Zuni is fun, but pricey. Only have been there once - we got their famous roasted chicken. I agree with the Kokkari recommendation though I haven’t been in a few years. I loved Greens when I went years ago and hear it’s still great. I live south of the city and don’t go in that often but my kids and DH and I all love Tacolicious and I think there are two Tacolicious locations in the city. I wouldn’t go out of my way for these, but I had a great meal at Burma Love when I went into the city to see a play recently and also enjoyed a meal at the Cavalier.

Anonymous wrote:We'll be there for 2 days over spring break with 2 teens. Any suggestions for good places to eat? (Not $$$ but $$ ideally).

Check out Trattoria Contadina in North Beach. We lived there in the early 2000s and it was our favorite. Went back last year and it was still cute, cozy, and delicious.

I was disappointed by North beach on our last trip. I went to SF a lot as a young person and remember loving north beach but it seemed kind of spent and the meal we got was meh and very expensive. The bakeries were good though.
I would prioritize instead getting dkm sim in China town. It’s a great experience and really
Memorable. The Chinese bakeries are also great — the egg tart is so yummy. I would do dim sum in Chinatown, walk around, then buy pastries in north beach to save for later. We took a muni bus over to Golden Gate Park and rode bikes which was fun. The bus trip was sort of fun too - a straight shot across the city and we passed by the old Victorian painted lady houses.
Also if you want to go to Alcatraz, buy tickets now.
It is also fun to just get the chowder in a bread bowl over by the pier — this is one of those classic touristy things that is good even though it’s such a cliche. Walking around the pier eating chowder out of a sourdough boule is just an iconic SF experience.
Funny to see people still recommending Zunk Cafe— glad that one holds up! But I think that one might be tough with most teens.

Thanks so much for the additions!
- OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North Beach is a good place to explore. Maybe the Stinking Rose would be fun for your group--other options are Different restaurant suggestions would be Tosca or Piccolo Forno.

After dinner do some bookstore browsing at City Lights (beatnik stuff but regular books too). Finish the night with cannoli at Tosca or gelato at Alimento.

Chinatown is very close to North Beach, so you could easily start in Chinatown and do a little window shopping before dinner. Go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to see them get made. It's tucked away in a little alleyway and would be a fun stop with teens.

To follow on this, I took three tween/teen boys on a Chinatown Food Tour that went to the Cookie Factory and the whole thing was so interesting. Everyone loved it.

+1. Soto Mare could also be fun and is very quintessential North Beach. If you actually want Italian Italian, SF has an abundance of choices but you'd have to stray into less touristy neighborhoods. A Mano in Hayes Valley, SPQR in Fillmore, or Che Fico in NOPA could be good if your kids like shopping. Che Fico and SPQR are more $$$ than $$ though. All three options offer ice cream nearby (Salt & Straw or Bi-Rite).

If you're not set on the cuisine, Trestle in North Beach is one of my favorite low-key prix fix menus in the city. Great experience without the $$$.

With 3/4 people, your most economical way of getting around is probably an Uber/Lyft.

Anonymous wrote:Tadich Grill for a classic old school SF experience. I also love House of Prime Rib, but you have to love beef to go there . Tommasso’s in North Beach for Italian.

Tadich Grill is full of very old men having old school business lunches and dinners which is funny because most of them are retired. House of Prime Rib isn't actually good quality. There are a ton of much better steakhouses in the city.

Anonymous wrote:We're staying in the Fisherman's Wharf area but would rather hop on a cable car to head to another neighborhood for dinner. It will be our last one in SF and on a Friday night.

Cuisines - Italian or Seafood probably. I was originally thinking Chinatown but i've seen some posts on here indicating that's not a really good spot to go for dinner.

I live in San Francisco. The best Italian is Original Joe's in North Beach (or the Marina). The best lowbrow Chinese is City Chopsticks just at the edge of Chinatown or Red Jade in the Castro. A little nicer is Harborview, Mister Jiu's, and for dim sum Yank Sing (either location).

Just an FYI, cable car is not the way people get around SF. We use Muni. Cable car costs more than Muni and has only like two or three routes? If you're staying in Fisherman's Wharf, you're near the F-line street car (Muni). But you can just walk down the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building, then cross over to Market Street and pick up a lot of different Muni lines from there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North Beach is a good place to explore. Maybe the Stinking Rose would be fun for your group--other options are Different restaurant suggestions would be Tosca or Piccolo Forno.

After dinner do some bookstore browsing at City Lights (beatnik stuff but regular books too). Finish the night with cannoli at Tosca or gelato at Alimento.

Chinatown is very close to North Beach, so you could easily start in Chinatown and do a little window shopping before dinner. Go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to see them get made. It's tucked away in a little alleyway and would be a fun stop with teens.

To follow on this, I took three tween/teen boys on a Chinatown Food Tour that went to the Cookie Factory and the whole thing was so interesting. Everyone loved it.

Same. We loved the Chinatown tea and dim sum tour run by Stretchy Pants.

https://www.stretchy-pants.com/

Anonymous wrote:My favorite restaurant in San Francisco (and honestly, one of my favorite restuarants in the world) is Zuni Cafe on Market Street. It's been there for 40 years and it's alway great.
https://zunicafe.com/

Came here to recommend this one. Love Zuni!

Anonymous wrote:North Beach is a good place to explore. Maybe the Stinking Rose would be fun for your group--other options are Different restaurant suggestions would be Tosca or Piccolo Forno.

After dinner do some bookstore browsing at City Lights (beatnik stuff but regular books too). Finish the night with cannoli at Tosca or gelato at Alimento.

Chinatown is very close to North Beach, so you could easily start in Chinatown and do a little window shopping before dinner. Go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to see them get made. It's tucked away in a little alleyway and would be a fun stop with teens.

To follow on this, I took three tween/teen boys on a Chinatown Food Tour that went to the Cookie Factory and the whole thing was so interesting. Everyone loved it.

North Beach is a good place to explore. Maybe the Stinking Rose would be fun for your group--other options are Different restaurant suggestions would be Tosca or Piccolo Forno.

After dinner do some bookstore browsing at City Lights (beatnik stuff but regular books too). Finish the night with cannoli at Tosca or gelato at Alimento.

Chinatown is very close to North Beach, so you could easily start in Chinatown and do a little window shopping before dinner. Go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to see them get made. It's tucked away in a little alleyway and would be a fun stop with teens.

Anonymous wrote:Beit Rima if you're going to go out by Golden Gate Park and the California Academy of Science. The Ice Cream Bar around the corner is fun too.

That is not near GGP or responsive to the OP's request...

Beit Rima if you're going to go out by Golden Gate Park and the California Academy of Science. The Ice Cream Bar around the corner is fun too.

Tadich Grill for a classic old school SF experience.

I also love House of Prime Rib, but you have to love beef to go there .

Tommasso’s in North Beach for Italian.

Anonymous wrote:Just curious OP, are you not aware of Yelp or Tripadvisor?

NP.

You think you’re so cute!…but everybody else is cringing at you.