Must-Eat Famous Food San Francisco is Known For

What food is San Francisco known for? San Francisco cuisine is rooted in fresh local ingredients. From amazing seafood dishes to decadent treats, from specialties of different cultures to creations from award-winning chefs, famous San Francisco foods run the gastronomic gamut.

With so many extraordinary foods from San Francisco, it’s not surprising that this Northern California city ranks as one of the top food cities in the United States! As a chef, a foodie, and someone who has lived in the Bay Area, I agree! It’s right up there with some of our favorite foodie destinations: New Orleans, Boulder, Portland, Santa Fe, and NYC.

After eating hundreds of meals in the City by the Bay, I not only know what to eat in San Francisco, but I know the best places at which to eat too! Whether you’re spending a weekend in SF, a week, or a day, you’ll have to eat. And since you’re eating, why not eat the best food of San Francisco?

Famous Food in San Francisco

Cioppino

Cioppino (chuh-PEE-no) is not only a famous food San Francisco loves, it’s a food invented in San Francisco that my husband loves almost as much as he loves the city itself! And that’s a lot of love!

This love story dates back to the late 1800s when fishermen from the Italian immigrant community of North Beach would set sail from Meiggs Wharf in search of their daily catch.

On the rare occasion a fisherman came back at the end of the day empty-handed, he would make the rounds of his fellow fishers with a pot in his hand and ask those luckier than him that day to “chip in” what they could from their haul. With what he collected, he and his family could at least have some cioppino for dinner that evening.

In that sense, the humble origin of cioppino is similar to that of the famous French food Bouillabaisse and the low country boils you’ll find in Charleston or Savannah.

What sets cioppino apart from these other classics is its broth. No matter what seafood the San Francisco fisherman’s pot held, it was cooked in a zesty wine and tomato broth, and accompanied by a loaf of bread.

Today, this legendary Italian-American dish usually contains Dungeness crab, shrimp, squid, scallops, clams, mussels, and fish. One of the best restaurants in which to enjoy cioppino in San Francisco is Sotto Mare, located in the same North Beach neighborhood where this famous food was invented.

Cioppino, an Italian-American food invented in San Francisco

Clam Chowder

This famous San Francisco food is very similar to the New England clam chowder that is one of the famous foods of Boston—with a couple key differences. The biggest distinction is that the trademark chowder that San Franciscans love is served in a clam chowder bread bowl. That is, a bowl-shaped hole is carved out of a delicious round loaf of sourdough bread and filled with a piping hot portion of clam chowder.

The soup arrives in this sourdough bread bowl, accompanied by the portion of bread that was scooped out to make it—which is now toasted, buttered, and available as the perfect dunker.

The other difference is that this New England–style chowder has California clams freshly plucked from the Pacific Ocean. The Fisherman’s Wharf, perched on the San Francisco Bay, is loaded with places where you can order and enjoy this amazing West Coast comfort food.

Sourdough Bread

Maybe I should have had a spoiler alert above, but whether or not it is filled with clam chowder, sourdough bread is definitely one of the quintessential famous foods of San Francisco cuisine. This bread, with its signature tangy taste, mushroomed in popularity when it became a favorite among the miners who arrived in the San Francisco area in droves during the California Gold Rush that kicked off in 1849.

It turns out that San Francisco’s foggy environment provides the perfect home for the wild yeast cells and particular bacteria that still make their way into every loaf of local sourdough and give it that characteristic flavor.

A great place to get some wonderful sourdough is Boudin Bakery. It’s San Francisco’s longest continuously operating business, and it still uses the sourdough starter that dates back to 1849, when Isidore Boudin made her San Francisco sourdough for the very first time.

Today, San Francisco natives and visitors from around the world flock to Boudin’s 8 locations in the city—including two on Fisherman’s Wharf—to get their sourdough fix from the San Francisco original.

One of the most famous foods of San Francisco cuisine, Sourdough Bread — One of the most famous foods of San Francisco cuisine, sourdough bread

Bread From Tartine

When I say that Tartine bread is a must-have food in San Francisco, I mean it very personally. I first learned of the bread from an old culinary school buddy who had moved to SF and told me that I had to try Bar Tartine when I next came to town. I did. I was enchanted with it from the first whiff of the moist fragrance of wheat-heavy baking loaves that hit me when I walked through the door. Then, at our table, my initial taste of Tartine bread brought love at first bite.

A wonderful smell, perfect crust, tasty center (“crumb” for my bread people out there) with just the right amount of chew—this bread was the best I’d ever tasted. The next best thing I tasted was the next bread we ordered. And I don’t mean second-best thing; I literally mean the next thing that came out was simply the most recently tasted best bread ever. And so it went for the rest of brunch.

And the excellence has simply continued for Tartine. They are known for using a wide variety of grains, including more of their essential elements, and endlessly exploring the best ways to come up with the best varieties of bread. The results are incredibly flavorful and wonderfully healthy.

Owners Chad Robertson and his wife Elisabeth Prueitt have won a James Beard award for their efforts, along with an incredibly loyal customer base, and their books on baking have been a key catalyst for the bread renaissance that has spread across the U.S. since Tartine opened in 2002.

Tartine has 3 locations in the city. You owe it to yourself to make it to one of them, and to treat yourself to one of the best foods in San Francisco.

Tartine bread, hands-down one of the best foods in San Francisco

Mission Burrito

As in New Mexico and other states that border our neighbor to the south, Mexican food, and particularly burritos, are a traditional food in California. Californians everywhere eat burritos any time of day—for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

But the burrito of San Francisco is unique, and it is called a Mission Burrito or San Francisco Burrito. Mission-style burritos include Mexican rice, beans, salsa, and seasoned meat all wrapped in a jumbo flour tortilla and usually served in an aluminum foil wrapper. If you want to find the best mission-style burrito, you’ll have to visit San Francisco’s Mission District, where these burritos originated.

Both El Faro and Taqueria La Cumbre lay claim to inventing this popular food in San Francisco, but usually La Cumbre gets the nod. There’s also no clear consensus on which eatery makes the best burrito. One of the top contenders, La Taqueria, breaks the rules and doesn’t include rice (in keeping with my personal preference).

Most people will agree Taqueria El Farolito has the biggest burritos in SF. Loaded with meat, the Carne Asada Super Burrito is big enough to share (unless you’re with my husband). “Super” is a common upgrade that entails adding sour cream, avocado or guacamole, and cheese.

Crab Louie

This famous San Francisco food traces its roots back to the West Coast, but exactly where is still disputed. What we do know is that even if it wasn’t invented in San Francisco, as many claim it was, the City by the Bay was certainly among the first places where it was served, way back in the early 1900s.

Crab Louie is a delicious salad whose marquee ingredient is crab, specifically sweet Dungeness crab. The crab is mixed with iceberg lettuce, asparagus, tomato, and hard-boiled eggs and served with a creamy, mayonnaise-based dressing that traditionally contains red chili sauce, minced green chili peppers, and minced scallions.

A perfect place to enjoy Crab Louie in San Francisco is at Tadich Grill, the oldest continually running restaurant in California, dating back to 1849. Located in the heart of the city’s financial district on California St., this historic gem is known for its combination of reliable old-school service, top-quality fresh ingredients, and expertly-prepared classic cuisine.

And since Dungeness crab is one of my favorite foods, it should be no surprise that enjoying a Crab Louie in this legendary eatery is one of my favorite things to do in San Francisco.

Dungeness Crab

As you may have guessed from its starring role in both Cioppino and Crab Louie, Dungeness crab is as beloved in San Francisco as Blue Crab is in Maryland. But because this sweet, flavorful crab has so many different ways to dazzle your taste buds, there is no single way that you must eat this must-eat food in San Francisco.

In addition to the two ways you now know, Dungeness crab is also popularly served fresh-steamed with drawn butter. The Dungeness crab roll is also just as at home in San Francisco as its cross-country cousin, the lobster roll, is in New England.

Dungeness crab cakes are also a big hit around town, and Italian restaurants serve up Dungeness crab risotto and Dungeness crab ravioli. Meanwhile, in the city’s vibrant Asian restaurant scene, Dungeness crab can be found featured in curries and fried rice.

Try any of these amazing San Francisco dishes, and you’ll agree that Dungeness is some of the best food to fall in love with during your stay in the Bay Area.

Dungeness crab, a must-eat food in San Francisco

Pacific Oysters

Although oysters have been popular in San Francisco from the time of its founding, the native Olympia Oysters that once grew plentifully in the San Francisco Bay were depleted by the ravenous appetite of the 49ers. Not the football team—the mass of miners who came to the area in the wake of the 1849 Gold Rush.

Today, the most popular oysters in town are the Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas). Originally from the Pacific Coast of Japan, these oysters are now farmed along California’s own Pacific Coast. Prized for their sweet flavor accented by a slightly smoky finish, Pacific Oysters are now among the most famous foods of San Francisco.

One of the area’s biggest producers is Hog Island Oyster Company, which farms not only the Pacifics but also the Olympias and 4 other varieties in Tomales Bay, about an hour north of San Francisco. You can taste all of these at the Hog Island Oyster Company’s restaurant in the Ferry Building, which looks directly out onto the San Francisco Bay.

Two other favorites for finding your fill of oysters are worth mentioning. Swan Oyster Depot has been drawing seafood lovers at their location in Nob Hill since 1912, and although the food is always fresh, the décor really hasn’t changed much since they opened. That hasn’t hurt business; crowds line up out the door every day.

Swan has also won a James Beard Award and was a must-visit San Francisco favorite of Anthony Bourdain. Anchor Oyster Bar in the Castro has its own loyal following and boasts a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide.

The Ferry Building, where you can find lots of the famous foods of San Francisco

Zuni Café’s Roasted Chicken

If you’re wondering how roast chicken became one of the most iconic dishes of San Francisco cuisine, I too was once in your shoes. I don’t even care for chicken all that much, but the version at Zuni Café is something close to perfection, and after I tried it, I agreed that the dish is definitely worth the hype.

The secret is thoughtful, simple preparation and expert execution. An organic chicken weighing in at about 3 lbs. is seasoned with salt and pepper then refrigerated for 2 to 3 days to allow the seasoning to sink in and spread its flavoring evenly.

Once ordered, the chicken gets placed in a wood-fired oven at high temp., rotated within the oven and flipped twice to ensure even browning. The result is meat that remains amazingly moist and flavorful while the skin is perfectly crisped.

Once rested and carved, the chicken is placed upon a warmed currant-studded bread salad of bitter greens, scallions, garlic, and pine nuts tossed with olive oil, Champagne vinegar dressing, and red wine vinegar. The bread is key; it’s perfectly sized and grilled so that it’s fluffy within yet crisp without.

The menu warns that preparation will take 60 minutes. However, this San Francisco famous food is absolutely worth the wait.

One of San Francisco’s iconic dishes, Roasted Chicken at Zuni Café

Chinese food

According to Smithsonian Magazine, the corner of Kearny and Commercial Street is considered the birthplace of the Chinese restaurant in America. The restaurant, Macao and Woosung, also happened to start the Chop Suey craze during the gold rush of the 1800s, albeit by accident.

Trying to satisfy a crowd of angry miners when he was just about out of food, the restaurant’s chef dumped all of the leftovers from previous clients into a bowl and mixed it with a dash of sauce. Yes, “yuck” does come to mind. However, the miners loved the new San Francisco specialty and returned the next day for the same dish of “beggar’s hash.”

Chinese food has since come a long way in America’s oldest Chinatown. From the most traditional to the highly inventive, there are Chinese eateries to satisfy every palate. But Chef Brandon Jew arguably leads the pack with his Michelin-starred restaurant Mister Jiu’s. Jew combines classic Chinese influences with seasonal, local, organic ingredients to create modern marvels.

The famous San Francisco restaurant, Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown

Dim Sum

One particular type of Chinese food you need to make time for is dim sum, a must try food in San Francisco. Dim sum is a selection of small bites of a wide variety of steamed and fried dumplings, buns, and rolls, assorted vegetable preparations, and other savory small-plate offerings and dessert treats.

Not all Chinese restaurants serve dim sum, but many of those that do have servers push carts with their offerings around the restaurant, and when you see something from this parade of amazing Asian flavors that interests you, simply point, and it will be brought to your table.

With the wide selection of choices and unique flavors, dim sum offers a panoply of delicious bites reminiscent of a tour of Beijing street food top hits—but all from the comfort of your seat in just one restaurant, with each dish offered at a reasonable price.

The restaurant I always go to for unforgettable dim sum is Yank Sing. It offers an amazing menagerie of fascinating finds, including crab claws, potstickers, and myriad dumplings—even the baozi that gave rise to one of Hawaii’s most famous foods, manapua. But whatever your curiosity might lead you to order, you MUST save room for Xiao Long Bao.

These pork dumplings contain a delightful portion of broth within, and when you bite into them a delicious miniature wave of yumminess is set free in your mouth, and life in that moment is so, so good!

Xiao Long Bao, a San Francisco specialty perfected at Yank Sing

It’s-It Ice Cream

We can’t talk about famous San Francisco foods without mentioning It’s-It Ice Cream.

In 1928, George Whitney had the idea to sandwich vanilla ice cream between two oatmeal cookies and dip it into fine dark chocolate—pure genius!

Almost instantly, It’s-It became a popular San Francisco street food at Playland, the old seaside amusement park. Playland has long since been demolished, but It’s-Its are still a yummy food to try in San Francisco.

In fact, they may even be better today, as there’s a greater variety of ice cream flavors, like pumpkin, mint, strawberry, and cappuccino. They’re also easier to find; nowadays, you can get them at most of the local grocery stores. For hard-to-find flavors, visit their factory near the San Francisco Airport.

Prime Rib at House of Prime Rib

“The House of Prime Rib serves well-marbled Prime Rib in the English Tradition.” It’s that simple. Since 1949, this is the place for Prime Rib in San Francisco. You don’t come here for pork chops or filet mignon, they’re not even on the menu. You know what you’re getting before you come: thick, juicy, flavorful, high-quality roast beef carved table-side on stainless steel carts.

The accompaniments for the main course are very traditional: salad, mashed potatoes (or baked), creamed spinach, and Yorkshire pudding. The dining room is steakhouse cozy with a fireplace and red leather banquettes.

Prime Rib dinner carved table side at the House of Prime Rib

Fortune Cookies

San Francisco food history traces the roots of the modern fortune cookie to Japan, not China. The Japanese cracker “tsujiura senbei” was larger, darker, and made from a miso-sesame base rather than the butter and vanilla flavored cookies most of us are accustomed to. Japanese immigrants to San Francisco brought this recipe with them.

Local lore says the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park was the first restaurant in the U.S. to serve Fortune Cookies. They didn’t actually bake them; they bought them from the Japanese bakery Benkyodo. Benkyodo boasts being the first to incorporate the sweet butter-vanilla flavors and to invent a machine to mass produce the cookies in 1911.

Then how did this San Francisco famous food become associated with Chinese food? Two major factors contributed. First, in the early 1900s when Japanese immigrants opened restaurants, many of them opened Chinese restaurants because the American palette wasn’t keen on the raw fish associated with Japanese food.

Second, when Japanese businesses closed due to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Chinese restaurants became increasingly popular, and they adopted the Fortune Cookie. To learn more about this SF food, visit the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

A Union Square heart commemorates fortune cookies and Asian cultures.

Neapolitan-Style Pizzas

Have a hankering for real Neapolitan-style pizza? San Francisco’s Little Italy in North Beach will fill the bill. As someone of Italian descent and a native New Yorker, I am admittedly a pizza snob (and an Italian food snob in general). I can enjoy Chicago deep-dish pizza and even Colorado’s Mountain Pie, but don’t really think of them as pizza. And when given a choice, I’ll pick the original wood-fired pizza from Naples, Italy, every time.

When I first moved from New York to the Bay Area, I hated the pizza—until I had the pizza in North Beach. I discovered lots of pizzerias there offering Neapolitan-style pies similar to the famous food of Campania. I am happy to say that today, you can get top-notch pizza in San Francisco both in and outside of North Beach.

At Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, steps away from Washington Square, owner Tony Gemignani holds 13 titles for World’s Best Pizza. With multiple locations and a James Beard award-winning sister restaurant, Pizzeria Delfina rates as the most famous pizzeria in San Francisco. And if you see the Del Popolo food truck anywhere in the city, don’t hesitate to grab a slice.

Neapolitan-Style Pizzas in North Beach, San Francisco’s Little Italy — Neapolitan-style pizzas in North Beach, San Francisco’s Little Italy

Buena Vista Irish coffee

Before you give me flack for including a drink on a San Fran foods list, hear me out. When you need an afternoon snack, an Irish Coffee from The Buena Vista Cafe can tide you over until dinner. Snacks are food, this drink acts like food, ergo it’s on the list.

But what makes this particular Irish Coffee so famous? Legend has it that in 1952, the then-owner of The Buena Vista, Jack Koeppler, set out on a quest to recreate the beloved version of Irish Coffee served at the Shannon Airport in Ireland. After many experiments with different Irish whiskeys, another trip to Ireland, and a consult with a dairy farmer, he finally achieved the perfect balance of flavors.

When The Buena Vista Cafe began serving the legendary drink, they introduced Irish Coffee to the U.S. It’s been a San Francisco favorite ever since.

A line-up of freshly made Buena Vista Irish Coffees

Anything at State Bird Provisions

If you’re looking for the best food in San Francisco, State Bird Provisions is absolutely the right choice. The restaurant and its owners, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, have received awards from Bon Appétit Magazine and the James Beard Foundation. They have garnered a Michelin star, and Zagat even named the restaurant one of the Top 10 in the world.

Now, just because this SF restaurant has received tons of recognition, don’t think stuffy fine dining. The atmosphere definitely leans casual, the vibe fun, and the food incredible. The globally inspired menu changes constantly. Items are meant to be shared, and about half the menu is served dim sum style on carts, so you’ll get to try many different alluring creations.

As one of the most famous places to eat in San Francisco, State Bird’s tables fill quickly. Make reservations ASAP. If you don’t get in, there are a few counter seats for walk-ins. Otherwise, try one of their sister restaurants: The Progress is next door, and The Anchovy Bar is just around the corner.

Grilled octopus from the folks at State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar. — Grilled octopus from the folks at State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar

Ghirardelli Chocolate

Chocolate lovers will be happy to hear about our next food to try in San Francisco, Ghirardelli Chocolate. Ghirardelli is the oldest continuously operating chocolatier in the USA. So, while you can purchase a variety of these famous San Francisco treats at local grocers, a trip to the store in the old factory, aka Ghirardelli Square, is in order.

Here, you’ll have 4 venues at which to satisfy your sweet tooth. I think the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience in the center of the square is a good place to start. Take your pick from oodles of flavors—dark chocolates, milk chocolates, white chocolate, peppermint bark, caramel filled, with nuts, with fruits—it is literally wall-to-wall chocolate. If you’re really hungry, indulge in a “World-Famous Hot Fudge Sundae” with fresh fudge made daily.

Pro Tip: Find a seat in the Alcatraz Room within the Chocolate Experience and give your eyes a treat too. For more amazing vistas, take the short walk down to the Aquatic Park Cove for a glimpse of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and a different view of Alcatraz Island. When you turn around, you can get a great photo of Ghirardelli Square, with Coit Tower in the distance.

A view of Ghirardelli Square and Coit Tower from the Aquatic Cove Park. — A view of Ghirardelli Square and Coit Tower from the Aquatic Park Cove

Swedish Pancakes at Sears Fine Food

It may surprise you that Swedish Pancakes are a food San Francisco is known for, but they have been the specialty at Sears Fine Food since 1938. What I find even more surprising is that Sears was started by a retired circus clown. Am I right?

The pancake recipe came from the clown’s wife’s Swedish family, so it’s the real deal. Each order comes with 18 melt-in-your mouth, perfectly browned pancakes with whipped butter and warm syrup.

Another surprising fun fact: In the old days, Sears used to park two pink Cadillacs in front of the restaurant. With the heat and radio on, diners waited comfortably in the cars for their tables. Today, these Swedish Pancakes remain a San Francisco popular food, so you still may have to wait for your table, but, unfortunately, the Cadillacs are gone.

Green Goddess Salad

One of the San Francisco food specialties invented at the Palace Hotel, the Green Goddess Salad dates back to 1923. Of course, the garlicky, herby Green Goddess Dressing is a key to making the salad so tasty.

Since the dressing is bright green, the name seems quite appropriate. However, Chef Philip Roemer named the salad after the hit play of the 1920s. When the play’s star actor, George Arliss, stayed at the hotel, Roemer created the new dish in the actor’s honor. Like the play, the salad was a hit. One hundred years later, you can still order a Green Goddess Salad at the Palace’s Pied Piper Restaurant.

Another San Fran food, Chicken Tetrazzini, was invented by the same chef at the same restaurant. But nowadays, you are much more likely to find this creamy mushroom pasta in the frozen food aisle of your local grocer than on a San Francisco dinner menu.

Ceiling at the Palace Hotel — The Palace Hotel, where two famous San Francisco foods were invented

Famous San Francisco Food Tips

Now that you know the food invented in San Francisco, the famous foods you must try, and some of the best places to eat them, it’s time to plan!

Make reservations

The best advice I can give you on restaurants is to make reservations when you can. Use our San Francisco Itinerary article for even more of the best SF restaurants.

Go for Lunch

If an eatery is open for lunch, I will usually book that option and save my nights for dinner-exclusive restaurants.

Make a Plan

I need a really good reason to go somewhere that doesn’t take reservations. When I go, I always make a back-up plan in case the wait is too long.

Take a Food Tour

Sometimes taking a food tour is the best way to eat your way through a city. Here are a few of the best San Francisco food tours to consider—all rated 5 out of 5 stars:

Little Italy and North Beach Walking Tour in San Francisco

Wine Country Small-Group Tour from San Francisco with Tastings

San Francisco Walking Tasting Tour with Secret Food Tours

Chinatown and North Beach Walking Tour