Waterfront dining options?
 

Hi, DH and I are heading to San Fran this weekend sans child. We're staying at the Hyatt Regency in the financial district. Can anyone recommend a nice waterfront restaurant?

We're also open to dining elsewhere in the city, if the waterfront restaurants are overpriced and not that great. :-)

Thanks!

Greens Restaurant. It's pricey, but not over the top. You can see what the views are like: http://www.greensrestaurant.com/

Even if you're not vegetarian, you'll love this place. Here's a NY Times review: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gui...rant%22&st=cse

You could try Scoma's out by fisherman's wharf (seafood).

The food on my last visit to Greens was surprisingly disappointing.

Also, they took my reservation but that did not give me a better table over walk-ins, all it did was shorten my wait (but not to zero). When you show up with a reservation, all it means is that you get ahead of SOME of the walk-ins and are then assigned the next table that comes open, whether it is a good one or not.

Rather a let-down given my previous experiences here. Hopefully it was just one-off, but I am not so sure.

P.S. Locals tend not to eat at Fisherman's Wharf restaurants, although if there is still a branch of Yet Wah on Pier 39, you will have the view and not be horribly ripped off. Not as good as the original Yet Wah on Clement St. though.

Waterfront almost always means overpriced and not that great. That said, Slanted Door can be good for Vietnamese, though it is hit or miss in terms of quality.

San Francisco's strength lies in its fantastic mid-range neighborhood restaurants. My favorites are currently Delfina, Zuni and Nopa. All of these places provide a great sampling of what Bay Area cuisine is all about. I also like L'ardiose because it feels like being on vacation in France. For a super romantic and somewhat unusual food experience I'd go to Chez Spencer.

My wife and I had our wedding reception at Greens in 1995, and we have returned there many times. Each dinner was a delight. However, it has been a few years since our last visit -- I hope your experience was indeed an aberration.

As for the Wharf, these restaurants tend to combine high prices with ordinary experiences. You (the OP) have come all the way across the country -- don't settle for a spot that could be in any tourist trap.

SF locals like to enjoy the views too!
My favorites:
Slanted door
Chaya Brasserie
Ozumo (you'll need a table near a window)
Carnelian Room (nice Sunday brunch)
La Terrase at the Presidio (if the weather is good, because most tables are outside)

also:
The Spinnaker in Sausalito
Sam's Cafe in Tiburon

Across the bay in Berkeley is Skates by the Bay. The food ranges from okay to very good (although, caveat, it's been about 5 years since I've been there) and if you can get a table next to the window at around sunset the views are simply stunning.

That's a decent option if one is already in the East Bay. I wouldn't make a special trip out here just for Skates, though.

If the OP is coming to Berkeley, I'd suggest skipping the waterfront idea and heading to Chez Panise.

That's very true, even for people like me that live near the wharf.

Despite a long coastline, SF doesn't have a huge number of waterfront restaurants.

It's at the wharf and part of a small chain, but McCormick & Kulettos in Ghiradelli Square provides reasonable seafood at sensible prices and has a nice view of Alcatraz and the bay.

I had a horrible meal at Skates - overpriced, poor service and cool (which should have been hot) food. The view isn't that great either - certainly wouldn't leave sf to go to Berkeley for this!

In the ferry building are Hog Island Oyster and Slanted Door (vietnamese - high end) - which have great/good views and good food - but not "high end" (eg white table cloth, quiet) ambiance. The ferry building also have some great shops for artisinal foods- fun to walk around and some samples (eg olive oil)

The food report doesn't surprise me; I've seen other reports of its being very inconsistent. And no, if one is in the city you wouldn't want to make a special trip given the number of really, really good restaurants there.

But I stand by my point of view that for someone who doesn't live in the Bay Area and see such views every day, the view at sunset, particularly, can be absolutely stunning.

epic roasthouse

butterfly

East view:
Epic Roasthouse
Waterbar
Slanted Door
Waterfront Restaurant
Butterfly

West View (for sunsets)
Cliff House
Beach Chalet


However great the scenery might be, the waterfront dining options are pricey and nowhere near the culinary accomplishments of other "inland" restaurants.

Here's a thought: if you want good waterfront experience in San Francisco, try out The Ramp for lunch, if it is sunny when you're in town.

I'll respectfully disagree, given how Greens is on the waterfront. I know not everyone agrees, but a lot of food critics have included it among The City's great restaurants.

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.