Destination DiningA weekly guide to dining in a different U.S. city, just in time for the summer travel season. If you’re headed to San Francisco …Summer unlocks a secret videogame level in San Francisco’s matrix. It’s a bizarro version compared with other cities: There’s zero humidity trapping us in its sweltering, inescapable maw, and it’s actually cold at night. The city also quiets down considerably as many of the tech overlords, artists, and of course, tried and true free spirits flee to Burning Man. That also means the lines for our most popular culinary destinations shorten just a little. Except at places like Four Kings, which was named one of our favorite restaurants in the United States last year and remains on our San Francisco dining guide, updated this week. But here’s a tip: Get there early, put your name down and even if they quote you a four-hour wait, you might win the city’s restaurant lottery and wait only an hour (or two). That’s plenty of time to enjoy San Francisco’s pinnacle Vesper cocktail at Moongate Lounge, where there’s always some kind of party, or a tropical Mai Tai at Lipo Lounge; or you can bop over to On Waverly, a vibrant curated shop filled with Asian American Pacific Islander books, stationary and miscellaneous fun in the shape of bok choy-shaped hair clips. But if you’re a fan of the brand new (to our list) are our three additions.
Noodles on the waterNite Yun’s Lunette, which opened in the Ferry Building last year, has become my go-to for last-minute lunches with visiting friends or with my toddler, who happily slurps down any of the comforting broths and noodle bowls on the menu. Ms. Yun’s Cambodian food has crossed the bridge from her first outpost in Oakland, Calif., Nyum Bai (now closed), and in the process transformed to feed the heavy foot traffic that comes with being in one of the busiest tourist spots in the city. The space is, of course, smaller than her previous brick-and-mortar, but Ms. Yun’s ability to accommodate old fans and new diners has been wonderful to taste. If you happen to visit Lunette with your kids, take a quick walk along the Embarcadero to the Exploratorium Museum, where there are interactive, educational exhibits like the monochromatic room or a shadow box wall that tests your perceptual spectrum. Ferry Building, 1, Suite 33/47, Embarcadero
Pasta + YouThere was a shift in San Francisco’s dining scene around the 2000s, with restaurants like Bar Tartine spearheading the use of fermentation, and Commonwealth introducing an affordable tasting menu to the Mission, starting at $65. (The good old days!) Both restaurants have closed, but part of that electric wave remains thanks to Flour + Water, open since 2009. At this temple of housemade pastas, the chefs seamlessly weave local produce into the dough itself and craft unforgettable dishes like a bowl of tart cherries speckled with crushed olives and translucent, fried basil. Another benefit of time is that the restaurant has got service down to a science: You’ll feel taken care of at Flour + Water, but never coddled, with straight-shooting wine recommendations and pitch-perfect hospitality. 2401 Harrison Street, Mission
A bang-for-your-buck tasting menuMy colleague Brian Gallagher has added 7 Adams, which offers one of the city’s best values with a poised tasting menu of five courses for $87. (Plus a Michelin star to boot.) The savory menu clearly impressed him — risotto with shiitake XO and Black Forest ham, and seared trout with a shellfish broth that whispers “bouillabaisse.” But I was immediately sold by the description of the desserts from the pastry chef, Serena Chow Fisher, which feature seasonal spins on classic desserts like a devil’s food cake with cherry ice cream. 1963 Sutter Street, Japantown For your itineraryIf summer beckons you to the water, take a quick drive up to Point Reyes and order some of the best oysters in the country at the Marshall Store, which landed on our inaugural national restaurant list in 2021. You can drive through California’s cheese belt along the way, sampling the local dairy to fire up your appetite. And because it’s summer, I’m eagerly awaiting the return of Cotogna’s summer-only gelato cart in August. Finally, as most San Franciscans are aware, we’re in the middle of the Stern Grove free concert season. A reminder: This year’s closer is Diana Ross. I repeat: the Diana Ross. I’ll be … coming out. Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note at here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
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