San Francisco - places to stay and eat?

[Shaz]

Hi,

I'm headed to SF in November. Anyone have any suggestions on places to stay (hotel) and the latest places to go out and eat (restaurants). I used to live there and haven't been back in awhile. I liked the Clift hotel at the time, anywhere high end, trendy, modern would be great.

Thanks!

Shaz

[masuerte]

I would go for the Downtown five star hotels.

There are some neat ones that're run by Joie De Vivre.

I love all the W/Westin/Starwood hotels everywhere. Everywhere from Westwood L.A. to NY to frickin' Honolulu... they're always nice. The W-stands for "Whenever, Wherever". If I could frickin afford to stay here for the superfuture party, I would've, but my cousin doesn't work for the chain anymore.

They're great places though and their restaurants, bars and indoor/outdoor lounges at the hotels always have great parties going on. The W-hotel's location is pretty good near Union Station in downtown S.F. I would reccomend it.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/Bab9bdd3SUkXPo6jIVO55Q

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/explore/world/hotels.html

[push kicks]

If you're into seafood a classic place to check out is always Fishermans Wharf, no doubt. You can't leave Frisco without checking that place out. While you're there check out Pier 39, another classic place in Frisco to eat.

Another place you might like to check out is called Foreign Cinema, a Mediterranean restaurant. It's one of the top restaurants in Frisco

[kpm]

I don't know, I work near pier 39 and even I stay away from that place during my lunch break. It's way too crowded with tourist and just fast food places.

[s2kong]

i am definitely not a fan of pier 39. too many tourists. if you are looking for crab, i would look in PPQ in the richmond. a little out of the way and a little pricey but the crab there is fresh and tasty.

other restaurants i recommend are kokkari (mediterranean) and delfina (italian). both are kinda pricey though. if you go to delfina you can stop by self edge too since its pretty close.

cheaper eats i like are osha thai, katana-ya ramen, oyagis, barney's burgers, and mamacita

[tomenugen]

pier 39. tourist trap. could get/see/do "X" better somewhere else.

do a search for the city. there's been several posts.

[push kicks]

True there are alot of tourists there, but why do you think theyre there in the first place? Stuff there is pretty good

[ImRatherUnique]

my cousin lives in the mission, and took me to these places. all of em worth going to.

-Tartine Bakery--->just go here. no explanation needed.

-Ti Couz--->AWESOME crepe place.

-Bombay Ice Cream----> really good indian ice cream, their cardamom flavored ice cream is too good.

-Namu---unlike any restaraunt ive ever been to, korean-japanese fusion food, amazing decor, out of all the places, if you cant make it anywhere, try your hardest to go here.

[equip555]

Askew on Haight st.

[Angry Inch]

Some of my favorite restaurants:

The Slanted Door--Vietnamese in the Mission

Sumi--Fusion on 18th St. in the Castro

Bong Su--Fusion on 3rd in SOMA

Millennium--Wonderful vegan restaurant near Union Square

Azi--Fusion on Folsom in SOMA, ask for a booth with a private curtain

The Globe--Late night drinks and dining in North Beach/Financial District

Sushi Groove South--I'm still a sucker for this bat cave-like sushi place in SOMA

I would suggest avoiding Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and calling the city "Frisco."

[jimmyc]

Slanted Door is great.

Ebisu, right below Golden gate park (on 19th street I think) is great for Sushi.

Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for upscale (Ron Siegel is an amazing chef)

[push kicks]

I would suggest avoiding Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and calling the city "Frisco."

I guess I should stop saying hella too

[Shaz]

Thanks all for your great recommendations. I've taken note of a few. I'm also interested in going to high end restaurants, not so much 'great deals' type restaurants. Super cool interior and high end is a plus

btw, any hotel recommendations?

I used to live in SF so I've been to all the touristy places, more interested in the local new places that many have opened up.

Thanks again!

[Chicken]

If you're into seafood a classic place to check out is always Fishermans Wharf, no doubt. You can't leave Frisco without checking that place out. While you're there check out Pier 39, another classic place in Frisco to eat.

Another place you might like to check out is called Foreign Cinema, a Mediterranean restaurant. It's one of the top restaurants in Frisco

this is a joke right? please tell me it's a joke. it will be incredibly sad if you actually live there and this is the extent of your knowledge. i'm not trying to be personal, but there are just so many great places to eat there i can't believe you picked the worst places. (and used the f-word.) you need to get out more often!

angry inch, i say yay too for slanted door.

none of mine are latest since i haven't lived there in years too, but in case you haven't heard a few: cha cha cha, r&g lounge (recommend their soft shell crabs), house of nanking (more for the experience), and man, there was this pho place near the real china town that was awesome. and this is outside of san fran and you need to reserve way ahead of time, but i would like to one day eat at the french laundry.

[englandmj7]

Two of the most overrated places I have ever been have been mentioned a couple times, so I feel obligated to give some input:

Slanted Door - This isn't in the Mission anymore, as Angry Inch suggests. This is one of the reasons (I've been told by SF natives) that the place has gone downhill the past couple of years. Miniscule portions, snooty crowd, mediocre food, overpriced, huge wait times, consistently booked solid, asian "fusion." If you don't care about authenticity and just want some good asian-inspired food, save the time and hassle and go to friggin' PF Changs. I've eaten here three times for work and it sucked every time. Burma Superstar is better, as a restaurant in the same vein (albeit overrated as well).

Tartine - Big lines on the weekend, pastries look substantially better than they taste. Okay if you're in the area but certainly not worth going out of the way for.

[Chicken]

shit, but that's good to know. i used to go to the one in mission before there was a line or anything. and it was impossible to find because they had nothing but this tiny little sign on their window. and man they were cheap.

speaking of, there was a great indian restaurant in the tenderloin too, that i'm pretty sure not too many people know about.

[kpm]

someone mentioned Katana-ya, that's a pretty good & inexpensive restaurant for ramen & sushi.

Nearby is ryoko's, only went there once, but thought the sushi was delicious.

Some other retaurants I recommend are turtle tower in the tenderloin.

Brothers in the richmond, and limon in valencia st.

[Chicken]

oh man, i used to go to brothers all the time. great barbecue.

i once saw a piece of hot charcoal crack, fly and land on a poor kid's naked thigh, since he was wearing shorts.

[push kicks]

this is a joke right? please tell me it's a joke. it will be incredibly sad if you actually live there and this is the extent of your knowledge. i'm not trying to be personal, but there are just so many great places to eat there i can't believe you picked the worst places. (and used the f-word.) you need to get out more often!

angry inch, i say yay too for slanted door.

none of mine are latest since i haven't lived there in years too, but in case you haven't heard a few: cha cha cha, r&g lounge (recommend their soft shell crabs), house of nanking (more for the experience), and man, there was this pho place near the real china town that was awesome. and this is outside of san fran and you need to reserve way ahead of time, but i would like to one day eat at the french laundry.

Nah I just live in Fremont, and I was just telling the places ive been there, i barely go there to eat just to shop

[Chicken]

ahh, that's fair because i have no idea what to eat in fremont.

oh, and great filipino cuisine in daly city! btw

[push kicks]

I usually go and eat in san jose and saratoga fremont is just a place to go eat if you wanna get ur hands on some indian/pakistani food

[the_state]

i've heard some really good things about the presidio social club (rest.).

as for hotels...i stayed in a place called Hotel Boheme, in North Beach, last October. It's a really unique, old (in a good way), boutiqueish hotel in a nice area. Allen Ginsburg and a bunch of other heads from the Beat scene used to hang out there, and they have a complimentary apertif hour in the afternoon. http://www.hotelboheme.com/

[volta]

I really like the fillmore neighborhood and you probably already know about this, but amoeba music is awesome

[giulianoa-11]

pizza orgasmica. one of the best pizza places i've ever been to. cool atmosphere, amazing pizza

[vjiforlife]

for italian, the last supper club in the mission is great. the best calamari i've ever had.

foreign cinema for french, the curry chicken entree is tasty. i think it's on valencia if memory serves me correct. ohlaa is another nice restaurant as well.

[thelion1856]

I really like the fillmore neighborhood and you probably already know about this, but amoeba music is awesome

back when i used to listen to rap, rapper andre nikatina often made references to this suburban neighborhood. I remember he would often do impromtue shows at some fraterntiy houses at san diego state then pick about 4 to 5 nice blond beach bunnys at the party to do some coke with in the frat house and fuck a couple of them.

[projectalpha]

I'm also interested in going to high end restaurants, not so much 'great deals' type restaurants. Super cool interior and high end is a plus

Gary Danko is pretty good. Carnelian Room is decent. I hear Michael Mina is good.

[miniaturemouse]

Slanted door for sure like others said.

i suggest Osha on valencia. its fusion thai. they have really good menu and in good price. there are some neat places and good cafes around mission/valencia too! i recommend ritual roaster for good cup of coffee. if you have a chance, check Hayse street. it's a tiny block filled with nice stores. and fillmore street for sure. breakfast/lunch at Grove is always nice. pastries at Patisserie Delanghe is great too. they make this pastry called "apple turn over (it's like apple pie)" and it's so good! they only make few and closes early, but it's a great place to start your morning.

[thejdmkid]

I'd say Kokari is a pretty good place if you want good upscale greek food. I go there with business associates regularly.

As for a nice hotel, Starwoods has a great hotel on New Montgomery called The Palace. The Palace very old school and opulent, you can find a good deal on several travel sites for the hotel. Typically a room should run $150.00 a night before taxes.

I have also dined at a place in the SOMA area called Bacar, but I don't really remember much about that evening other than they have wonder martini's

[erickchen]

i was in SF all summer and here are the the best places in my book to eat:

Slanted Door (Ferry Building)

Coco500 (Soma)

Michael Mina (Union Square)

San Dong (Richmond or Inner Sunset i forgot)

Chow (Castro)