LA FTC’er visiting in a few weeks with the family. I will have a 4 and 6 year old with me. I need some lunch and dinner suggestions. We are basically staying near the ATT park.
for Lunch: anything works. Looking for that one lunch spot that is a must go. Wouldnt mind a place that is great for dinner that happens to open for lunch…or a ethnic must go place
for Dinner: Looking for something that is kid friendly and more fine dining than the casual. For example, no burgers, tacos, etc. Looking something similar in atmosphere, pricing, reputation etc to places in Los Angeles like Rebuplique, Bestia, Ink, Animal, Mozza, etc
Where did you end up going? Although a lot of these suggestions sound good I don’t want to spend a fortune and my kids (4 and 6) have a time limit before they melt down
I’m headed up with my kids in October and starting to look for kid friendly places. So far on my list
Swan Oyster - my kids love oysters and I’m standing in line at 10am
Ferry Building - cheese, meats and bread for picnic at GG Park
Zuni for early dinner of chicken and wine
Tartine - coffe and pastries
Dragon Beaux for dim sum
Han Il Kwan bc one of my kids needs to eat Korean food at least every 3rd day
Pizza - deciding between Delfina, Tony’s and Popolo
Will hit up some ice cream spots. Are Bi-Rite and Humphrey Slocombe still the best in SF? Any other really good dessert places?
I like Zuni. My wife and I had our lunch reception there several years ago after getting hitched nearby at City Hall. It’s not typically a place I’d send out of towners though. The chicken is good but it’s just good chicken. It’s probably not something I’d prioritize on a dining itinerary. In all honesty, I actually prefer the chicken at Tosca to Zuni.
As for ice cream, Bi-Rite is still the best. I’m not a fan of Humprhey Slocombe at all. If it weren’t for the ‘out there’ flavors, I doubt they would be much of a name, but by all means, give it a shot. Since you’re going to the Ferry Building, you can just swing by their outlet there.
For ice cream, Bi-Rite, Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous (Dogpatch, again), or Ice Cream Bar (Cole Valley). Humphry Slocombe for the curiosity factor, I guess, but their quality is really inconsistent.
Thanks will look into Muguboka. This is the first time I’ve come across this place. I have a reservation at Delfina when we get there at night. Could not find any reservations for Zuni or State Bird and not going to wait in line at either with kids.
Day 1 is cable cars, Exploratorium and Wharf. The plan is to get in line at 10am for Swan Oyster, Tony’s Napoleana and Ferry Building for lunch and dinner.
Day 2 is Golden Gate park activities and tentatively looking at Park Chow, Dragon Beaux and 4505.
We’ll fit in Bi-Rite, Tartine Manufactory and a few of our other places we like to go in between.
Any really good dessert places that we should hit? I don’t want to wait in line for cruffins at Mr Holmes as I have heard lines are still long. Neighbor Bakehouse is closed on Monday and Tuesday which are the days we are in the city. B Patisserie looks lovely but also very similar to what is offered at Tartine.
Not food related but IMO there’s not a darn thing to do at FW. It’s throngs of tourists shopping for cheap shit. Sorry. In a city as wonderful as SF I’d not waste even a half hour there.
Kids love FW, and there’s tons of stuff to do. There’s the Jeremiah O’Brien, the Pampanito, Musee Mechanique, historic boats at Hyde Street Pier, the Maritime Museum, Aquarium of the Bay, seals, and a carousel. And a scary Keane gallery! My 11-year-old LOVES going to FW. But since you brought it up, I think the Saturday list has to be pruned. The Exploratorium was hard to see all in one day in its previous location, and now it’s three times the size.
Thanks for the tip. We’re only in SF for a full 2 days and have never been to the Exploratorium. They are only open from 10am-5pm so we’ll have to get in as much as possible in that one day since we want to also do GG Park, aquarium, carousel + museums.
The egg tarts is one of my favorite things in the world.
Sometimes they are “on vacation”.
I still drool a little thinking about them.
I remember years ago, I had breakfast at Hing Lung (best congee ever) and then went to Golden Gate Bakery and bought like 6 of them. I ate them all despite the big breakfast, and took a nap at Portsmouth Square. Best SF day ever! Lol
This place was on my radar but I’ve read other comments about their “operating hours”. If you Google Golden Gate Bakery the 2nd search comes up as is Golden Gate Bakery open today? We’ll be in the area so we might drop by. I do love a egg tart.
Swan Oyster Depot - great Sicilian sashimi, crab appetizer with sauce on the side and clam chowder. The oysters were good but very briny and salty. Got in line at 10am and were the 2nd people. Very nice cool people behind the bar.
Hog Island Oyster - the oysters at Hog Island were better than Swan. A little bit smaller, less salty and great flavor.
Gott’s Roadside - good burgers and fries for the kids. Nice place to take a lunch break from the exploratorium. The Strauss soft serve inside is amazing. Creamy and delicious. Some of the best soft serve I’ve ever had.
Delfina - first time here and kicking myself for all the missed opportunities. Every dish we had was simple, rustic, fresh and well prepared. Octopus, french fries, spaghetti with red sauce (we liked it better than Scarpetta) and cod pasta with white wine butter sauce. Would go back just for that spaghetti.
Pizzeria Delfina - great pizza. Nice char on the crust and under carriage. Some of the softest pillowy meatballs out there. The red sauce from the Delfina group is flawless.
Tartine - great as usual. The croissants and morning bun are unparalleled. $4.25 is a pretty penny for a croissant but I’d eat them several times per week if they were near my house.
Tartine Manufactory - very good coffee. The breakfast sandwich - egg, cheddar, bacon and arugala on brioche bun was outstanding. There were 4-5 large strips of smokey bacon. The ham and cheese danish was really more of a croissant. But it was better than the ham and cheese croissant at Tartine. More compact, flaky, buttery and not as dense with the same wonderful flavors. I wish they had more egg options for breakfast as we were expecting a full kitchen.
Bi-Rite - good ice cream but not overly impressed. The ice cream was very soft and melted extremely fast even at night when it was 55-60 degrees. Flavors were nice - black sesame and birthday cake. No match for Salt n Straw.