📍 Tenderloin, San Francisco
20 restaurants · 2026
🍽️ 20 Restaurants
Edgy blocks between Union Square and Civic Center hide a reservation-only speakeasy, Thai cooking, and Vietnamese sandwich counters that have been there for decades
Top 10 in Tenderloin
1
Kin Khao
Pim Techamuanvivit's regional Thai counter inside the Parc 55 hotel near Union Square. Michelin Recognized and a James Beard Best Chef: West winner. The pradik gai (chicken-and-ric...
91
2
Bourbon & Branch
An actual Prohibition-era speakeasy that ran illegally from 1921 to 1933, now resurrected as one of the country's most reverent classic-cocktail bars. Reservations only, password a...
90
3
Great American Music Hall
Built in 1907 as a bordello and dance hall, Great American Music Hall retains its ornate marble columns, gilded balconies, and frescoed ceilings. The 600-capacity room books a wide...
88
4
Scullery
Scullery occupies a sliver of storefront on Geary Street in the Tenderloin, built more like a Scandinavian woodshed than a typical coffee counter — a few stools, outdoor seats, and...
88
5
Unexpected Era Café
Unexpected Era is a locally-owned coffee shop on Polk Street in the Tenderloin, built around specialty coffee sourced from Ethiopian and Guatemalan beans. Alongside standard espres...
88
6
Saigon Sandwich
The Tenderloin's Vietnamese bánh mì counter — authentic, filling, and $5.50. Over 40 years of roast pork and roast chicken sandwiches, stuffed with pickled daikon and carrot, cilan...
86
7
Outta Sight Pizza
Outta Sight Pizza makes pizza on Larkin Street in the Tenderloin. It's a counter-style operation focused on by-the-slice and whole pies, with catering and events rounding out the b...
86
8
Black Cat
Black Cat plants itself in the Tenderloin, the city's historic jazz district, with live sets five nights a week in an intimate underground room. The cocktail list is built as a tou...
85
9
Son & Garden
Son & Garden is chef Kasem Saengsawang's all-day cafe in the Tenderloin, from the team behind Farmhouse Kitchen Thai. The two-location concept, in San Francisco and Menlo Park,...
84
10
Emperor Norton's BoozeLand
Emperor Norton's BoozeLand is a Tenderloin dive bar named for Joshua Norton, the eccentric 19th-century San Franciscan who declared himself Emperor of the United States. It comes f...
84
All 20 Restaurants in Tenderloin
Bottle Club Pub
84
Azalina's
82
The HA-RA Club
82
Rise Over Run
78
Zombie Village
78
Rye
76
Pasha SF
75
Aunt Charlie's Lounge
74
620 Jones
73
Pomeroy Bar & Grill
73
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