Moderate Restaurants - Restaurants Guide - San Francisco Dining Guide

Restaurants Guide

Moderate Restaurants - 879 Results
Restaurants Guide (critics' picks are listed first)				Reset Search


A La Turca				Write a Review
869 Geary (at Larkin)	Turkish	$, $$	Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin
Absolutely tasty low-budget delicacies are prepared and served fresh from the grill and oven at San Francisco's most authentic Turkish restaurant. Rich stuffed grape leaves, juicy kebabs, huge, savory turnovers, and a wide array of buttery pastries are among the menu's standouts. Tidy, friendly... More >>

A16				Write a Review
2355 Chestnut (at Scott)	Italian	$$, $$$	Marina/ Cow Hollow
Named for the Italian autoroute that begins in Naples, A16 is a delightful combination of a sophisticated setting; rustic, earthy food; and a well-thought-out Italian and California wine list with many unusual vintages, including 40 wines available by the glass, carafe, or in flights. More >>

Aicha Moroccan Cuisine				Write a Review
1303 Polk (at Bush)	Moroccan	$$	Nob Hill/ Russian Hill
Aicha offers homey, full-flavored Moroccan cooking, served in a small storefront that has been painted peach and hung with glass Moroccan lanterns. The tagines, served in small versions of the conical pots they're named for, are mostly wonderful, especially the lamb shanks cooked with prunes,... More >>

Alive!				Write a Review
1972 Lombard (at Webster)	Health, Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian	$$	Marina/ Cow Hollow
Chef/owner Leland Jung first nurtured a love of cooking while watching his father make dim sum dumplings at his Chinese restaurant. For his own venture, however, Jung eschews not only all meat, but all animal products, dairy, honey, wheat, and grains. Oh, and cooking. Raw cuisine is often... More >>

Amber India				Write a Review
2290 El Camino Real (at Ortega)	Indian	$$, $$$	Mountain View
One of the region's best Indian restaurants, this surprisingly expansive and luxurious place (located in an unprepossessing mini-mall) features impeccably prepared classics (tandoori meats and seafood, samosas, pakoras, curries, and vegetable dishes) as well as more unusual dishes such as lamb... More >>

Angkor Borei				Write a Review
3471 Mission (at Cortland)	Asian, Burmese, Cambodian	$, $$	Mission/ Bernal Heights
This family-run, Outer Mission/Bernal Heights favorite is worth the trip from anywhere in the city for its charming service and unique food. For a meal you won't find elsewhere, stick to the Cambodian specialties, including the "stewed ground pork" (prahok), a warm dip strongly flavored with... More >>

Aperto Restaurant				Write a Review
1434 18th St. (at Connecticut)	Breakfast, Brunch, Italian	$$	Potrero Hill
In a city with distinctive neighborhood restaurants, this is one of the best (and therefore worth a trip out of yours). It doesn't take reservations for parties of fewer than six, but call ahead and you'll get the first free table when you arrive at this snug, nicely decorated corner space.... More >>

Arlequin Cafe				Write a Review
384 Hayes	American, Breakfast, Brunch, French, Mediterranean	$, $$	Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin
This charming small cafe, sister to fancy Absinthe down the street, has an especially pleasant large outdoor garden space with tree-shaded tables tucked behind it. There’s good chow all day long, from house-baked pastries to lovely sandwiches, homemade soups, and moist roast chicken.... More >>

B Star Bar				Write a Review
127 Clement	Asian, Breakfast, Brunch, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Indian, Pan-Asian	$$	Richmond (Inner)
This adorable, small, rustic-but-chic spot was opened by the young couple who run the more traditional Burma Superstar down the street. It features exciting and affordable fusion cooking, including miso cod, Thai salmon green curry pot pie, chicken biryani, and hanger steak and eggs. It's a... More >>

Baby Blues BBQ				Write a Review
3149 Mission (at Powers)	American, Barbecue	$$	Mission/ Bernal Heights
Some of the best barbecue in San Francisco, served in a room in which you actually want to linger (unlike most local barbecue spots) -- what's not to like? The perhaps overly complicated menu offers many ways to combine the basics: excellent pulled pork, shredded beef brisket, wonderful Memphis... More >>

Bar Bambino				Write a Review
2931 16th St. (at South Van Ness)	Italian, Wine Bar	$$, $$$	Mission/ Bernal Heights
Chic, sophisticated, and adorable restaurant/wine bar, with tempting menu from which you can order everything from a snack to a full meal, ranging from bruschetta, salumi platters, and panini to pasta or meat entrees. All-Italian wine list. Snug cafe tables, unpolished wood walls, and a small,... More >>

Bar Jules				Write a Review
609 Hayes (at Laguna)	Breakfast, Brunch, California, Greek, New American	$$, $$$	Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin
A charming small restaurant in Hayes Valley that changes its entire menu virtually every day (check the blackboard on the Web site to find out what’s cooking), in response to what’s fresh and local and the whim of owner-chef Jessica Boncutter. The menu is tightly focused: usually... More >>

Battambang				Write a Review
850 Broadway (at Eighth St.)	Asian, Burmese, Cambodian	$, $$	East Oakland
This place is a find: a truly wonderful Cambodian restaurant, whose pleasant, small, and immaculate dining room doesn't begin to suggest the wonders served up there on a daily basis (well, it's closed Sunday). We've enjoyed literally everything the kitchen serves, especially soups made with... More >>

Bocadillos				Write a Review
710 Montgomery (at Columbus)	Small Plates, Spanish, Tapas	$, $$, $$$	Embarcadero
This small, chic spot is the latest venture of Gerald Hirigoyen. Its ambitions are much more modest than his Fringale, Pastis, or Piperade, but the food is as big in flavor. The lunch menu is mostly bocadillos, small but hearty sandwiches you order two at a time from a list of a dozen; at night,... More >>

Brenda's French Soul Food				Write a Review
652 Polk	American, Cajun, Creole, Soul Food, Southern	$, $$	Hayes Valley/ Tenderloin
Charming small Creole spot. Well-cooked specialties include beignets both sweet (stuffed with chocolate or chopped apples) and savory (yummy crawfish spiced with cayenne), po'boys, and grillades and grits. Daily specials might feature meatloaf or hoppin' john with andouille sausage. Few items... More >>

Bund Shanghai				Write a Review
640 Jackson (at Kearny)	Chinese, Shanghainese	$, $$	North Beach/ Chinatown
Bund Shanghai, opened at the beginning of 2009, is that rare find: a superb Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Its conventional entrance, flanked by color photographs of some of its dishes, doesn't hint at either the relaxing pastel-hued modern space inside, nor its truly excellent food, featuring... More >>

Burma Superstar				Write a Review
309 Clement (at Fourth Ave.)	Asian, Burmese, Cambodian	$$, $$$	Richmond (Inner)
Cozy Clement Street restaurant features stunningly good Burmese cuisine, itself a blend of Thai, Chinese, and Indian influences. Start with the moh hinga (fish porridge), the samusa soup, or the elaborate, 22-ingredient rainbow salad. Then order a side of rice (coconut, spicy Indian-style, or... More >>

Canteen				Write a Review
Commodore Hotel, 817 Sutter (at Jones)	California, French	$$, $$$	Nob Hill/ Russian Hill
Chef Dennis Leary, late of Rubicon, cooks every dish in a tiny open galley kitchen, in this once-diner, now modern eatery, which features four booths and seven counter stools. The dinner seatings fill up a week or two in advance, because his seasonal fare (menus change weekly) is amazingly... More >>

China Village				Write a Review
1335 Solano (at Ramona)	Chinese	$$	Albany
Ignore the generic, brightly colored laminated menu and go for the simpler, though still lengthy, one that lists the spicy Sichuan specialties (happily, in English) that are the glory of this Albany spot. Among our favorite dishes are dumplings with homemade sauce, spicy boiled beef and... More >>

Chow				Write a Review
215 Church (at Market)	California	$, $$, $$$	Castro/ Noe Valley
This small chain has parlayed a simple and admirable formula -- interesting, seasonal, eclectic food, well-prepared and affordable -- into four busy, useful restaurants. The original location is always hopping, and attracts a young crowd. More >>

Cinderella Bakery and Café				Write a Review
436 Balboa	German, Polish, Russian	$, $$	Richmond (Inner)
This modest, wonderful neighborhood spot -- in business since 1953 -- offers a large menu of Russian specialties. We love anything dough-based (piroshki, Siberian pies, blintzes, blini, pelmeni, vareniki) and Cinderella's soups, deli salads, and smoked fish appetizers. The main courses aren't as... More >>

Da Flora				Write a Review
701 Columbus (at Filbert)	Italian	$$, $$$, $$$$	North Beach/ Chinatown
Tiny, romantic spot combines funky décor and friendly, casual service with Italian food that rivals anything in North Beach. Superb home-baked focaccia topped with kosher salt leads to flawless appetizers and pastas. Extensive Italian wine list; excellent, homemade desserts. More >>

Dosa				Write a Review
995 Valencia (at 21st St.)	Indian	$$, $$$	Mission/ Bernal Heights
Dosa, the folded crepelike street snack of Southern India, and its cousins, open-face uttapam (we like the paneer and peas one best), idli (lentil patties), and vada (lentil dumplings), are given pride on place in this chic and modern setting, which offers a dozen different varieties of its... More >>

Emporio Rulli Gran Caffé				Write a Review
2300 Chestnut (at Scott)	Bakery, Cafe, Coffeehouse, Italian	$, $$	Marina/ Cow Hollow
This new addition to the Emporio Rulli mini-empire (the original bakery-cafe in Larkspur, a small cafe in downtown San Francisco, two coffee bars at SFO, and a mail-order business) adds terrific Italian dinners to the superb baked goods, panini, and coffee drinks it's known for (and which are... More >>

Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana				1 User Reviews
3560 18th St.	Italian	$$, $$$	Mission/ Bernal Heights
Chic, whitewashed, high-ceilinged room in the Mission, featuring the cuisine of Liguria, a region of Italy whose capital is the seacoast town of Genova. The pastas are all house-made, and might include handkerchief pasta with pesto, and the pansotti in a creamy sauce with finely chopped nuts.... More >>