San Francisco Restaurant Tips by Sandi-2004

Restaurant Name: Boulevard

This restaurant is a visual delight for the eyes,
it's beautiful, elegant and creative. With vaulted brick ceilings, floral banquettes, a mosaic floor, and tulip-shaped lamps, the setting equals the exquisite food presented like a work of art.
The attached photo was the best I could do,
but a photo cannot capture the beauty and
ambiance of this restaurant.

Voted #1 each year in the Zagat Guide, the food and decor come together to create the ultimate dining experience. Chef Nancy Oakes is San Francisco's favorite.

If you want a sample of California cuisine at it's finest, you will find it at Boulevard. It's expensive, but well worth it. The ambiance makes for a romantic evening with a view of the water and piers. Make a reservation, and save
room for dessert.

Although I'm not wealthy, every once in a while
I like to splurge and enjoy the luxury and quality
of an excellent restaurant . Boulevard is an
example of the very best.

Favorite Dish: Anything that you would order at Boulevard will
be delicious and presented in a beautiful way.

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Theme: American
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 543-6084
Address: 1 Mission Street
Directions: Embarcadero, near the Bay Bridge

Restaurant Name: IZZY'S STEAK HOUSE

Izzy's has been a neighborhood favorite for steaks for many years. The steaks are USDA Choice quality, dry-aged for 21 days. They are tender and delicious. And so are the potatoes and the creamed spinach, my favorite side dish.

Steaks are served with choice of two vegetables – spinach, shoestring potatoes, roasted onions, carrots.

Hours are 5:30-10pm, Sun to 9:30pm.


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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-563-0487
Address: 3345 Steiner St (near Chestnut),
Directions: Marina District - Validated parking, 2 hours, at Lmbard St garage (on Webster between Greenwich and Lombard)

Restaurant Name: Farallon

Glowing jellyfish lights dangle over the bar, the Nautilus Room is spiral-shaped and the main dining room combines a vaulted ceilings with mosaics and huge blown-glass lamps.The stairways are covered in thousands of blue-black beads to resemble caviar The decor and Union Square location attract scads of tourists, but Farallon can handle the crowds.

The food's a splurge for the wallet and the waistline. Start with oysters on the half shell, or dive into the iced "indulgence" platter of whatever's in season, from periwinkles to lobster. The kitchen's good with French touches, especially velvety sauces ladled over tender fish (try anything with the delectably rich and simple beurre rouge). A number of plates please the landlubbers, like rabbit three ways

If you're on a budget, order appetizers to share -- house-smoked salmon and perfectly chewy fried squid are good bets. Or go all-out with a tasting menu paired with generous pours of mostly well-selected wine. The wine list is huge and expensive, with a good deal of small bottles (a good way to try pricier wines). Save room for the creatively rich desserts, concoctions that remind you that this is a special occasion

Lunch Tuesday-Saturday, dinner nightly. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Favorite Dish: Specialities: Raw bar; skate wing stuffed with Dungeness crab; molten chocolate marshmallow cake.

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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 956-6969.
Address: 450 Post St. (near Powell)
Directions: Union Square
Parking: Valet $12 (at dinner)

Restaurant Name: THE ZUNI CAFE

ZUNI CAFE has been around for 25 years, a lifetime for most restaurants, but Zuni still showcases the best of San Francisco dining, from Judy Rodgers' lusty cooking to the eclectic clientele who consume it. Everyone seems to come here: politicians, executives, artists, drag queens and anyone who loves rustic food. The interior features agreat bar with windows overlooking Market St., an open kitchen and a wood-fired oven that produces the incomparable chicken and is part of the organic decor. Cuisine: Mediterranean

Parking: Street, sometimes difficult at lunch; valet $8 at dinner
Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Favorite Dish: Specialities: Oysters; chicken in wood oven; delicious hamburgers; Caesar salad; espresso granita.

Prices: $13-$29

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Theme: American
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 552-2522.
Address: 1658 Market St. (near Franklin)

Restaurant Name: LIVERPOOL LIL'S

Liverpool Lil’s has been around since 1973. It has become an icon of its neighborhood, and seems to improve with age.An ample mixed salad or soup is included with the entrees for both lunch and dinner. For example, the steak and kidney pie, with soup or salad are now in the $10.95 to $16.95 range, but with a $5 salad thrown in, they become decidedly “affordable.”

Lunch Mon-Fri 11am–2pm, weekend brunch 10am–2pm
dinner 5–midnight, 7 days, with light fare served until 1am.

Favorite Dish: Everything is good..

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Theme: Pub/Brewery
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-921-6664
Address: 2942 Lyon St (off Lombard),
Directions: Marina District

Restaurant Name: FOG CITY DINER

Fog City Diner leads to an experience that's simultaneously nostalgic and contemporary. Nostalgic thanks to the restaurant's roadside-diner ambiance: stainless steel, glowing neon, checkered tile, polished brass, rich mahogany, mirrored bar, tuck-and-roll leather, starched napkins, chrome ceiling. Nostalgic in a 1930s vein.

But contemporary too, specifically when it comes to Fog City's cuisine. Pick up the menu, and it becomes almost instantly clear that this is no ordinary diner.

Favorite Dish: There's a "raw bar" with oysters, shrimp, prawns, crab, mussels and ahi tuna. My favorite is the crab. I also like the clam chowder and the small plates like crabcakes with lemon caper aioli, grilled chicken skewers with a spicy peanut sauce, dungeness-crab cioppino and the “mighty” meatloaf with wild mushroom gravy and truffled mashed potatoes.

And the burgers, fries & cole slaw are delicious, too. There are also sandwiches like the crispy reddened snapper with sweet peppers & onions, and grilled chicken on a special flatbread.

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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: Embarcadero at Battery

Restaurant Name: GORDON BIERCH

Gordon Bierch is a chain that is in several cities and as any beer fan knows, it's famous for its good beer either bitter and dark or tawny pale, all brewed on site. The pub's food is excellent too.

The place is quite big, with seating inside & out. It can be noisy, usually filled with people in their 20's & 30's and sometimes TV monitors with sports on. Great for Happy Hour & weekend game viewing.

Located on the Embarcadero along the waterfront, Gordon Biersch offers one of the most dramatic views of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, especially while enjoying drinks or a meal on the patio. The bridge is almost right
above you.


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Theme: American
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: Phone: +1 415 243 8246
Address: Embarcadero and 2 Harrison Streets
Directions: SoMa - Embarcadero near Bay Bridge & Pac Bell Park.
MUNI BUS: 32
BART: Embarcadero Station

Restaurant Name: MAX'S OPERA CAFE

Max's Opera Cafe sometimes has singing servers. The food has inspired several smaller Max's (the Diner, Max's Eatz, Sweet Max's) to spring up all over the Bay Area.

Besides opera, what can one expect at Max's? Chopped chicken liver and onions, or hamburgers and fries, or pastrami on rye. Just about any calorie-packed deli-style temptation imaginable is on the menu. If you don't feel like a hamburger, order a salad or dessert. They are all huge (including macaroons that seem to weigh half a pound) and delicious.

Open Hours: 11:30am-10pm Mon; 11:30am-11pm Sun, Tue-Thu; 11:30am-midnight Fri-Sat

Favorite Dish: Everything is delicious at Max's. I love the
grilled reubin sandwich and the Chinese chicken
salad with mandarin oranges or the cobb salad. The chocolate chip cookies are like homemade. And all portions are large at this restaurant yet the prices are reasonable.

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Theme: American
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415- 771- 7301
Address: Opera Plaza on Van Ness between McAllister & Grove
Directions: Civic Center
MUNI BUS: 47, 49

Parking on street or in garage under Plaza
Website: http://www.maxsworld.com/locations_browse.php?action=view_record&idnum=13
Other Contact: accept: Visa, Mastercard

Restaurant Name: THE GOLD SPIKE

For more than 70 years this North Beach eatery has collected and displayed memorabilia from all around the globe. A cheerfully chaotic display of cards, notes and knick-knacks gives you plenty to look at while you wait for the food to arrive. The food itself is simple, hearty and inexpensive. Italian specialties such as Cioppino and Chicken Parmigiana can be ordered a la carte or as a full meal. Prices are extremely low for San Francisco. Most meals, served by a quick and friendly wait staff, come in at just less than $15.

It's old and a little neglected looking, also warm & friendly, a little like eating in someone's kitchen in Italy. And the food is sooo good.


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Theme: Italian
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415 421 4591
Address: Columbus Avenue
Directions: North Beach
MUNI BUS: 15, 30, 41