Day 1 – North Beach, Telegraph Hill & Chinatown: Coffee, hidden history & bird-whispered stairs
North Beach’s espresso isn’t for tourists—it’s for poets, stoic locals, and people avoiding their in-laws. The streets taste of roasted beans and old leather, and the Filbert steps up Telegraph Hill are full of parrots, not postcard clichés.
Morning – Caffè Trieste (North Beach) - San Francisco’s first espresso bar—tiny, loud, with the kind of espresso that charges your soul. Locals read untranslated poetry and dogs nap under tables.
Midday – Filbert Street Steps & Grace Marchant Garden - Climb the secret garden stairs where parrots chatter and tourists don’t tread. Telegraph Hill’s best-kept secret lies in whispered bird calls and creeping ivy.
Afternoon – Chinatown for Local Dim Sum - Skip the names you’ve heard—head to the side alleys where locals load carts with pork buns and tea, and the diners haven’t changed in 40 years. Our favorite is the R&G Lounge. If it’s good enough for Bourdain, it’s good enough for us.
Evening – Abaca (Wharf) - At this gem, California sensibility meets Filipino traditions while throwing just enough curveballs to keep things interesting. It's the kind of honest cooking that tells a story, the kind of place you walk into with an open mind and leave with a full belly and a newfound appreciation for a cuisine that's got a hell of a lot to say.
Day 2 – Sunset & The Mission: Fog, matcha, and neighborhood ease
When the fog drops in, locals don’t flee—they grab matcha in a bookstore by the beach and laugh because they know this is the real San Francisco.
Morning – Blackbird Bookstore & Café (Outer Sunset) - Matcha cult headquarters in a bookstore café. Long lines, viral cakes, and open mic nights—this is the kind of community that actually matters.
Midday – La Taqueria (Mission) - The burrito here is king, and the tacos are his swaggering little brothers. No rice filler, no nonsense — just meat that’s been given the slow, loving attention it deserves, salsa that wakes you up, and tortillas that taste like they were made five minutes ago. You don’t ‘go’ to La Taqueria. You make the pilgrimage.
Afternoon – Hometown Creamery - In a city where dessert trends come and go, these guys are slow-food ice cream lifers. Everything’s made from scratch — no mystery base, no shortcuts. The flavors? One foot in tradition, the other running wild. Think dark chocolate orange peel, saffron rose, or basil chip. This is ice cream for grown-ups who remember what joy tastes like.
Evening – 21st Amendment Brewery & Restaurant - They named themselves after the law that killed Prohibition — and they brew like they mean it. Not just IPAs, but porters with attitude, sours that slap you awake, and enough local swagger to fuel a Giants game across the street. Grab a ‘Hell or High Watermelon’ and thank the gods you weren’t alive during the dry years.
Day 3 – Richmond & Marina Districts: Burmese soul, oysters & Italian rhythm
In the Richmond, curry and tea leaf salad hit you like memory. Then at Swan, you taste centuries in an oyster. And later in the Marina, there’s this Italian place showing off that rustic precision you never knew you clung to.
Morning – Golden Gate Park - The Golden Gate Park, with its Japanese Tea Garden, is a testament to the unexpected – a place where tradition and tranquility offer a welcome respite from the chaos of San Francisco. Don't be a fool, spend some time here. Let it surprise you.
Midday – Burma Superstar (Inner Richmond) - Locals swear by the tea leaf salad—the one dish that quiets even the loudest opinions. Flavor, story, and spice in every bite.
Afternoon – Crissy Field & Warming Hut - A stretch of wind, water, and wide-open space where the kids can burn themselves out in the shadow of the Golden Gate, and you can still get a strong coffee at the Warming Hut while watching sailboats cut the bay in half.
Evening – Swan Oyster Depot (Polk Gulch) - Old wooden stools, a marble counter older than most neighborhoods, and oysters that narrate regional tides. Regulars know the “secret menu.”
Day 4 – Union Square, FIDi & SoMa – Grit, dives & under-the-radar flavor
This is where San Francisco fights itself and, sometimes, wins. There’s poetry behind bulletproof glass and food that rises from the concrete cracks—real, raw, and honest. No, you can’t eat so many large meals in one day, but having too many choices is your problem to fix!
Midday – Yank Sing (Fidi) - This is not your $5-a-plate dim sum joint in some fluorescent-lit Chinatown basement. This is dim sum with ambition. Carts glide past with xiao long bao so delicate they collapse at the mere suggestion of chopsticks. Har gow that tastes like the ocean in a silk dress. It’s a power lunch disguised as a dumpling feast.
Midday – Akiko (Union Square) - It’s tiny, you won’t fit and, honestly, if that bothers you, don’t go. We had to add it to the list because it’s so good, but we’ll instantly regret it if herds of sushi lovers discover this sleeping giant. Akiko’s isn’t about spectacle. No dragon rolls with flaming tempura. Just precision. The kind of sushi that makes you shut up mid-sentence because you’re suddenly aware that you’re eating something alive once — and perfect now.
Evening – Shota (FiDi) - It’s my favorite Omakase…of all time. You don’t ‘order’ here — you submit. Each piece is a small sermon in rice and fish, building a narrative of the ocean’s greatest hits. You’ll nod. You’ll close your eyes. You’ll think you’ve had sushi before. You haven’t. Not like this. Splurge and get the sake pairing because you deserve it.
Evening – Hotel Utah Saloon (SoMa) - Dive bar, open mic crucible, the kind of place careers and calamities are born. These walls have heard too much nightlife not to matter.
And More…
We always say, San Francisco is a cool (though troubled) city. But, what makes a trip to the Golden State so rich is the proximity to all that the Bay Area has to offer. Checkout our page on the North Bay and beyond for those wanders across the bridge and over the rainbow.
However, before you go, drive around the city to marvel in the “peaks” of its beauty.
