We Just Updated Our List of the Best Restaurants in San Francisco

2 days ago 5

Food|We Just Updated Our List of the Best Restaurants in San Francisco

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/dining/where-to-eat-san-francisco.html

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Where to Eat

An old favorite that’s still got it, brothy noodles you can slurp year-round and a tasting menu you won’t want to miss in Japantown.

July 15, 2025, 3:00 p.m. ET

Summer unlocks a secret videogame level in San Francisco’s matrix. It’s a bizarro version compared with other cities: There’s zero humidity trapping us in its sweltering, inescapable maw, and it’s actually cold at night. The city also quiets down considerably as many of the tech overlords, artists, and of course, tried and true free spirits flee to Burning Man.

That also means the lines for our most popular culinary destinations shorten just a little. Except at places like Four Kings, which was named one of our favorite restaurants in the United States last year and remains on our San Francisco dining guide, updated this week. But here’s a tip: Get there early, put your name down and even if they quote you a four-hour wait, you might win the city’s restaurant lottery and wait only an hour (or two).

That’s plenty of time to enjoy San Francisco’s pinnacle Vesper cocktail at Moongate Lounge, where there’s always some kind of party, or a tropical Mai Tai at Lipo Lounge; or you can bop over to On Waverly, a vibrant curated shop filled with Asian American Pacific Islander books, stationary and miscellaneous fun in the shape of bok choy-shaped hair clips.

But if you’re a fan of the brand new (to our list) are our three additions.

A bowl of noodles with shrimp and cilantro is surrounded by smaller dishes.

Noodles on the water

Nite Yun’s Lunette, which opened in the Ferry Building last year, has become my go-to for last-minute lunches with visiting friends or with my toddler, who happily slurps down any of the comforting broths and noodle bowls on the menu. Ms. Yun’s Cambodian food has crossed the bridge from her first outpost in Oakland, Calif., Nyum Bai (now closed), and in the process transformed to feed the heavy foot traffic that comes with being in one of the busiest tourist spots in the city. The space is, of course, smaller than her previous brick-and-mortar, but Ms. Yun’s ability to accommodate old fans and new diners has been wonderful to taste.

If you happen to visit Lunette with your kids, take a quick walk along the Embarcadero to the Exploratorium Museum, where there are interactive, educational exhibits like the monochromatic room or a shadow box wall that tests your perceptual spectrum.