San Francisco: My Favorite Places & Food Spots
San Francisco had been on my bucketlist for a while, so when the chance came up to spend a long weekend there, I didn’t need much convincing.
Having already been to Vancouver a few times, flying down from there felt like the perfect opportunity to finally cross the border and experience the US for the first time. And honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had the usual San Francisco images in my head — the Golden Gate Bridge, colourful houses, cable cars and those ridiculously steep streets — but I was excited to see what the city would actually be like.
With only a few days to explore, I tried to squeeze in as much as possible: wandering through different neighbourhoods, eating my way around the city, ticking off the classic sights and, of course, taking approximately a million photos.
So, here’s how I spent my long weekend in San Francisco — my first little adventure in the US.
San Francisco: My Favorite Places & Food Spots
We stayed at HI San Francisco Downtown Hostel, where we arrived around 11 a.m. on Friday. We had four days to explore the city, and although we obviously couldn’t see everything, we managed to fit quite a lot into our itinerary. From walking along the Embarcadero and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time to discovering some of my favorite food spots and neighborhoods, these were the places and experiences I enjoyed most from Friday to Monday.
I’d definitely love to come back to San Francisco someday and explore more of the city. There are still so many neighborhoods, restaurants, parks, and viewpoints on my list, so consider this my first San Francisco itinerary — with plenty of room for a second one!
Neighborhoods & places
Embarcadero
A walk along the Embarcadero was one of the first things we did after arriving in the city, and honestly, I can’t think of a much better way to get your first impression of San Francisco.
The walk is super scenic, with views of the downtown skyline on one side and the bay on the other. Along the way, you can stop at the Ferry Building, browse through its shops and food stalls, or simply enjoy the views from the waterfront. There are also plenty of restaurants, cafés, museums, food trucks, and stalls selling tickets for different boat tours.
Since we arrived fairly early, it was also a nice way to ease into the city before properly starting our sightseeing.
Pier 39
Pier 39 was probably one of my favorite places in San Francisco. And yes, the main reason is definitely the sea lions.
It’s honestly just really cute to stand there and watch them sunbathing on the docks, squeezing onto each other, barking, and jumping in and out of the water. It’s probably not the most spectacular attraction in the city, but I absolutely love animals, so for me it was a must-see.
Apart from the sea lions, Pier 39 has lots of little shops, restaurants, cafés, and places to sit and enjoy the waterfront. You can easily spend a couple of hours here, especially if you combine it with a walk along the Embarcadero.
Russian Hill & Lombard Street
Lombard Street is obviously one of those classic San Francisco sights that you kind of have to see at least once. And while I did enjoy visiting it, I actually liked the surrounding Russian Hill neighborhood even more.
The area has beautiful houses, steep streets, and some really nice views over the city. Lombard Street itself was a little less impressive than I expected, though. The famous winding shape is difficult to properly appreciate when you’re standing on the street — unless you happen to have a drone or find a good viewpoint above it.
Still, I’d recommend walking around Russian Hill rather than just coming for Lombard Street, because the neighborhood itself is really pretty.
Chinatown
I really liked San Francisco’s Chinatown. There are definitely quite a few souvenir stores, but there are also lots of restaurants, sweet shops, small businesses, and art stores to explore.
The neighborhood isn’t enormous, and you can cover the main streets fairly quickly, but I think the best part is simply looking around while you walk. The buildings were beautiful and really well maintained, with the typical red lanterns hanging across the streets and lots of colorful details.
Even if you’re not particularly interested in shopping or food, I’d still recommend walking through Chinatown just to take in the atmosphere and architecture.
North Beach
North Beach felt a little more European than some of the other neighborhoods we visited, which makes sense considering its strong Italian influence.
We didn’t spend a huge amount of time here, but it was a really lively area with lots of restaurants, bars, cafés, and street musicians. There was also a beautiful church next to a park, where lots of people were enjoying the nice weather.
It felt like one of those neighborhoods where you could easily spend an entire afternoon just walking around, stopping for coffee, people-watching, and deciding where to have dinner.
Marina District
The Marina District was another area I would have loved to explore more. We mostly experienced it while making our way toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but I really liked the atmosphere of the neighborhood.
It’s a much more relaxed part of the city, with plenty of cafés, restaurants, shops, and beautiful residential streets. If I come back to San Francisco, I’d definitely put aside more time to properly explore the Marina.
Palace of fine arts
This is a super popular photo spot for special occasions and I understand why! With it’s classic architecture and free entrance, the Palace of fine arts is a must visit if you’re on your way to the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s super pretty to walk around, enjoy the lake, the architecture and the different birds living in the trees.
Golden Gate Bridge
I’m not even sure I need to mention San Francisco’s main attraction, but of course, the Golden Gate Bridge was one of the highlights of our trip.
We decided to walk all the way from downtown to the bridge. It took us most of the morning, but the walk itself was actually a really nice part of the experience. Seeing the bridge gradually getting closer made it feel even more exciting than simply taking a bus or car straight there.
Once we got to the bridge, we spent some time checking out different photo spots and, obviously, taking way too many pictures. Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in real life was definitely one of those bucket-list moments for me.
Our original plan was to continue walking all the way to Baker Beach, but by that point our feet were already pretty tired, so we decided to call it a day. If you’re visiting the bridge and still have the energy, though, I’d definitely recommend continuing to Baker Beach. The views from there are supposed to be amazing, and it’s now high on my list for my next visit.
Japantown
Japantown was probably the biggest surprise of the trip. We actually ended up there almost by coincidence because we were looking for somewhere to have dinner, and I ended up liking it even more than Chinatown.
There are so many restaurants and shops that we didn’t even get close to seeing everything. Right after arriving, we came across the Japan Center Mall and noticed a small flea market. Once we went inside, we realized that the mall was packed with restaurants and food options.
It took us almost an hour to decide where to eat because there were simply too many options.
After dinner, we had what was probably the best matcha I’ve ever had, and then we watched a traditional Japanese lantern ceremony at the Soto Zen Mission of San Francisco. It was such a nice and unexpected way to end the evening.
If I come back to San Francisco, I definitely want to spend more time in Japantown and try some of the other restaurants and cafés we didn’t get to visit.
Mission District
I already knew I was going to like the Mission District before our trip because it came up again and again while I was researching San Francisco. And luckily, it lived up to my expectations.
We visited on the day of a street market. We unfortunately arrived a little too late and missed most of it, but there were still some stalls outside and quite a few people around, so we got a little taste of the atmosphere.
Valencia Street is especially great if you like vintage shopping and thrifting. There are so many vintage stores that you could easily spend an entire day browsing them. The first one we went to, Afterlife Collective, was probably my favorite, and I even found a really nice top.
But the vintage stores aren’t the only reason I loved the Mission District. The neighborhood itself is beautiful. There are gorgeous houses everywhere you look, often with architectural details and styles that I hadn’t really seen before in North America. I loved all the little details and colorful facades, and just walking through the residential streets was an experience in itself.
Dolores Park
Dolores Park might not be the most unusual park in the world, but the atmosphere definitely makes it worth visiting.
The park has an amazing view over San Francisco, and because it’s quite large, there was plenty of space for people to hang out, have picnics, meet friends, or simply enjoy the sun. The whole place had a really good, relaxed vibe.
I can imagine that if you live in the area, Dolores Park would be an amazing place to spend a summer evening with friends. Even though we were just visitors, it was nice to sit down for a while and take in the view.
Golden Gate Park & Mosaic stairs
Golden Gate Park is huge, and you could easily spend an entire day exploring it. It almost feels like two completely different parks depending on which part you’re in.
The southern part that we visited felt much wilder and more like a forest, while the northern part is more cultivated, with museums, gardens, a botanical garden, a lake, and smaller landscaped areas.
Unfortunately, we only really saw the southern part when we were walking back from the beach. It was still a nice walk and a welcome break from the busy city, but there wasn’t a huge amount to see.
We were also a little unlucky with the weather that day, so I’m sure the park would have felt completely different with some sunshine. If I come back, I’d definitely like to dedicate more time to exploring the northern part.
Right beside the park, you have the famous mosaic stairs, all leading up to the turtle hill. We visited the hidden garden steps, which I preferred over the 16th ave tiled steps. Both are worth a visit tho, and if you’re more lucky with the weather than we were, the short walk onto the hill is definitely a must, for the amazing 360 view you’ll have (in our case we were surrounded by fog).
Food spots
Maruwu Seicha
The matcha I had at Maruwu Seicha in Japantown was probably the best I’ve ever had.
They have a whole variety of matcha drinks and desserts, so obviously everything on the menu was extremely tempting. We ordered a matcha latte with Matcha Snow Top and a matcha soft serve, and both were amazing.
If you’re a matcha fan, I’d definitely put this place on your list when visiting Japantown.
K Dragon Cuisine
This was the dinner spot we chose in Japantown, and it was really good.
I ordered a bento box with fried chicken, while my friend got the curry thick noodles. A lot of the restaurants in the Japan Center Mall seemed to offer similar types of dishes, but this one stood out to us as being a little more interesting.
The best part was probably just the whole experience of choosing a restaurant in the mall. There were so many options that deciding where to eat took almost as long as actually having dinner.
Stable Café
Stable Café is a really cute café in the Mission District. We ordered an avocado toast and the tiramisu overnight oats, and both were really good.
I especially liked the interior of the café. There’s also a nice outdoor seating area, although it was a little too cold for us to sit outside that day. Instead, we sat upstairs, where we could look down onto the first floor and out toward the street.
It had a really cozy atmosphere and felt like a nice place to take a break from exploring the neighborhood.
Beretta
Beretta is a pretty classic Italian restaurant, and it was a great choice for dinner.
I had a really good lasagna, while my friend ordered a pizza, which was equally delicious. They have a good variety of pizzas, pastas, meat dishes, and antipasti, so there’s plenty to choose from.
They also have a pretty extensive drinks menu with wines and cocktails, making it a nice option for a longer dinner rather than just a quick meal.
Arsicault
Arsicault is a bakery that has been voted as having some of the best croissants in the US, so naturally, I had to try it.
And even though I’m not usually a huge fan of croissants, I absolutely loved what I got. Instead of a traditional croissant, I tried the orange monkey bread, which was caramelized and crispy on the outside while being incredibly soft and buttery on the inside.
Definitely one of the food highlights of the trip.
Onigilly Japanese Rice Balls
This was our last bite of the trip, and honestly, it was a pretty great way to end it.
Located in Chinatown, Onigilly is a small shop that specializes in Japanese rice balls, with lots of different fillings and variations. There are plenty of vegetarian options as well as fish, chicken, beef, and some more deluxe combinations.
I believe we got the teriyaki chicken and baked salmon, and both were amazing. Everything is freshly made, so it was also a really convenient option for grabbing something quick before heading off to our next stop.
It might not be the most famous food experience in San Francisco, but it was one of those simple meals that I’d happily have again.
Would I come back to San Francisco?
Definitely.
Four days were enough to get a first impression of the city and see quite a few of its highlights, but there are still so many places I didn’t get to explore. I especially want to spend more time in the Marina District, see more of Golden Gate Park, finally make it to Baker Beach, and explore more of the Mission District and Japantown.
What I liked most about San Francisco was how different the neighborhoods felt from one another. You could walk for an hour and suddenly feel like you were in a completely different city — from Chinatown and Japantown to the Italian atmosphere of North Beach or the colorful, residential streets of the Mission.
So, for now, this is my little collection of favorite places and food spots from our first trip. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to come back one day and add a whole new list to it.