It was okay and overpriced, i liked ler ros better, but wouldn’t recommend them to somebody from LA
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I wanted to add saison is insanely expensive, if you’re a party of two or more there will be a comma on your bill. That being said it was still #commaworthy and the best restaurant in CA.
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I have not been to Saison, but it is actually not at the top of my list right now.
Meadowood is excellent, but it’s about 1.5 to ~ 2 hours drive depending on traffic (one way), plus if you do the wine pairing you might be better off spending the night as the pours can be somewhat generous at times. Definitely a very special occasion kind of place. If you do make it up to Napa Valley, Bistro Jeanty is another excellent French Bistro in Yountville (warm lamb tongue salad, puff pastry tomato soup or onion soup, roasted bone marrow in Bordelaise sauce, basically just skip the entrees and get the small plates) which is a great lunch option as well (easy to book on OpenTable).
I see the others have chimed in already so you already have a lot of great recs.
How many days/nights are you in town? Will you be dining alone or with others (and if so how many?)
2nd Californios, it’s damn good. It’s not fair to compare but I enjoyed them far more than Taco Maria in Costa Mesa, even though the styles are different. One of the winners for me was the grilled protein (squab or venison) and the squab consommé that had the umami qualities and profile of an excellent Cantonese superior stock (mature hen, Jinhua ham, dried scallops). Had both beverage pairing and by the bottle/glass there, very enjoyable.
I actually enjoyed Benu and I like Mosu a lot. The problem with Benu is that the overhyped items like the foie XLB are actually not as stellar as one would think, I can’t even taste the foie! The beverage pairing at Benu is very interesting…who would have thought a light body Pinot Noir would work with uni and rice with fermented crab sauce? At least Benu for me was more enjoyable than Quince, based on my recent experience.
La Ciccia is one of my favorites. It’s a bit cramped and you might have to resort to early dining or late (like 9 ish depending on what you find on OpenTable), great bottarga spaghetti, excellent Octopus (appetizer), cauliflower, shaved tuna heart, and some excellent and affordable Sardinian wines (they have the Barolo types as well if you are into those).
Yeah a Saturday morning trip to Ferry Building is good. Drop by Boccalone for some cured charcuterie/salumi (either get a cone or one of their hot sandwiches), perhaps one of the porchetta sandwiches from the stall outside and see what other cooked food vendors are out there. Dandelion chocolate (for a French style good solid hot chocolate). For oysters, I would say nothing compares to the quality at Connie & Ted’s, but you can walk over to Waterbar from Ferry Building and sit at the bar. Between 11:30 am to 5:30 pm their featured oyster of the day is $1.05 and generally very good (and better value than Hog Island).
Give our high end ice creams a try! Bi Rite in the Mission District, Mr & Mrs Miscellaneous, Humphrey Slocombe (Harrison Street location, there is one in the Ferry Building but the texture not as solid or creamy) for their whacky but fun combos like Secret Breakfast (cornflakes and Bourbon) or Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee (very very good). They are currently out, but earlier in the week HS had these wicked beer / IPA ice cream flavors that were fun and ridiculously tasty.
If you are in Hayes Valley, drop by True Sake (~10 minute walk from where you are staying). It’s the only sake-centric store in the area. They could ship the sake to you, but at least you can see the bottles in person. They typically don’t do tastings though.
I would skip Kin Khao, considering LA has excellent if not far better Thai food. My meal there was so bad that the best thing there was the beer I ordered…
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Huh, somehow I missed Uma Casa’s opening. I must need to add some new site to my regular reading. Portuguese restaurants are rare around here.
You can get there on the J streetcar, which has a magnificent view as it goes through Dolores Park.
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City Hall is pretty central, you could get almost anywhere you might want to go.
La Ciccia is the first place I recommend to everyone. Unique and the owners are charming.
Zuni for classic Cal-Med a la Chez Panisse.
Perbacco for great, moderately upscale Italian with great service, great wine list, grownup atmosphere. Best angolotti dal plin I’ve had anywhere. Best cheese course around.
Cotogna’s my favorite Cal-Ital. Also one of the best examples of the currently popular local style of pizza that splits the difference between Naples and NYC.
SPQR is to me French-Italian fusion.
Cockscomb, Chris Cosentino’s new place, sort of like Animal. Reservations often essential or you’ll likely be stuck at one of the bar stools where it’s not really comfortable to eat. The bar seating in front of the kitchen is great but usually all reserved.
If you’re coming from LA, skip Thai and Korean, unless maybe you want to check out Namu Gaji, I don’t think there’s anything like that in LA.
Burmese Kitchen is the best of the numerous Burmese places.
Trou Normand for house-made charcuterie and the best pâté.
Jai Yun, unique Shanghai place that serves banquet food as a tasting menu.
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Some other faves:
Angkor Borei - Cambodian
Barbacco - Italian small plates
Monsieur Benjamin - French bistro with Asian twists
Old Jerusalem - Palestinian
Yank Sing - dim sum (lunch only) - skip it if you’re an SGV regular
cheap hole-in-the-wall places:
A La Turka - Tenderloin / Polk Gulch
Gyro King - Turkish - Civic Center
L’Osteria del Forno - Italian - North Beach
Saigon Sandwich - banh mi - Tenderloin / Polk Gulch
La Santaneca - pupusas, best curtido I’ve had - Mission
Sunrise Deli - get a bag of falafels, everything else sucks - Inner Sunset & Financial District
Taqueria San Jose - tacos al pastor or chorizo - Mission
Truly Mediterranean - falafel & schawerma wraps (Middle Eastern answer to burritos) - Mission
Yamo - Burmese - Mission
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There are actually some very decent Japanese places in SF Bay Area, though you have to trek all over for certain things, and/or have more people in your party to partake.
It’s all the way in Santa Clara so that Uber ride will be expensive, but Iroriya is currently tops for me. Comparable to Aburiya Raku in terms of supreme satisfaction level, but far closer to the authentic Japan experience. Upscale presentation/execution, great selection of alcohol (they even make their own umeshu, at least 6 kinds), broader menu than Raku by far, awesome current seasonal menu (shirako, braised beef cheeks, charcoal grilled Alaskan King crab etc) with great dessert offerings.
In SF, Mensho Tokyo is probably the best ramen in town and much closer to ramen in Tokyo. But you will be shelling out $18 a bowl. Their shoyu and shio bowls are excellent, and the shoyu ramen noodles remind me of Shichisai Hachobori (Kitakata style) in Tokyo. Go late, like close to 10 pm, and avoid the crowds. There’s also Hinodeya ramen for their dashi broth in Japantown not far from there, very good, but Mensho is better.
If you go to Japantown on any day except Sunday, drop by Benkyodo Co (over 100 years old), for fresh wagashi / mochi. Best seller is strawberry mochi or blueberry mochi. Really good texture, and I like their offerings in general more than Fugetsu-Do. Go earlier before they sell out.
Maybe by the time you come up, Hitachino Beer & Wagyu will already be open in the Tendernob area.
http://hitachino.cc/en/hitachino-sf/
On a side note, you can also explore some of our pop up’s in town. Here are two I can think of:
If you make it to SF Chinatown somehow, pick up the signature Cantonese egg tart daan taat from Golden Gate Bakery. They’re expensive now, ~ $1.75 but it’s arguably the best around (though some will disagree). It’s hype but it’s also excellent. Go late towards closing, e.g. 7 pm ish on weeknight (they will still bake all day). Get one or two and eat at least one right when you buy it as nothing beats that experience. Do not go during the day, 1.25 hours wait easy or longer. Do call before going to make sure they are open, they can close without any advanced notice (because they can).
Kiraku is great. If you do go, make a reservation (I don’t know if they will do it for one person), but a reservation means you need to spend a minimum (like $30 to $40 a person).
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I wanted to say Thanks! to everyone’s great suggestions. 
I’ve bookmarked and begun planning and have enough suggestions for multiple trips! 
One bummer is the amount of the great suggestions here that are Closed on Mondays. 
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Which of the restaurants that are open Mondays would you choose?
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Which of the places would you say holds up great for a quick Lunch (1 - 1.5 hours)?
Thanks!
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Hi @PorkyBelly,
Would you say Cockscomb for Lunch is worth going? It looks like a much shorter menu, but it’s also one of the restaurants people are recommending here open for Lunch and potentially fast enough for a 1.5 hour block or so.
Thanks.
Hi @beefnoguy,
Thanks for the recs. 
For your questions, 2 of us, trying to coordinate meeting up with friends on one or two of the days, but not sure yet. Right now maybe 3 - 4 days.
For the ice creams (I know it’s different), but how do they compare with the amazing gelatos of Bulgarini (and the stunning concentration of flavors)? Thanks!
Bulgarini’s flavors are more concentrated and vibrant compared to say, Bi-Rite or Mr & Mrs Miscellaneous. No comparison, really. But where Bi-Rite and MMM differ is that they offer more eclectic flavors (think Dark Buttered Rum or Black Sesame Walnut).
If you enjoy frozen treats, definitely worth a detour and a stop.
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Thanks so much @BradFord for your extensive breakdown. It’s so informative and I’m looking forward to trying most of these places (eventually). I don’t have enough meals to try everyone’s suggestions in one trip. 
Thanks for the recs, @ipsedixit.
Question for everyone:
I need a Monday Dinner recommendation.
So many of the restaurants listed here are closed on Monday. Researching the places, it looks like I might have a choice between:
- Liholiho Yacht Club
- Nopa
- Bellota
Any other suggestions? (Mourad is out since that Monday it’ll just be 2, and those family style dinners sound like they’re for more people.)
I have Cotogna booked for a Lunch (yay).
And for a quick lunch on one of the days (1 - 1.5 hours), we’ll be near the Whole Foods and the Children’s Creativity Museum near 4th & Fulsom in downtown SF. It looks like from everyone’s recs…
- Cockscomb - Limited Menu Lunch
- Bellota
Any other recs you’d choose over these?
Still figuring out the other days.
Thanks!
You have some great spots to eat at . Sometimes just exploring the city without a clue can be very relaxing . There are tons of places . And also some of the views are world class. 
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I would do Bellota. Never been to LYC, though.
Consider In Situ. If you are at all intrigued with In Situ, lunch is a nice way to get your feet wet, without totally messing up your bathing suit.
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Thanks @ipsedixit.
Yah I was thinking we’d be able to squeeze in Bellota as a lunch instead, and try another place for dinner Monday evening. But I’ll look into In Situ. The website was a bit of a turn off, LOL. At first I couldn’t even find where to go. 
Yeah, after my meal at In Situ my mind was definitely full, but I was physically starving. (Nothing a fried chicken sandwich from The Bird, nearby, didn’t solve.)
I did, however, very much enjoy SFMOMA.
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7 posts were split to a new topic: Can some of you give me your top choices for a proper Mission burrito?
Perbacco, Barbacco, and Triu Normand are open Mondays.
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It’s not far off from City Hall, if I remember right, but I have to put this in there.
I have eaten there once, ages ago, but it is one of the only times I’ve ever eaten truly upscale and thought “Ok. I get it. This IS double or triple the price of another place, but damn if it isn’t worth it.”
Magnificent steaks. Interesting, but not overwhelming salads. And when I went, little chile chocolate mousse cones for desert. One of the best restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.
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