You never forget about the water in San Francisco. From the windswept Pacific coast, running along the city’s western flank, to the shimmering blue waters of the San Francisco Bay, sea breezes can be felt from the top of its steep hills and in the sailor-tinged spirit of its history.
It may have started life as a port town, but San Francisco has since become an international destination for art, culture, and cuisine. You’ll find a handful of so-called famous foods here, plus fresh seafood aplenty, plucked from the bay and surrounding waters, echoed by a bounty of gorgeous local produce, straight from area farms. The farm-to-table movement has long been synonymous with the “California cuisine” of this city, where top dining destinations and sandwich shops alike take a hyperlocal approach to their food. History runs deep in food culture here, too: Hearty, indulgent classics like Hangtown fry have stuck around since Gold Rush days, when San Francisco’s lawless heart was known as the Barbary Coast and easy-flowing liquor and delightfully loose morals were the name of the game.
Compared to its East Coast brethren, this fair city is a young one, so any talk of local foods must also include the essential contributions of immigrant cultures, from dangerously delicious Mission burritos to life-changing dim sum. Stroll through the city’s various neighborhoods and its melting-pot persona becomes clear: The wonderfully diverse mix of traditional and modern food culture, of history and groundbreaking chefs and some of the country’s best farm-fresh ingredients, has made San Francisco one of the best eating towns in the world. Bold words? Come see for yourself.
Read below to find the most essential dishes in San Francisco.
San Francisco text and photos by Lauren Sloss
