And what is part of a good city trip? Food, of course. In this article I show you the restaurants we visited during our stay in San Francisco. San Francisco restaurants and it’s whole food scene is just amazing (at least from what we’ve tried and put on the endless food list) – from food truck markets to Michelin starred restaurants.

Did you know that food trucks were legalized 25 years ago in California. Nonetheless “Food Carts” and “Sidewalk Vending” were only legalized in September last year. Since then, the food truck markets in California have been experiencing an upswing. A very well-known one is the “Off The Grid” market. Unfortunately we didn’t make it there. The places and times can be found on the website.

Here are a few recommendations where we went to eat. In general, San Francisco restaurants are very expensive. Once we paid 180$ including tips for one breakfast of five. In addition there are still the 15-20% taxes, which you shouldn’t forget in the USA. However, you can also eat quite reasonable when eating streetfood and fast food. But trust me, you’ll get bored super quickly and will crave anything but healthy. Unless it’s a delicious In-Out-Burger (we been there all the time!).

At the end there is also another map, which I made on the recommendations of a couple we met on Highway One. Allegedly they were super foodies – me likey!

• Here you will find my great San Francisco Neighborhoods Guide!
• All The Golden Bun “USA-Contributions” can be found here!

San Francisco RESTAURANTS GUIDE

CHINA LIVE
the trendiest latest restaurant opening in China town

China Live is currently being praised as hippest restaurant in China Town. In fact, three restaurants and cafes belong to China Live. We ate at The Market. The first time you enter, you end up in a shop for the first time and are then brought to the table by a nice waitress. At 20:00 o’clock the restaurant was crowded. This is above all also because of the fact that the inhabitants of San Francisco go to eat already very early. From 20:30 the restaurant emptied slowly. We passed an open show kitchen where delicious Peking ducks were prepared.

The menu of China Live offers a good selection of Chinese and Asian dishes:

• Minced Tofu Lettuce Cups ($20)
• Shanghai Xiao Long Bao ‘XLB’ Soup Dumplings (15$)
• Chinese ‘Pigs in a Blanket’ Gua Bao, Lap Cheong Sausage, Cucumber & Cashew Aioli (14$)
• Charred Chinese Broccoli, King Oyster Mushrooms, Roasted Sesame $16.00
• Sichuan Blistered Green Beans, Yunnan Olive, Pickled Radish, Salted Plum, Mushroom & Toon Paste $16.00
• …

My favorite dishes were the Chinese “Pigs in a Blanket”, which was very tasty. I can also recommend the Chinese broccoli to you. Sichuan cuisine is one of my favourite Chinese cuisines, so I can highly recommend the green beans with Sichuan pepper.

• Here you can have a look at the map & prices!

All in all, I liked the restaurant very much. The interior is very modern and traditional. However, I find the prices a bit steep for the size of the portions. In addition, the volume level of the restaurant disturbed me. Around 9 pm it was almost extinct, because the San Franciscans go to eat very early. Then it was nice and pleasant.

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LE MARAIS BAKERY
French Flair at The Castro

Le Marais Bakery has several San Francisco restaurants. We visited the cute French restaurant in The Castro. Delicious vinnoiserie, brunch dishes and good coffee – what more could you want? Here you can put together small breakfast tapas, a “Breakfast Board” (5 for 15$, 7 for 19$). Unfortunately there were only baked goods on order. Very recommendable are the Eggs Benedict (any style 16$) and the Homemade Granola (11$).

I did the croissant test again. My Croissant Aux Amande (5$) was unfortunately, like all other Croissants, which I tried relatively dry and doughy. A classic “Au beurre” here costs 3.5$, which is fine. By comparison, the classic butter croissants in LA even cost up to $5.

• Here you can take a look at the map!

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EAGLE CAFÈ
Crab rolls at Pier 39

The Eagle Café is a popular tourist spot on Pier 39. Eating fish once is a must! Here I tried a “Crab Roll” for the first time – the king of shellfisch sandwiches. The Eagle Café serves the crab meat in a Brioche-Bun (19$). I found the crab roll delicious, but the dish is not my favorite. I think a classic seafood pasta ($20) is better. The Linguine seafood was definitely good (almost al Dente ;-) ).

• Here you can take a look at the map.

Crab roll

Crab Avocado Toast

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ROSE’S CAFÉ
Breakfast in San Francisco

You can get hearty breakfast classics at Rose’s Café. Have you ever tried a breakfast pizza? You shouldn’t miss the Breakfast Pizza with Smoked Ham, Fontina & Eggs (19$) of the Rosés Café. Julia was blown away – she also looked very tasty. I tried the lush Yukon Gold Potato Hash with Mushrooms, Onions, Cheddar & Poached Eggs ($16). Optically not at all appealing, but taste super good. The Rose’s French Toast Bread Pudding with Caramelized Apple & Whipped Cream (12$) was excellent. The best we ate on the trip (I only tasted it, of course, because I don’t like sweetness so much else). A visit to Rose’s Café is definitely a must!

• You can take a look at the map here!

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PRESIDIO SOCIAL CLUB

A walk in the Presisio Park offers the possibility to get involved in a case. Here you will find lunch at the Presidio Social Cluban. If you like American classics, this is the place for you: Mac’n’Cheese, Club sandwiches, classic burgers and more. I chose the classic PSC® Hamburger ($16.00), the very tasty war. I’m not a big macaroni and cheese ($13.50) fan and just don’t understand that Art of Court. Allegedly there are better ones than those from the Presidio Social Club. All in all it’s a nice place.

• Here take a look at the lunch menu!

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These were all the San Francisco restaurants we visited. I have summarized the recommendations of the nice couple here in this map. If you visit the map once, it will be saved in your Google Maps and you can easily retrieve it locally.

I hope my San Francisco restaurant recommendations were helpful for your next SF trip. Let me know if you have more recommendations.

Have a nice day!

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