jules Lower Haight
San Francisco is having a moment in pizza right now, and the latest addition to the booming scene comes care of Tartine’s former culinary director Max Blachman-Gentile. The restaurant is named after chef’s grandma Jules and opened in May in the former Iza Ramen space on Fillmore. In addition to thin and crispy pizzas, look for dishes like the spring “chopped salad” with pickled fiddleheads or yellowtail crudo with blood orange leche de tigre. And don’t miss the nori guanciale pull-apart buns, served with a side of Parm rind cultured butter and a nice fat, orange tongue of uni. This dish is so wild it makes no sense — except it makes all the sense in your mouth.
4. Superprime Steakhouse SOMA
Chef Marc Zimmern has transformed his Japanese listening bar Yokai into a steakhouse, where you’ll find all sorts of cuts of meat expertly cooked on a wood-fired grill. From monster 40-ounce dry-aged porterhouses with that pleasant blue cheese funk on the nose to impossibly marbly, olive–fed wagyu imported from Japan, you’ll be in for a meat treat. Silky smooth mashed potatoes and creamed corn make great sides, but definitely start with a couple of items from the snacks and raw section of the menu — they’re not your typical steakhouse starters. Case in point: uni toast with Liberty duck confit topped with uni, and oysters dressed with spicy tamari with ginger.
Book now on Tock.
5. Good Good Culture Club Mission
Dinner at Good Good Culture Club feels like a proper way to celebrate summer in San Francisco, especially while feasting on stuffed fried chicken wings on the rooftop overlooking the colorful Women’s Building on a sunny afternoon. The team also recently introduced a happy hour daily from 5-6 p.m. Snack on things like chips and dip, boiled peanuts, lao beef jerky, market vegetables with a spicy jaew to dip, crispy pig ears, and salt-and-pepper popcorn chicken — you could even make a meal out of it if you order all the things. Pro tip: if you’ve got a large crew (at least eight), snag the Ohana table and feast family style on a set menu — you won’t leave hungry.
6. Kiln Hayes Valley
Chef John Wesley has a lot to celebrate: his minimalist fine-dining tasting menu restaurant in Hayes Valley turned two earlier this year. What’s more: the restaurant also earned a second star from Michelin. When Wesley opened a couple years ago, he was shooting for the stars — and mission accomplished. The food at Kiln is a bit difficult to describe: it’s a little new Nordic and a touch Japanese, rooted in California, sourcing from specialty purveyors like Flannery Beef, whose funky dry-aged dairy cow is used in a succession of courses. Housed in the old tall concrete-walled Cala space on Hayes, a meal here contains 20-something servings and spans a good two-and-a-half hours, depending on how fast you eat. But you’ll want to take your time. Kiln is a fine option for a special occasion, and there’s no rush.
Book now on Tock.
7. Routier Pacific Heights
Three legends team up to make one rad restaurant: an exec chef with an impressive culinary CV that includes Alinea, Mugaritz, Manresa, and more (John Paul Carmona), one of the most decorated pastry chefs in America (Belinda Leong of b.patisserie), and one of the best bakers in America, who literally founded the San Francisco Baking Institute (Michael Suas). How will the end product not be great? It’s almost unfair. The food is “casual Frenchish” — and late spring is a lovely time to visit. Exhibit A: fresh garbanzos with sugar snap peas, grilled fava leaf pesto, and green pepper yogurt served with a toasted baguette.
8. Lazy Bear The Mission
Lazy Bear may have ditched the long communal dining table after its redesign and remodel, but don’t worry — the restaurant still feels like a dinner party. A meal here lasts around three hours and features a dozen-or-so courses celebrating the bounty of the Bay Area. While the house cultured butter (perhaps the best in San Francisco?) and the whipped scrambled eggs are menu mainstays, the rest changes with the seasons — as we head into early fall, expect mushrooms, orchard fruits, and duck to make an appearance. Of note: chef David Barzelay’s forthcoming JouJou is one of the most highly anticipated openings around the Bay.
Book now on Tock.
9. The Morris The Mission
We love The Morris for so many reasons. To start, the wonderful sommelier and owner Paul Einbund — if you catch him while he’s there, his charm will make your meal that much better (so will a wine recommendation from his crazy cellar). Then of course there’s chef Gavin Schmidt, whose charcuterie game is the best in the business. Starting with a big platter filled with mortadella and salami cotto is non-negotiable. His burger is also over-the-top, finished with a lobster-infused bernaise sauce (what kind of sorcery genius is that?!) and comes with hand-cut fries. And then there’s the smoked duck with root vegetables, a signature, iconic dish that just tastes better in the fall, our favorite time of the year to visit the restaurant.
10. Prik Hom Jordan Park
Have you heard of Jordan Park? It’s an actual neighborhood near Laurel Heights that measures 4.5 x 2 blocks, and its lower-east-side corner houses a lovely little Thai restaurant called Prik Hom. Run by siblings Tanya and Jim Suwanpanya, who cooked in fine-dining restaurants in both Bangkok and San Francisco (Lazy Bear!), Prik Hom translates to “fragrant chile.” Imported ingredients like shrimp pastes are combined with the best of the Bay’s bounty to create something special, namely Jim’s very personal view of regional Thai cooking. Take note of the Northern Thai style pork larb, which will quickly make you understand why the restaurant is named as it is.
11. Nopa Fish Embarcadero
From California cuisine stalwart NOPA comes a new project, a fish market and kitchen appropriately called Nopa Fish. The new concept opened in June in the historic Ferry Building and has a concise menu featuring sustainable seafood. The fish and chips are made from wild local rockfish that are beer-battered and fried until GBD (golden, brown, and delicious), while the smoked albacore melt piles wild Pacific tuna, sauerkraut, and your choice of cheese between two buttered and toasted slices of Acme sourdough. If you’re cooking at home, a beautiful glass case is filled with fresh fish to take away. It might be smart to come on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday so you can also shop the farmer’s market.
Find more info here.
12. Heirloom Cafe SF Mission District
While everyone is at their own level along their wine journey, Heirloom Café is the most excellent of educators, no matter where you are on your path. Sommelier and owner Stephen Hallenbeck is an encyclopedia — if he’s on the floor during dinner, ask him to pair and pour a glass or bottle (or both) for your table. He also leads tastings: The themes change and can be based on producer, region, or varietal. Or if you just want to eat, go with the three-course menu that comes with three pairings — that’s considered a deal, maybe even a steal these days.
13. Osso Steakhouse San Francisco
Catching a show at The Masonic? The perfect pre-game is at Osso, conveniently next door. The restaurant feels like a secret, located at the bottom floor of the giant condominium building — it’s easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention. But step inside the art deco dining room and you’re transported. Even though the space opened in 2013, it feels old-school, with the black-and-white checkered tile floor and leather booths. Grab a quick martini and a cheesesteak at the bar before your show, or if you have time, sidle into a booth to savor a bottle of Napa cab and the excellent dry-aged beef. Pro tip: save room for the decadent, bubbling cheese bread.
14. side a San Francisco
We missed Universal Café, so when we heard chefs Parker and Caroline Brown were taking it over, we were enthused. They’ve turned the restaurant into a midwestern bistro, with hearty, generously-portioned entrees, like a rich, rib-sticking short rib gnocchi inspired by Chicago beef and giant crispy chicken cutlets the size of your face. Save room for dessert if you can: this may be the best carrot cake we’ve ever had, moist and multi-layered and textured and, of course, not too sweet. There’s also a big emphasis on audio (Caroline has a background in music and used to book talent at Outside Lands), with a big selection of vinyl and a rotating roster of DJs.
15. Mister Jiu’s Chinatown
How lucky is San Francisco to have Brandon Jew? His contemporary Chinese restaurant Mister Jiu’s is truly one of the most special dining experiences in America. But it’s much more than a place to grab dinner — Jew’s space is a celebration and preservation of the country’s first and oldest Chinatown. Set in the historic and iconic former Four Seas space, the dining room is stunning, as is the food. Jew and team recently rolled out a banquet menu with his crispy-skinned Peking-style roast duck as the centerpiece. For $125 per person, each diner also gets a pick from a small first course, a slightly larger second course (don’t miss the chilled beef tendon or the cheong fun), and dessert. They’ve also done away with the tasting menu in lieu of a stronger a la carte menu, which marks a return to the restaurant’s beginnings.
Book now on Tock.
16. Maritime Boat Club San Francisco
Burritt Room+Tavern was one our favorite places back in the day, so we’re glad to see the space live on with the newly opened Maritime Boat Club. Located on the second floor of the Palihotel, the nautical-themed restaurant specializes in ingredient-driven seafood. At the helm is chef Felix Santos, who has spent time cooking in restaurants like Quince and Sorrel, and is adding fine-dining finesse and flair while still staying approachable. Think hog island sweetwater oysters dressed in a dark green seaweed oil topped with pineapple weed gelee, or mussels escabeche over a creamy squash puree. Make sure to start with a cocktail — a martini should do the trick. They’re made by local legend and industry vet Larry Piaskowy.
17. Shuggie's Mission
Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural wine is no more. The restaurant was a success, with its yellow-walled maximalist dining room up front and the glittery green room in the back. But now it’s reconcepting and saying goodbye to pizza. Shuggie’s 2.0 is going more Old Vegas: the yellow room will now become an orange room, and there’ll be even more maximalist glitz and glam. But its mission to combat climate change by using off-cuts and bruised vegetables, things that would otherwise be discarded and wasted, remains the same. Expect bacalao fritters with dilly buttermilk panna cotta and tuna rib crudos, making complete use of tuna carcasses. You’ll also find wild boar chops that are breaded and pan-fried (wild boars are an invasive species in California). Will Beef the handsome bulldog make an appearance? Only one way to find out.
18. Ar Har Ya Burmese Kitchen FiDi
If you’ve never had mohinga, you’re missing out. The Burmese breakfast noodle soup is the national dish of the country for a reason (it’s delicious, and you can eat it any time of day). The version at Ar Har Ya on Kearny is very, very good. Chef Jasmine Oo’s broth is made with a base of catfish marinated in turmeric — it’s not fishy, but rather super-savory and slightly sour, thick, and rich. It’s served with vermicelli noodles, a boiled egg, fried lentils, and comes out piping hot — it’ll warm your soul on the coldest and foggiest of San Francisco days. For a different kind of noodle soup, try the ong noh kaw soi, a creamy coconut chicken noodle soup that’s equally satisfying.
Find more info here.
19. Zuni Café Hayes Valley
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.
20. Nari Japantown
Chef Pim Techamuanvivit’s excellent modern Thai Nari turned six last month. The Michelin-starred restaurant adds twists and touches to heritage Thai dishes, using the best of California’s bounty from the land and the sea. For example, squid from the cold waters of Monterey Bay gets grilled then paired with with juicy pork jowl before being tossed in a bright and spicy chile-lime dressing — it’s a classic; meanwhile the gaeng bumbai with crispy eggplant is a textural delight, featuring a spicy Indian-influenced (bumbai=Mumbai) curry that’ll make your head spin. Pair with a bottle of riesling (she’s got the good stuff), and go to town. We love to go with the chef’s picks menu to try a bit of everything — but you can’t go wrong, really.
