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16 Restaurants Perfect for Eating Alone in San Francisco

Excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner options for the solo diner

by Paolo Bicchieri and Lauren Saria Feb 17, 2022, 12:42pm PST

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by Paolo Bicchieri and Lauren Saria Feb 17, 2022, 12:42pm PST

Patricia Chang

Those who know, know: dining alone can be pure bliss. There’s no shame in taking yourself out to breakfast, lunch, or dinner — nor should there be when there are so many options for excellent restaurants that are happy to seat a solo diner or offer a single spot at the bar. San Francisco can confuse with its sudden fog and unexpected sunshine, making or breaking plans as it goes. But if the calendar opens up out of the blue, these 16 restaurants make the perfect option for a solo dinner date.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Note: Restaurants on this map are listed geographically.

If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

The Buena Vista

Yes, it’s a tourist destination often clogged with camera-wielding out-of-towners on weekends. But this San Francisco institution is also a neighborhood haunt for those in the area and the bartenders often greet regulars with a friendly nod as they scoot up to a table or belly up to the bar. Join in, no matter where you live, for weekday lunch or midweek happy hour and you’ll find yourself transported back to an era of San Francisco past. An Irish coffee is an absolute must and pairs well with the very unfussy menu of breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees like corned beef and fish and chips.

Open in Google Maps

2765 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

Also featured in:

The Stinking Rose

The Columbus Avenue restaurant was Calzone’s until January, but no matter the name the service is as warm as one would hope for in San Francisco’s Italian American enclave. A light lunch of the wild arugula salad in the outdoor seating area, while the rare sun breaks through the fog, is the perfect mid-week escape from the WFH routine.

430 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Calzone's, North Beach. — Calzone’s, North Beach.

Also featured in:

China Live

Chinatown is a veritable treasure trove of excellent dining options but for a solo diner looking to get a little taste of everything, George Chen’s sprawling restaurant and marketplace might be ideal. Often compared to Italian food emporium Eataly, the 30,000-square-foot space houses a tea counter, a full service restaurant with a daily changing dim sum selection, a bar, and a retail space. Fill up on a basket of soup dumplings, crispy bottomed shen jian bao, and jiggly egg tarts before perusing the aisles on your way out.

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

China Live’s bar

Also featured in:

Sorella

You’ll be tempted by the menu of excellent fresh pasta at this newish Italian dinner destination from the team behind Michelin-starred Acquerello, but solo diners who nab a seat at the bar would do well to explore the menu of cicchetti, or Venetian snacks, that’s only available to bar patrons. Compile a feast of small plates like potato chips dusted in cacio e pepe seasoning, thick sausage-stuffed chicken wings, and tender veal meatballs.

Open in Google Maps

1760 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Also featured in:

14 Primo Italian Restaurants in San Francisco

Udon Mugizo

For those seeking a place to be alone in the crowd, the bustling hallways of Japantown’s two malls make the perfect escape. After you peruse every aisle at Daiso, duck into the warm wood-wrapped dining room at Udon Mugizo for a bowl of heart-warming udon. The bouncy noodles are made on-site and are perfectly slurpable whether swimming in a rich tonkotsu broth or drenched in Parmesan cheese sauce.

Open in Google Maps

1581 Webster St #217, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Mentai creamy sauce udon topped with green onions, slivers of seaweed, and pieces of tempura batter from Udon Mugizo in Japantown

Also featured in:

The Best Mall Restaurants in the Bay Area

Black Cat

Jason Moser, formerly of Villon and the Proper Hotel, shakes the cocktails. Olu Gartin, longtime manager of the Blue Note jazz club in New York, holds down the service. Fritz Quattlebaum brings in jazz wunderkind like Kenneth Whalum and Tal Cohen. Drinking and eating here alone — try a cocktail like the $18 scotch-based Vaxed with an appetizer like the $6 crispy hominy corn nuts — might be the best way to enjoy this San Francisco rarity.

Open in Google Maps

400 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Black Cat

Also featured in:

The Anchovy Bar

The latest offering from the acclaimed State Bird Provisions team, Anchovy Bar indulges chef Stuart Brioza’s obsession with those glittering little fish. It’s an itty bitty restaurant tucked around the corner from State Bird, but getting a seat on the parklet or in the dining room is just a smidge easier if you’re riding solo. And good news: because the menu is built around small plates of cured in-house fish and fresh oysters, even a single diner can get a taste of several items. Live it up with a glass of orange wine or a frothy spritz for the full experience.

Open in Google Maps

1740 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Anchovies from Anchovy Bar

Also featured in:

Violet's

This cousin to Fiorella offers a fantastic bar program and upscale menu while keeping things affordable. For the solo diner, a Lovely Day, the restaurant’s $13 cinnamon-infused vodka cocktail served hot, is a welcome reprieve from the hot-and-cold winter weather.

Open in Google Maps

2301 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Violet’s (@violets_sf)

Also featured in:

Automat

Chef Matt Kirk built a reputation on his inventive breads and general baking skill before bringing Automat, a new-ish all day cafe, to NoPa in late 2021. By day, it’s a true neighborhood spot offering hot coffee, sugar dusted brioche doughnuts, and a full menu of sandwiches all served on bread baked in-house. By night, Kirk’s Lazy Bear pedigree is on full display with a menu that pulls inspiration from Thailand to the American South with plates including spicy beet larb and crispy fried chicken thighs.

Open in Google Maps

1801 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

The exterior of Automat’s corner space, including a mint green sign outside of wraparound front windows.

Also featured in:

17 Standout Burgers in San Francisco

a Mano

The bartenders at A Mano are hip, knowledgeable, and will talk about their favorite David Bowie songs while pouring glasses of Hibiki whiskey and red wine. The focaccia with tapenade is a lovely companion for this solo affair.

Open in Google Maps

450 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by William Duff Architects, Inc. (@wdarch_inc)

Also featured in:

Horsefeather

The service staff at this upscale neighborhood restaurant and bar are worth the visit in their own right. Day or night one would never find themselves really dining alone at the Divisadero Street haunt. Talking to the bartenders over house cocktails like the Ol’ Smokey, whiskey and ceylon tea with bergamot, is endlessly entertaining. If you’re hungry, the menu offer a solid burger and a plate of fried chicken that comes with a side of braised collard greens.

Open in Google Maps

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Horsefeather warm wooden back bar full of bottles of liquor

Also featured in:

Spark Social SF

Mission Bay’s Spark Social is a chance for fresh air, mini golf, and an ensemble of food and drink options. While it’s definitely an experience worth sharing with friends, the outdoor food park deserves one’s alone time, too. Hitting Nucha Empanadas, about $3.50 for an empanada, while enjoying one of San Francisco’s newest neighborhoods’ biggest attractions is well worthwhile.

Open in Google Maps

601 Mission Bay Boulevard North, San Francisco, CA 94158

Visit Website

Outdoor seating at Spark Social SF

Plow

To dine alone at the Potrero Hill breakfast shop of great acclaim is an exercise in anonymity. Bustling crowds of people are both outside and inside the restaurant, so taking in an order of the $17 gluten-free pancakes amongst the throng is a bit of a trip. At this point in the pandemic, though, it’s an affirming experience.

1299 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Plow in Potrero Hill.

Also featured in:

LUNA American Brasserie

Jumping right into the Valencia Street scene in summer 2021, this brasserie wants to make guests feel like this is their new favorite spot. The bar and service staff do just that, and taking a seat and ordering the Oaxacan Around Downtown, a $14 mezcal and campari cocktail, is like coming home to drink with family after being away for too long. On the menu, familiar (if meaty) brassiere fare including a burger and stuffed chicken cordon bleu.

Open in Google Maps

694 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LUNA AN AMERICAN BRASSERIE (@lunasfmission)

Also featured in:

Sunset Cantina

Throughout the pandemic, this block on Judah Avenue has provided a plethora of safe outdoor dining options. Three tacos for $10 doesn’t hurt, nor do the $12 yucca fries topped with al pastor and chipotle crema, for a night of comfort food in the avenues.

3414 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sunset Cantina (@sunsetcantinasf)

Also featured in:

Pupusería Ilobasco

This Portola diner serves pupusas for as cheap as $3 a pop. For breakfast, grab a stool and order the hueveos estrellados con platanos, an efficient and delicious way to get proteins and fruits in the same dish. Eating on one’s own here is perfect – the restaurant staff love to play soccer on the TV in the corner.

Open in Google Maps

2680 San Bruno Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

Exterior of Pupuseria Ilobasco

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The Buena Vista

2765 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

Yes, it’s a tourist destination often clogged with camera-wielding out-of-towners on weekends. But this San Francisco institution is also a neighborhood haunt for those in the area and the bartenders often greet regulars with a friendly nod as they scoot up to a table or belly up to the bar. Join in, no matter where you live, for weekday lunch or midweek happy hour and you’ll find yourself transported back to an era of San Francisco past. An Irish coffee is an absolute must and pairs well with the very unfussy menu of breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees like corned beef and fish and chips.

Open in Google Maps

2765 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

The Stinking Rose

430 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Calzone's, North Beach. — Calzone’s, North Beach.

The Columbus Avenue restaurant was Calzone’s until January, but no matter the name the service is as warm as one would hope for in San Francisco’s Italian American enclave. A light lunch of the wild arugula salad in the outdoor seating area, while the rare sun breaks through the fog, is the perfect mid-week escape from the WFH routine.

430 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Calzone's, North Beach. — Calzone’s, North Beach.

China Live

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

China Live’s bar

Chinatown is a veritable treasure trove of excellent dining options but for a solo diner looking to get a little taste of everything, George Chen’s sprawling restaurant and marketplace might be ideal. Often compared to Italian food emporium Eataly, the 30,000-square-foot space houses a tea counter, a full service restaurant with a daily changing dim sum selection, a bar, and a retail space. Fill up on a basket of soup dumplings, crispy bottomed shen jian bao, and jiggly egg tarts before perusing the aisles on your way out.

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

China Live’s bar

Sorella

1760 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

You’ll be tempted by the menu of excellent fresh pasta at this newish Italian dinner destination from the team behind Michelin-starred Acquerello, but solo diners who nab a seat at the bar would do well to explore the menu of cicchetti, or Venetian snacks, that’s only available to bar patrons. Compile a feast of small plates like potato chips dusted in cacio e pepe seasoning, thick sausage-stuffed chicken wings, and tender veal meatballs.

Open in Google Maps

1760 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Udon Mugizo

1581 Webster St #217, San Francisco, CA 94115

Mentai creamy sauce udon topped with green onions, slivers of seaweed, and pieces of tempura batter from Udon Mugizo in Japantown

For those seeking a place to be alone in the crowd, the bustling hallways of Japantown’s two malls make the perfect escape. After you peruse every aisle at Daiso, duck into the warm wood-wrapped dining room at Udon Mugizo for a bowl of heart-warming udon. The bouncy noodles are made on-site and are perfectly slurpable whether swimming in a rich tonkotsu broth or drenched in Parmesan cheese sauce.

Open in Google Maps

1581 Webster St #217, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Mentai creamy sauce udon topped with green onions, slivers of seaweed, and pieces of tempura batter from Udon Mugizo in Japantown

Black Cat

400 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Black Cat

Jason Moser, formerly of Villon and the Proper Hotel, shakes the cocktails. Olu Gartin, longtime manager of the Blue Note jazz club in New York, holds down the service. Fritz Quattlebaum brings in jazz wunderkind like Kenneth Whalum and Tal Cohen. Drinking and eating here alone — try a cocktail like the $18 scotch-based Vaxed with an appetizer like the $6 crispy hominy corn nuts — might be the best way to enjoy this San Francisco rarity.

Open in Google Maps

400 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Black Cat

The Anchovy Bar

1740 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Anchovies from Anchovy Bar

The latest offering from the acclaimed State Bird Provisions team, Anchovy Bar indulges chef Stuart Brioza’s obsession with those glittering little fish. It’s an itty bitty restaurant tucked around the corner from State Bird, but getting a seat on the parklet or in the dining room is just a smidge easier if you’re riding solo. And good news: because the menu is built around small plates of cured in-house fish and fresh oysters, even a single diner can get a taste of several items. Live it up with a glass of orange wine or a frothy spritz for the full experience.

Open in Google Maps

1740 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Anchovies from Anchovy Bar

Violet's

2301 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121

This cousin to Fiorella offers a fantastic bar program and upscale menu while keeping things affordable. For the solo diner, a Lovely Day, the restaurant’s $13 cinnamon-infused vodka cocktail served hot, is a welcome reprieve from the hot-and-cold winter weather.

Open in Google Maps

2301 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Violet’s (@violets_sf)

Automat

1801 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94115

The exterior of Automat’s corner space, including a mint green sign outside of wraparound front windows.

Chef Matt Kirk built a reputation on his inventive breads and general baking skill before bringing Automat, a new-ish all day cafe, to NoPa in late 2021. By day, it’s a true neighborhood spot offering hot coffee, sugar dusted brioche doughnuts, and a full menu of sandwiches all served on bread baked in-house. By night, Kirk’s Lazy Bear pedigree is on full display with a menu that pulls inspiration from Thailand to the American South with plates including spicy beet larb and crispy fried chicken thighs.

Open in Google Maps

1801 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

The exterior of Automat’s corner space, including a mint green sign outside of wraparound front windows.

a Mano

450 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102

The bartenders at A Mano are hip, knowledgeable, and will talk about their favorite David Bowie songs while pouring glasses of Hibiki whiskey and red wine. The focaccia with tapenade is a lovely companion for this solo affair.

Open in Google Maps

450 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by William Duff Architects, Inc. (@wdarch_inc)

Horsefeather

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Horsefeather warm wooden back bar full of bottles of liquor

The service staff at this upscale neighborhood restaurant and bar are worth the visit in their own right. Day or night one would never find themselves really dining alone at the Divisadero Street haunt. Talking to the bartenders over house cocktails like the Ol’ Smokey, whiskey and ceylon tea with bergamot, is endlessly entertaining. If you’re hungry, the menu offer a solid burger and a plate of fried chicken that comes with a side of braised collard greens.

Open in Google Maps

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Horsefeather warm wooden back bar full of bottles of liquor

Spark Social SF

601 Mission Bay Boulevard North, San Francisco, CA 94158

Outdoor seating at Spark Social SF

Mission Bay’s Spark Social is a chance for fresh air, mini golf, and an ensemble of food and drink options. While it’s definitely an experience worth sharing with friends, the outdoor food park deserves one’s alone time, too. Hitting Nucha Empanadas, about $3.50 for an empanada, while enjoying one of San Francisco’s newest neighborhoods’ biggest attractions is well worthwhile.

Open in Google Maps

601 Mission Bay Boulevard North, San Francisco, CA 94158

Visit Website

Outdoor seating at Spark Social SF

Plow

1299 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Plow in Potrero Hill.

To dine alone at the Potrero Hill breakfast shop of great acclaim is an exercise in anonymity. Bustling crowds of people are both outside and inside the restaurant, so taking in an order of the $17 gluten-free pancakes amongst the throng is a bit of a trip. At this point in the pandemic, though, it’s an affirming experience.

1299 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Plow in Potrero Hill.

LUNA American Brasserie

694 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Jumping right into the Valencia Street scene in summer 2021, this brasserie wants to make guests feel like this is their new favorite spot. The bar and service staff do just that, and taking a seat and ordering the Oaxacan Around Downtown, a $14 mezcal and campari cocktail, is like coming home to drink with family after being away for too long. On the menu, familiar (if meaty) brassiere fare including a burger and stuffed chicken cordon bleu.

Open in Google Maps

694 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LUNA AN AMERICAN BRASSERIE (@lunasfmission)

Sunset Cantina

3414 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Throughout the pandemic, this block on Judah Avenue has provided a plethora of safe outdoor dining options. Three tacos for $10 doesn’t hurt, nor do the $12 yucca fries topped with al pastor and chipotle crema, for a night of comfort food in the avenues.

3414 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sunset Cantina (@sunsetcantinasf)

Related Maps

Pupusería Ilobasco

2680 San Bruno Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

Exterior of Pupuseria Ilobasco

This Portola diner serves pupusas for as cheap as $3 a pop. For breakfast, grab a stool and order the hueveos estrellados con platanos, an efficient and delicious way to get proteins and fruits in the same dish. Eating on one’s own here is perfect – the restaurant staff love to play soccer on the TV in the corner.

Open in Google Maps

2680 San Bruno Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134