Your SF Guide

Curated by a local tour guide. No ads, no fluff—just honest recommendations from someone who shows people around this city every day.

First Time? Eat & Drink Neighborhoods This Week Day Trips

Neighborhoods

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SoMa

SoMa refuses easy definition.

3 restaurants 13 things to do
Potrero Hill

Sunny hillside neighborhood between the Mission and the waterfront, with skyline views from the parks and one of…

0 restaurants 2 things to do
The Tenderloin

Walk Larkin at lunchtime. Start at the Tenderloin Museum, eat at Saigon Sandwich, finish with a drink on Jones. Stay on main streets and you see a neighborhood that works on its own terms.

4 restaurants 13 things to do
North Beach

San Francisco's Italian quarter and birthplace of the Beat Generation. Historic cafes, legendary bookstores, and some of the…

9 restaurants 9 things to do
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Where to Eat

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Humphry Slocombe

Secret Breakfast first, then branch out. The Ferry Building location is convenient but the Dogpatch shop is less hectic. They ship nationwide if you get hooked.

$$ Ice Cream

Coco Bang

One of the few legitimate late-night dining options in SF. The spicy tofu soup and short rib BBQ are the two essential orders. Dine in for the tabletop grill experience.

$$ Korean

Mister Jiu’s

Book the tasting menu through Resy at least two weeks out. The whole roasted duck needs 48-hour advance notice and is the best thing on the menu. Walk-ins should try the bar early in the evening.

$$$$ Chinatown Chinese, Cantonese, Fine Dining

Anchor Oyster Bar

Walk in at the marble counter. Cioppino, crab Louie, and oysters since 1977. Lunch fills fast.

Seafood
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Things to Do

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Classic

Three Gems (James Turrell Skyspace)

Free and outside the museum, so no ticket needed. The LED light shifts are best at sunrise or sunset. Inside a grass mound behind the de Young. Most visitors walk right past it without knowing it's there.

free
Classic

Painted Ladies Victorian Walk

The classic photo is from the east side of Alamo Square park facing the houses. Morning light is best. The neighborhood around the park has dozens more painted Victorians on side streets worth exploring.
Classic

Groove Merchant Records

$$
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Written by someone who actually does this every day

I've been a San Francisco tour guide for years. These aren't hot takes from a travel writer who flew in for a weekend—they're the answers I give people every single day.

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