The Best Places for Shopping in San Francisco in 2025

We all know San Francisco's retail scene has struggled since the onset of the pandemic, but believe it or not, it remains one of the most robust shopping destinations in the entire country. Even today, no matter where you live in San Francisco, you're either a short walk or a short drive from some of the best boutiques, antique shops, home goods stores, design stores, and some of the most absurd luxury stores that you will ever set your eyes on. This is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin County, and today I'm going to take you through my favorite destinations to shop in San Francisco. Whether you're looking for new furniture or home goods to decorate home, high-end pieces from luxury designers, or the ultimate thrift store finds, you'll have all the information you need in one place. So let's get right to it with one of the most under-the-radar shopping destinations in the city and one of the hottest real estate markets in the city right now, Jackson Square. Jackson Square is a tiny sliver of the city on the north end of the Financial District, east of Columbus Avenue, and it has a stellar collection of restaurants, insanely beautiful architecture, and some of the coolest retail storefronts San Francisco has to offer. The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s and is actually home to the oldest alley in San Francisco on Hotelling Place. And now that alleyway is lined with some incredible retail storefronts leading from the Financial District to other retail spots in Jackson Square. If you're in the market for a new watch or leather goods, then the Shinola store on Hotelling Place is awesome. Around the corner from there, you have really high-end clothing stores like Paul Smith, APC, Tom Brown just opened a new store there, Isabel Marant, a ton of different options depending on your personal style. There's a really cool Aesop store there if you need new like bath soaps or candles. Their stores always have cool architecture, and this one is no exception. My favorite place to buy coffee table books, William Stout Architectural Books, is in Jackson Square. Hands down the best place to find, you know, coffee table books about landscape architecture, residential architecture, interior design. It's awesome. And if you work up an appetite from all of that shopping, there are A+ restaurants in Jackson Square. Wine bar Verjus just reopened. Kusakabe, which is a great omakase sushi place. Kakari, my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in all of San Francisco. Postscript, which is a new spot for like casual on-the-go eats, great for people that work in the area. And you've got Cattonia, which is an amazing Italian restaurant, and it's the same ownership group as a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Jackson Square nearby, Quince. And Jackson Square is walking distance to the next 2 shopping destinations on my list, one of which is the most famous shopping district in San Francisco, and the other, in my opinion, the most iconic and unique. The first one of those, Union Square, is probably the most famous shopping area in the entire city. And while certainly take a hit since the onset of the pandemic, with retail vacancy rates over 20%, while the rest of the city is under 8%. It remains one of the most robust luxury shopping destinations, not just in the area but in the entire country. And believe it or not, a lot of high-end retail stores are actually performing incredibly well in Union Square, and they're actually expanding and opening new storefronts in the area. So if you're looking to really ball out, spend a bunch of money, Union Square is your best bet to find the type of stuff that you're looking for. First off, you've got the largest department stores in the city in Union Square. With both Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. If you can't decide what store to hit and want the best variety all in one place, those are great places to start your search. Personally, I think Neiman has a better menswear selection, and I also think it's just a nicer retail experience overall than this particular Saks storefront, at least for the menswear, but both have a ton to offer. Union Square is also home to some of the best standalone retail shops I've ever seen. The Hermès store, the Goyard store, and the Brunello Cucinelli store on Grant are exquisite. The Moncler store on Stockton, one of my favorite retail stores that I've ever been in. Like, even if you're not buying anything from these places, they are really cool. You should definitely check them out if you're in the area. Maiden Lane, which is a really cute little offshoot alleyway from Union Square, has like string lights lining it with some awesome storefronts. Anissa Aya, a suit supply, Gucci, Maison Margiela. There's a ton of super high-end retail there. And most of the high-end jewelry stores and watch stores are in Union Square. You've got Tiffany, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Shreve Co., Van Cleef Arpels, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breitling, a ton of different high-end stores. Bottom line, if you're looking to splurge, Union Square needs to be your first stop in the city. Union Square is also home to a lot of great programming throughout the year. Every winter it becomes a winter wonderland with a giant Christmas tree and an ice skating rink. They've got pop-up food vendors that come and go throughout the entire year. They've got pop-up retail experiences, free concerts, arts and crafts, lunchtime events, a ton of programming throughout the year for all ages. All around, it's a great place to shop and eat. And while it has a bad rap since the onset of the pandemic, it's gotten a whole lot better. Go experience it in person, and I promise you, if you've been there in the last year or two, you will notice a difference. By the way, if you like videos like this about things to do in San Francisco, current events, new developments, and all the things going on with the San Francisco real estate market, subscribe to my channel because I make videos about that stuff every single week. And if you're thinking about buying a place in the city and have questions about the constantly changing market, definitely reach out to me. I've helped people relocate to San Francisco from all over the country, and I'd be happy to be a resource for you. I'll put my contact info in the description below. Reach out anytime. Now back to my favorite shopping destinations in the city. And the next one is, I think, the most iconic and unique shopping destination of all of San Francisco. It's the San Francisco Ferry Building. The Ferry Building is really a terminal for ferries that travel across San Francisco, but it's become a really popular food and retail hub in the city. It's definitely more food focused. Than pure retail, but the reason why I have it listed as one of my favorite shopping destinations in the city is because not only does it have those, you know, more classic retail shops like Heath Ceramics, one of the best ceramic stores in the city, Bernal Cutlery for great knives, Book Passage for great books. You've got places where you can buy tote bags and art. A lot of the food vendors there actually have kind of retail experiences there, so you don't just go there to buy food from the restaurant outpost. They actually have places where you can buy stuff to take home and cook at home. You can sample great olive oil. You can buy like mushrooms and truffles in bulk, different chocolates, pizza dough, things that you can buy more like a shopping experience than just a food experience or dining experience at these places. There are also great like wine shops, cookware shops. They do a farmer's market there every single Saturday. The building is so beautiful architecturally. The storefronts are super cute. The views are amazing. You are right on the water. You are right underneath the Bay Bridge. It's an awesome experience. Really great way to spend a Saturday morning and one of my all-time favorite shopping destinations in the city. The next shopping area on my list is a bit more of a traditional shopping area, and I think it's located in San Francisco's best neighborhood. It's the Fillmore area in Pacific Heights. Fillmore Street runs north to south throughout much of the city. It starts by the water on the north end of the city and then goes all the way down through Pac Heights from the Marina to Japantown. But the main shopping area of Fillmore Street is largely in Pacific Heights from Jackson Street down to about Sutter Street. Fillmore is home to a mix of like one-off boutique clothing stores to, you know, the more popular, like, chain retail stores. You've got Paige, Lalabo, Diptyque, Aesop, Rag Bone, Frame. They have athletic wear like Athleta and Lululemon. There's also small bookstores there. There's a Paper Source there. It's definitely a much smaller, kind of more intimate shopping experience than a Union Square type place. Definitely more on the scale toward Jackson Square than Union Square. It's also got some great restaurants and bars if you want a break from shopping. Harry's Bar is one of my personal favorites. Kind of like a nicer sports bar with some pretty good food. There's also a mix of French food, Mexican food, Vietnamese food, Italian, a ton of variety, all great, all walkable from each other. And it's next to one of my favorite parks in the city, Alta Plaza Park. So all around great place to go spend an afternoon. Pacific Heights is also home to the next shopping destination on my list, Sacramento Street. The shopping area of Sacramento Street runs mainly east to west through Pacific and then into Presidio Heights. And unlike a lot of other locations in SF, this is sort of a hub for like interior design and home goods stores specifically. There are, you know, chain home goods stores like Hudson Grace, and then there are a ton of one-off and boutique, you know, home goods and interior design stores. It's also a hub for a lot of interior designers themselves, architecture firms, developer firms. They have storefronts or offices on Sacramento Street. Lindsay Gerber, Kendall Wilkinson, Skirman Architects, Taboni Group. There are a ton of them all along Sacramento Street. They've also got a great collection of like antique stores. They've got a single-screen movie theater, one of the oldest in San Francisco, the Loeb Theater. All around, it's a very peaceful, very low-key shopping area, even more low-key, I think, than Fillmore Street, which is, you know, even more low-key than like a Union Square type. It's in one of the most residential parks in the city, that bridge between Pacific and Presidio Heights. So extremely quiet, extremely family-friendly, very walkable, very peaceful. And just like a lot of these other shopping districts, it's home to a ton of great food. You've got Michelin-starred Sorelle, You've got one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Spruce, which has an awesome lounge and I think the best burger in San Francisco. You've got great Italian food like Garibaldi's and Sociale, both on or right next to Sacramento Street. You've got a great, you know, casual brunch spot as Quoted. You've got a Boychik Bagels, ton of different options on Sacramento Street. I walk to all of these places from my house in Pacific Heights. It is a relatively flat area, super easy to get around, and the weather's pretty mild by SF standards. Awesome, awesome shopping destination. Next on my list are just a few minutes north of Pacific Heights,, and I'm putting them together on my list because they're both just a couple blocks from each other and they offer kind of similar experiences, have the same types of mix of stores, and that's Union Street in Cow Hollow and Chestnut Street in the Marina. Both of them have a very similar feel to Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, but I think they're a little bit more busy and a little more kind of high energy than Fillmore Street. It's a mix of one-off boutiques and a collection of like middle to high-end chain retail stores with a mix of all different types of goods. You've got athleisure stores like Lululemon and Viore. You've got places where you can buy like colognes and perfumes like Jo Malone. You've got like big stores like Sephora and Apple. You've got places where you can, you know, buy casual clothes like Marine Layer and Gap. There are really cute flower shops. There are cute kind of boutique-y local grocery stores. There are a ton of small coffee shops to take a break, you know, in between shopping or get, you know, coffee while you're on the go. If you're looking for like super high-end designer goods, not the place to go. It's much more casual, much more everyday vibes than, you know, the Union Square type or even the Jackson Square type, which I think is, you know, a little bit more high-end than these places. Both of them have really great walkable streets. They're close to the Presidio, close to Marina Green, Crissy Field, close to the water, ton of great amenities. So plenty to do, you know, in between or when you're done with shopping. And just like a lot of these other shopping destinations on my list, they have an absolutely A+ collection of food. A ton of different variety. One of my favorite pizza places, A16, is on Chestnut Street. One of my favorite sushi places, Momonoko, is on Chestnut Street. You've got a ton of great Mexican food, Thai food, make-your-own, like, salad and bowl places, you know, contemporary American food, Californian food, Italian food, a ton of great variety on both Union and Chestnut Streets. Next on my list is Hayes Valley, just west of Civic Center, about 10 to 15 minutes walk away from Union Square. It's a mostly flat space right in the middle of the city with shops and restaurants sort of surrounding like small open green space park area that's blocked off from car traffic. So super family-friendly, great for just chilling in the park. A lot of visitors go there every single weekend because of that great open space and because the weather there is generally pretty good by SF standards. Sort of similar to like Fillmore, Chestnut Street, Union Street, the stores there tend to be a little bit on the smaller side. It's not these like massive boutiques like you get in Union Square. And sort of like some of these other areas, you've got a good mix of like chain retail and, you know, the more one-off type retail stores like Aviator Nation, Marine Layer, APC, Parachute, Cotopaxi, Ferdy, a ton of big name brands like that, but also a lot of boutique clothing stores and design stores there as well. There's also a ton of food and bars in the area. It's definitely a hotspot for nightlife, a bit more robust nightlife scene than Fillmore Street, definitely more than Union Square or the Ferry Building, you know, on par with like Union Street or Chestnut Street. And last but certainly not least on my list of best shopping destinations since San Francisco is the go-to destination for music lovers and anybody looking for awesome thrift store finds, it's the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. This neighborhood right next to Golden Gate Park, smack in the middle of the city, is rich with history. Historic Victorians lining the streets, including several that have housed some of the most iconic rock and roll musicians we've ever seen. The area's vintage charm spans not just to its housing stock, but also its retail. The area has a huge concentration of vintage clothing and costume stores, as well as used record stores. It's unlike any of the other shopping destinations on this list and somewhere I'd only recommend going if you are in the market for those very specific things. If you're looking for other categories of retail, probably not the best destination for you, but it is great if you are looking for those things. There's also a good mix of old school, you know, local breweries and food spots. Like I said, it's close to Golden Gate Park. It's also close to a number of other neighborhoods that themselves have their own great little parks. So there's a ton to do in and around the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood if vintage shopping isn't on your list, or if you want to do some other things besides just vintage shopping. Well, there you have it. Those are my favorite shopping destinations in San Francisco. No matter where you live in the city, you are minutes, whether walking or driving, from so many awesome shopping areas. But of course, shopping is probably just one of the many different amenities you're focused on if you're trying to figure out where to live in the city. Obviously things like weather, walkability, parks, food, nightlife, all of those are on your list of things to consider. So if you're thinking about buying a place in the city and have questions about what the right neighborhood is for you or about the market, definitely reach out to me. I've lived in San Francisco for over a decade, and I used to work at one of the biggest law firms in the world before getting into real estate. And since then, I've helped numerous people relocate throughout San Francisco from all over the country. So I'd be happy to help you. I'll put my contact info in the description below. Thank you. Reach out anytime. And if you want more videos just like this about the San Francisco lifestyle, about current events, about new developments, about the real estate market, subscribe to my channel because I make videos about that stuff every single week. And if you want to learn about which neighborhoods are the best neighborhoods for food, I've got a separate video on that. I'll link that in the description below as well. Go check it out. I hope you enjoyed this video and I'll see you in the next one.