Eating Out in San Francisco

Whatever food you're looking for – an all-you-can-eat breakfast, a quick lunch, a romantic dinner - you'll find it in San Francisco. The city is home to over 4.500 restaurants and eating places. And they're not only for tourists. On average, SanFranciscans eat out 267 times a year.

You can eat food from anywhere in the world, from Afghan to Argentinian, and from Vietnamese to vegetarian. With Mexican fast food, Italian bakeries, hundreds of Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean restaurants, and in-and-out Japanese noodle shops, it's possible to eat your way round the world during a single San Francisco weekend.

And you don't find good food only in expensive restaurants. You can try great cooking in any number of small eating places, where prices are low and reservations aren't needed. Portions are often large, but you can ask the restaurant to pack up anything you don't eat so you can take it home. But wherever you eat, if you have waiter service, don't forget to tip. The exact amount you leave is you, but 15-20 per cent of the bill is normal. An easy way to calculate your tip is to double the sales tax (currently 8.5 per cent).