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The 20 best American restaurants in San Francisco

Twenty American restaurants, from tasting menus and California small plates to a pier-side burger shack and an 1867 seafood grill.

Updated · 4 min read

8 of the 20

  1. State Bird Provisions

    FillmoreNew American small plates$$$

    Dim sum carts, but rolling California small plates instead. The fried quail the restaurant is named for is the one dish that never leaves the rotation.

  2. Rich Table

    Hayes ValleyNew American restaurant$$$

    The sardine chips and porcini doughnuts have been on the menu since opening night, and the regulars would riot if they came off.

  3. Nopa

    NoPaCalifornia American restaurant$$$

    Organic wood-fired cooking in a soaring corner room on Divisadero — the flatiron steak and the pork chop have been the reasons to come since 2006.

  4. Lazy Bear

    MissionAmerican tasting menu$$$$

    A dinner party staged as a restaurant: cocktails upstairs first, then communal tables, notebooks instead of menus, and chefs who introduce each course.

  5. Sam's Grill & Seafood Restaurant

    Financial DistrictHistoric seafood grill$$$

    Serving since 1867, with curtained wooden booths where downtown cut its deals in private. Sand dabs, a martini, and no need to modernize.

  6. Brenda's French Soul Food

    TenderloinCreole & Southern restaurant$$

    New Orleans by way of Polk Street. The beignet flight arrives four ways, and you should still order the shrimp and grits behind it.

  7. Mama's on Washington Square

    North BeachBreakfast restaurant$$

    The line curling around the corner is for the French toast sampler and the crab omelette. Arrive before nine or bring a book.

  8. Red's Java House

    South BeachBurger shack$

    A shack on the pier since 1955 — double cheeseburger on sourdough, a cold bottle of beer, and the Bay Bridge filling the window.

The other 12

The 20 are spread across 16 neighborhoods. Castro (2), Financial District (2), Mission (2) and South Beach (2) have the most; Bernal Heights, Cathedral Hill, Embarcadero, Fillmore, Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights, Marina, NoPa, North Beach, Pacific Heights, SoMa and Tenderloin have one each.

San Francisco American · 20 places

+12 more in the app

Dinner cooked over open fire in the middle of the dining room, the city's oldest ice cream parlor (1918), a hofbrau carving turkey since 1947, bacon beignets and house wine poured by the ounce from a tap, a New England fish shack on Fillmore, and more.

Add all 20 to your Whosly map

Every one lands on your own map in a tap — save them, rate them, plan around them. City Packs are included with Planner Pro.

Or search “Whosly: Plans, Places & RSVPs” on the App Store

Add all 20 to your iPhonePoint your iPhone camera here — the San Francisco American pack opens in Whosly, ready for your map.

For Italian, see the best Italian restaurants in San Francisco.

Common questions

What are the best restaurants in San Francisco?
From our American list: State Bird Provisions in the Fillmore, where California small plates roll by on dim sum carts and the fried quail never leaves the rotation; Rich Table in Hayes Valley, where the sardine chips and porcini doughnuts have been on the menu since opening night; and Nopa, organic wood-fired cooking in a soaring corner room on Divisadero since 2006.
What is the best tasting menu in San Francisco?
Lazy Bear in the Mission, a dinner party staged as a restaurant: cocktails upstairs first, then communal tables, notebooks instead of menus and chefs who introduce each course.
Where should I go for breakfast in San Francisco?
Mama's on Washington Square on Washington Square, where the line curling around the corner is for the French toast sampler and the crab omelette (arrive before nine), and Brenda's French Soul Food, New Orleans by way of Polk Street, for the beignet flight and shrimp and grits.
What are the oldest restaurants in San Francisco?
Tadich Grill, running since the Gold Rush (it's in our free San Francisco Essentials), and Sam's Grill & Seafood Restaurant, serving since 1867, with curtained wooden booths where downtown cut its deals in private. For a burger, Red's Java House has been a shack on the pier since 1955.
Which San Francisco neighborhood is best for American restaurants?
On our list, the Castro, the Financial District, the Mission and South Beach tie for the most, with 2 of the 20 each. The rest are spread across 12 other neighborhoods, so there is a good one in most parts of the city.
Where can I see all 20?
Whosly's San Francisco American pack has all 20, mapped, with our notes and booking links. Add it in the app and every one lands on your own map, ready to save, rate and plan around. The pack is included with Planner Pro.
City Packs in the Whosly app
City Packs in the app — add one and every place lands on your map.

All 20, on your own map

This page is 8 of them. The San Francisco American pack in Whosly has all 20 — add it and every one drops onto your map, ready to save, rate and turn into a plan your friends RSVP to from a text, no app needed to answer. The pack is included with Planner Pro.

Get Whosly — free on iPhone

Or search “Whosly: Plans, Places & RSVPs” on the App Store

Get it on your iPhonePoint your iPhone camera here — or open the App Store and search “Whosly: Plans, Places & RSVPs”.
About Whosly. Whosly is an iPhone app for group plans, saved places and RSVPs. Anyone you invite can RSVP from a link on any phone, with no app and no account — that part is free for everyone, always. On the free tier you host three plans at a time and RSVP to as many as you like; multi-stop nights, Surprise mode and City Packs are Planner Pro. whosly.app

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