SF Solo Dining

[mdt]

I am heading to CA for vacation on Sunday and arrive early in the morning. My friend is not getting into the airport in Oakland until 9:30pm. We are heading out of town from there so no late dining for the two of us. I have my day of sight seeing and eating pretty well planned out from the other posts here.

When dining solo I enjoy eating at the bar. Suggestions on which great SF restaurant I should dine at? Relatively convinient to the airport in Oakland would be nice. I will have a car and no restrictions on cost or type of food.

Thanks!

[cinghiale]

I ate solo last month at the bar at Gary Danko. I had no reservation, so I showed up just shy of opening (5:30, I think). Picked out my seat at the bar and ate like God in France for the next 2-1/2 hours. It ain't cheap, but it was a truly memorable meal.

I also had lunch at Piperade. If you ask to be seated outside, you also have the streetscape to keep you occupied.

[Stone]

Zuni Cafe.

[Squeat Mungry]

Boulevard is another option. Excellent food and service, beautiful room, and you can be on the Bay Bridge heading for Oakland within two or three minutes of paying the bill.

Enjoy your vacation!

Squeat

[ludja]

All great suggestions so far---and tough to choose between. Zuni is a great idea and even more so if the idea of starting off with a few raw oysters grabs you. Also, Zuni Cafe has a a nice atmosphere during the day with lots of natural light and is usually very interesting for people watching.

[chaud-froid]

Here is a list of places where there is either a bar or counter where eating alone is the norm:

• Original Joe's - Old time steak and spagetti place / counter looking on kitchen
  
• Tadich Grill - SF atmosphere and seafood
  
• A16 - New southern italian pizza place in the Marina (pizza bar)
  
• bacar - 100 wines by the glass and flights along with solid food
  
• Fringale - Basque/French, high quality, reasonable prices
  
• Piperade - more great Basque/French, few seats at the bar and very popular
  
• Gary Danko - one of the best in the city (very expensive)
  
• Masa's - only four seats, but the do serve at the bar and the food is outstanding (extremely expensive)
  
• Boulevard - great food and great atmosphere for solo dining (counter overlooking kitchen) expensive
  
• Pesce - excellent Venetian chichetteria. Small seafood plates, great bar, good prices
  

Edited May 13, 2004 by chaud-froid (log)

[memesuze]

I had a wonderful solo meal at Zuni one January afternoon during a long museum day

[CheNiPenso]

I've been taking classes at Powell/Market lately, so I've been doing a bit of solo dining in the Union Square/downtown area. My faves:

- Cafe Claude. I can't say enough good about this place. Cute little bistro with a zinc bar and everything. I love the souffle salad and the crepe.

- Cafe Bastille, B44 and Plouf. All on Belden St, a whole run of great little restos. Bastille is another bistro, B44 is Spanish and Plouf is seafood.

- Scala's Bistro. I've loved this place for years. If you get there on the early side, you can sit at the bar and have a nice little dinner.

All above places are pretty reasonable.

[Stone]

- Cafe Bastille, B44 and Plouf. All on Belden St, a whole run of great little restos. Bastille is another bistro, B44 is Spanish and Plouf is seafood.

What Zuni is to oysters, Plouf is to mussels.

[chaud-froid]

While I agree that you can get more mussles more ways at Plouf than any other place I know of in the city, I don't think that Zuni is the best place to go for oysters. Have you been to the Hog Island Oyster Bar in the Ferry Building?

[chasmartel]

My wife & I had lunch at the bar at the Slanted Door in the Ferry Building. Terrific.

Another fun, casual experience is Fish in Sausalito. Informal mid-range FRESH local fish. One of the partners is from Masa in the city.

[Schneier]

Dining solo, you have an excellent chance of getting a seat at the bar at Gary Danko. Same menu, but much more informal feel.

I enjoyed it a lot.

You'll take a cab there and back, but I think it would be worth it.

Bruce

[mdt]

...ate like God in France for the next 2-1/2 hours.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I ended up eating at the bar at Gary Danko. Absolutely amazing food and I think cinghiale's quote above just about sums it up nicely. Service was great and not nearly as stuffy as I thought when I first walked in the place. I will return when I get back to SF.

I was back in town before returning home and my friend and I ate at Quince one night and had a terrific meal.

[rae]

I was hoping for an update on this thread. I'll be at a conference in SF next week and will probably be eating alone for the most part. I'm going to try to hit Zuni (been there twice before and loved it). Last time I was there (about a year ago) I went to the Slanted Door, Brick and a few others. Food is top priority. Any recs would be appreciated.

[The Blissful Glutton]

Have you ever been to Swan Oyster Depot or Tartine?

I would recommend both for lunch. Also love Delfina and Gary Danko (as said above) for the solo diner.

Edited October 16, 2007 by The Blissful Glutton (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

I didn't even know this thread existed...

Seriously, read through the last several pages of my Discovering San Francisco thread as I have been dining solo about 80% of the time for the past year.

Most recently that I can recommend would be the following:

Plumpjack

Kappa

Myth and Coi (in their respective bars)

Kiss Sushi

SPQR

While Gary Danko is fine for a one-off visit, I have gotten bored with the fact that the menu has changed little over the past several years and the bar can get a little loud and crowded.

[tupac17616]

Most recently that I can recommend would be the following [...]

Carolyn, have you written about your SPQR experience on eGullet? I quite enjoyed my first visit to A16 (and my first visit to Rome this summer, for that matter), so it's a place I've been thinking of trying in the near future.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Most recently that I can recommend would be the following [...]

Carolyn, have you written about your SPQR experience on eGullet? I quite enjoyed my first visit to A16 (and my first visit to Rome this summer, for that matter), so it's a place I've been thinking of trying in the near future.

←

Yep - here! And I'm going back on Wednesday with a friend after the Opera!

[caseyell]

I had a sensational meal at Cav last Friday night. It was my second visit and even better than the first. Every single dish --from the hamachi crudo to the veal cheeks to the cinnamon beignets (and a bunch of others in-between) was absolutely first-rate. I sat at a table, but they also have bar seating.

[tupac17616]

Most recently that I can recommend would be the following [...]

Carolyn, have you written about your SPQR experience on eGullet? I quite enjoyed my first visit to A16 (and my first visit to Rome this summer, for that matter), so it's a place I've been thinking of trying in the near future.

←

Yep - here! And I'm going back on Wednesday with a friend after the Opera!

grazie

[docsconz]

To me the best place for solo dining and one of the best places for any dining is the counter at Canteen.

[Carolyn Tillie]

To me the best place for solo dining and one of the best places for any dining is the counter at Canteen.

←

Good call.

[et alors]

I want to second Hog Island's tiny place in the Ferry building-- it has a bar and a few tables. There are a ton of other terrific little bar/takeout places in the Ferry building, you could wander around and pick what suited your fancy, and if it's takeout, you can usually sit on the tables out back and look at the bay.