San Francisco is a charming city — although many of us already knew that from the old TV series “The Streets of San Francisco,” which introduced us to the city’s steep streets, trams and action-packed life.
The city is home to one of the United States’ most iconic symbols, the Golden Gate Bridge. And with its two suspension bridges — the two story, 7,180-meter San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge also crosses the body of water— San Francisco is indeed very beautiful; what’s more, its opportunities to wine and dine will please even those who are difficult to please. Located on the Northern Californian coast, San Francisco is a city that is famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, which bears a striking resemblance to the bridges that cross the Bosphorus. Known as the “Red Bridge” thanks to its color, the Golden Gate was opened in 1937. But that’s not the only thing that San Francisco and Istanbul have in common, as the existence of an opposite shore also makes the Californian city feel like home. San Fran, in the end, is like Istanbul’s European side, boasting long and lovely walking paths along the shore. With the two bridges, as well as a tunnel for trains, San Francisco offers a wonderful transportation system consisting of trains, trams, buses and metros that makes it one of the few American cities in which you can comfortably live without owning a car.
The city also boasts a moderate climate; even on the coldest winter night, the temperature doesn’t drop below 10 degrees. And more importantly, even on the hottest summer day, the mercury hardly pushes past 28 degrees Celsius. In terms of the economy, San Francisco is the birthplace of global brands like Apple, Uber, Facebook, Google, Instagram and many others. And because these companies rake in revenues and pay their employees a handsome wage, San Francisco has grown rich — which is why it’s no surprise that SF is home to plenty of wonderful restaurants. The city has a number of restaurants with three Michelin stars, but these are naturally fairly expensive places. There are also many great restaurants located just outside the city center.
ATELIER CRENN 
San Francisco’s best restaurant is Atelier Crenn. They serve just 20, but a full 10 people are in the kitchen cooking! And when you add in the wait staff and people behind the bar, there’s a restaurant employee for every customer. Atelier Crenn, which has three Michelin stars, is located on the left side of an apartment building’s entrance. Bar Crenn occupies the other side of the entrance. On the bar side, the menu is restricted to wine and champagne; they offer small plates of food as well, mind you, although it’s wider than the wine and champagne on offer at the adjacent restaurant. Atelier Crenn is the abode of the French-born Dominique Crenn, who became an inspiration to women chefs everywhere after becoming the first and, so far, the only woman to acquire three Michelin stars in the United States — a fantastic achievement in a male- dominated environment. She was also named the best female chef in the World by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants; however, she did not accept to get the title as it was gender-based. After beginning her career in San Francisco in 1988, Crenn opted to open Atelier Crenn in 2011. In no time at all, she earned herself a Michelin star, along with a second one in short order. In 2018, Crenn grabbed another Michelin star — only to be hit by breast cancer soon thereafter. It goes without saying that I wish Crenn, who is currently focusing on her treatment, the speediest of recoveries. As for the restaurant, the system that Crenn has instituted at the restaurant and bar works like such clockwork that even if she’s not there, things still come off without a hitch. Crenn also has another restaurant in the area, the one-Michelin-star Petit Crenn, which serves only traditional French dishes.
CHEZ PANISSE
On the other side of the bridge in Berkeley, there’s Chez Panisse, which has a fine dining restaurant on the ground floor and a brasserie on the floor above. I really like the brasserie/café more, which has reasonable prices, very tasteful decoration and a view of the main street. Chez Panisse, which was opened in 1971 by the famous chef Alice Waters, only uses fresh and local ingredients. Waters presides over both restaurants that you just have to visit and compare for yourself. For the upstairs restaurant I suggest you start with a pizza or pasta and then have the “best” grilled salmon in San Francisco. Rather than any dessert, I would go with some fruit and ice-cream.
ANGLER
An inexpensive fine-dining seafood option opened this year by the famous founder and chef of Saison, Joshua Skanes, Angler is located on the waterfront. Saison was never in my recommended list in spite of its three Michelin stars for many years, mainly because of its very high wine multiples and arrogant services attitude. Skanes sold Saison late 2018 to another famous chef Laurent Gras and created the down-to-earth Angler. Recently California State convinced Michelin to publish the first ever California Michelin Guide in June 2019 by sponsoring Michelin for 600,000 dollars. So all the restaurant stars were updated in mid-year 2019 as opposed to its normal end-of-year schedule. To everyone’s surprise, Angler got its first star 6 months after its opening and the big-nosed Saison lost one. So, go to Angler before it got its second star in 2020, and enjoy the extraordinary warm bread, daily fresh seafood, amazing desserts and its perfect Californian wine selection.
BOULEVARD
A terrific French restaurant located in the center of town, Boulevard is a place for both lunch and dinner. Getting a reservation, however, isn’t always an easy task. Reserve in advance. If you are two or four share your dishes and ask the waiter to serve them as two half dishes. They charge a little for this service, but this way you may create your own tasting menu in smaller dishes. . Wine list is full of Californian gems…
BIX
I like fine dining with live piano music, plus a singer. This is exactly what Bix provides. It has a very high ceiling in a relatively historic building. The bar is very active until 8:30 pm; and with a full house of early diners plus the piano it gets really noisy. So, reserve to dine at 8:30 when the bar gets less crowded and the singer joins the piano. The service quality is extraordinary and the food is also a match. They have a couple of starters with local caviar, which is nice and a superb tomato/ burrata dish where the emphasis is on the tasty tomato. Instead of or just before the dessert, you should have a cheese plate. Bix is a hidden gem for a good dinner out. I wish you could dance too.
SCOMA’S OF SAUSALITO
The bridge closer to the center of town heads to Oakland, while the Golden Gate heads to Sausalito, a place full of summer houses and the retirement homes of the wealthy. Sausalito is a charming seaside town with unreal views of San Francisco — in this, you feel like you’re on the Anatolian side gazing at Istanbul. If you happen to take a morning Uber over the Golden Gate, I suggest you dine at Scoma’s of Sausalito for lunch: Just make sure that when you make your reservation, ask for a table with a view of San Francisco. An American restaurant that carries a hint of the Italian, Scoma’s is big on seafood, making it the ideal place to dig into fresh local fish, crayfish, shrimp, lobster, and clams. Good though its seafood is, I suggest you skip dessert at Scoma’s — that’s because just across from the ferry pier is Sausalito’s famous ice cream place. After that, grab the ferry, and you’ll be back in San Francisco in just 20 minutes. If you happen to be visiting during a warm summer’s day, you can try the same route, just in the evening. Moreover, if you trust your athleticism, you could even forego the Uber and plump for an electrical bicycle that you could ride across the Golden Gate; after your meal, you can bring the bike back with you on the ferry. On your way back to the city center, you’ll pass Fisherman’s Wharf, from which you can survey the myriads of lazy sea lions stationed around Pier 39, as well as Alcatraz.
TONY’S PIZZA
Tony’s Pizza might just be San Francisco’s — if not the United States’ — best pizza joint. There are so many different types of pizza that you could spend half your day just perusing the menu. Tony’s offers pizzas from California, Naples, Sicily, Rome, Milan and New York, as well as a smorgasbord of dough options, including thin crust, super-thin crust, thick crust, gluten-free dough, white dough and whole-wheat dough. But that’s not all: You can even specify how you want Tony’s to cook your pizza, whether it be in a wood-fired oven, coal oven or in a gas or electric oven. Continuing on, you then get to choose how hot you want them to cook your pizza, as you can choose one of 350, 500, 600, 800 or 900 degrees. In terms of tomato sauce, you have to choose among three different options; and in terms of cheese, there are 10 different options. And don’t worry if you are a vegan, as there are pizzas for you too. As for the toppings, that’s a whole different ballgame entirely — if you can think of it, you can probably put it on the pizza. Of course, the taste, shape and size (you can choose anything from a one-person pizza to a dish that can feed eight) and price varies depending on your choices.
If you go on a weekday afternoon, you’re only likely to wait about 15 minutes, but if you go in the evening or on the weekend, you’re likely to wait a full hour minimum. Thankfully, however, you needn’t wait in line; when your table is ready, they send you a message on your phone and you can come and order your pizza in peace. In the meantime, you can either go for a walk or choose one of the six mostly empty restaurants nearby and munch on a salad or sip something to drink. If you want, take a menu along with you for better study — after all, it’ll take you an hour to make a decision anyway. If you’re in a big group, everyone can choose a different type of pizza, allowing each person to try a different type. But to ensure that you get to eat all the pizzas hot out of the oven, emphasize that they come at different times. To truly sample all that Tony’s has to offer, you’d have to come every day for a week. And hopefully, in the end, your favorite doesn’t turn out to be something really outside the box; otherwise, you’ll endlessly be pining for a pizza you can’t find elsewhere.
BOULETTES LARDER
On the Embarcadero coastal road right in the center of t own, you’ll find the Ferry Building, where ferries depart from. Inside, there are a number of restaurants, one of which I really like: Boulettes Larder. Central to Boulettes Larder’s success is Amaryll Schwertner, an experienced American lady chef who owns and works at the restaurant. Open from morning till evening, Boulettes Larder serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and acts as a cafe during other hours. And because it’s located right on the coast, it’s possible to while away the hours watching the comings and goings of the boats, especially over breakfast and lunch. It’s a place I heartily recommend, what with its excellent thin-crust pizzas and wonderful properly cooked fish dishes. Before you go, though, it’s best to make a reservation. And note, too, that it’s closed on Sunday evenings and all day on Mondays.
WATERBAR
After exiting Boulettes Larder and taking your fill of sea air, you’ll soon come across two other restaurants on the seashore on the Embarcadero. These restaurants (Epic and Waterbar) happen to have the same owner, but while the former privileges meat, the latter focuses on fish. Even so, each offers several different varieties of meat and fish that fall outside their specialty. Whether day or night, both places boast a phenomenal view of the bridge — something that is somewhat unique in the city, given that it’s hard to find restaurants right on the sea. Both eateries also offer a front-row view of the San Francisco fire department’s old warhorses — fire-fighting boats that are well-lit and stationed at the nearby docks. Thanks to San Francisco’s generally agreeable weather, it’s possible to eat outside at both restaurants six months of the year. Each opens at 11.30 in the morning, continuing on for a full 12 hours; however, if you come outside of the main meal times, you might find a more restricted menu. If you’re an oyster fan, come between 3 and 5 p.m., when local offerings are just a dollar each. And two more notes: both have good bars and bartenders, and both have good transport options since they’re located in the center and right by the tram. Of the two, I would prefer the Waterbar
FOREIGN CINEMA
A place with a high ceiling, Foreign Cinema has a giant white screen on one wall that, unsurprisingly given the restaurant’s name, is always playing a film. Thankfully, the films feature subtitles, while the staff also keeps the sound relatively low so that it doesn’t disturb you from your meal. As you eat, the choice is up to you: You can either keep tabs on the film as you dine, or immerse yourself in whatever movie is on offer. Foreign Cinema also offers an extensive wine list to accompany its excellent food, whether in the afternoon or the evening. That alone would have been enough, so the film is just the icing on the cake.
BLACK CAT
I would call Black Cat San Francisco’s best jazz club. Apart from Sundays, an artist is performing live every night. Black Cat Jazz offers hors d’oeuvres alongside drinks, although you can also order full meals as well. In general, there are two performances each night between 7.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. If you want, you can grab a seat on the ground floor and watch the performance on the floor below, or you can sit at one of the tables on the bottom floor and watch the performance from there. If you’re going to sit down below, however, be sure to reserve a table ahead of time. As for selecting which day to go, the performance schedules are set a month in advance, so you’re free to choose what you want. One option is to grab an early dinner somewhere else before catching the second act of the evening at the club.
PROTÉGÉ
The richest companies in the world are positioned near Palo Alto which is an hour away from central San Francisco. So their well-off executives need a nice restaurant in this small and nice town. Protégé is the one; casual looking but with very serious high-quality American/ International food. Don’t miss to order the oysters, corn soup, octopus and the barley risotto. The desserts are presented on a trolley and are indeed very tempting. The wine list and the sommelier are top grades too. Reservations are difficult; but you may walk in, if you are not too many, to eat at the bar overlooking the open kitchen.