Zach Margolis's Recommendations

San Francisco

I’ve been in San Francisco about 12 years now. This is my list of interesting things that I send to folks when they ask me what to do in San Francisco. It’s a work in progress and isn’t meant to be some exhaustive list of the city’s best things.

I’ve marked a few favorites with a ★. I like pretty much everything on this list, but I love those.

Contents

• Touristy Attractions
• Food & Bars
  • Pac Heights and Fillmore St.
  • The Marina
  • Polk St.
  • Elsewhere in the City (and Bay Area)
  • Gay Bars

Touristy Attractions

• Bicycling: Rent bikes and take them across the Golden Gate Bridge! Head down the hill to Sausalito, stop by Bar Bocce or any of the restaurants on the waterfront, and take the ferry back (you can bring the bikes on the ferry).

• Exploratorium (Embarcadero): Fun hands-on museum ostensibly aimed at kids but is great for adults too. Thursday nights is adults only which is super refreshing.

• Golden Gate Park

  You know, that giant park in the west part of the city. It’s fun to walk around and has some super cool things inside it.

  • DeYoung Museum: The observation deck is still free, even if you don’t get a ticket.

  • Botanical Garden: It’s got some great stuff.

  • Stow Lake: Has pedal boats! My favorite.

• Land’s End/Sutro Baths (Outer Richmond): Gorgeous views of the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge you can walk around and explore at the end of the city. An easy walk to some food and beers at the Beach Chalet from here.

• Museum of Craft and Design (Dogpatch): A small museum in the Dogpatch that’s always got something fun there. I’ve seen a few really memorable exhibits, it rarely disappoints.

• Palace of Fine Arts (The Marina): Built for the Panama-Pacific Exposition (basically another World’s Fair) in 1915. It’s gorgeous to walk around on a sunny day, take some pictures. For a fun game, try to guess ahead of time how many wedding photoshoots will be there.

• SFMoMA (SoMa): I’m a member, so give me a heads up, pick a time slot, and I can get you 2 tickets for free and email them to you.

Food & Bars

Pac Heights and Fillmore St.

This is my neighborhood, so naturally I stop by these things most frequently.

• ★ Jane on Fillmore: This is my favorite in the city. Their avocado toast (the “avocado mash”) is mortgage-destroying and worth EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN PENNY. No regrets. Their pastries and breads are amazing also. There’s another location on Larkin and an amazing bakery location (with challah on Fridays!) on Geary.

• Boba Guys: Boba Guys has my favorite boba tea in the world. I love their matcha tea and their Thai tea flavors. Has other locations throughout the city (and now in NY and LA too!). Due to their anti-union practices I am removing them as a rec. Try Purple Kow instead!

• Blue Bottle: Fancy 3rd-wave coffee chain, I really like their hot chocolate. This location has avocado toast which is not bad, either Update: this location no longer has avocado toast Update 2: avocado toast is seasonal! Has other locations throughout the city.

• Elite Cafe: Great cocktails. I think they do food? Maybe? I’ve only been there for drinks. Update: their food is okay. Update 2: they are closed forever now.

• La Boulangerie de San Francisco: Treat yourself to amazing pastries (chocolate hazelnut croissant FTW) and they have great bread too. There are multiple locations throughout the city.

• La Mediteranee: Mediterranean restaurant, I love their mezze plate to share, and their friendly, neighborhoody feel. There’s another location in SF and a spot in Berkeley as well.

• Octavia: Amazing restaurant, a little upscale, with a menu that changes seasonally. Worth it if you want to treat yourself to something fancy!

• Troya: A more upscale Mediterranean restaurant, has some great cauliflower and good dips.

• Pizzeria Delfina: Stellar pizza. The “Purgatorio” is off-menu, a little spicy and has an egg on top. There’s another location in the Mission too.

• Roam Burger: Good burgers, has a great veggie patty made with beets. There are locations throughout the city.

• The Social Study: Great bar, I really like the music and their general vibe. Mostly beer and wine.

• Taco Bar: Solid mexican food that gets extra points for being walking distance from home.

The Marina

North of home, down the hill, still super close by. I still walk to all these things.

• ★ The Interval at Long Now: A super kitsch bar with a kind of steampunk aesthetic, has fun cocktails and a great location in Fort Mason. I think this might be my favorite bar in the entire city. My go-to drink is the Oaxacan Old-Fashioned.

• Equator Coffee: Cute coffee spot in Fort Mason. Their location in Sausalito is much larger and has a better food selection, but this one is good on-the-go. Well, one time the staff asked us to leave when we showed up in our swim suits (only) on the way to a swim. But other than that, good experiences.

• Mauna Loa: Divey bar at the bottom of the hill.

• Radhaus: German restaurant in Fort Mason. Has great views of the water.

• Tacko: Tacos with a Cape Cod decor, get the tacos “Nick’s Way” for some cheese and guac (worth it).

Polk St.

This is walking distance to the East from home.

• ★ Leopold’s: Great Austrian/German food, and they serve beer in boots! Update: closed forever, RIP. Update 2: It’s back!!

• ★ Cafe Reveille: Cute coffee shop/cafe, their breakfast burritos have slowly become a staple for me. Plenty of seating indoors and outdoors. Has other locations throughout the city.

• ★ Saint Frank’s: Precious coffee shop, sometimes has a bit of a line, but I love stopping here on my walk home from swimming.

• Basik Cafe: Expensive Açaí Bowls but worth it if you want to treat yourself. Update: this location was bought out by Bowl’d Acai, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. Update 2: I had a chance to check it out and was not impressed, they use frozen fruits instead of fresh ones like their precedessor.

• Soda Popinski’s: Fun, loud bar with classic Nintendo games. You can play MarioKart!

• Encore: Karaoke bar a few doors down from Soda Popinski’s. Update: this has closed.

• Rouge: Bar/club that also has tacos “Nick’s Way”. Update: this is closed now.

Elsewhere in the City (and Bay Area)

This is just everything that’s not quite walkable from home, including a few spots in Marin, Oakland and Berkeley.

• Pagan Idol (Financial District): My favorite tiki bar in the city!

• Anina (Hayes Valley): Bright, fun bar with a great patio. Sometimes has food pop-ups selling snacks.

• Bar Bocce (Sausalito): If you make it across the bridge, this is a great stop! I haven’t actually been there myself yet, but people seem to love the rec. Update: I finally made it here, and it’s alright. I liked the vibe at Joinery in the same area better.

• Beach Chalet (Ocean Beach/Golden Gate Park): Nice food and drinks in Golden Gate Park, right by the ocean! It’ll be windy out front.

• Benjamin Cooper (Union Square): A bar that’s a literal hidden gem. It’s inside of a hotel, but has its own entrance through an unmarked door on the side. Has great cocktails and a dark, fun, cozy, speakeasy-ish atmosphere.

• Boichik Bagels (Berkeley): Amazing bagels and also amazing cream cheese, the New York Times was absoutely right, this place is worth the sometimes long lines. The hype is deserved.

• Biergarten (Hayes Valley): An outdoor German-style beer garden with great pretzels. Sometimes can get crowded or have a long line on nice days. In the evenings they have blankets you can use when it gets cold.

• Blondie’s Bar (The Mission): Fun bar with great drinks, when you order a cocktail, they give you the glass and the rest of the mix.

• Butcher’s Son (Berkeley): Amazing all-vegan deli. Love their fried “chikin” sandwiches and pies!

• Bow Bow (Chinatown): Small-ish bar with karaoke in the back, run by an awesome woman who you can tell takes literally no crap from anybody.

• Don Pisto’s (North Beach): Great Mexican food in a fun neighborhood for drinks. Update: This is closed now

• Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack (The Mission): Tasty spaghetti spot oozing with charm.

• Foreign Cinema (The Mission): Very San Francisco dining experience, it’s a restaurant in a former movie theater space. They do great brunch and dinner. For dinner, they project movies on to some of the walls in their patio.

• Homeroom (Oakland): Has a million kinds of mac-n-cheese and they are all glorious.

• Humphrey Slocombe (The Ferry Building): More great ice cream! “Secret Breakfast” is bourbon and cornflakes-flavored and totally worth it. Has multiple locations throughout the city.

• Joinery (Sausalito): Cute bar/food place also on the waterfront in Sausalito, has bike parking (hint hint). Has a great fried chicken sando.

• La Tacqueria (The Mission): Best burrito in the nation according to FiveThirtyEight.

• Mission Chinese (The Mission): Delicious Chinese fusion food, try the Kung Pao Pastrami and the Ma Po tofu.

• Orbit Room (Mint Hill): Cute bar with good cocktails and great pizzas.

• Paxti’s (Hayes Valley): For their deep dish pizza.

• Pier 23 Cafe (The Embarcadero): Has a great patio to drink on the waterfront. The food is mediocre.

• Purple Kow (Outer Richmond): Fun boba spot out on Balboa.

• Schlok’s (NoPa): Incredible bagels. Don’t you dare toast them.

• Smitten Ice Cream (The Mission): Made with liquid nitrogen! It’s amazing.

• Southern Pacific Brewing (The Mission): Brewery with food. Get the brussels sprouts!

• Souvla (Hayes Valley): Fast-casual Greek food, kind of like Chipotle-style pick your shape (pita, salad) and pick your content. But their baklava frozen yogurt is incredible. Good fries too.

• Tonga Room (Nob Hill): Just go in to see it! It’s a tiki bar with a freaking pool inside. Otherwise a mediocre bar, but walking distance from Pagan Idol.

• Trouble Coffee & Coconut Club (Outer Sunset): Famous for its $4 toast, a thick slice of bread with butter and cinammon. Has a cute parklet outside, and just a few blocks from Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. I recommend reading the story behind the toast. Update: closed forever, RIP.

• True Laurel (The Mission): Really fun bar with great cocktails, I think they have food too but I’ve only gotten drinks and bar snacks.

• Zero Zero (SoMa): SF-style pizza, nearby SFMoMA. Update: This is closed

Gay Bars

• Badlands (The Castro): The one people go to for dancing. Has a cover sometimes.

• Beaux (The Castro): I feel like this is like a prototypical gay club. Go-gos everywhere, often a cover, crowded, loud.

• The Cinch (Polk St.): The last gay bar on Polk St. and I believe one of the oldest gay bars in town now. It’s got a kitschy feel.

• The Detour (The Castro): An arcade bar, also has great food. They have events throughout the week like trivia, free-play nights and tournaments for games like Smash Bros or Killer Queen.

• Driftwood (SoMa): When I’ve been (usually pretty early in the night), it’s been a pretty mellow gay bar in SoMa quiet enough to hear people and talk.

• The Edge (The Castro): Smaller bar, has go-gos occasionally. I like it! Somehow I feel like it’s easiest to grab a seat and talk to people here.

• Ginger’s (FiDi): The only FiDi gay bar as far as I know. It’s in a basement, has been nice and quiet when I’ve gone.

• Hi-Tops (The Castro): The sporty gay bar, draws a sporty crowd sometimes. The food is good, has a great fried chicken sandwich. Can get really loud.

• Last Call (The Castro): Teeny bar, usually pretty quiet, also good for talking.

• The Lookout (The Castro): It’s upstairs on a corner and has a deck so it…looks out…on the Castro. Sometimes has a cover.

• The Mix (The Castro): I like the patio in the back when there’s room. Apparently the highballs have heavy pours? I just end up getting beers so idk.

• The Port Bar (Oakland): Small-ish spot in Oakland, has really fun trivia on Tuesdays.