Wine Spectator Award-Winning Restaurants in San Francisco

This list covers 42 restaurants in San Francisco that hold a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award, including Atelier Crenn, Quince and Saison. The awards come from Wine Spectator. Several restaurants are in Russian Hill and Marina, and many also have recognition from independent sources including Michelin and Opinionated About Dining.

We choose venues by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards. Browse the entries in alphabetical order. Each shows the venue's town or city, a short description and awards from independent sources, with a link to its full guide page for further reading.

How this list is chosen: Every restaurant here holds a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. When more qualify than the list can hold, En Primeur Club chooses among them by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards. Entries appear in alphabetical order.

3rd Cousin
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A Michelin Plate-recognized Californian-Japanese kitchen on Cortland Avenue, 3rd Cousin sits at the serious end of Bernal Heights dining without the formality that price bracket usually implies. Chef-owner Greg Lutes runs a tight program with a 600-bottle wine list weighted toward France and California, and a seasonal menu priced to remain accessible relative to the city's upper tier.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining
A16
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A16 on Chestnut Street has anchored the Marina District's Italian dining scene for two decades, building a reputation around the grapes and traditions of Southern Italy. Its James Beard Award-winning wine list and Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition place it in a distinct tier: serious enough for destination diners, accessible enough for a Tuesday dinner without ceremony.
Also recognized by James Beard Award, Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
Acquerello
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Grand Award
Open since 1989, Acquerello holds two Michelin stars and operates from a converted chapel on Sacramento Street, where classical Italian cooking — shaped by French technique — meets one of San Francisco's most serious wine programs. Wine Director Gianpaolo Paterlini oversees a cellar of 15,000 bottles with particular depth in Piedmont, Tuscany, and California. La Liste placed it among the world's top restaurants in both 2025 and 2026.
Also recognized by Bureau du Champagne, USA, James Beard Award, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining
Angler SF
San Francisco, United States
1 Michelin star · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A Michelin-starred seafood restaurant on San Francisco's Embarcadero waterfront, Angler operates around a wood-burning hearth and Bay Bridge views that few comparable dining rooms can match. Under Saison Hospitality Group, the kitchen works in concert with a wine program of 2,530 selections and deep Burgundy and California strengths. Ranked #61 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2024, it sits at the serious end of the city's contemporary seafood tier.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Robb Report, Star Wine List
Anomaly SF
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
On Sutter Street in San Francisco's Lower Pacific Heights, Anomaly SF earns consecutive Michelin Plate recognition for its California-inflected Southern American cooking under chef-owner Michael Lanham. The wine program, directed by Francis Kulaga, draws from a 600-bottle cellar with particular depth in California and France, positioned in the mid-to-upper tier of the city's contemporary dining scene.
Atelier Crenn
San Francisco, United States
3 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Atelier Crenn is San Francisco fine dining at its auteur end: Modern French technique filtered through California sourcing, seafood, vegetables, and the biographical poetry of Dominique Crenn. The restaurant carries Michelin three-star recognition and a 2026 OAD Top Restaurants in North America ranking, placing it in a rarefied bracket where provenance and precision matter more than luxury theater.
Also recognized by Chef's Table, Forbes, James Beard Award, La Liste
Birdsong
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Birdsong holds two Michelin stars and a consistent top-60 ranking on Opinionated About Dining's North America list, placing it among San Francisco's most decorated progressive American tables. Chef Chris Bleidorn works a live-fire format at 1085 Mission Street, combining Pacific Northwestern ingredients with technique-driven plating and a wine program of 450 selections weighted toward Burgundy, Oregon, and California.
Also recognized by La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List, The Best Chef
Bodega SF
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Bodega SF occupies a pointed address on Mason Street in the Tenderloin-adjacent stretch of downtown San Francisco, placing it in a neighbourhood where serious dining and rough-edged streets coexist without apology. The room and menu position it as a considered choice for occasion dining in a city already crowded with destination restaurants. For San Francisco diners weighing where to mark something that matters, it merits close attention.
Boulevard
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Boulevard has anchored San Francisco's Embarcadero dining scene since the 1990s, pairing California-French cooking with a wine list of 950 selections and 8,000 bottles. Chef Dana Younkin leads the kitchen under founder Nancy Oakes, earning consistent recognition from La Liste and Opinionated About Dining. Dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday at 1 Mission Street, with a $$$-tier menu built for the serious à la carte diner.
Also recognized by James Beard Award, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
Café Tiramisu
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Cafe Tiramisu occupies a slip of a dining room on Belden Place, the pedestrian alley in San Francisco's Financial District that functions as the city's closest analogue to a Parisian passage. Among the neighborhood's Italian-leaning options, it draws a consistent lunch and dinner crowd that treats Belden's covered-alley setting as destination rather than convenience.
Californios
San Francisco, United States
3 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Californios holds two Michelin stars and a consistent position inside Opinionated About Dining's North American top 100 for its contemporary Mexican tasting menu rooted in California's pre-statehood history. Chef Val Cantú structures each course around nixtamalized heritage corn, named local purveyors, and the agricultural traditions of both California and Mexico. The SoMa dining room operates Tuesday through Saturday for dinner only.
Also recognized by James Beard Award, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, Robb Report
Che Fico
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Che Fico is an Italian taverna at 838 Divisadero in San Francisco’s Nopa neighborhood: Italian cooking through a Northern California lens, and a wine list weighted toward Italy and California.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
Copra
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Kerala’s coastal flavors meet San Francisco polish at Copra, where Chef Srijith Gopinathan delivers shareable, spice-driven dishes—like Konkan Crab Curry and Kerala Fried Chicken—in a lush, design-forward room with a savvy wine and cocktail program.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, San Francisco Chronicle, Star Wine List
Dalida
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Dalida brings Mediterranean and Turkish cooking to San Francisco's Presidio district, where Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz run a kitchen that earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 and landed at number seven on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023. The wine program, overseen by Wine Director Jerry McGie, draws on a 610-selection list weighted toward France and Italy. Lunch and dinner service makes it one of the more accessible rooms in a city stacked with $$$$ tasting-menu counters.
Also recognized by Esquire, James Beard Award, Opinionated About Dining, San Francisco Chronicle
Gary Danko
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Grand Award
Open since 1999, Gary Danko has occupied a specific position in San Francisco fine dining: French-rooted technique, tableside ceremony, and a prix-fixe format that rewards guests who treat dinner as an event rather than a meal.
Also recognized by AAA, Forbes, James Beard Award, La Liste
Harris'
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Harris' on Van Ness has anchored San Francisco's steakhouse tradition for decades, earning a White Star recognition from Star Wine List for its wine program. A fixture for regulars who return for the dining room's consistency and the depth of its cellar, it occupies a different register from the city's tasting-menu circuit — direct, confident, and rooted in a format that predates California's ingredient-first revolution.
Also recognized by Star Wine List
House of Prime Rib
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Open since 1949, House of Prime Rib has served the same English-tradition roast from tableside stainless steel carts for over seven decades, making it one of San Francisco's most enduring dinner institutions. The set format — prime rib, tossed salad, Yorkshire pudding, and potato — leaves nothing to deliberate, and that clarity is precisely the point.
Also recognized by Esquire, James Beard Award, OpenTable, Opinionated About Dining
Izzy’s Steaks & Chops
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A Marina District institution since 1987, Izzy's Steaks & Chops has operated through San Francisco's dining revolutions without abandoning the format that made it work: an open fire grill, dry-aged Creekstone Farms Black Angus beef, and a room that feels like it belongs to the neighbourhood rather than to a moment. The recent renovation, led by Gachot Studios, sharpened the room without erasing it.
Also recognized by World's Best Steaks
Kiln
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Kiln holds two Michelin stars on Fell Street in Hayes Valley, placing it inside San Francisco's tightest tier of contemporary cooking. Chef John Wesley leads a kitchen ranked in the top 560 restaurants in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025. At the city's upper price bracket, the room delivers enough critical weight to justify the spend.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, The Best Chef
Kitchen Istanbul
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A pandemic-era reinvention turned this Clement Street address into one of San Francisco's most talked-about wine destinations. Chef, owner, and sommelier Emrah Kilicoglu repositioned Kitchen Istanbul around a wine-forward format that drew the city's cognoscenti north to the Inner Richmond. The result is a room where Turkish culinary tradition meets serious California wine culture in a way few restaurants in the city attempt.
Also recognized by James Beard Award, San Francisco Chronicle, Star Wine List
La Connessa
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
La Connessa occupies a Potrero Hill address at 1695 Mariposa Street, positioning it outside San Francisco's more trafficked dining corridors and closer to the neighbourhood's quieter residential grain. In a city where the upper tier of Italian-influenced cooking has grown more structured and chef-driven, La Connessa represents a format worth tracking for travellers who read neighbourhood placement as a signal of intent.
Lazy Bear
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Grand Award
Lazy Bear holds two Michelin stars and a La Liste placement in San Francisco's Mission District, running a dinner-party format that seats guests communally across a mezzanine and ground-floor dining room. The cooking draws on nostalgic American reference points, executed with technical precision, and a 10,500-bottle cellar overseen by a James Beard-nominated beverage director operates from a separate facility across the street.
Also recognized by James Beard Award, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, Robb Report
Le Central
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Le Central at 453 Bush Street sits in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District, a long-standing French bistro that has served the city's power-lunch circuit for decades. Where much of the SF dining scene has pivoted toward tasting menus and high-concept formats, Le Central holds to a more deliberate, classical rhythm, making it a reference point for how French bistro tradition functions in an American city.
Maria Isabel
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Maria Isabel is Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz's contemporary Mexican restaurant in Presidio Heights, linking Laura's Acapulco upbringing and Guerrero–Sinaloa roots with Northern California produce and seafood. Choose the à la carte menu or the $90 chef's tasting, backed by modern Mexican cocktails and a women-led wine list.
Also recognized by Bon Appétit
Miller & Lux
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Tyler Florence's modern American steakhouse at the Chase Center in Mission Bay holds consecutive Michelin Plate recognition for 2024 and 2025. The dining room frames California's cattle ranching heritage through a refined lens, making it one of the more considered beef-focused rooms on the San Francisco waterfront..
Also recognized by World Best Burgers, World's Best Steaks
Niku Steakhouse
San Francisco, United States
1 Michelin star · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Niku Steakhouse brings Japanese dry-aging discipline and wood-fired technique to San Francisco's Design District, operating under a Michelin star and an Opinionated About Dining ranking among North America's top restaurants. The 18-seat chef's counter frames an open binchotan charcoal grill, and the wine list runs 730 selections with particular depth in Burgundy and California. Dinner runs $66 and above per person before wine.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, World's Best Steaks
Nisei
San Francisco, United States
1 Michelin star · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant on Polk Street, Nisei sits within San Francisco's $$$$ fine-dining tier while reading distinctly apart from the city's more theatrical tasting-menu circuit. Chef David Yoshimura's cooking draws on Japanese technique applied to California ingredients, earning consistent recognition from both Michelin and Opinionated About Dining across multiple years. The wine program runs to 1,455 selections with particular depth in France and California.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List, The Best Chef
O' by Claude Le Tohic
San Francisco, United States
1 Michelin star · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
A Michelin-starred French restaurant on the fifth floor of a Union Square hotel, O' by Claude Le Tohic operates in a register that San Francisco's fine dining scene rarely sustains: classically grounded French technique at the summit of the city's price tier, backed by a wine program of 1,265 selections and consistent recognition from Opinionated About Dining's North America rankings since 2023.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
Osso Steakhouse
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Osso Steakhouse occupies a California Street address in San Francisco's Nob Hill, positioning it within one of the city's most established dining corridors. The format follows the American steakhouse tradition — anchored in cut quality, tableside pacing, and a room that rewards the kind of meal measured in courses rather than minutes. For visitors calibrating between the city's tasting-menu tier and casual neighbourhood dining, Osso lands in recognisable mid-to-upper territory.
Also recognized by San Francisco Travel
Prospect
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
On the ground floor of a SoMa high-rise, Prospect holds a clear position in San Francisco's mid-to-upper dining tier: Michelin Plate recognition, and a kitchen under Chef Pam Mazzola that treats Californian produce as the foundation for technically grounded New American cooking. The room is airy and well-staffed, the cocktail bar genuinely stocked, and the format reliably weeknight-friendly.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining
Quince
San Francisco, United States
3 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Quince sits in San Francisco’s Jackson Square at the formal end of the city’s Italian-Californian dining spectrum, with three Michelin stars, a Michelin Green Star, and deep farm sourcing behind the polish. Michael Tusk’s kitchen uses Northern Italian structure rather than red-sauce nostalgia, placing pasta, produce, and cellar depth in a conversation with Bay Area seasonality.
Also recognized by Esquire, Forbes, James Beard Award, La Liste
Rich Table
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Rich Table occupies a measured position in San Francisco's Hayes Valley dining scene, where New American cooking lands somewhere between neighbourhood accessibility and serious culinary ambition. Holding a 2025 Michelin Plate and consistent Opinionated About Dining recognition, it draws on California's larder with a wine list running to 1,750 selections. Dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, San Francisco Chronicle
Saison
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Grand Award
Saison belongs to the Bay Area's serious farm-to-table lineage, but its vocabulary is fire, coastal sourcing, and a dining room built around the kitchen rather than separated from it. Richard Lee's current era keeps the restaurant in San Francisco's high-end Progressive American conversation, backed by OAD, La Liste, James Beard, Relais & Châteaux, AAA, and World's 50 Best recognition.
Also recognized by AAA, Forbes, James Beard Award, La Liste
Saison Wine Bar
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Saison Cellar & Wine Bar belongs to San Francisco’s more serious wine-drinking culture, where the cellar is not decoration but the organizing principle. The draw is the pairing of a wine-led room with the city’s long habit of sourcing from nearby farms, fisheries, and producers, making it better suited to adults planning a considered evening than to a casual drop-in meal.
San Francisco Wine Society
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
At 408 Merchant Street in San Francisco's Financial District, the Wine Society operates on a deliberately spare philosophy: no TVs, no WiFi, no distractions. The room is built around the glass in your hand and the conversation around the table. Holding a 3-Star Accreditation from the World of Fine Wine, it draws from both classic regions and less-charted appellations, framed through an approach that prizes presence over performance.
Also recognized by World's Best Wine Lists Awards
Sons & Daughters
San Francisco, United States
2 Michelin stars · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Sons & Daughters holds two Michelin stars and draws from new Nordic principles to frame the abundant produce of Northern California inside a focused tasting menu format. Chef Harrison Cheney leads a kitchen where Scandinavian restraint and seasonal sourcing meet California's ingredient depth. The Mission District address and a 630-selection wine list anchored in Burgundy, France, California, and Italy complete the picture.
Also recognized by Forbes, James Beard Award, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining
Spruce
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Grand Award
Michelin-starred Spruce San Francisco defines California fine dining in prestigious Presidio Heights, where Chef Mark Sullivan's farm-driven cuisine showcases pristine ingredients from the restaurant's exclusive SMIP Ranch partnership. This intimate 70-seat sanctuary combines seasonal sophistication with Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning selections.
Also recognized by Forbes
Ssal
San Francisco, United States
1 Michelin star · Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Michelin-starred Ssal elevates Korean heritage through Chef Junsoo Bae's refined tasting menu in San Francisco's Russian Hill, where traditional fermentation meets French technique. This intimate destination transforms familiar flavors like kimchi and gochujang into sophisticated creations, earning recognition among the city's leading dining establishments.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining
The Happy Crane
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Named one of the San Francisco Chronicle's Best New Bay Area Restaurants for 2025, The Happy Crane at 451 Gough St brings a tradition-rooted approach to Chinese cuisine that sits apart from the city's more familiar Cantonese and dim sum circuits. The kitchen works from time-honored references while applying considered technique, producing a menu that earns its recognition without leaning on novelty for its own sake.
Also recognized by Chinese Restaurant Awards, Conde Nast, Eater, James Beard Award
Tiya
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Tiya brings regional Indian cooking to San Francisco's Marina district, where chef Pujan Sarkar's menu earns consecutive Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025). The wine program, directed by Madison Pettit, covers 180 selections across 875 bottles with a California and France emphasis, priced at the upper tier. A two-course dinner runs $40–$65 before wine, positioning Tiya as one of the more serious Indian tables in the city.
Tony's Pizza Napoletana
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
On the corner of Stockton and Vallejo in North Beach, Tony's Pizza Napoletana operates seven distinct ovens and serves more pizza styles under one roof than any other address in San Francisco. Ranked #43 on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America list for 2025, it pairs a 1,800-bottle wine inventory with cuisine pricing under $40 for two courses. Wine Director Jules Gregg oversees 135 selections weighted toward Italy and California.
Also recognized by 50 Top Pizza, Opinionated About Dining
Via Aurelia
San Francisco, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Via Aurelia arrived in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighbourhood in 2025, earning immediate recognition from the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Bay Area's best new restaurants and from Esquire for notable martinis in America. Located at 300 Toni Stone Crossing, it represents a compelling early entry in a rapidly evolving district — a bar and dining room worth tracking as the neighbourhood finds its shape.
Also recognized by Esquire, San Francisco Chronicle

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