The Resy Hit List: Where In San Francisco You’ll Want to Eat in Jan. 2026
Updated:
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
- Damp January: A lot of people do dry January — and if you have the willpower for that, props to you. But whether you’re fully in or dabbling, you still can go out and enjoy a nice NA beverage or two. Luckily, the Bay Area is full of good bars and bartenders who can shake and stir something so quaffable you’ll forget there’s no booze. Some spots to consider include the world-renowned Trick Dog (which is debuting a new menu on Jan. 7), and True Laurel right around the corner; wine bar Buddy a few blocks a few blocks away; and the very vibey, lunar-inspired listening bar Moongate Lounge.
- Changes at Outerlands: There’s a new chef in the house over at Outerlands: Brenda Landa, who cooked at long-standing legends Nopa and Cotogna. She’s now running the kitchen at the Sunset hot spot, adding to the menu items like fried mortadella sandwiches and big bowls of comforting congee to help battle the winter cold. The Chronicle’s got the scoop on other deliciousness planned for dinner.
- All Things Green: If your resolution is to eat more salad, more broccoli and spinach and other green things, Bay Area chefs are your gateway to some of the best produce around. Where better to get your vegetable intake than at the farm-to-table temple itself, Chez Panisse. Or head over to Oakland’s Ramen Shop to slurp big noodle bowls filled to the brim with local bounty (a spot started by Chez Panisse alums, no less). And know that the Not Pizza menu at Del Popolo is not to be missed — a lot of thought goes into the dishes.
- Wine Time: The Burgundy sensory overload that is La Paulee is almost here. To get you ready for the fête, The Morris is doing a walk-around tasting featuring over a dozen producers. And just in case you need to brush up on your Bourgogne, consider taking Ungrafted’s Introduction to France wine course, where you’ll go explore other regions as well like the Loire and Rhone Valley.
New to the Hit List (Jan. 2026)
Dingles Public House, iPot, Kin Khao, La Cigale, Liholiho Yacht Club, Sirene.
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. But Outerlands is equally awesome during dinner, and best of all, you don’t even need to wait in line. Doubly so with new chef Brenda Landa, a Bay Area native whose experience in local kitchens brings a very San Franciscan sensibility to one of the restaurants that has galvanized the city’s modern dining ethos. Landa is bringing her own energy to that brunch situation, and is planning to expand what already was one of the city’s best bread rosters. We’re very here for this new dose of energy out on the avenues.
3. IPOT San Francisco
All-you-can-eat hot pot? Say less and sign us up. Located in the Outer Sunset on Irving, iPot has 18 different soup bases to choose from. If you like it spicy, consider the spicy miso or kimchi iterations. Grab your proteins (and don’t forget the vegetables), dip, eat, and repeat. The broth becomes more concentrated the more you eat, gaining fat that renders from the proteins. Hot pot is exactly what we want to eat when the temperature drops to the 40s and 50s in town.
4. 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 — this 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.
5. Liholiho Yacht Club Lower Nob Hill
There’s no restaurant quite like Liholiho Yacht Club because there’s no chef quite like Ravi Kapur and his heritage-driven cuisine. The menu is inspired by the chef’s mixed Hawaiian-Chinese-Indian heritage; as such, you’ll find traces of this throughout the menu: tuna poke and poppyseed beef tongue steam buns are classic Liho dishes that we crave, while the swordfish katsu was a newer dish that became an instant hit. Come with a nice hungry crew, order all the things, and share. And if your crew is big enough, consider booking the Ohana Table up front for a family-style feast.
6. Nopa Fish Embarcadero
From California cuisine stalwart Nopa comes this fish market and kitchen. The 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.
7. Pearl 6101 Richmond District
Pearl 6101 is both a neighborhood gem for Outer Richmond and a dining destination for the rest of the city. Make a beeline to the beautiful marble-top bar, pull up a wooden stool (the one closest to the kitchen, preferably), and immediately order some oysters (topped with fiery fermented hot sauce and nasal-clearing horseradish). Pair with the Pearl Martini, a genius concoction of gin distilled with nori, garnished with a pickled sea bean — it’s like taking a boozy sip of the sea. From there, take it all in: The vibe is immaculate, the staff are cool, and your fellow patrons friendly. Order anything else off chef Mel Lopez’s refreshing ever-changing Cal-Med menu that’s calling your name — it’s sure to be delicious.
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. Sirene Lake Merrit
Sirene — the French word for “mermaid” — is an appropriate name for this restaurant from the team behind The Morris, sommelier/owner Paul Einbund and chef Gavin Schmidt. Whereas their first restaurant was more of a French neighborhood bistro, this Grand Ave. spot specializes in all things under the sea. Start with a captain’s platter — it comes with their raw seafood tower, which includes oysters and uni, poached shrimp, and more. Most of the nibbles and appetizers also feature something from the sea, be it in the form of dashi or XO sauce. Many of the mains make use of the wood-fired pizza oven inherited from the former restaurant, like the crispy skinned whole fish for two. Have Einbund or wine director Alec Cummings pair your meal with a glass or bottle or two.
10. Octavia San Francisco
Chef Melissa Perello’s sophomore restaurant is the perfect date night spot. It’s dimly lit and romantic. The ever-changing seasonal-driven fare can lean light and refreshing, with things grilled calamari with sumac yogurt and Japanese cucumbers or tomatoes with shisho and grilled okra. But you could just as well go full “Lady and the Tramp” with the perfect pastas, too. And then there’s the sizeable wine list — a bottle (or two) will make any night right. If you really want to go big, just go with the chef’s tasting menu; no decisions are our favorite decisions.
11. La Cigale Glen Park
There’s nothing quite like this live fire Occitan restaurant from chef Joseph Madigow. Two seatings per night are available at the 15-seat wooden counter, Wednesday through Saturday. To grab one of those seats, for the first 6 p.m. seating you must line up at the restaurant before it opens to put your name down (people get there as early as 3:30pm). For the second seating, you can add yourself to the wait list online. And if you’re lucky enough to score a spot, you’ll be treated to comforting country-style French cooking, all done over a wood-fire grill, mainly by chef himself. The menu changes daily and comes in waves, with your choice of first course, second course, and dessert. Come with someone who’s good at sharing and order all the things — you’ll get dinner and a show.
Find more info here.
12. Ramen Shop Rockridge
Soup season is upon us, and there are fewer more delicious noodle soups than the super seasonal, piping-hot, brothy bowls at Ramen Shop. They make noodles in-house and do three different bowls: right now there’s an earthy matsutake shoyu ramen, a light and bright vegetable-forward Meyer lemon shoyu ramen, and the thicker, crowd-pleasing garlic miso with paper-thin pork chasu. Don’t miss the cocktails — the bar game is tops. Start off with a few appetizers, too: slippery chicken and shrimp dumplings and crispy turnip cakes are a nice move. Pro tip: Do yourself a favor and book the private hidden not-so-secret-anymore karaoke room. Thank us later.
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. Dingles Public House Hayes Valley
Together with his wife Anissa, chef George Dingle (Monsieur Benjamin) opened this handsome modern British pub in Hayes Valley. Expect classics you’ll find in England like fish and chips, Welsh rarebit (aka the best cheese toast in life), sausage rolls with housemade brown sauce, and Scotch eggs with jammy yolks over a spread of English mustard mayo. Beef and Guinness pies (which pair well with their perfect pour of Guinness) are also on offer, and on Sundays they do a Sunday Roast. Who needs a trip to London when we have chef George Dingle? This is the food we want to eat all winter.
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. Loltun Mission
The Yucatan restaurant on Mission is our go-to for a palate reset, with some nice heat. A squirt or two from the bottle of fiery habanero hot sauce on top of a panucho will do just the trick — guaranteed to make you sweat, and make you feel alive again. The restaurant comes care of chef Hector Chan, who used to run the now-shuttered but award-winning El Rincon Yucateco in The Tenderloin — he makes the best cochinita pibil in San Francisco. Those are fighting words in city full of Yucatecos ,but we’ll stand by this standby any day.
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. Kin Khao Union Square
Before there was chef Pim Techamuanvivit’s Michelin-starred Nari, there was this elder sibling. Though it also has a star from the tire team, it couldn’t be more different: Nari is where we go for a nice date night, or for something a little bit more buttoned up, but Kin Khao is where we go when we want to just pop in quickly and casually. Must-tries include pretty hot wings and crispy nam tok beans. Meanwhile, the khao soi is one of our favorite noodle soups in life — it features a coconutty chicken curry broth with egg noodles and pickled mustard greens and will keep you warm on the coldest, foggiest SF night. Bonus: Kin Khao is also open for lunch, seven days a week.
