There’s an ongoing push to reconsider the cultural implications of tiki bars — but for those who seek a tropical cocktail or a deep selection of rum, Smuggler’s Cove makes a logical choice. The bar, convincingly designed to look and feel like the inside of a ship, has won just about every award the bar and cocktail world has to offer including being named one of the best bars in the world by World’s 50 Best, Playboy, and Esquire on top of earning nods from both the James Beard Foundation and Tales of the Cocktail.

Robin joins a flood of omakase sushi restaurants but stands out from the rest with adventurous twists on classic nigiri: Think potato chip nigiri with grilled ramp aioli and Ossetra caviar and seared canary rockfish, served with its liver, grapefruit ponzu, and chives. A menu of items divided into lean fish, fatty fish, not fish, dishes, and hand rolls are also available a la carte. This deeply personal restaurant of chef Adam Tortosa, is dramatic, moody, and definitely an experience.

The only place in San Francisco to get one of Johnny’s Doughnuts fluffy raised doughnuts or fat, filled bismarks is on the corner of Gough and Fulton streets in Hayes Valley. It’s all doughnuts — ok, and coffee — all the time with a menu offering both traditional and not-so-traditional flavors. Purists can opt for a simple sugar-dusted or chocolate-glazed raised doughnut but there are vegan varieties and a croissant-doughnut hybrid for the more adventurous. 

Opened in 2014, Birba is a small wine bar with an outsize list and winning Italian and Spanish small plates. Its lovely backyard patio is available for outdoor dining seven days a week, and if you want something to go, there’s food, bottles, and even sundries available in its online shop.

The prices aren’t cheap at this popular French bistro from chef Corey Lee (Benu) — appetizers average about $18 a piece while main courses are around $30 — but the refined, indulgent food with a modern spin has found an audience because this place was always packed.

There are a handful of excellent places to get a glass of wine in Hayes Valley, Fig & Thistle most certainly among them — but this spot has something the others don’t and that’s made-to-order pizzas from semi-permanent pop-up Outta Sight (Tuesday through Saturday from 5-9 p.m.). So along with a glass of skin-contact white blend from San Francisco’s own Woods Beer and Wine, you can also order a pie called the Orchard that’s topped with mushrooms, scallions, rosemary honey, and garlic butter. 

For more than four decades Hayes Street Grill has been a go-to option for a pre-theater dinner or post-opera drink. This is your neighborhood destination for seafood – everything from grilled swordfish to pan-fried oysters – with sides built around seasonal produce like Brentwood corn.  

A second location of The Bird has joined its SoMa sibling in the former location of Dobbs Ferry, serving a familiar menu of fried chicken sandwiches, wings, fries, and beers.

Instantly-trendy a Mano — yet another venture from prolific San Francisco restaurateur Adriano Paganini — is the spot for affordably priced but carefully prepared pasta and pizza from chef Freedom Rains, dishes like bucatini all’Amatriciana and agnolotti dal plin — small, buttery ravioli filled with roast pork, chicken, and chard.

From the crew behind the Meatball Bar, Doppio Zero fires up Neapolitan pies with classics like margheritas to fried and stuffed Pizza Napule. Besides pizza, there are small plates like croquettes, grilled octopus, and polpettine (Neapolitan meatballs), a full menu of pastas, and larger entrees like fish soup. To go with it all is plenty of Italian wine, local beer, and a full cocktail menu. Diners may be familiar with the restaurants other two restaurants on the Peninsula; this is the third location overall.

Unlike most of SF’s ramen restaurants, which focus on pork broth, Nojo Ramen uses rich chicken paitan broth as the base for its artisanal noodles. The small plates are also a signature for this restaurant, which has over 200 locations in Japan (the Hayes Valley restaurant is its first in the U.S.), so be sure to start with some toripan (curry seasoned ground chicken on baguette), corn on the cob, and teriyaki chicken buns.

People go wild for this fast casual Greek restaurant and its “spit-fired” meats, which you can get in a pita or on a salad. The vibe is very California, with tasty, affordable food, the fries (oh, the fries), and Greek wine or beer.

Authentic German fare, beer in a boot, and a very lively atmosphere are just three reasons why this bierhaus is as popular now as it was when it opened in 1993. Head here for happy hour specials like $6.50 beers and both indoor and outdoor dining opportunities.

The neighborhood got a destination for flaky scallion pancakes and hand-pulled noodles with the debut of Dumpling Home in late 2020. Already recognized by the Michelin Guide for its skillfully prepared dumplings of all shapes, sizes, and fillings, Dumpling Home also earned a shout out for making some of the city’s best xiao long bao — no small feat in town stacked deep with options. 

The food at Rich Table's fast-casual spinoff restaurant was always been available to-go and for delivery, making it a reliable option even during in pandemic times. Its pork belly is smoky and sweet, its chicken is brined and roasted to perfection, but the must-order items are the extremely generous RT salad and the whole head of roasted cauliflower.

Rich Table is everything California fare should be: inventive, approachable, locally sourced, and damn tasty. Owners Evan and Sarah Rich continue to cultivate a restaurant that’s both worthy of its Michelin star and casual enough to feel like a neighborhood staple.