SF Must Eats – Top 10 Must Eats in San Francisco | Best Places to Eat in San Francisco

Yeargh, this place is AWESOME!!! 🤮
I have NO idea just how the owners could possibly sleep at night; knowing the things that they know, and treating their customers like the way they do…
LOUD, POUNDING, OBNOXIOUS dance music that just gives me the headaches. Rude, inattentive waitstaff who like to push you around for all the wrong reasons, and just generally try to make you feel UNWELCOMED here. Heavily diluted and watered-down drinks, with plenty of sugar added and spiked with some other shit; that came out to be at least 10-15 bucks a pop. Sub-par, bland-tasting, and flavorless food that looks like what they would serve up in a Hawaiian prison. INSANELY overpriced menu items, outdated arcade machines (that cost $2 to play), poor lighting, a totally questionable atmosphere (loud violent drunks on the premises), and service that is just off-the-charts (BAD). I brought a few Lakota friends of mine, who were visiting from out of state. They all wore plain casual street clothes, but no tribal wear or funny-looking headdresses of any sort. The only thing that would probably stand out about them is that they sported very long hair; like ponytails and braids, but nothing too weird or crazy tho. They came from way up in the Northern states, so they all spoke perfect American English. The waitress was all mean and pushy right from the start. It was pretty damn clear and apparent, that she did NOT like me or my Lakota friends. She was being VERY rude, condescending, and disrespectful to me and my Lakota friends. She made some very rude remarks, mocking/sneering at my Lakota friends, and that made them all feel pretty annoyed. While taking our orders, she asked us some really dumb/unrelated questions, and then she would just mock us right back like if we were STUPID. Sneering and jeering at us, like the outspoken jerk she was. This crass and unruly broad (with punk looks and TONS of makeup on), talked VERY LOUDLY and she talked right over us. We tried telling her what entrees we wanted to order, and what specific kinds of ingredients to watch out for (because one of my Lakota friends was a vegetarian and he had certain food allergies), but she would NOT listen to us at all. She was just popping bubblegum loudly from her mouth and constantly making all these weird-ass body movements, cranking her neck around and jerking her shoulders up and down; like as if she was on some HEAVY SHIT. She rudely raised her voice (literally yelling) and kept on yelling at us to speak up louder. And then when we did tried to speak up, she just outright SCREAMED at us at the top of her lungs! My Lakota friends are soft-spoken gentlemen with low voices and polite manners. They rarely ever speak much, but after this terrible and god-awful dining experience; it really gave 'em THE TALK. She also constantly looked us up and down, like as if there's something WRONG with us. I think she had a MAJOR problem with people crossing their legs or putting their boots up on the table. Her behavior was just SO appalling, that it made us felt like we were eating in some kind of prison cafeteria. But the WORST part of the whole dining experience tho, was that we got followed around and watched like CRIMINALS during the whole time while we were there. The staff just stood around and watched us like a buncha HAWKS. They were always constantly observing our every move and action. My Lakota friends went over to play some of the pinball/arcade games, and then they had a staff member (possibly security) who stood closely right next to them and watched them MENACINGLY with his arms crossed during the whole time while they played. All this, while that LOUD BOOMING disco/techno music was pounding right down on us. "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!!!" At like around 150+ BPM, just like the kind you would find in some of those shady and illegal underground dance clubs. The music wasn't even any good; it was all just meant to be overly loud and disruptive, so that customers wouldn't hang around for too long. Just ear-shattering and nerve-racking. They always play that goddamn music at FULL BLAST anyway, so no wonder the whole staff is always so edgy. LOUD BOOMING BASS. Just plenty LOUD and GAY, if you ask me. There were lots of crazy kids running around and screaming everywhere, and the drunks who were seated nearby can also be heard mumbling out loud, with plenty of cursing and swearing. I have NO idea just WTF they spiked their drinks with, but those dark brooding drunks looked like they were up to NO GOOD. There was even a loud, emotional conversation going on between two drunks, who were talking about race and women. But the more they drank, the more darker their conversations became. First it was just some funny sex jokes, but then it soon became VIOLENT; loaded with threats of death and bodily harm. I could see the sweat dripping down their foreheads as they drank hella fast and hard. Shot after shot. Round after round. Hard liquor and throat-burnin' stuff. They had these GLARING red eyes. Banging their fists on the counter, and demanding the bartender to pour MORE booze… Yeargh, I could tell that those guys drank ALOT. They were SO drunk and talking SO loud, that even the whole goddamn place can hear it. All that jazz and commotion, like right in front of the children; who were paying some games nearby. Nobody even gave a shit or a fuck, as they just continued to pour that diluted piss-water down their throats; while all hunched over on the bar counter. There is even VOMIT on the floor, and the whole damn place just reeks and smells of URINE. That just pretty much sets the 'mood' for this dirty, run-down, and shady-ass dump. Loud music, screaming children, and violent drunks just don't mix too well. You just know it's BAD. Just try to sit down here for like 5 minutes, to enjoy a nice sandwich and a cold drink underneath all of that commotion; and you'll see what I mean. Just PAY and GTFO is their motto! Then came the food… It was served in large plates and dishes, but the actual portions were rather quite small tho. Just a few small bites here and a couple of sips there, and you're pretty much done already. $60 for an entree is INSANE. $15 per drink is MURDER. Skimpy-ass food portions, tiny-ass beer/wine glasses, and just greedy-ass business practices overall (as other reviewers have pointed out). 8 bucks just for a water is awfully expensive if you ask me, and I honestly think that I've had much better beer at some other places. And when we tried the stuff out, NONE of it was actually any good at all. The food was really bland and under-seasoned, but we could also tell that they had really loaded it down with like a TON of MSG and artificial additives. Far too little ingredients, not quite enough flavor, very poor texture/consistency, and it really shows when you taste it. You could probably do WAY BETTER than this, with some microwave dinners at home. The meaty parts were just RAW on the inside and inedible, plus the veggies were cold and tasted like LEAD. None of it was fresh at all, bro. Some parts of the dishes were also under-cooked, as it gave one of my poor Lakota friends the SHITHOUSE RUNS afterwards. He was the kinda guy who just happens to have a sensitive stomach, and was quite allergic to things like that. He got so terribly sick, that he even PUKED when we all went back to the hotel later that evening. "That wasn't no meat or fish; that was SOMETHIN' ELSE, ese…" He said, as he gripped his stomach in pain and then barfed ALL his guts into the toilet. Then when the bill finally came, it was almost $700. I just shook my head and rubbed my eyes in SHOCK, thinking that it was all a mistake. But to THEM at least, it was definitely NO mistake. There were only 4 of us in all, and each person spent about 100 bucks or so on food and drinks, not counting the 50 extra bucks that we spent playing some pinball/arcade games while waiting FOREVER for the food to arrive (which even ate up some of our quarters, BTW). So after taxes and fees, the total should've really come out to be like no more than $550. We got the waitress, and inquired about it. Then she simply just cleared her throat, raised her voice again and told us in a very rude condescending tone (with amplified volume), that it was a 'gratuity fee' that was automatically tacked on by default. "You HAVE TO PAY that, sir!" I'm like, SERIOUSLY??? Well, I'm all for tips and service/overhead charges when it comes to dining out with friends, but HOW ON EARTH did that come out to be an extra $150? Knowing that she simply just CANNOT be reasoned with, we just foot the bill and left the damn place. We were so 'full of it' that we couldn't even stay for dessert. My Lakota friends even got sick afterwards. I think they will all make it a point to NEVER visit me or my town ever again. I am SO sorry, my friends! 😫

Thank you so much ! I’m trying 5 of those restaurants.

I’m ready 😋 I am going to love San Francisco. I’m a Californian. All love for San Francisco.

He wasn't wearing gloves prepping food

The chicken wings are horrible….not American wings

Tommy's Joynt

My problem & one if not the biggest con to Golden Gate Bakery is that they are very very unreliable when it comes down to exactly when they are open as most days, they are closed

Hi, i know it sounds sudden and abrupt, but if you like healthy food and visit SF anytime, my family and I opened a "Muscle Maker Grill" in sf. Lmk if lunch free of charge would be something you'd be interested in.

WhG exactly is the egg custard 😭

Good list. Arsicault is underrated and Tony's is better than Golden Boy. Honorable mentions for the crab at R&G Lounge, prime rib at House of Prime Rib, and Tartine, but nice list.

You killed it 9 out of 10 places, but sourdough bowls of clam chowder at Boudin's? Only tourists do that. It isn't really a San Francisco tradition it only started in the 1970s as a way for Boudin's to sell more sour dough rounds. Props for the other 9 though.