6 places to eat on a date in San Francisco, hand-picked from our A-to-Z guide — from Apero at Foreign Cinema to Zuni Cafe oysters. Every spot below was verified by an editor on the ground, with the address, the best time to go, and a one-line reason it earns the trip.
6 hand-picked spots
A
Mission District
Dinner and a movie collapsed into one candlelit courtyard — the most romantic restaurant gimmick in the city, executed with real cooking behind it.
Tip Ask for a courtyard table where vintage films are projected on the back wall under heat lamps — it is the whole point. The oysters and the fried-chicken brunch are the cult orders, but the cocktail list alone justifies arriving early. Reserve at least a week out for a weekend table.
F
Embarcadero
A restored 1898 ferry terminal turned food cathedral on the bay — graze your way through artisan stalls and eat it all on a bench facing the Bay Bridge.
Tip Come on a Saturday for the farmers market when the outdoor stalls wrap the building and the bay sparkles behind. Graze rather than commit — a bread from Acme, cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, a coffee from Blue Bottle, eaten on a bench facing the Bay Bridge. The clock tower is the loveliest meeting spot in the city.
H
Ferry Building / Embarcadero
Tomales Bay oysters shucked to order at a bay-facing bar — the briny, breezy, low-fuss raw-bar date that always overdelivers at happy hour.
Tip Aim for the Monday or Thursday happy hour when oysters and select wines drop to a steal and the bay-facing seats are pure magic. Their Sweetwaters come from Tomales Bay an hour north — about as local as oysters get. Split a dozen, a glass of Muscadet, and the grilled-oyster plate.
V
Mission
The crimson-lit Mission cantina of murals, candle glow and dangerous margaritas — a 16-year date-night staple, now closed.
Tip Velvet Cantina has closed after about sixteen years — 'Trash Pizza' now occupies 3349 23rd St. The Mission is still the city's margarita-and-murals heartland, so walk the 24th St / Valencia corridor and pick a candlelit cantina for the spicy-margarita-and-enchiladas evening.
Y
Embarcadero / Rincon Center
San Francisco's gold-standard dim sum, with carts circling a sunlit Rincon Center atrium — a shared, slightly indulgent lunch that turns into an afternoon.
Tip Go hungry and let the carts come to you — flag down the Shanghai soup dumplings and the Peking duck the moment you see them, because they sell out. It's pricier than Chinatown but the quality is the city benchmark. Split a dozen plates and you'll leave having tried far more than ordering off a menu.
Z
Hayes Valley
The copper-bar institution where a whole roast chicken for two becomes an hour-long ritual of oysters, wine, and slow conversation.
Tip Order the wood-oven roast chicken for two the moment you sit — it takes an hour, so start with a dozen oysters and a glass of bubbles at the copper bar while you wait. Aim for a corner table by the tall windows as the light fades. It's a San Francisco institution, so reserve well ahead for prime evening slots.