I was at Greens on Sunday night - very good, but not great. If I want great I go to Zuni Cafe, Boulevard, Farallon, or Jardiniere. But they certainly charge you for it. There are two new restaurants going in on the bayside of the Embarcadero across from the Gap headquarters as mentioned in par8thed's post. They are certainly situated to have great views.

I wouldn't eat at the Wharf if you paid me, but I understand the draw for the tourist crowd. I've always wondered why we don't have at least one restaurant somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge with a great view ambience and decent food.

The Ramp is a hoot - very much an only in San Francisco kind of place.

Where would it be? Going west from Greens, you have the Marina, Crissy Field, the bridge itself, Baker Beach, Sea Cliff (residential) and China Beach, and Lincoln Park. An attempt to put a new restaurant in any of these places would face extreme local resistance.

The only possibility I can think of is somewhere inland in the Presidio with a bay view, but here again, there would probably be a big land use battle.

Wow, thanks for all the great tips! We still haven't decided, but we may ditch the waterfront option altogether based on this. I know there are tons of great restaurants in great neighborhoods there.

We'll be visiting the bridge (of course) and Alcatraz (of course) so I think we'll have our view of nice waterviews this weekend!

If you want restaurant info do you know about chowhound.com?

Don't be discouraged by the naysayers. Sure, the best food isn't found along the Wharf or the water, but you can have a perfectly reasonable, if not perfect, meal and enjoy the settings. Slanted Door is extremely popular, even among locals. And I thought Scoma's, despite being on the wharf, was a decent meal and it's been there forever. I would, however, avoid MarketBar -- I've never had a good meal there. The chowhound rec is a great one.

There are already 10 restaurants/bars inside the Presidio:
http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/restaurants.htm
La Terrasse has the best view, IMO (good food too).

I haven't been to La Terrasse, but I notice that they don't put any photos of their bay views on their website. Is it much of a view from there? The Chronicle review suggests that only the outdoor tables have much of a view. My memory of living a few blocks from the Presidio is that outdoor dining would be hit or miss, and mostly miss.

Lots of SF restaurants have bay views; we're talking about expansive views and fairly close to the water.

I would also recomend Scoma's. Right on the water, excellent food.

Bruce

Technically not right on the water, but great views of the bay - Boulevard.

Though I would put Boulevard in the overpriced category. It's not bad, just pretty boring for the very high prices. Fine for an expense account but I would never spend my own money there.

Yes, I think this qualifies, just like Greens -- an outstanding restaurant, beautiful bay views and very close to the water. However, it's a big restaurant and relatively few tables have that view.

http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com/gallery_int.html
(click on the photo of the Bay Bridge)

Before dinner, you could stroll along the Embarcadero, and visit the Ferry Building.
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

As mentioned above re Boulevard, One Market is not technically water-front but right across the street from your hotel. Admittedly I have had more lunches than dinners at One Market but the food is consistently good, although not overly creative.

This comes too late for the OP, but my favorite waterfront dining option is Guaymas in Tiburon (http://www.guaymasrestaurant.com). It's an upscale Mexican restaurant literally right at the ferry terminal in Tiburon. The food is very good (but not amazing - I just have to give that caveat given that the Bay Area DOES have lots of food that IS amazing), but the combo of the food and the setting is perfect. The main joy of dining there is to take the ferry from SF to Tiburon. You get off the ferry, go for a walk if you want, or step right over to the restaurant for lunch or an early dinner and drinks. And when you're done, you hop back on the ferry for an amazingly beautiful ride.

I now live in Denver, but when I lived in the Bay Area my partner and I used to take our bikes on the ferry, then do a short ride in Tiburon, followed by lunch and then the return ride. Always a wonderfully relaxing way to spend a weekend afternoon. Just be sure you check the ferry schedules in advance!!

And for an even more complete itinerary, do this on a Saturday and arrive first at the Ferry Building in the morning for the farmer's market. Grab breakfast there, do some walking or biking, then head up to the Tiburon ferry and off you go.