Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in our ongoing series, Pro Tips, we go directly to the source, asking food and beverage experts for their professional opinions on the city’s best burgers, dive bars, and more.

More than 20 million tourists flock to San Francisco every year — and odds are good that your best friend, retired parents, and estranged cousins have been among them. After you’ve crisscrossed the city showing off the Golden Gate Bridge, Painted Ladies, and snoozing sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, there’s probably one question looming in your mind: With a dining scene as vast as San Francisco’s, where should you take out-of-towners to eat?

“It is impossible to narrow it down when we live in one of the best food cities in the world,” says Elena Duggan, co-owner of legendary North Beach restaurant Original Joe’s. After all, San Francisco has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any U.S. city aside from New York, plus a robust roster of culinary landmarks and hole-in-the-wall joints.

We turned to 10 restaurant industry pros to pinpoint some of the most loved and memorable spots to take visitors.

Favorite spot: Dalida, 101 Montgomery St., Presidio 
During nearly two decades in San Francisco, Pollow has perfected several itineraries for out-of-town guests. Often, he’ll take visitors on a stroll through the Presidio’s breathtaking groves of Monterey cypress so they can catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge before lunch at Dalida. At the Michelin-listed Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, he orders the “Breaking Bread,” an assortment of dips and pickles served with warm pita, and a mosaic of ultra-thin slices of octopus and fermented sujuk sausage. As an accompaniment, he recommends the Anatolian martini, made with olive-oil-washed gin, olive brine, and vermouth. “It’s hard not to turn every midday meal here into a two-martini lunch,” he says.  

Mensho Tokyo SF, 672 Geary St., Lower Nob Hill
Despite living in the Bay Area for more than 30 years, Patel didn’t eat at many local restaurants before joining the nonprofit incubator La Cocina and opening Besharam in the Dogpatch. Her daughter Vishaka introduced her to Mensho Tokyo in 2016 — and since then, it’s become one of Patel’s favorite spots to bring guests. It has plenty of dishes that she and her vegetarian visitors love, including corn wings and spicy enoki chips. But “the star” of the meal is the vegan tantanmen ramen with deep, almost smoky, broth topped with enoki “chashu,” sesame tare, and pickled oil. “Some of these flavors remind me of dishes from my Gujarati kitchen, which makes it extra special when my family joins me here,” Patel says. Just be sure to arrive a half hour before opening, she warns: Mensho doesn’t take reservations, but the line moves quickly.

Cotogna, 490 Pacific Ave., North Beach 
Kilicoglu raves about the “inspired food” and wine list at this celebrated Italian restaurant in Jackson Square. He recommends the seasonal pastas and dishes from the wood oven, washed down with riesling. But it’s Cotogna’s impeccable service and attention to detail that keep him coming back. “When I brought my parents there during their first visit to San Francisco, I told our server that chef [Michael] Tusk was a legend to us, and that I hoped to introduce them if he happened to be around,” Kilicoglu remembers. “I didn’t see him during lunch and didn’t want to bother anyone, but as we were walking to our car, he appeared at the corner carrying a case of tomatoes and told me to make a salad for my team with it. It was one of those moments that remind you how real some chefs are in this city.” 

Palette Tea House, 900 North Point St., Ghiradelli Square
If you’ve lived in the city for as long as An has — an impressive 50 years — narrowing down the single best place to bring visitors is nearly impossible. For special occasions, she recommends Acquerello for the foie gras pasta, a dish so good, she requested it almost immediately after giving birth to her first child 22 years ago. For a more casual experience, she takes guests to Palette Tea House for dim sum. A bonus: After the meal, they can hop on a cable car to explore the city.   

San Ho Won, 2170 Bryant St., Mission 
“I’m not sure if there’s another restaurant serving Korean barbecue quite like this,” Cooper says of Corey Lee’s Michelin-starred restaurant. She’s been bringing friends and family there for years, and out-of-towners always leave feeling both impressed and stuffed. “My folks were full after the banchan, and I lost track of the number of times my brother said, ‘This is insane,’” she says. At $118 for five courses, the house menu is a steal, and she recommends adding the tender beef tongue and halibut hwe muchim for the table. “Raw fish might get overlooked with all the hearty meat options on the menu, but it’s excellent and refreshing.” 

Loló, 974 Valencia St., Mission
Dingle takes visitors on what she calls the “Valencia stroll.” It starts with a Lefty’s Highball at cocktail bar ABV, followed by a pit stop at one of the city’s best culinary shops, Bernal Cutlery, to browse before showing up to Mexican restaurant Loló for dinner. “We have family visit from out of the country often, and this is a standing reservation for us at least 10 times a year,” she says. Her orders include a Tepache martini and the taco tropical: spiced, panko-breaded shrimp, sweet-spicy relish, and chipotle aioli on a thin jicama tortilla. “I’d be happy if that was my last meal on Earth.”

Gold Mirror, 800 Taraval St., West Portal 
“Growing up on the west side of San Francisco, sharing these spots feels like I’m giving visitors a small window into my favorite version of the city I grew up in and love,” Duggan says. Her go-tos include B. Patisserie in Pacific Heights and Dumpling Kitchen in the Parkside neighborhood, where she likes to pick up a pastry spread or snacks for brunch. But for dinner, she brings the whole group — including her three kids — to old-school Italian restaurant Gold Mirror, which she’s thrilled has recently reopened after a years-long renovation. “It’s a classic with a west-side cult following and feels like a little piece of true San Francisco,” Duggan says. The house lasagna is a crowd-pleaser for all ages. “I have yet to find a worthy rival, including our own at Original Joe’s, as hard as I try,” she says. “But I do think we are a close second.” 

San Tung, 1031 Irving St., Inner Sunset 
Eight years ago, on a first date, Estrada took a new-to-San-Francisco chef to this Chinese-Korean restaurant so he could try Asian-style dry-fried wings. They’re still together today. “I’d say it worked,” she says with a laugh. She’s not saying the wings are the reason they got married, but she knew they were that good. San Tung is still her favorite spot to take out-of-town guests, especially after exploring Land’s End. If they’re not up for waiting — there is almost always a line — she’ll order the crispy wings doused in soy-ginger-garlic glaze for takeout and reheat them at home at 375 F for about 12 minutes, turning halfway through. “They come out almost as crispy as dining in. Swear on my life.”

Gary Danko, 800 North Point St., Fort Mason; House of Prime Rib, 1906 Van Ness Ave., Polk Gulch
Three generations of the Konstin family — since the 1950s — have owned and operated John’s Grill near Union Square. So it’s understandable that he has a deep appreciation for restaurants with long ties to the city. When he wants to show guests what exemplifies fine dining in San Francisco, he takes them to Gary Danko for glazed oysters with Osetra caviar, lobster mushroom risotto, and seared filet of beef. For a true classic, he takes out-of-towners to House of Prime Rib for a thick cut of beef and Yorkshire pudding. “The secret around town? The bar is always where the magic happens,” he says. “Go with a big group. Oddly enough, it’s often easier to land a table that way!”

Taqueria El Buen Sabor, 699 Valencia St., Mission
Six years ago, Williams stepped inside this bustling taqueria at the corner of Valencia and 18^th streets and experienced her first Mission-style burrito. She’s been hooked ever since, and the no-frills joint has become a staple in her roster of places to take visiting relatives. On a sunny day, she’ll order the carne asada burrito and take it to Dolores Park. “It’s the perfect meal that embodies the Mission in my eyes. It’s what sold me on moving to the Bay years ago.”