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1
Tosca Cafe
A 1919 North Beach institution known for its coffee-free house cappuccino.
Order the house cappuccino: brandy, chocolate, steamed milk, no coffee.
On screenUntil the End of the World 1991, Basic Instinct 1992, The Assassination of Richard Nixon 2004, Big Sur 2013
242 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up → -
2
Tonga Room
A 1945 tiki bar in the Fairmont basement with an indoor lagoon and rainstorms.
Mai Tais by the lagoon while a band plays on a floating barge. It "rains" every 20 minutes.
On screenQuitters 2015, Looking Season 2 ep 209 2015
950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108 (Fairmont Hotel) Full write-up → -
3
Red’s Java House
A burger shack on Pier 30 that has been feeding the waterfront since 1955.
Come at lunch rather than late in the day, and take the double cheeseburger out to the back patio.
On screenTwisted 2004, Murder in the First, Season 3 2016, The OA Part II 2019, Goliath- Season 4 2021
Pier 30, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105 Full write-up → -
4
House of Nanking
Two-time Chopped champion on Food Network. The family was the subject of the docuseries Chef Dynasty: House of Fang
On screenThe Matrix Resurrections 2021, Chef Dynasty: House of Fang 2022
919 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up → -
5
Buena Vista Cafe
The bar that brought Irish coffee to America, perfected here in 1952.
Get an Irish coffee at the cable-car turnaround. They pour about 2,000 a day.
On screenWhen a Man Loves a Woman 1994
2765 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 Full write-up → -
6
Zam Zam
A 1941 Haight Street bar built around a horseshoe counter and a Persian mural, famous for its gin martini.
Sit at the bar rather than at a table, bring cash, and order the gin martini, or the smaller pour they still call a Bruno.
On screenBlue Jasmine 2013
1633 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 Full write-up → -
7
Specs’ Twelve Adler Museum Cafe
A North Beach dive since 1968 with walls covered in seafaring memorabilia.
A Legacy Business down an alley off Columbus. The menu is cheese and saltines.
On screenThe Diary of a Teenage Girl 2015
12 William Saroyan Place, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up → -
8
The Saloon
San Francisco's oldest bar, on Grant Avenue since 1861, with live blues nightly.
On screenTwisted 2004
1232 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up → -
9
Orphan Andy’s
If you are out late in the Castro, this is where you end up. Open since 1977, and open around the clock most of the week.
Take a booth and order breakfast whatever the hour. At two in the morning this is one of the few rooms in the city still lit.
On screenLooking 2014, Looking “Special” 2016
3991 17th St, San Francisco, CA 94114 Full write-up → -
10
Capital Restaurant
The salt and pepper chicken wings are some of the best in the city
On screenLooking “Special” 2016
839 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 Full write-up → -
11
La Taqueria
Voted Best Burrito in USA. James Beard America's Classics Award winner.
On screenGirlBoss 2017
2889 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
12
Foreign Cinema
Films from the 1960s and 1970s projected on the courtyard wall.
On screenAmericana 2015
2534 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
13
Pop’s Bar
A Mission dive on 24th and York, a Legacy Business with block history back to 1937.
Pool table, photo booth, jukebox. Open 6am to 2am.
On screenWomen is Losers 2020
2800 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
14
Elixir
A Mission corner saloon on a site that's held a bar since 1858.
One of the oldest saloon spaces in the city.
On screenThe Phone/Jexi 2019
3200 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Full write-up →
Last updated September 22, 2026
