Haute Dining: The Best Restaurants in San Francisco

It has been an exciting year for foodies in the Bay Area as there have been a plethora of new restaurants, revolutionary concepts, and innovative cuisine. These have all flooded the Bay Area and the San Francisco Chronicle has compiled their annual trusty list to make sifting through the endless choices an easy act. Twenty-six new restaurants join the list of high-ranking regulars. Bearing the California coast’s signature passion with the finest and greenest ingredients, concentrating on local purveyors of fine goods, farm fresh produce, and organic meats, San Francisco denizens will have a hard time deciding which of these exceptional restaurants to indulge in first.

Here is a fleeting look into a sea of successful ventures:

Chez Panisse

Ambiance-

Think silent films. Sultry noire. Easy but contemporary and artisanal all at the same time. A la carte menu offered in casual upstairs café.

Menu-

An early advocate for sustainable eating, Chef Alice Waters takes the omnipresent organic farm-to-table model and exemplifies it with immaculate execution. The nightly menu collaborates with her freshest market finds. American cuisine.

Location-

1517 Shattuck Ave. (near Cedar), Berkeley, 515.548.5525

Coi

Ambiance-

Pure essence denoting cuisine. Subtle and clean Japanese-inspired Zen design.

Menu-

Chef Daniel Patterson is a vegetable farmer’s best friend.  His eleven-course menu is the quintessential backbone to innovative and sustainable fare.  Based largely on avant-garde cooking techniques with locavores in mind.

Location-

373 Broadway (at Montgomery St.), San Francisco, 415.393.9000

French Laundry

Ambiance-

Historic home setting. Imagine a three-star Michelin Christmas dinner at Grandma’s.

Menu-

Chef Thomas Kellar boasts two, three-star Michelin rated restaurantsl. At this one expect an imaginative and mutable nine-course menu, featuring seasonal ingredients that tease and tantalize the senses. A blend of American and French cuisine.

Location-

6640 Washington St. (near Creek Street), Yountville, 707.944.2380

La Folie

Ambiance-

A passport to France sans the language barrier. Understated dining room. New lounge with frisky libations.

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Classically French-trained Chef Roland Passot delivers sculpted victuals on clean white plates to excite the mind before the palate. Features local ingredients and a vegetarian tasting menu.

Location-

2316 Polk St (near Green), San Francisco, 415.776.5577

Manresa

Ambiance-

The curtains match the drapes so to speak. The restaurant received a full facelift in order to merge the culinary experience with the atmosphere.

Menu-

Chef David Kinch, recipient of 2010 James Beard Award, creates a five-course meal centered mainly on biodynamically grown vegetables focusing on flavor profiles and seasonal variety. Contemporary French infused with Spanish.

Location-

320 Village Lane (near Santa Cruz Ave.), Los Gatos, 408.354.4330

Restaurant at Meadowood

Ambiance-

Casual elegance in wine-country. Approachable décor, homey and inviting. Dine indoors or al-fresco.

Menu-

Christopher Kostow, a three-star Michelin chef, blends contrasting proteins in unassuming dishes. Farm-to-table concept bearing a bounty of organic vegetables and meats, playing off textures and accentuating every scintillating bite. California-style Cuisine.

Location-

900 Meadowood Lane (near Silverado Trail), St. Helena, 707.967.1205

You can check out the entire list of the 100 Best Restaurants in San Francisco online at www.sfgate.com/food/top100.