Some of My Favorite Places in San Francisco

The following is a non exhaustive list of some of my favorite places in San Francisco:

Parks

Golden Gate Park. Favorite spots include the Japanese Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, Hellman Hollow. Renting a bike from San Francisco Bicycle Rentals on the east side of the park, biking through the park & stopping for a well-earned Andytown Plover on a Saturday morning. YUP.
Ina Coolbrith. Home of the famous telegraph hill parrots. One of the steepest hilly parks in the city. A few benches to admire the view of downtown, Alcatraz.
Alta Plaza. One of the best places in the city to catch the sunset. There’s a Blue Bottle coffee nearby where you can grab a Yuzu Fizz and walk around the park.
Buena Vista. A wild hilly park. Great for pickleball / tennis & near Haight Ashbury.
Mission Dolores (or just Dolores). In my mind, this is THE SF park. When I would visit, I’d always make a point of going here to eat a sandwich from Rhea’s Deli with a book from nearby Dog-eared Books. A classic, sloped SF park. Best on a sunny afternoon.

Coffee / Pastries

Cafe Angolo. Get the cream cheese and tomato on a salt bagel. Eat it at Washington Sq Park. Marvel at the olive oil. They use Boichik bagels, my favorite in the city.
Schlok’s Bagels. Amazing lox bagels. Perfect for a slow Sunday morning. We usually order delivery from Schlok’s, as the lines can be long & there’s no place to sit at the walk up.
Juniper. Their Black Sesame Kouign Aman is carried in many local coffee shops, like St Frank and the Coffee Movement, but it’s best fresh here. Reminds me a lot of an incredible one I had in Honolulu.
The Mill. The egg in a hole is divine, well seasoned, and jiggly.
Devil’s Teeth Bakery in the Sunset has fluffy biscuit breakfast sandwiches. The line will be long. Do not be deterred. $1 piping hot Beignets await you as an appetizer. There’s also a location in the Inner Richmond with a backyard patio.
Andytown Coffee. There’s new ones popping up all over now, but the location in Ocean Beach with a phone-free lounge looking at the ocean (you can see kitesurfers from the line!) is my favorite.
Coffee Movement. Fabulous seasonal lattes, you can watch the cable car go by at their Chinatown location tucked into an old Victorian.

Brunch (sit down)

Lokma. Turkish brunch, sooo yummy.
Mama’s. Classic North Beach eatery with omelet selection, refilled coffee, and a cute vintage feel. My favorite is the Washington Sq omelet with spicy sausage, bell peppers, and pepper jack cheese.

Lunch:

Hook Fish Co. Order in advance as lines can be very long at this Ocean Beach fresh fish spot. My go-to is the kid’s poke burrito. Do not by any circumstances miss their carrot jalapeno hot sauce. Take it to go & eat on the beach, or their sister location in Mill Valley offers a sit down beer garden straight out of Sunset magazine circa 2008 if that’s more your speed.
Blue Barn. Absolutely massive salads. I love the spicy tuna even though it takes me 35 minutes to eat.
Bi-Rite Sandwiches (or the Boy’s Deli nearby if you can eat a foot long sandwich). Get the Russian Hill at Bi-Rite. It’s one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had.
Joybird Pizza. Get the buffalo chicken pizza if you’re ready for an afternoon snooze after. The caramelized onions are incredible.

Must See:

Golden Gate Bridge. I mean you have to! My favorite spots to see it:
- On the west side of the bridge, looking north.
- From Fort Mason. Park by Ghiradelli Sq, walk up the mega hill to your left / north & be rewarded with a great view of the bridge.

Burgers & Beer:

Comstock Saloon. An old school saloon with live music, and a classic burger and beer situation.
Mo’s. Classic diner style in North Beach. Technically burger adjacent, as I usually get the heavenly patty melt with mushrooms – sourdough bread, melted cheese, a medium rare patty, caramelized onions, and add mushrooms!

Dinner:

Seven Hills. Sitting at the bar to enjoy a delicious wine & pasta from the heavens. Reservations are hard to come by, so you can also try their smaller sister restaurant Collina down Hyde Street.
Back to Back. Somewhere buzzy with lots of natural wine and really good small plates. Try the burger & the endive salad. And the hot honey pizza!!
Dumpling Story / Dumpling Union. Truly amazing dumpling spots, sister restaurants on Fillmore and Union.

Activities

Circus classes at Circus Center.
Escape Rooms at Palace Games.
Visiting museums. My two favorites are the De Young and the Legion of Honor.
Consignment shopping. Moody Goose on Polk, Wasteland in the Haight, they got some great stuff.
Book store hopping – City Lights – old Beat poets haunt – great selection in the basement, Booksmith in the Haight, Omnivore – cookbook-focused book store

Dessert:

Swensen’s Ice Cream. Right on Hyde. An SF classic. Flavors I recommend: Sticky Peanut Butter – a smooth blend of chocolate and fudge with peanut butter marbleized throughout the finished ice cream, Thin Mint – Peppermint ice cream with semi-sweet Chocolate chips, Orange Sherbet – self explanatory.

If you have thoughts / comments / additions / questions – leave ‘em in the comments!