Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in an SFGATE series of “San Francisco’s Greatest” restaurants.
A visiting friend recently made us wonder which local restaurants are quintessential San Francisco.
We interviewed SFGATE staff, reviewed restaurant ranking lists, and revisited the Chronicle archives to come up with a comprehensive list of “San Francisco’s hottest” restaurants. There were so many worthy contenders that we realized we needed to create three categories: True Classics, New Classics (above), and “SF Only” restaurants.
They are not necessarily extremely hip, over-hyped places or tourist destinations. It’s about finding a mix of restaurants with the essence of San Francisco that are cutting-edge, iconic, and popular among locals.
We launched our compilation of “true classics” last month. And now that we’ve taken our hats off to these establishments, it’s time to turn our attention to the “new classics.”
Some of these restaurants have been around for over a decade and have played a role in transforming neighborhoods or setting food trends. Others are new but seem to have all the right ingredients to leave similar imprints. Check them all out, including fun facts and tips on what to order, in the slideshow above. And just for fun, we’ve included recipe videos below from two of the chefs from the restaurants we’ve included, Flour + Water and Acquerello.
Keep an eye out for our next installment in this series, “only in SF” restaurants, in the coming weeks.
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Tell us what you think of this list on Twitter and contact author Jessica Mullins at @mullin_around. You can also email him at jmullins@sfchronicle.com.
