San Francisco is physically smaller than many imagine. Boxed in on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, it’s just a mere seven-by-seven miles in total area. Still, it punches far above its weight class as a dining destination. Since the time of the Gold Rush, it’s attracted diverse cuisines: Italian fishermen tossed Dungeness crab and seafood scraps into garlicky cioppino, while French bakers bubbled the mother starter for the city’s famed crusty sourdough. The city is also home to the country’s oldest and biggest Chinatown, for decades the setting of prodigious dumpling and noodle feasts. And Latino culture rides low and trumpets loud through the Mission, known for its namesake meaty burritos.
The landscape rises into steep hills and Victorian and Edwardian architecture, painted in pastel colors and flowing with misty fog. Clanging cable cars still climb up and down the streets, although these days they’re joined by self-driving taxis, an ever-present reminder of the whirring tech scene. Chefs sit pretty, able to source ingredients from the best farms in the state and bottles from the various nearby wine-producing regions. Deep-pocketed residents ball out on omakase and Michelin-starred fare, but never forget, this is also the hometown of DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmate. Accordingly, takeout options abound.
Overwhelmed by choice, and don’t know where to start? We’ve got you. Grab a sweater, let’s go eat.
Butter & CrumblePhotograph by Katie Katz
Morning
Start the day with electric green kaya toast and dreamy seasonal croissants.
No visit to San Fran is complete without snapping a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, so wake up with a stroll through the eucalyptus groves of the Presidio, the national park at the foot of the bridge. Once you work up an appetite, peel off onto Clement Street and hit Breadbelly, the award-winning bakery whose comfort food offerings marry Asian flavors with a Californian sensibility. The teal storefront with gold lettering, outside which patrons sip egg coffees with pups at their feet, is easy to spot. Order the iconic kaya toast on fluffy milk bread, squiggled with bright green pandan-coconut jam. But don’t skip the breakfast sandwiches, constructed on outstandingly thick bread and stuffed with creamy egg salad and crispy shrimp cakes.
Alternatively, croissants are basically a competitive sport in SF, and Butter & Crumble in North Beach is arguably the “it” pastry of the moment. Baker and owner Sophie Smith was just 27 years old when she opened the bakery’s doors in late 2023, and the team is largely young women. After taking over a beloved former cooking school in the historic Italian-American neighborhood, Smith and her team repainted the airy space in blush pink, matching the staff’s aprons and the espresso machine (that’s Miss Marzocco, if you’re nasty). The offerings are unfailingly creative and unconventional, playing with unexpected shapes and flavors. Think a laminated pastry stuffed with bacon, egg, and cheese rolled up like a snail, with a jammy yolk dropped in the center; a potato-artichoke croquiche (that’s a cross between a croissant and a quiche, naturally) smothered with gruyere and herbs; or tall cruffins (croissant-muffins) pumped full of strawberry rhubarb curd and vanilla bean mascarpone cream with rhubarb curls tangled on top. Fair warning: The line is invariably long, and they will definitely sell out, so slide in early on the days it operates, Thursday through Sunday.
