For anyone prepared to ask us, “Where should I eat tonight?” here’s our answer: the Hot List, our opinionated guide to the top restaurants and bars in San Francisco right now. Some of the picks are new and noteworthy; others are rediscovered favorites. All are worth your while, whether for a bowl of comforting stew or a plate of com tam, the iconic Vietnamese street food. We’ll update the list at the top of every month.

For more restaurant recommendations, check out our series Eat Here Now. 

Looking for a steal? Try the $25 Diner.

And if you’re ready to raise a glass, let Swig City be your guide.

The beloved pho joint is back
The chicken pho is flowing again. Turtle Tower opened in mid-March right next to Tadich Grill in FiDi, and while “improved” is in the eyes of the beholder, the second coming of the Vietnamese restaurant has definitely been spruced up. At the new restaurant — unlike the original, on a funky corner of the Tenderloin — plants line the brick walls, and there’s uplighting. Owner Steven Pham stands behind the counter making fresh spring rolls and papaya salad while servers precariously navigate the long restaurant with bowl after bowl of steaming noodle soup. Every diner in sight seems to be elated.

Heating up the Castro with Japanese hot pot
The corner of Sanchez and 16th Street just got a shabu-shabu restaurant with clean, modern lines, huge windows, warm service, and pristine platters of raw meats and veggies ready for swiping through through a selection of nabe, bubbling pots filled with a variety of broths, including one made with dashi that comes with pork belly and a classic sweet-soy and sake sukiyaki that comes with Wagyu beef. Yes, you’re here for the soup, but don’t skip the appetizers, including mushrooms, battered and fried till shatteringly crisp, and cold tofu with bonito flakes.

Happy hour returns to the Northeast Waterfront 
Sometimes the night calls for unfussy cocktails and a straightforward burger. When that’s the case, there’s Grumpy’s, the FiDi-adjacent bar and restaurant that returned this year after a four-year hiatus. The bar offers three cocktails on tap (including the Grenier Negroni #2, made with gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, and amaro), plus a list of classics, most of which cost just $13. During the bustling lunch service, expect to see crowds digging into truffle fries, meatballs in sugo, pizza, and, of course, the popular burger.

A nontraditional neighborhood bistro 
It might sound strange that the signature dish at a French-inspired restaurant is sashimi. But Cache, a newcomer to the Inner Sunset, doesn’t adhere to your steak au poivre expectations. Though Cache bills itself as a bistro, the menu offers ample non-French fare, including surf-and-turf crudo, quinoa in green curry, and that eye-catching sea bream sashimi, plated with head and tail intact. The cacophonous dining room is a stylish backdrop for a dinner date, making Cache a buzzy addition in a neighborhood that’s not exactly known for destination dining.

One man’s Palestinian restaurant dream
This cute joint is the realized dream of owner Art Herzallah, whose father was from Gaza and mother is Jordanian. The menu is served tapas-style. Musakhan, a classic Palestinian dish of sumac-and-olive-oil-sopped chicken with loads of sauteed onions, is wrapped in flatbread and sliced “like sushi.” Kufta, a kebab of ground beef and lamb, is served with a little dome of freekeh, an ancient grain. For dessert, get the fantastic kanafeh, filled with cheese and coated in crispy shredded phyllo, topped with a sugar syrup and pistachios. The Roxie Theater is across the street, so make it a dinner-and-a-movie date. 

A Korean food experience like no other 
Sure, there are other Korean grocery stores around San Francisco. But there’s none quite like Jagalchi, the massive market and food hall at the Serramonte Center in Daly City. Shoppers can not only pick their way through a section of marinated bulgogi, dried fish, and sool but can purchase freshly fried fish cakes studded with octopus and kimchi pancakes the size of your head. In short, visiting Jagalchi is as much about eating Korean food as it is about shopping for ingredients. So come hungry for steamed mando stuffed with pork — and take some soy-marinated crab to enjoy at home. 

The family-run steakhouse gets a fresh look 
Izzy’s has been holding it down in the Marina since 1987, and even after closing for an extensive renovation, it remains the kind of classic spot where you’ll see groups sipping martinis after a round of golf or young couples on a nice night out. Chef Daniel Lucero did give the menu some upgrades, though, adding a little New Orleans flair in the form of oysters Rockefeller and drunken prawns in Cajun spice. You can’t go wrong, however, with the classics: a grilled steak, a cold cocktail, and made-to-order crullers for dessert. 

Not your average pho joint
This casual noodle house across from the L Taraval stop might look like an average Vietnamese restaurant. The 123-item menu has the usual suspects, from green papaya salad to crispy imperial rolls. But the real secret is the aromatic squab, fried till delicately crisp — a perfectly unctuous little pigeon you just want to gnaw on — served with golden raisins and onions sauteed in butter for a little French influence. Another showstopper is the pho with an entire beef rib protruding out. But it’s the broth that tells the tale: clean and beefy, without cloying flavors. How to eat it is the real quandary — there’s no delicate way to go about it.

Fresh oysters and exquisite cocktails from a beloved bartender
There’s no shortage of hotel bar options around Union Square. But only one is home to one of the city’s most beloved bartenders, Larry Piaskowy. At this new, nautically inspired watering hole tucked inside the Palihotel, Piaskowy serves briny martinis and an excellent pineapple- and coconut-spiked milk punch inspired by a piña colada. To complement the drinks, former Monsieur Benjamin chef de cuisine George Dingle put together a seafood-focused menu of small plates. 

A super lacy patty
The food court adjacent to Ikea on Market Street may have initially been positioned as a vegan paradise, but apparently even plant-based institutions can’t resist the siren call of a smashburger. In January, cow-centric Smish Smash opened at Saluhall, serving its popular 4-ounce, paper-thin, lacy patties between a properly squishy potato bun, along with beef tallow fries. Smish Smash, which started in 2020 as a popular pop-up, has accepted this brick-and-mortar space as a temporary residency, but we hope they get to settle in.

A sprawling sports bar unlike anything else in town 
Now that this two-story sports bar has opened, the best seats in the house for watching a Warriors game might not even be in “the house.” Located at Thrive City, just outside Chase Center, Splash feels like a Vegas-style sports palace, with a golf simulator, crawling display of scores, and 75 screens, one of which might be the biggest in the city. The elevated cocktails come from mixologist Kevin Diedrich (Pacific Cocktail Haven, Kona’s Street Market) and pair perfectly with a menu of fancy bar fare, including nachos, popcorn chicken, California rolls, smashburgers, and a $36 New York strip steak.

A hidden oasis in the heart of Jackson Square 
Just a few months after closing their full-service restaurant on Columbus Street, Cassava owners Yuka Ioroi and Kristoffer Toliao are back with a petite cafe in Jackson Square. The new Cassava is hidden inside an office building, down a long breezeway surrounded by brick walls. It’s a quiet oasis of warm, honey-spiced lattes and uncommon grab-and-go lunch options, including Spam-and-egg onigirazu and rice smothered in comforting tomato curry-spiced gravy with cabbage and tender chunks of carrot.