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Within walking distance of Civic Center and the San Francisco Opera, Hayes Valley is a trendy stretch of Hayes Street that now includes a spacious Hayes Valley Green, a new park lined with palm trees in the center of Hayes Valley dining and shopping. Both hip and upscale, Hayes Valley is a small, but impressive, destination neighborhood for San Francisco dining. A classic Hayes Valley restaurant popular for years, Absinthe, is a rich (in food, price and sumptuous, dark wood interior) Hayes Valley restaurant for cocktails and bistro cuisine. Up the street, Suppenkuchen is one of San Francisco's hippest restaurants and serves traditional German cuisine and German beers with a cool, Euro air.
395 Hayes St, San Francisco CA 94102
Italian cuisine in Hayes Valley close to the San Fancisco opera, symphony, and ballet. Caffe Delle Stelle serves rustic Italian fare, both the expected classics and traditional dishes that often don't make it onto American menus like pastitsio, a baked pasta dish with a hearty meat sauce and cheese. Casual dining and friendly service make Caffe Delle Stelle popular with locals and symphony goers alike.
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399 Grove (at Gough), San Francisco CA 94102
Dazzling works of confectionary art are the centerpieces of this airy, loftlike Hayes Valley bakery-cum-restaurant, but the savory menu items are equally impressive. Try the simple, satisfying roasted chicken with succotash and polenta; seared bavette steak with wasabi-edged mashed potatoes and caramelized turnips; or a juicy, spicy marinated pork sandwich with house-made pickles and havarti. Top dessert choices include a rich huckleberry-ginger financier and an addictive peanut butter-caramel tart. Wheelchair accessible. (review: SF Weekly)
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398 Hayes Street, San Francisco CA 94102
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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Hayes St. Grill
320 Hayes St. Tel. 415.863.5545
That just might be Umberto Eco, or perhaps Joan Baez dining cozily in the corner of this highly regarded home of classic SF-style California dining. A hotspot for before or after theater and opera, Hayes Street can't be touched in the fresh seafood department, and creates straightforward dishes so flavorful you could cry. Prime celebrity watching comes with the turf. |
Nopa
560 Divisadero St. San Francisco, CA; Tel. 415.863.1404
Nopa, named after its north of the Panhandle neighborhood, is the new millennium's answer to Zuni Café—a classic neighborhood restaurant that is casual and welcoming and serves uncommonly good food like nine-hour Bolognese, grass-fed burgers and braised lamb shank. |
Poleng Lounge
1751 Fulton St. San Francisco, CA; Tel. 415.441.1751
Poleng Lounge is a tea house, food Mecca, and dance club all in one. Chef Tim Luym, formerly of Fifth Floor, is serious about the food on his menu, delivering a selection of exquisitely fresh Southeast Asian street food. Standouts include perkedel jagung corn fritters with sweet chile sauce—little pancakes with whole kernels of sweet corn served with Thai dipping sauce |
Powell's Place
Hayes Valley, 511 Hayes. Tel. 415.863.1404
$$. Any soul your friends may be lacking will be restored with an infusion of Powell's soul food—the fried chicken and the greens are highly satisfying. Don't overlook dessert, though. |
Stelline
429 Gough in Hayes Valley. Tel. 415.626.4292.
If you're thinking of going to Caffe Delle Stelle, go here instead. The lemon-caper chicken is highly recommended. |
Zuni Café
1658 Market (at Franklin), San Francisco CA 94102; Tel. 415.552.2522
American. A few blocks from Hayes Valley in the Art Deco gulch of central Market Street, Zuni is worth the short trek from Hayes Valley restaurant offerings. In a glass, triangular corner building, Zuni became famous during the Dot Com era for its masterful American cuisine and cocktails in an open, industrial space. Today, Zuni Café continues to have a strong San Francisco culinary following. |
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