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

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

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. 

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.

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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.

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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.

Whenever we’re missing Japan, we’ll look at flights — but inevitably, we end up going to Rintaro to fill that void, deliciously. Chez Panisse alum Sylvan Mishima Brackett has reimagined the izakaya through the lens of California, bringing ingredient-driven sourcing and sensibilities to a space that’s lively and serene all at once (and highly personal, too—it was designed and built with the help of his very own father, a temple carpenter in Kyoto). Our favorite seats are at the yakitori station, where it’s mesmerizing to watch the cooks expertly twist and turn chicken skewers until charred.

Intimate and effortlessly Italian, this spot is run by chef/owner Michele Belotti, who was born and raised in a small town in Bergamo, Italy, working in Michelin-starred restaurants before coming to California in 2011, and worked at RistoBar before opening his own restaurant with his wife in Oakland. Here, you’ll find a substantial menu of pastas, mostly made in-house. Agnolotti is stuffed with a meaty mix of beef shank, pork, and sausage along with escaraole and spinach and is topped with a glossy, lip-sticking beef reduction. Long wide pappardelle comes tossed with plenty of organic earthy hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. Save room for a secondi — or don’t, and just order that extra pasta.

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.

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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.

What makes this very vibey new wine bar on Divisadero so fun, you ask? Well — there are Chambongs, to start, which is a highly efficient way to down something bubbly. And if you’d rather slowly savor your Champagne, you can do that, too. The wine program is curated by general manager Madison Michael (Merchant Roots, Osito) and leans Old World. As for what makes Gigi’s so vibey? Its space is designed by Strand Design, the same firm behind Bar Gemini in The Mission. Burgundy walls. Jade green granite counters. And wait—there’s more. The food program comes care of chef Tu David Phu, who has made a fun menu with things like wagyu hot dogs with pork floss and spicy mapo noodles. They also have a bottle shop next door if you want to grab something to take away.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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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.

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