The Resy Hit List: Where In San Francisco You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

Chef Azalina Eusope started small, cooking at a farmers market stall and a kiosk in the old Twitter building, but the flavors in her Malaysian cuisine have always been large. That remains true at the eponymous brick-and-mortar restaurant she has run in the Tenderloins since 2023. She serves a five-course tasting menu of high-minded takes on street food classics from the various ethnic populations of Malaysia. Dishes rotate monthly, but January’s menu featured sothi, an Indian chicken dumpling; tan hor, a take on Maylaysian-Chinese rice noodles with gravy that uses smoked egg, fermented tofu, and black garlic; and otak otak, a Pernakan-style fish cake with petrale sole, candle nut, and pineapple. At $89, the price is exceedingly reasonable for a prix-fixe meal — and that’s before you compare it to plane fare to Kuala Lumpur.

Last June, French Laundry alums Jade and Mathew Cunningham opened Carabao, focused on the cuisine of Jade’s native Philippines and named for the country’s national animal, the water buffalo. The storefront is in a big, unattractive strip mall, but the interior is bright and lively, and the food even more so: Sisig tacos are topped with crispy pork and a runny quail egg; barbecued pork skewers are perfectly charred and garnished with a banh mi–esque blend of carrot, onion, and cilantro; a winter lugaw ginger rice porridge is finished with shaved black truffle. The must-order entrée is the crispy kare kare, a baseball-sized croquette filled with oxtail, floating in a coconut-peanut sauce with tripe.

It’s no surprise that David and Serena Chow Fisher run one of the best restaurants in San Francisco; after 7 Adams’ late 2023 opening, they came up through some of New York’s heaviest-hitting kitchens, including Jean-Georges and Eleven Madison Park (read more about that journey here). At their Michelin-starred Japantown spot, diners can choose between a customizable five-course set and a more formal seven-course menu, or go big with the chef’s counter, which has just six seats each night for a 2.5-hour meal. The menus change often, depending on available ingredients and the chefs’ inspiration, but expect items like Monterey spot prawns with fermented Fresno chiles, plankton cavatelli, and Washugyu striploin. Check Resy to stay up on 7 Adams’ “Meet Us in San Francisco” series, featuring collaborations with acclaimed guest chefs from around the country.

Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow had already established themselves as San Francisco’s pasta gods with Flour + Water. Now, another hit has been firmly established with more casual sister restaurant Penny Roma, just a couple of blocks down 20th Street. The sunlight- and greenery-filled space bounces with a dinner-party vibe, but the food remains serious: Start with amberjack crudo or albacore tartare, then have the proscuitto San Daniele with smoked date and blue cheese before moving on to the noodles. Picking a pasta may seem daunting, but the signature agnolotti dal plin, stuffed with beef, pork, and sugo d’arrosto, is a must-order. Beverage director Sam Bogue keeps the wine list fun and affordable, including the house “Pasta Water” orange wine.

The team at Seven Hills may have moved that acclaimed Nob Hill Italian restaurant a few blocks away in 2019, but they must have known the original space was still a gem — who could argue, watching the Hyde Street cable car roll by through the fog? So in late 2023 they opened this cozy, pasta-focused spot in the space. Collina is still going strong today, thanks to a date-night-worthy vibe and the cooking of executive chef Anthony Florian and chef de cuisine Dennis Diaz. Must-orders include show-stopping lasagnette and an epic raviolo al uovo, but don’t sleep on shiitake mushroom arancini, broccolini with chili-shallot crunchies, and the chicken al mattone, crisped under a brick and served with creamed kale. Regular visits are a smart idea.

Christopher and Martina Kostow have expanded their culinary empire once more. The team behind The Charter Oak and Ciccio (and, before the 2020 Glass Fire, the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood), opened their first Loveski, a “Jew-ish deli,” in Napa’s Oxbow Market in 2022, before expanding to a second location in Larkspur and, this March, a third spot in the shadow of the Transamerica Building. Loveski’s Montreal-style bagels are boiled with honey for a sweeter crust. They’re available with smoked salmon and a variety of other shmears, as well as part of a pastrami, egg, and cheese sandwich. Loveski also sells smoothies, salads, egg-salad sandwiches on Japanese-style milk bread, and, yes, matzo ball soup.

Walk-ins only. Find more info here.

This Sonoma Plaza hit is a store (and more) for all seasons. Shoppers can pick up a bottle of olive oil or natural wine, a bar of artisan soap, a tote bag, or a picnic blanket, while diners enjoy Bib Gourmand-level cooking throughout the day. Weekend brunch options range from chilaquiles to crispy rice with Dungeness crab and avocado; lunch brings mezze plates, rajas quesadillas, and sandwiches stacked with enough mortadella to sate Tony Soprano. Dinner is where Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor, who shared a 2026 James Beard nomination, really flex. One night your main course might be a classic trout with asparagus and gribiche; another, a Chinese-influenced Meyer lemon chicken cutlet, or a Oaxacan mole.

Book now on Tock.

It feels as if we waited forever for the opening of JouJou, the latest restaurant from Lazy Bear and True Laurel owner David Barzelay, but the French seafooder finally landed in the Design District in early March. Our patience has been rewarded with variety. Want to go big? Look to headliners such as a $125 caviar crêpe and a $71 filet mignon aux poivre. On the other hand, everything on the menu is served a la carte, so you don’t have to sign up for a 15-course marathon. And the bar opens at 4 p.m. allowing walk-ins to snag drinks, bites from the raw bar, and pommes frites. No matter which you choose, you’ll find yourself in one of San Francisco’s snazziest spots, a 6,500-square-foot-space swathed in marble, gold accents, and glass.

Book now on Tock.

This small Hayes Valley storefront has taken San Francisco’s pizza scene by storm since opening at the end of 2025. The wood-fired oven churns out full-size pies, ranging from a classic margherita to specials like the Patatona, a white pie topped with baked potato, smoked Scamorza cheese, and prosciutto, but the headliner here is the pizza a portafoglio, or “wallet pizza.” A staple in Naples but rare in the States, this is a 13-inch margherita that’s blistered crispy and folded up in a paper, making for a perfect bite on the go. Sforno doesn’t have much seating, so place a to-go order and take your pizza prize across Hayes Street to enjoy at one of the tables in Patricia’s Green.

Walk-ins only. Find more info here.

As we’ve observed before, Besharam is a San Francisco restaurant like no other. Located at the Minnesota Street Projects arts center in Dogpatch, it’s chef-owner Heena Patel’s paean to the cuisine of Gujarat, an Indian state just north of Mumbai. The menu is fully vegetarian, taking full advantage of fresh California produce, and the flavors are stunningly bold — not a surprise for a restaurant that takes its name from the Gujarati word for “shameless.” For a proper overview, opt for Patel’s $85 seasonal tasting menu, which presently includes three courses: savory bites such as cacio e pepe dhokli and brussels sprouts and onion pakoras; entrées such as vegetable biryani and palak paneer; and desserts including a Shrikhand cheesecake. Bring a group, and tell everyone to come hungry.

Pim Techamuanvivit was already an international leader in Thai cooking thanks to Kin Khao, but she took things up a notch in 2019 with the opening of Nari, which presents a vision of Thai cuisine through a California fine-dining lens. Nari, located at Japantown’s Hotel Kabuki in a sleek tropical two-story space, has earned a Michelin star and acclaim from pretty much every food publication in America due to dishes such as veal sweetbreads in tamarind-Sriracha glaze, grilled Monterey squid with pork jowl, and Gaeng Moo Chamuang (braised pork belly and collard greens in coconut-free curry). Pro tip: Get an overview by opting for the $125 tasting menu.

For nearly two decades, the storefront at the corner of 16th and Albion was a temple to craft beer. So while Big Finish may focus on grape juice instead of malted barley, the vibe remains playful — the decor includes “Star Trek”-themed bathroom wallpaper — while being serious about its subject. Owner Adam Manson keeps nearly 50 wines on tap, ranging from Georgian rkatsateli and Australian riesling to Croatian plavac mali and Mexican marselan. This wide range means there’s something to pair with any food order, be it snacks such as smoked trout dip and “Buffalonian-approved wings” or bigger plates like braised pork shoulder pappardelle, beet risotto, or halibut in tom kha sauce. Pro tip: Reservations are for primarily for dining; drinks-only reservations are charged an additional fee.

The accolades keep pouring in for Sons & Daughters, so it’s a good thing the place is a bit roomier these days, having moved last fall from its old Nob Hill spot to a larger Mission District space. The intensity that goes into preparing the dishes is dizzying: Mount Lassen trout is cold-smoked over Douglas fir, poached, brushed with pine cone syrup and Meyer lemon zest, and served atop a cream of rose geranium, elderflower, and chervil; an ice cream is made from grilled apples and plated atop an acorn-flour cake with spruce-needle cream and reduced Granny Smith apple juice. With 24 such courses coming, a meal here will set you back $315 – but it remains a nonpareil option for that truly special meal. (And don’t miss the wine pairings.)

Book now on Tock.

Livermore is home to a still under-the-radar wine region, and deserves a wine country-caliber restaurant to match. Fortunately, Range Life delivers, thanks to owners Bill Niles and Sarah Elliott Niles, who in 2018 brought their experience from Tartine Manufactory and Bar Tartine (among other acclaimed restaurants) to a 19th-century brick building in the city’s burgeoning downtown. Come for farm-to-table California cuisine — Hog Island sweetwater oysters, chickpea-fried GG Farm cauliflower, San Francisco black cod with dashi butter and sugar snap peas, fried chicken with Front Porch Floriani polenta — and stay to indulge in a killer cocktail program (try the Brute Choir, the bar’s take on a mezcal sour) and a wine list that balances the best of Livermore with fun European selections.

The latest entry to the Bay’s growing Filipino fine-dining list, Naides opened in the former Sons & Daughters space on Bush Street to much acclaim. Chef Patrick Gabon, a native of the Philippines who worked at Sons & Daughters and at Slovenia’s two-Michelin-starred Milka, offers a tasting menu that zips around the classics of Filipino cuisine, albeit with serious technical and presentational shine. Lumpia here is a canapé of banana miso, pickled jackfruit, and nashi pear; sinigang, typically a savory and sour soup, is served as dainty slices of abalone with a tableside pour-over of dry-aged beef broth. Beverage director Celine Wuu, formerly of Benu, takes equal care with the drink menu, offering both wine pairings and inventive nonalcoholic options, like fermented kiwi juice with galangal-infused celery.

Book now on Tock.

This highly-anticipated bar opening came last winter, taking over the former César space, next to Alice Waters’ California cuisine mothership, Chez Panisse. The cocktail list leans classic — sazeracs, martinis, gimlets — with three local beers on tap and a selection of about a dozen wines, all available by the glass, that leans toward lighter styles from France and Italy. Of course, you want to know about the food: buttery flatbread with a dipping sauce of herb oil and Calabrian chile, a Seven Moons Farm chicory salad with dates and fried sage, shell-on Gulf shrimp with salsa verde and aioli, roasted Fogline Farm chicken with chanterelle stuffing. If you think that sounds like a bar-bite-size approximation of Café Chez Panisse, you’d be right.

 Walk-ins only. Find more info here.