The 10 Restaurants That Defined San Francisco Dining in 2025

Ask any chef in San Francisco where they like to eat, and Sylvan Mishima Brackett’s Cal-Japanese izakaya inevitably comes up time and time again. After a two-week trip to Japan earlier this year, what was the first place we wanted to visit when we came back? Rintaro. Why is it so good? It starts with Brackett, the chef and owner, who was born in Kyoto and raised in NorCal. He was also the creative director at Chez Panisse, which informed his ingredient-focused integrity. If the experience here remains as it’s been, it also continues to define Bay Area dining. As always, you’ll want to order a little of everything from each section of the menu, and if you can, sit at the counter closest to the yakitori station, where you’ll watch cooks expertly turn skewers of charred chicken parts until juicy, smoky and delicious.

If Midwestern comfort food is the heart of Side A, the modern American bistro by chef Parker Brown, then music is the soul — the program comes in the form of a large library of vinyl curated by Brown’s wife Caroline. Find her on the ones and twos any given night, and if she’s not there, you’ll find a DJ that she picked spinning the night away. Together the Browns have managed to create something truly unique, special, fun — and delicious, of course. Brown’s food leans hearty and comforting, and the portions are large — but that’s what leftovers are for. Saving room for dessert is a non-negotiable here; carrot cake has no business being so good but Brown’s version is the literal best we’ve ever had: soft and fluffy, spongy and rich, double layered and decadent and not too sweet.

If the state of dining in Northern California in 2025 is moving toward casual, then Enclos is bucking the trend — and we’re all for it. The contemporary coastal Californian restaurant opened last December, and even before celebrating its one-year anniversary, Enclos quickly earned two stars from a certain food-loving tire company. The awards shouldn’t be too surprising considering the team’s culinary CV: chef Brian Limoges spent time in the kitchen of Saison and Quince, while his chef de cuisine was at Eleven Madison Park and Noma; the maitre d’ spent nearly two decades at the French Laundry. It’s almost a cheat sheet for success. Save this one for a special occasion with a special someone — a meal here has around 17 bites served over 12 or so courses in three-ish hours.

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Jules isn’t just another pizzeria — it’s a pizza restaurant. Chef Max Blachman-Gentile grew up in the Bay Area, cooked in New York at places like Mission Chinese Food and Roberta’s (where he learned the ways of pizza), and was the culinary director at Tartine. Given his culinary résumé, it’s no wonder his pizza game is so strong. His pies are thin and crispy, slightly sour (of course), and inventively topped with atypical ingredients like black garlic tamarind purée or vinegared Chinese eggplant. But there’s so much more: an ever-changing array of small plates like crudos and salads are solid starters, while vegetables make interesting accompaniments worth eating alongside the main event; think miso roasted carrots with brown butter koginut labneh, and charred cabbage with Calabrian chile butter and pumpkin seed gremolata. These tell you exactly what season you’re in. And don’t snooze on the sauce flight to dip your crusts and vary your bites.

Sirene, the temple to seafood from the team behind The Morris (sommelier/owner Paul Einbund and chef Gavin Schmidt), opened earlier this year in the former Sister restaurant space on Grand Ave in Oakland. It has been taking the neighborhood by storm. They inherited the wood-fired pizza oven, which they’re using to roast up pristine sea creatures, like beautiful abalone with chile butter and crispy-skinned petrale sole. They’ve got a serious wine list, too, as one would expect from the likes of Einbund and his wine director Alec Cummings — a list of over 400 wines with a strong emphasis on California. But as serious as Sirene is for dinner, it’s also a bit more casual during the day, serving pastries and coffee during the morning, and burgers and fried chicken sandwiches for lunch. High and low and delicious throughout.

San Francisco is home to one of the largest Yucatan diaspora communities in America, and as a result, a large number of Yucatecan restaurants are scattered throughout the city. One of our favorites is Loltun on Mission Street. The restaurant comes care of chef/owner Hector Chan, who used to run the shuttered El Rincon Yucateco in The Tenderloin (a restaurant that was given the “Merida Distinguished Restaurant in the World” recognition by the literal mayor of Merida). If an award and article in the Yucatan Times for Chan’s cooking isn’t enough, take our word for it and take one bite of Chan’s cochinita pibil: the bright orange braised pork is so luscious and juicy and savory and umami. Get it in the form of a panucho, which will make you wonder why all tortillas aren’t stuffed with black bean puree and deep-fried. Douse it in fiery habanero hot sauce and remember what it’s like to feel alive. 

No reservations. Find more info here. 

If we want to talk about one of the top bars in San Francisco, even the world, True Laurel is tops. The 20th Street corridor cocktail den by the ultra-talented duo chef David Barzelay (of nearby Lazy Bear fame) and bar director Nicolas Torres opened eight years ago, and it’s still firing on all cylinders. Torres’s drinks are creative and quaffable; the Mai o Mai — a not too sweet, balanced clarified milk punch — goes down way too easily, while his martini is a locally inspired take on the classic, featuring a finish of tincture made with foraged California bay laurel, served strong and ice-cold. But one doesn’t go to True Laurel just to drink; the patty melt is a menu mainstay and a must-order, featuring funky dry-aged beef and pan de mie toasted in beef fat. Chef Te’Sean Glass is a recent addition to run the kitchen and oversee the menu — he was at Michelin-starred Saison before, so expect some finesse. 

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