Guidebook for San Francisco

Joshua
Guidebook for San Francisco

Food Scene

We've loved this place for years. It's one of the best restaurants in SF you can still walk in to and get a seat (sometimes). We usually call ahead and ask if there are seats at the bar. If so, they'll hold them while we walk over.
156 personas locales recomiendan
Blue Plate
3218 Mission St
156 personas locales recomiendan
We've loved this place for years. It's one of the best restaurants in SF you can still walk in to and get a seat (sometimes). We usually call ahead and ask if there are seats at the bar. If so, they'll hold them while we walk over.
We're both ex-New Yorkers and this is the best street-style slice either of us have had since leaving. I know it isn't really very NY of us but we go beyond cheese slices here. Our favorites are the cherry pepper pesto and pepperoni pineapple.
44 personas locales recomiendan
The Pizza Shop
3104 24th St
44 personas locales recomiendan
We're both ex-New Yorkers and this is the best street-style slice either of us have had since leaving. I know it isn't really very NY of us but we go beyond cheese slices here. Our favorites are the cherry pepper pesto and pepperoni pineapple.
This is an outstanding wine bar: great by-the-glass list with unique and tasty food ranging from light apps to mains, enough to build a satisfying meal from. For our money, the best of the wines are Teutonic: Alsace, Germany, Austria. Behind the bar, Bodey and his staff are welcoming, knowledgeable​, and play great records to set the mood. The flatware is silver, a classy touch.
55 personas locales recomiendan
20 Spot
3565 20th St
55 personas locales recomiendan
This is an outstanding wine bar: great by-the-glass list with unique and tasty food ranging from light apps to mains, enough to build a satisfying meal from. For our money, the best of the wines are Teutonic: Alsace, Germany, Austria. Behind the bar, Bodey and his staff are welcoming, knowledgeable​, and play great records to set the mood. The flatware is silver, a classy touch.
Pizza, pasta, and beer. Liberty, Blind Pig, and Death & Taxes are always on tap with a large selection of rotating choices. The best toppings are the outstanding bacon and roasted petters. If you're here on a Thursday night, ask if they have any leftover fettucini bolognese​. It's the Wednesday special​ but even better the next day. Super friendly staff is a bonus. They open at 3:14 pm for the πr² special: beer and a slice for $7.20. (It used to be $6.28 (r=√2) but inflation struck.)
38 personas locales recomiendan
Pi Bar
1432 Valencia St
38 personas locales recomiendan
Pizza, pasta, and beer. Liberty, Blind Pig, and Death & Taxes are always on tap with a large selection of rotating choices. The best toppings are the outstanding bacon and roasted petters. If you're here on a Thursday night, ask if they have any leftover fettucini bolognese​. It's the Wednesday special​ but even better the next day. Super friendly staff is a bonus. They open at 3:14 pm for the πr² special: beer and a slice for $7.20. (It used to be $6.28 (r=√2) but inflation struck.)
Early (think 8am) on a weekday is your best bet for getting some of the better baked fare in SF. Deservedly famous for their croissants (unless you've been to Paris), morning buns, and bread pudding.
768 personas locales recomiendan
Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St
768 personas locales recomiendan
Early (think 8am) on a weekday is your best bet for getting some of the better baked fare in SF. Deservedly famous for their croissants (unless you've been to Paris), morning buns, and bread pudding.

Shopping

If you want groceries, there's a 90% chance this place will have it at a good price and high quality.
33 personas locales recomiendan
Valencia Farmers Market
1299 Valencia St
33 personas locales recomiendan
If you want groceries, there's a 90% chance this place will have it at a good price and high quality.
Home-grown SF messenger bags and clothing.
Chrome Industries - The Mission
962 Valencia St
Home-grown SF messenger bags and clothing.
From tiny skeletons to Japanese pruning shears to carnivorous plants to tillandsia​, you never know quite what to expect at this place. A must-see.
133 personas locales recomiendan
Paxton Gate
824 Valencia St
133 personas locales recomiendan
From tiny skeletons to Japanese pruning shears to carnivorous plants to tillandsia​, you never know quite what to expect at this place. A must-see.
Ground zero for Dave Egger's 826 Valencia project (a non-profit dedicated to helping children develop writing skills) hidden behind a pirate store, selling eye patches and the like. There's a cool aquarium with theater seating and an always-interesting diorama of a window display.
33 personas locales recomiendan
826 Valencia Pirate Supply Store
826 Valencia St
33 personas locales recomiendan
Ground zero for Dave Egger's 826 Valencia project (a non-profit dedicated to helping children develop writing skills) hidden behind a pirate store, selling eye patches and the like. There's a cool aquarium with theater seating and an always-interesting diorama of a window display.
Gorgeous tiles, kitchenware, and textiles that are world-famous yet still chill and local.
107 personas locales recomiendan
Heath Ceramics
2900 18th St
107 personas locales recomiendan
Gorgeous tiles, kitchenware, and textiles that are world-famous yet still chill and local.

Drinks & Nightlife

Beretta alum Ryan Fitzgerald opened this homage to agave. The bar snacks are great and enough to make a meal out of. Try to sit up front by the window and see if Cecily is working behind the bar.
89 personas locales recomiendan
ABV
3174 16th St
89 personas locales recomiendan
Beretta alum Ryan Fitzgerald opened this homage to agave. The bar snacks are great and enough to make a meal out of. Try to sit up front by the window and see if Cecily is working behind the bar.
Cafe and bar with free live music spilling out into the street almost every night.
80 personas locales recomiendan
Revolution Cafe
3248 22nd St
80 personas locales recomiendan
Cafe and bar with free live music spilling out into the street almost every night.
Another pizza-and-beer spot with a very different approach: more focus on newer styles (like hazy IPAs and sours) and daily tap rotations. There’s a 25% discount on cans and bottles to go!
Beer Nerds
3331 24th St
Another pizza-and-beer spot with a very different approach: more focus on newer styles (like hazy IPAs and sours) and daily tap rotations. There’s a 25% discount on cans and bottles to go!

Arts & Culture

Local art gallery staffed by the artists themselves.
12 personas locales recomiendan
City Art
828 Valencia St
12 personas locales recomiendan
Local art gallery staffed by the artists themselves.
Eclectic, hidden gallery built on a ramp leading to the second floor of a building.
Incline Gallery
766 Valencia St
Eclectic, hidden gallery built on a ramp leading to the second floor of a building.

Parks & Nature

Great views of San Francisco and a fun hike through the surrounding neighborhood to get there. Aim to make some of the stairs-only streets part of the path. (Follow Valencia to Fair Ave to get started.)
363 personas locales recomiendan
Parque Bernal Heights
3400-3416 Folsom St
363 personas locales recomiendan
Great views of San Francisco and a fun hike through the surrounding neighborhood to get there. Aim to make some of the stairs-only streets part of the path. (Follow Valencia to Fair Ave to get started.)
If the day is even close to nice (hipsters can be suprisingly tolerant of questionable weather) this park is full of groups hanging out, playing ball, or playing music. The view from the top of the hill is priceless. If you have kids, the Hellen Diller Playground is a great place to play, too.
1244 personas locales recomiendan
Parque Mission Dolores
19th Street
1244 personas locales recomiendan
If the day is even close to nice (hipsters can be suprisingly tolerant of questionable weather) this park is full of groups hanging out, playing ball, or playing music. The view from the top of the hill is priceless. If you have kids, the Hellen Diller Playground is a great place to play, too.

Food scene

Adjacent to Heath Ceramics and the boiler room gallery, this is a more complete restaurant than the original bakery, but you can get baked goods here as well, with much less of a wait.
155 personas locales recomiendan
Tartine Manufactory
595 Alabama St
155 personas locales recomiendan
Adjacent to Heath Ceramics and the boiler room gallery, this is a more complete restaurant than the original bakery, but you can get baked goods here as well, with much less of a wait.