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Rich, elegant and refined, French cuisine is synonymous with chic technique and haute cuisine. San Francisco boasts a wide variety of French restaurants that will satisfy both the Bourgeoisie's and the Proletariat's craving for decadent sauces, luscious cheeses and fluffy soufflés, not to mention fine wines and champagnes. In the Presidio, in a stunning natural setting, La Terrasse is a high-end French restaurant with a bistro flair and exquisite fare. Near the San Francisco Opera House and a popular pre-show French restaurant, Absinthe is an upscale brasserie with a lively bar scene. An approachable French restaurant in the Castro, Côté Sud delivers all the fanfare of more expensive French cuisine but in a relaxed setting reminiscent of a French country cottage.
82 14th St. 94103. South of Market
A hidden treasure, South of Market—presenting elegant French cuisine with cozy indoor and outdoor seating!
Chez Spencer epitomizes San Francisco's French bistro phenomena. Its heated patio, flowering garden, wood burning oven, and tucked away location make it a real charmer. Chez Spencer is named after Chef Laurent Katgely's son and he does him proud with sophisticated and stylish French-inspired fare.
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215 Lincoln Boulevard, San Francisco, Ca. 94129; Tel. 1.888.406.1224
"Elegance - Comfort - Integrity"
San Francisco’s French Bistro with a View
La Terrasse is the Presidio’s newest French restaurant. Locals and tourists alike love the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Historic Presidio and Alcatraz while enjoying traditional French restaurant menu items like duck confit and salad nicoise. Romantic dinners, relaxing lunches, brunch with family and picnic basket service for the exploring type, this San Francisco French restaurant has it all. Call toll-free for reservations.
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4238 18th St., San Francisco California, 94114; Tel. 1.866.455.2761
Friendly haute cuisine in the heart of the Castro.
An all organic menu is enough to make Cote Sud stand out among San Francisco restaurants, but the creative presentations, including towers of succulent bites, artistic dollops of colorful sauces and jaunty herb sprigs embellishing dinners and desserts, elevate the ingredients.
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398 Hayes Street, San Francisco CA 94102 (Hayes Valley)
Consistent and classy, Absinthe Brasserie and Bar is a Hayes Valley favorite, busy on almost any night of the week and steps from the San Francisco Symphony and Opera House. With a full bar (stocked with single malts), accesible French fare (the leg of lamb is stellar) and an excellent dessert menu (the Lavendar Creme Brullee is our favorite), Absinthe has it all in one dark and rich atmosphere.
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826 Folsom, San Francisco CA 94107 (South of Market)
The rugged, industrial-chic setting suits this South Market restaurant, sister restaurant to LuLu's next door, perfectly. A destination restaurant for French and Pacific Rim fusion fare, Azie is an exotic gourmet restaurant with a modern edge. |
1001 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104 (Nob Hill)
A Nob Hill restaurant, BeauCoup features two distinct dining options, the Brasserie and the Salon. The Brasserie is an energetic space with deep red fabrics and grand chandeliers reminiscent of The Moulin Rouge, with panoramic picture windows overlooking Nob Hill and downtown. A grand bar, featuring an extensive selection of the world's spirits, is another highlight of the Brasserie. The Salon is a more contemporary, quiet space with rich wood-paneled walls and windows overlooking California St., the cable car line and the Pacific union club. Both dining rooms feature the one menu.
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598 Fourth St., San Francisco CA 94107 (South of Market)
French for "little kiss," Bizou is an unpretentious French fusion bistro housed in a historical San Francisco building (it's been everything from a saloon to a bookie house) in South of Market at Pac Bell Park baseball stadium. The menu features bistro favorites like oysters on the half shell, inventive salads and Frenchified meats, seafood and game for tasteful and nuanced entrees. The flatbreads, especially the Harvest Pizza (with Champagne grapes and bacon), are excellent and affordable choices.
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340 Stockton St., San Francisco CA 94108 (Downtown/Union Square)
The Campton Place hotel's restaurant, Campton Place, is a quiet gourmet and has been revered by award-granting wine swillers and fine diners looking for a classic and romantic atmosphere, elegant tableside service and a varied fine dining menu. Conde Nast went so far to say in 2000 that the Campton Place Restaurant has the best hotel food in the United States.
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132 Embarcadero (at Mission), San Francisco CA 94105 (Financial District / Embarcadero)
Probably the most eclectic French restaurant in San Francisco, Chaya Brasserie serves up a fusion feast of Japanese, French and Italian cuisine, resulting in tempting culinary offspring such as Hamachi Carpaccio and Escalloped Lamb Loin. On the Embarcadero and overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Chaya Brasserie is a scenic spot for a signature fusion cocktail, as well.
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600 Stockton Street, San Francisco CA (Nob Hill)
Just walking into the colossal 1909 Nob Hill landmark building the Ritz Carlton hotel calls home is an experience in Nob Hill capital accumulation. The hotel's Dining Room is no less sophisticated. In a sumptous candlelit atmosphere, Chef Sylvian Portay's fine French dining is designed to "enliven the senses—sight, touch, taste, scent and sound," or at least impress a dinner date. Add regal service, and it's no wonder Food & Wine Magazine just dubbed San Francisco's Dining Room on the the top fifty restaurants in the country.
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12 Fourth St. (at Palomar Hotel), San Francisco CA (Downtown/Union Square)
Located in the luxe San Francisco Hotel Palomar, the Fifth Floor is the hotel's signature restaurant located, of course, on the fifth floor, and serving award-winning gourmet cuisine with dedicated service. The California inspired cuisine also pairs well with the Fifth Floor's award-winning wine list.
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777 Sutter St., San Francisco CA 94109 (Downtown/Union Square)
After a destructive fire in 2000 that left the Fleur de Lys a charred shell, this downtown San Francisco restaurant went back to the drawing board and fully renovated their downtown San Francisco location. The new dining room (more beautiful than ever) is a red, rich and chandeliered space, a luxe setting for caviar, French cheeses and four course gourmet dinners including meat, game, seafood and a new emphasis on vegetarian options.
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501 Geary St., San Francisco CA 94109 (Downtown/Union Square)
A large cafe and bar area fronts a spacious dining room featuring whimsical sculptures and an open kitchen. Service is professional and fast, permitting an excellent meal before a nearby performance. Try lobster and shrimp ravioli in a lobster-sorrel sauce or chicken braised in pinot noir with mushrooms, smoked bacon and onions.
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1521 Hyde St., San Francisco CA 94109 (Russian Hill)
Fisherman's Wharf may have sullied its name by selling out to the mediocre masses, but the classically chic Hyde Street Seafood House is still the real deal. Snapper and shrimp louis, dungeness crab and lobster bisque are standard orders at this fresh, no-nonsense, fish depot.
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1509 Hyde Street, San Francisco CA 94109 (Russian Hill)
A specialty San Francisco restaurant, Hyde Street Seafood House & Raw Bar takes the French technique of baking in parchment paper, "En Papilotte," to a new level. More casual than its micro-cuisine might suggest, expect an expensive array of delectably baked textures and tastes.
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50 Third Street, San Francisco CA 94103 (Financial District / Embarcadero)
Just south of Market in the heart of SOMA, Jesters is part French-American restaurant and part swank martini lounge, with a bevy of inventive 'tinis, including Mandarin Cosmo, Spicytini, Peaches 'n Cream-tini, Key Lime-tini and the Chocolatini. Live jazz music, sophisticated surroundings, as well as a landscaped outdoor patio (where the music mingles with the footsteps of passersby) complement the reasonably priced lunch and entrees. The pre-fixed daily lunch and dinner specials ($20 to $30, respectively) include such delicacies as Angus Rib-Eye Steak in a Chardonnay sauce and Pan-Seared Duck Breast.
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2316 Polk St., San Francisco CA 94109 (Russian Hill)
A playful Gallic restaurant that's arguably one of the most romantic French restaurants in town. The New French cuisine is a work of art (and with generous portions, a far cry from hoity-toity French restaurants), the cotton candy clouds painted on sky blue walls are nothing less than bouyant. Expect the prices to match the ingenuity; a dinner for two will be at least $50 (without wine).
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3640 Sacramento Street, San Francisco CA (Laurel Heights)
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315 Fifth St., San Francisco CA 94107 (South of Market)
Relax and order a goat cheese and roasted pepper salad or go straight to a main course of halibut with tomato confit with a sorrel beurre blanc. Dinner for two with wine is about $50. An $18 three-course prix fixe dinner is available.
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816 Folsom (at Fifth St.), San Francisco CA 94107 (South of Market)
The French Provencal sister to Azie right next door, LuLu's is a warm, inviting space with an open-air kitchen and family-style gourmet cuisine, including LuLu's famous rotisserie chicken.
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648 Bush St., San Francisco CA 94108 (Downtown/Union Square)
Masa's, located in the Vintage Court hotel, Union Square's boutique ode to Napa Valley wines, offers a colorful France meets the World fusion cuisine with standouts like steamed lobster under leaves of sweet and sour vinaigrette-braised turnip and rack of lamb with a pinot noir sauce. The prix fixe menu is $75 and includes a range of appetizers, entrees and desserts all served in an elegant setting (where jackets are required for men).
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600 Montgomery St., San Francisco CA 94111 (Financial District / Embarcadero)
San Francisco's TransAmerica Building is one of the world's most recognizable pyramids. Redwood Park is its restaurant, and lives up to the all the well-heeled expectations one would expect from the definition of San Francisco's skyline. The French cuisine is haute, the service impeccable and the art-filled dining room is the San Francisco spot for an memorable (and expensive) special event dinner.
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1152 Valencia St., San Francisco CA 94113 (Castro/Noe Valley)
Gorgeous lobster martinis and a giddy fondness for truffles makes the Franco-Chinese restaurant a standout in the often anemic Mission dining scene. Classic French service and more foie gras than you can shake a protest sign at.
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