San Francisco’s BEST Neighborhoods for Foodies (2024)

San Francisco is known for its incredible food, but there might be neighborhoods with great food that aren't necessarily where you might want to live. Everybody wants good food nearby, but food isn't the only priority. You might want walkability, safety, more affordable cost of living, views, parks, historic homes, little coffee shops, you name it. I'm Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin County. I've lived in San Francisco for over a decade, all over the city, so I know the ins and outs of a ton of different neighborhoods in the area. And in this video, I'm going to break down my 5 favorite neighborhoods in San Francisco for food and other great neighborhoods you can you can live if you don't want to live in that specific neighborhood. And number 3 might surprise you, so definitely stick around for it. Let's get right to it. And kicking it off at number 5 is the Richmond. The Richmond sits on the north side of San Francisco, in between two of San Francisco's best parks, the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. The Richmond is known for incredible Asian food along Clement Street, unmatched compared to any other neighborhood in the city. Whether you're looking for Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, you name it, or you just want an Asian market, the Richmond is where you need to go. And what's available in the Richmond runs the gamut from Michelin-star quality all the way to hole-in-the-wall type places.— and it's not just Asian food, although that's what they're known for. They have incredible pizza, incredible Mexican food, Moroccan food, Russian food— you name it, The Richmond has it. And there's a lot to like about living in The Richmond besides food. It is great for families and pets. There are lots of parks nearby, as I mentioned, including the amazing Presidio and Golden Gate Park. It's also really close to Mountain Lake Park, which is north of Lake Street, right by the Presidio Golf Course— a great place to go for a run or walk around with your dogs. Houses in The Richmond also sit on larger than standard lots, around 3,000 square feet for a lot homes compared to a standard 2,500-square-foot San Francisco lot, and it tends to be less expensive than other nearby neighborhoods. So definitely a lot of great qualities, but it's not for everyone, and there are a couple of reasons why. First off, it tends to be on the cooler side. The Richmond is closer to the west part of San Francisco near the Pacific Ocean, so you get more exposure to those cold and fog fronts coming in from the ocean, especially as you get further out into the avenues. A little bit less so in the Inner Richmond, but Central and Outer Richmond, definitely colder and more foggy. And it's also farther away from downtown San Francisco. There aren't as many transit options to get to downtown. So if you work downtown and you might have to be going to the office multiple times a week, it might not be the best place for you. So if you prioritize things like better weather or easier access to downtown, there are other neighborhoods that you can live nearby without sacrificing access to that great food in The Richmond. For example, you can live in Pacific Air Presidio Heights or in Jordan Park or Laurel Heights, all of which are basically neighboring The Richmond. So you're still going to have access to all that great food. You're still going to have access to the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. You're also going to gain access to other parks like Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights, for example. By the way, if you're thinking about relocating and having trouble figuring out what neighborhoods to prioritize or what the right neighborhoods are for you, definitely reach out to me. I moved to SF from Orange County over a decade ago without knowing much at all about San Francisco, and I've lived in multiple neighborhoods throughout the city, so I'm definitely happy to help you. And if you like videos like this, make sure to subscribe to my channel because I make videos just like this one every single week about what it's like living in different parts of San Francisco. Now back to my list, and we're going to pick it up with Pacific Heights at the number 4 spot. Pacific Heights also sits on the north side of San Francisco, overlooking the San Francisco Bay to the north, and the city to the east and the south. And it has its fair share of Michelin-level food— Octavia, SPQR, Sorelle, just to name a few examples. There are a lot more casual spots as well, like world-renowned B Patisserie, and great restaurants like Routier and Delfina. There are also a ton of awesome bars along Fillmore Street with great outdoor space, like Palmer's, Harry's and Taylor's Son. Great areas for taking in some more mild weather that you get in Pacific Heights compared to, for example, the Richmond. I've lived in Pacific Heights for over 4 years now. I think it's awesome. The weather is more mild. The architecture is amazing. The views are incredible. It's relatively walkable east to west. It's relatively flat. You are going to get those hills in the north to south direction. Overall, great quality of life. Very safe, very family friendly, very pet friendly. It's also really close to great parks like Alta Plaza in the Presidio. You're really close to Union Street in Cow Hollow and Chesnut Street in the Marina. Plus you got all the shops and restaurants on Sacramento Street and Fillmore Street. Great place to live. In addition to all the great food and walkability, there are a ton of home design and home goods stores along Sacramento Street like Hudson Grace, March, Future Perfect, Tracy Simmons Design, Annie on Anthem, a ton more. Now because there's not a lot of housing inventory in Pacific Heights, when you combine that with all the great food and amenities that I just talked about, Pacific Heights is incredibly expensive. Not everybody can afford to live there.. So where else can you live to take advantage of all those great things in Pacific Heights? Now, because of all those great things I just described, the housing market here is super competitive. There's not a lot of inventory, so prices are very expensive. On average, over $2 million for a condo, and for a single-family home, well north of double that. So it is not affordable by any means. So if you want to live nearby, be able to take advantage of all those great amenities, where should you live? Well, there are a lot of areas nearby that are nowhere near as expensive as Pacific Heights, for example. Laural Heights, the Inner Richmond, Nob Hill. All of those areas are within a 5 to 10 minute drive of Pacific Heights and offer more affordable housing. You can also live in Russian Hill immediately east of Pacific Heights. It's not that much less expensive than Pacific Heights, but relatively speaking, it is more affordable and you're not going to be sacrificing those incredible views. Plus Russian Hill has some great food and shops of its own. Turning to number 3 on my list is SoMa. Now this one might surprise some folks because it's not necessarily famous for its food, and it doesn't have any cultural staples like the Richmond, but SoMa is home to some of the best restaurants, not just in San Francisco, but the entire world. Multiple Michelin-starred restaurants like Michelin-starred Niku Steakhouse, 2 Michelin-starred Saison, which was once one of the best restaurants in the world. There's 3 Michelin-starred Benu, and it's close to a lot of other non-Michelin restaurants like Murad, Marlowe, which has an awesome burger, Zero Zero, which has awesome pizza and donut sundaes. Living in SoMa, you're also steps from the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building with Michelin-starred Angler and other great restaurants like Hillstone and Gott's Roadside. There's a farmer's market on the weekends, and there's a ton of other casual spots that are supporting all the businesses that are near SoMa. And when you're living in SoMa, you're basically living in an entirely flat neighborhood. So it's one of the most walkable in the city, which is great because the weather there is also among the best in San Francisco. You're also walking distance to Oracle Park, where the San Francisco Giants play, to the Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play, and a ton of small open green spaces in the area. But there are definitely some parts of SoMa that I don't recommend living in pretty much anywhere. That's west of Fifth Street and closer to Market Street. It's a little bit dicier, a little bit less safe. I don't necessarily recommend living there. Also, most of SoMa is condos and most of it is high-rise condos. So if you're not really into the condo lifestyle, especially not the high-rise condo lifestyle, it's probably not for you. So if you want to live in a single-family home as opposed to a condo, or you want to live in a smaller building as opposed to a massive high-rise, then there are other places you can live. For example, like Potrero Hill. You get the same great weather Soma is known for, but the houses there tend to be more historic, have some architectural charm. There are a lot of condos there, but most are in smaller, you know, house-like 2 or 3-unit buildings. And there are definitely a fair share of single-family homes available there. If you don't mind the condo lifestyle, there are other options nearby too. Places like Mission Bay and Dogpatch, walking distance to all the new communities that are being built along the Central Waterfront. The Chase Center, the hospital, and they're all only a few minutes away from SoMa. These areas also tend to be less expensive than those high-rise condos do, especially less expensive HOAs. So they're great options to consider living in without sacrificing proximity to all that great food SoMa has to offer. Number 2 on my list is North Beach, the Little Italy of San Francisco, the first place that I lived when I moved here over 10 years ago. I absolutely love this neighborhood because Italian food is far and away my favorite food, and there's no shortage of it here. Staple pizza spots like Tony's, um, old school staples like Original Joe's, Flour and Water Pizzeria, which is an offshoot of one of the best Italian restaurants in the city located in a different neighborhood that might be coming up next on our list. My favorite deli in the city, Molinari, which makes bomb sandwiches and has fresh pastas and groceries, is in North Beach on Columbus. There's Liguria Bakery with amazing focaccia bread. The food here is really special. There is nothing like it, and it's all over the place. And no matter where you live in the neighborhood, you're going to be able to walk to most of any of it. And along with great food, you get close access to the Northern Waterfront. You have Washington Square Park, which is a great little park right in the heart of North Beach. You're also walking distance to downtown San Francisco, so it's a really easy commute. I walked every day to work when I worked downtown as a lawyer in the financial district, 22 minutes door to door. And on the way home, I stopped off and got some great pizza, great sandwiches. Great way to commute. But if North Beach isn't for you, maybe because there aren't a lot of single-family homes there, it's more just condos and you're looking for more of a long-term family home, then another great option immediately next door is Russian Hill. It's going to be more expensive than North Beach on average, but you're going to get better views. You're going to get access to great food and shopping in Russian Hill. You're also going to get that single-family home lifestyle that you might be looking for. Telegraph Hill is also close by, immediately next to North Beach. You are going to be closer to downtown, so less of a commute, but it's a lot hillier of an area than North Beach, so maybe a little bit less walkable. You're going to be really close to the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building and all the great food along the waterfront, easier to access from Telegraph Hill than it is North Beach. So definitely some options for you around North Beach that you can live in without sacrificing access to all that great Italian food in the area. And number 1 on my list for the best food neighborhoods in San Francisco is the Mission District. The food in the Mission is honestly wild. It is insane how much good food there is, and it runs the gamut here. You have hole-in-the-wall places, great for, you know, drunken late nights or casual nights out, like La Taqueria. El Farolito, Taqueria Cancún. And then you have the complete opposite, like 2 Michelin-starred Lazy Bear, 2 Michelin-starred Californios. You have one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city, Flour and Water, which makes beautiful handmade pasta. You've got Tartine Manufactory, which has pastries and bread, pizza, great brunch. The Mission is huge and its food options are all over the place. So many cultures represented, multiple options no matter where you live. One of the downsides though of the Mission is that it tends to be pretty hectic. It is one of the hotspots in the city for nightlife. And depending on where you live in the Mission, it's not necessarily the most clean or the most safe. So if you want a quieter, more peaceful day-to-day without losing that food access, then places like Noe Valley, Potrero Hill, Eureka Valley, all of those are great options, really close to the Mission. All of them have great views, great parks, very quiet and clean and safe residential streets. They also tend to have better weather compared to most of SF, so they are great options. Yeah. You're really not going to go wrong no matter which of those neighborhoods you choose. Well, there you have it. Those are my top 5 neighborhoods in San Francisco for food and the other neighborhoods that you can live in to enjoy all that great food. If you like videos like this, make sure to subscribe to my channel because I make videos just like this every single week. And if you want more information about how a lot of these neighborhoods stack up against each other, go watch another video that I made ranking in tiers a bunch of different neighborhoods in the city. I'll link that up top in the description below. And of course, you can always reach out if you're having trouble picking the right neighborhood or having trouble navigating the market. My contact info is in the description as well. And I'd be happy to help you. I hope you enjoyed the video, and I'll see you in the next one.