Where the Wealthy Eat: Top 7 Luxury Restaurants in San Francisco, CA

Pasha Gleyzer That was a delightful experience. The most important: the food was amazing. Crab with caviar, spiny lobster, rock fish and short ribs were the top highlights for me. My date enjoyed the Mezcal flight, and I loved the non-alcoholic pairing. Everyone was a top profesional making our experience even more so wonderful. The dishes were three bites at most, but I was so full after that dinner. Of course, it was also very beautifully presented. Expensive, but definitely worth it.

Marisa Chiang This is the restaurant that truly opened our eyes to GREAT food. We had the BBQ carrot years ago (pre-COVID) and the intensity of flavor from such a simple preparation (albeit long dehydration time) was just kind-blowing. And we’ve been coming back every year since! Chef Chris is a genius. There really are not adequate words to describe the flavor of the dishes that are derived from the techniques of prepping it from the time the ingredient arrives at the restaurant to when it finally reaches your plate (which can be months). It’s familiar flavors that just exploded in intensity, always with the perfect layers of complementary flavors and textures. It really is just something your mouth will have to experience for itself (my mouth is watering typing this). The service is impeccable. Their director Zoee is such a sweetheart and always greets us with a genuinely welcoming presence. Their entire team is always friendly and smiles, it’s easy and a pleasure to converse with anyone and everyone that works there. Just be prepared for a long meal (3-4 hours). Everything is cooked to order and they are very meticulous, so it does take time but the immaculate presentation and “perfect” bite is worth the wait. The area can be a bit rough and parking is not easy, so the recommendation is to take a car so you’re dropped off right at the entrance. Otherwise we haven’t had issues getting there. In short, if you love to see how food can be transformed to new heights, this is your restaurant.

Karen Cooke A must try if you’re in SF. Perfect for a romantic date night or to catch up with friends. For starters we ordered the octopus appetizer and dip trio. For mains we got the whole fish and rack of lamb. Dessert we had the baklava and Greek coffee. Everything was amazing and can’t wait for my next time back.

John Rushforth We have visited Nightbird 13 times in the past two years; the last time being December 31st 2025. Hands-down, it is our very favorite restaurant in San Francisco for dinner (we love Foreign Cinema for lunch / brunch). The tasting menu is out-of-this-world, Chef Kim does an incredible job of crafting delicious dishes in a way that some Michelin starred restaurants cannot. Theres a couple of staple dishes that always appear on the menus, despite the seasonal rotations, theres clearly a reason for that - they are expertly constructed and very tasty. Being attached to the Linden Room Bar allows you to select from a wide-range of beverages from the with a cocktail menu as you settle into the night. Both venues have their own distinct vibe, the restaurant is the perfect place if you like a low-to-medium level of noise from other diners and background music, this allows you to have very civilized conversations over dinner without raising your voice to be heard. The servers are on-point and so kind and friendly. We always receive the warmest of welcomes (Thank you Jordan, Mark and William. They will also suggest wines as you move through the menu to complement each dish. Do go and try Nightbird, its a real gem in Hayes Valley and so easy to get to from Muni and Bart. Its also super-handy if youre seeing a show at the Orpheum, which is a stones throw away.

Lesa Lacey We snagged a last minute reservation at Gary Danko and we were so happy with our experience. Friendly and top notch professional service with beautiful food. I loved the format of being able to choose from any section for the courses - very cool and made it simple for my husband as he likes fish and I do not.

Taylor R My wife and I love going here around the holidays. On the first Saturday of every month they have a swing band and dancing in the center of the restaurant. Great views and festive drinks. We’ve made it a holiday tradition! We used the Sip Savvy app to find a great bottle of wine at a good price. Everything has a decent markup here, but Sip Savvy found the best bottle on the menu for reds was the 2020 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon at only ~1.6x markup. The best white/sparkling on the menu was the Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut Champagne at ~1.9x markup. Definitely check out this place around the holidays if you have a chance! Expect to wait ~30 minutes for a table, but well worth the wait.

Cecily Burke It’s a tasting menu, so you will have whatever is seasonal and inspires the chefs. It will be served with an explanation from one of the many cordial and pleasant staff, and we (a party of four) found it intriguing and mostly delicious. Many courses, some very light, most just 2-3 bites - so we didn’t leave feeling overfilled, just fulfilled. The oysters served two ways was our favorite course. Any disappointments? Only the cocktails, which 3 of us ordered, and no one thought were splendid. I ordered wine (Sauvignon Blanc). There’s not a lot of choices for by the glass, but mine was perfect for this meal. We didn’t go for any of the pairing options (non-alcoholic, standard, and blow-the-budget.) Would we come again? Yes, we would!