The Most Expensive Restaurants in San Francisco

Want to splurge on a memorable meal at one of San Francisco’s top-rated restaurants? Here are the places where you’ll drop a lot of cash for an exceptional dinner.

Hashiri

At this Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in Mint Plaza, a focus is placed on seasonal ingredients prepared Kaiseki-style with Edomae sushi techniques. All of the fish is privately imported from Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market and its complemented with local, sustainable produce. The beverage list includes rare sake, hard-to-find Japanese whiskey, and old vintage Burgundy. Although there are several tiers of the tasting menu, the chef’s table omakase runs $500 a pop. Note that it is only available Tuesday-Thursdays.

Saison

The information presented on Saison’s website is minimal. It simply lists an address, phone number, and links to reservations, event inquiries, and contact information. It’s a white background with gray lettering and several symbols that represent the many awards the upscale restaurant has achieved. This is on purpose because chef Joshua Skenes wants the diner to fully experience the eatery and everything it has to offer in person. Although the price of the menu is not listed on its website, rumor has it it’s $398 per person not including wine. The seasonal tasting menu changes daily and features over a dozen courses presented like jewelry boxes. Some of the items you might eat? Sea urchin toast, wild thistle with bouillon, and golden eye snapper with caviar.

Quince

At Quince, Michael Tusk’s luxurious restaurant in Jackson Square, the tasting menu is 11 courses and $220. However, the restaurant does offer an a la carte menu in its salon where agnolottini with squab and truffle is $35, while veal with Swiss chard and celeriac is $44. The service is impeccable at Quince and it has a beautiful private dining room located next door to its massive wine cellar, so it makes a special location for a celebratory event.

Atelier Crenn

Thanks to the popularity of the Netflix show Chef’s Table, Dominique Crenn and her Marina District restaurant, Atelier Crenn is known all over the world as a culinary destination. Rightly so: Crenn serves up thoughtful and provocative dishes, that often reflect a moment in her life, and are always super seasonal. The environment is refined and intimate. The multi-course tasting menu is $315 and wine pairings begin at $175. Instead of receiving a menu, diners are given a lyrical poem that will guide them through what they end up eating. For example a mention of the sea in the poem will be represented as an intricate serving of shellfish, uni, caviar, crudo, and foam arranged beautifully on a plate.

Omakase

Although it is located in a strip mall-like storefront and only has 14 seats, a tiny kitchen, and minimal decor, Omakase serves up some of the best Japanese food in San Francisco. Each meal is crafted by three sushi chefs who slice and sear the freshest fish—flown in that morning from Tokyo or other coastal cities—then serve it to you immediately after it’s prepared. What might you enjoy while at Omakase? Sashimi of plump red yellowfin, squid ink cake with lobster, salad with ginger, sprouts, and lobster, and balls of rice covered with slices of delicious raw salmon. The menu costs $200 and it’s chef’s choice, so you never know what you will get, but rest assured it will be among the most tasty fish in the entire Bay Area.

Coi

At the start of 2016, chef Daniel Patterson stepped away from his famed restaurant Coi and handed over the reigns to Matthew Kirkley. Patterson had become too busy overseeing other projects that he didn’t feel like he had the proper amount of time to devote himself to Coi. Therefore he asked Kirkley to come in and take over. While Kirkley didn’t change the masculine earthy decor, he did update the menu completely. The $225 meal is heavy on the seafood and has an international focus. Think caviar, trout, turbot, and cod all on the same menu.