Photo: Indoorfish / GoogleThe Best Seafood in San Francisco
What is the best seafood in San Francisco?
By consensus across 3 independent sources, Anchor Oyster Bar, Angler, Billingsgate lead the seafood ranking in San Francisco.
How the consensus ranking works →The ranking
Anchor Oyster BarⓘWhere it’s ranked
MICHELIN · Bib · Infatuation #14 · Eater
Olympic-swimming-pool-sized bowls of cioppino anchor this tiny marble-counter Castro institution, backed by creamy clam chowder, golden-brown crab cakes, and a line that spills out the door.
AnglerⓘWhere it’s ranked
MICHELIN · ★ · Infatuation #11
Wild swordfish steaks and meaty antelope tartare come off the live fire in a hunter's-cabin dining room, alongside a whole head of radicchio doused in intense XO sauce and Bay Bridge views.
BillingsgateⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #5 · Eater
Kampachi crudo slicked with olive oil and topped with serrano, pomelo, and tarragon leads the raw bar at this Noe Valley market-cafe, where half-off oysters and cava keep it casual.
The Anchovy BarⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #10 · Eater
Broiled oysters slathered in umami-packed date-bacon sambal butter and smoked mussels with horseradish creme fraiche back a tinned-fish spread you can eat your body weight in.
Hog Island Oyster Co.ⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #13 · Eater
Half a dozen sweetwater oysters and super-creamy clam chowder piled with whole clams and thick bacon chunks, thrown back at a Ferry Building counter over the bay.
Bar CrudoⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #16 · Eater
The incredible smoky seafood chowder — crowded with shrimp, squid, several fish, mussels, and bacon — is the draw at this crudo bar, alongside oysters for $2 apiece at happy hour.
KenⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #1
Fourteen courses build to sticky poached ikura that pop like water balloons, cod milt buried in silky chawanmushi, and aged otoro nigiri at this Lower Haight tasting counter.
Thanh LongⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #2
The whole roast crab — Beyoncé-halftime-show iconic — comes with springy garlic noodles packed with what tastes like a whole head of garlic, and plastic bibs for licking off the butter.
Little ShuckerⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #3
Plump oysters get punched up with a few shakes of tongue-curling, house-fermented serrano hot sauce at this Pac Heights shellfish wonderland, where a cold lobster roll rounds things out.
La CicciaⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #4
The spicy, tomato-y broth in the baby octopus stew is straight-up soul-curing, and whole prawns arrive sitting in fragrant basil oil at this pocket-sized Sardinian room.
R&G LoungeⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #6
Salt-and-pepper crab arrives a flat-out stunning head-turner, its crunchy seasoning so good you'll want to put it on everything, at this Cantonese Chinatown institution.
Tadich GrillⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation #9
Crab cakes worth e-scootering across town blindfolded — crispy outside, packed with crab, doused in tartare sauce — plus loaded cioppino at California's oldest restaurant.