I’ve lived in the city for more than a year at this point, I moved here in 2022 during the fall of my freshman year. One of my favorite things in life is food. The tastes, the variety, and the way it can bring people together are some of the factors that make food so enjoyable. Living in San Francisco there’s never a dull moment when it comes to eating out. Every place I visit has something new and exciting for me to try, and it’s almost impossible to eat at a bad restaurant here in SF.
I’ve put together a list of the best spots I’ve been to in San Francisco for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can use these restaurants as inspiration for your next meal, or use them as an itinerary for you or a loved one’s next trip to the city.
Breakfast/Brunch
Brunch has become my new favorite meal as I started living in San Francisco. People here take brunch seriously, it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t have a line out the door on weekends. My favorite spot Plain Jane on Guerrero Street near Dolores Park always has the quickest wait times every time I visit. The food is fantastic, as well as the service and their drink menu. They don’t take reservations, they seat customers by going through a line outside the restaurant. This process makes everything go by quickly. I’ve never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a table.
They have a variety of pancakes and french toast, along with fantastic egg benedicts that can be topped with shrimp and lobster ( my personal favorite) and some of the best hollandaise sauce I’ve tried in the city. The ambiance is very chic and cozy and they have room for children and bigger parties. I definitely recommend checking out their menu as they have the best and fastest-served breakfast in the city!
Order recommendations:
-Red Velvet Chicken and Waffles
-Hong kong Style French Toast
-Cottage Cheese Pancakes
-Coastal Benedict
-Cinnamon Bun Iced Latte
-Ube Late
-Cucumber Iced Tea
Lunch
Lunch is definitely the least popular time to dine out in the city. Most of us spend our lunches at work or school, and on a day off we’re probably at the park or checking out a new museum. The perfect San Francisco lunch is a picnic. What makes a great picnic? A fantastic sandwich. Lucca Delicatessen has the best sandwiches I’ve ever tasted in my whole life. It’s a small deli near the Palace of Fine Arts on Chestnut Street. It’s a small shop that brings the essence of a classic New York Italian deli. When you enter the shop, grab a number, you’ll be called by the employees in short notice and they’ll take your order. They serve subs, pasta salads, and small Italian dishes along with wine, Italian sodas, and lemonades.
The shop has no place to sit down, so I recommend taking this sandwich to the Palace of Fine Arts and throwing down a picnic blanket to enjoy this meal. The deli meats are freshly cut and my favorite part is the bread and topping options Lucca’s has. My ultimate recommendation is to get the focaccia bread! It pairs well with any type of sandwich and it truly gives you an out-of-this-world experience, I don’t even feel like I’m in San Francisco when I’m eating it.
Dinner
This dinner restaurant I’m about to recommend I recently tried this previous Sunday. It was a super last-minute decision but this restaurant is definitely on my list to bring all my friends. The sushi restaurant Fish in the Box on Masonic Ave gave me one of the coolest dinner experiences I’ve ever had. The restaurant is very small, so I recommend take out, serving this meal picnic style, or calling ahead to check the wait times. This restaurant serves high-quality omakase, donburi, and sushi burritos on its menu. The plating is absolutely stunning and definitely Instagram-worthy. They also serve boba and a variety of hot foods like gyoza, miso soup, and chicken Katsu. I tried a signature box, and a sushi burrito during my visit. I tried the classic fish in the box that served grated sashimi over rice topped with mango, cucumber, and a Yuzu Truffle sauce. This was to die for! The flavors matched perfectly. I ordered the Dancing shrimp burrito which came with shrimp tempura, real crab, avocado, veggies, and unagi sauce. This is definitely the best sushi burrito in the city and I highly recommend this spot for anyone who’s been wanting to try one.
This restaurant is perfect for taking friends from outside of town. The plating and quality of the food is stunning and incredibly pleasing. The service was simple but very kind and caring. The boxes are a little on the pricey side, but keep in mind that they are incredibly filling!! Perfect for two people.
I hope this small list helps you decide on some restaurants to try on your next visit to San Francisco. One of my favorite things about living in the city is the variety of food. Food from all different cultures and countries make their way into San Francisco and you have to try them all! I always recommend eating somewhere new when you live here, it makes life spontaneous and surprising! I hope my recommended spots can make their way on your restaurant list as they are some of the best food places I’ve ever been to.
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at San Francisco chapter.