Check out my San Francisco travel part 1 blog post below! San Francisco is known for their dynamic global food scene so I just had to try some of these highly acclaimed and “off the beaten path” restaurants when I was visiting. Many of these spots were recommended by local friends who were basically my unofficial SF tour guides. These spots did not disappoint AND they had plenty of flavorful vegetarian/vegan options! I had the privilege of exploring San Francisco’s bustling, global food and cocktail scene from a vegetarian perspective. Because I was able to try so much, I will have a separate blog post featuring their nourishing bakeries and coffee shops. See my recommendations below for some spots that I absolutely adored.
Restaurants
Playful and dynamic, Besharam boasts food from all over the Indian subcontinent that will keep you wanting more. The menu is entirely vegetarian with plenty of gluten-free options as well. We started off with the interactive Drunken Pani Puri appetizer, healthy and fresh mango salad, and worked our way towards the heavier carbs such as the Paresh’s Paratha with blue cheese and chutney.
A highlight for me was the Ringan No Oro – a smoky Baingan Bharta (eggplant), the succulent garlic naan and Maska Paneer (a saag paneer) with very crumbly paneer, chili oil, and creamy spinach. If you aren’t drinking alcohol, they have a great tea selection too.
Multiple friends recommended this fancy pasta spot to me so I of course had to try it being a pasta lover. While we had reservations and had to still wait awhile, they were so sweet to us and tried to make our wait less painful with some wine, which I appreciate. Their wine selection is pleasing to a range of palates from natural wine lovers to traditional full-bodied red wine snobs.
Start out with their freshly baked bread, then proceed to their crunchy arancini. The Broccolini was excellent served with fried onions and fresh pecorino. They had a fair amount of vegetarian pasta options too, which was delightful. My favorite pasta was the brown-butter plin-esque pillows of heaven that just melts in your mouth. We also tried the pomegranate ravioli that was dynamic and cozy. They have a rotating, seasonal menu but you are bound for deliciousness regardless.
Located in the Lower Haight, this ramen spot has a dimly lit interior, no reservations and a wait! But the wait is worth the delicious ramen even though I don’t love waiting. It’s quite hard to find a ramen spot with a flavorful vegetarian broth, but Iza Ramen has just that. The broth was hearty and rich with toothsome noodles, mushrooms, scallions, and corn. Their appetizers are also delicious so if you’re hungry, get the sultry agedashi tofu (without the tuna on top if you’re vegetarian).
While Chicago has an excellent Indian food scene, it is hard to find South Indian food outside of Devon so when this spot was recommended to me by some SF locals, I had to try it! It’s no frills, no reservations, and all about the food. We tried so many vegetarian dishes and shared them all while it was still super affordable (this can be hard in San Francisco)! Everything was extremely flavorful. I especially loved the crispy dosa, the chili onion kulcha and the Uthappam (lentil pancakes).
Grab a vegetarian burrito from here and take it to Dolores Park (grab some boba tea on the way). It’s the perfect picnic food while being filling and really satisfying. Burritos are big in San Francisco so you have to try the delicacy here and this spot has an excellent vegetarian burrito with beans, rice, onions, cheese (can have it without cheese), avocado, and salsa – seemingly simple but extremely satiating and flavorful.
Noteworthy Bars
After stuffing your face at Udupi Palace, check out The Beehive, a funky, vibey cocktail bar with space for a larger group in the back room. Their cocktails are well-balanced and I loved my old-fashioned. The Beehive offers good cocktails with an easygoing feel.
Do you love dogs and wine? Then I recommend this casual and cozy wine spot that is dog-friendly and has cheeseboards with pickled vegetables. Enjoy their weekday happy hour where you can try their house rosé and free popcorn! What more can you ask for?
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