{"id":176579,"date":"2026-02-13T14:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176579\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:23:12","slug":"the-best-date-night-restaurants-in-sf-according-to-a-panel-of-restaurant-pros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176579\/","title":{"rendered":"The best date-night restaurants in SF, according to a panel of restaurant pros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in Pro Tips<\/a>, we go directly to the source, asking food and beverage experts for their professional opinions on the city\u2019s best burgers<\/a>, dive bars<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day can feel like the Super Bowl of date nights. The high-stakes attitude many people take toward Feb. 14 practically demands you lay it all on the line with red roses, a sexy playlist, and of course, dinner at a romantic restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But on the other 364 nights of the year, dates can take on many forms. Sometimes it\u2019s a round of karaoke in Japantown followed by late-night burgers at Nopa. Other times it means checking out a hot new restaurant on the Embarcadero or grabbing a martini at a beloved dive in the Mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We asked a dozen San Francisco restaurant owners and chefs about their go-to spots for date night \u2014 no matter what your idea of \u201cperfect\u201d might be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sarah Rich, chef and owner, Rich Table\"A\u201cWe have so many happy memories there,\u201d the Riches say of Nopa. | Source: Erin Ng for The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Nopa, 560 Divisadero St., NoPa
When you\u2019ve been together for 24 years, like Sarah and Evan Rich, date night can be an opportunity to return to a place that\u2019s as tried and true as your partner. \u201cNoPa was one of the first restaurants that really made us fall in love with San Francisco when we moved here in 2008,\u201d Rich says. When they were young line cooks 18 years ago, NoPa was one of the only late-night dining options in the neighborhood. The couple would squeeze in at the bar or a lively communal table and share a flatbread, burger, and fries. \u201cNow we take our kids and eat as a family at a more reasonable time, like 6 p.m.,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s been a favorite for a long time, and we have so many happy memories there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Bordeleau, owner, Mr. Tipple\u2019s Recording Studio; co-owner The DeLuxe<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Seven Hills, 1896 Hyde St., Russian Hill
Bordeleau is over waiting in line and jockeying for a seat at the city\u2019s hottest new restaurants. \u201cAs I\u2019ve matured, I\u2019m focusing more on timeless quality and less on hype,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d rather focus my attention on my date.\u201d That means taking his wife of 10 years to Pacific Cocktail Haven to enjoy the \u201cbest cocktails in the city, hands down.\u201d Then, he\u2019ll call a car \u2014 bonus points if you sneak some Champagne into the Waymo, he says \u2014 and grab dinner at Seven Hills, an upscale but never fussy spot he loves for handmade pasta. At the end of the night, he unabashedly puts on his tourist hat and hops on a cable car. \u201cIf you hang off the side, it\u2019s easily the most exhilarating $8 adventure in the city.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell Lagneaux, owner, The Valley Club<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Dimples, 1700 Post St., Japantown\u00a0
On one of their first dates, Lagneaux took Jen, now his wife, to this divey karaoke bar in Japantown. In between Miller High Lifes and shots of whiskey, he stood onstage in a pool of purple light and serenaded her with Player\u2019s 1977 hit \u201cBaby Come Back.\u201d Twelve years later, they\u2019re still going strong \u2014 but date nights look a little different. Rich Table, where the couple loves the sea urchin cacio e pepe, is a favorite spot for dinner, but Dimples will always be a special standby. \u201cIf you\u2019re too uptight to have a good time at Dimples, then that\u2019s a red flag for me.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patrick Gabon and Celine Wuu, chef and bar director, Restaurant Naides\"APatrick Gabon and Celine Wuu. | Source: Alexa Trevi\u00f1o for SF Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Hong Kong Lounge, 5322 Geary Blvd., Inner Richmond
Gabon and Wuu\u2019s love for this dim sum spot runs deep. \u201cWe made it a point to eat at Hong Kong Lounge at least once a week for a month before moving to Slovenia for a year,\u201d Gabon says. It was also one of the first places they visited when they moved back to San Francisco to open their fine-dining Filipino restaurant<\/a>. They recommend starting with a pot of jasmine tea, with an ice-cold Coke waiting in the wings. Then, enjoy a feast of har gow, sui mai, chicken feet, and minced chicken lettuce cups with scallop and pine nuts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stuart Brioza, chef and co-owner, State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Octavia, 1701 Octavia St., Pacific Heights\u00a0\u00a0
With three restaurants, a 15-year old son, and a jam-packed event schedule, Brioza and wife Nicole Krasinski don\u2019t have time for many nights on the town. When they do go on a date, Brioza has mapped out the perfect evening. First, they hit the upstairs lounge at Nari, where Krasinski orders the Nagiri, a gin-based cocktail with shiso orange bitters, while Brioza opts for the Viyada, a mezcal drink with apricot, curacao, and lime. Then, they walk to Octavia to enjoy \u201can epic menu of super fresh local cooking\u201d and a bottle of Ceritas wine from Healdsburg. To burn off a few calories, they walk up to Alta Park Plaza to take in the view. \u201cNicole can\u2019t wait for date night now,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kim Alter, chef and owner, Nightbird and Linden Room<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Nari, 1625 Post St., Japantown
\u201cRon and I have been together for 18 years,\u201d Alter says, \u201cand I always smile when I call him my boyfriend after all this time.\u201d Over that period, many of their favorite date spots have closed. These days, they\u2019ll wander to Mission dives like The Royal Cuckoo or Lone Palm for dirty gin martinis and Manhattans. On Sundays and Mondays \u2014 her nights off \u2014 they often hit Nari for dinner and\u00a0 order a bottle of white wine, eggplant curry, and a whole fried fish. \u201cI don\u2019t think I have ever had something that I don\u2019t like,\u201d Alter says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Felix Santos, executive chef, Bar Maritime\"\"Chef Felix Santos. | Source: Morgan Ellis\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: State Bird Provisions, 1529 Fillmore St., Japantown
If they\u2019re going out for a cocktail, Santos and his wife belly up at The Hideout at Dalva for a daiquiri and a very dirty vodka martini. \u201cFor me, that little red room with one bartender brings up great memories of the pre-pandemic industry haunt,\u201d he says. But for dinner, State Bird Provisions is the couple\u2019s go-to. \u201cI usually convince Sofia to go just for dessert and then spring my trap and start grabbing food off the trays,\u201d he says. He never misses a chance to snag the duck-liver mousse with almond financiers and fried garlic bread with burrata and seven-pepper spice. \u201cWhen I worked there in 2015, I used to eat the leftover financiers every night for months until I had a stomachache.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ravi Kapur, chef and owner, Liholiho Yacht Club and Good Good Culture Club\"\"20 Spot in the Mission. | Juliana Yamada\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: 20 Spot, 3565 20th St., Mission
Kapur and wife April Storm met in 1998 on Chestnut Street. Four years later, they eloped in Las Vegas and now live in the Mission. For a date, they walk to 20 Spot, a cozy neighborhood natural wine bar. \u201cIt reminds me of NYC,\u201d Kapur says. Whether sitting at the bar or one of the lounge tables, Storm always orders bubbles and flatbread. \u201cIn my opinion, 20 Spot is one of the best-kept secrets in SF,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Colin O\u2019Malley, owner, Sunset Cantina<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Gialina Pizzeria, 2842 Diamond St., Glen Park
O\u2019Malley has been a regular at this cozy joint, known for Neopolitan-style pies, for 14 years because of its unassuming vibe, friendly staff, and homestyle Italian cuisine. The move is to order the amatriciana pizza (sub portobello mushrooms for pancetta), the pasta of the night, and the pan-roasted chicken breast, served over \u201cthe best polenta you\u2019ve ever had.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Martino DiGrande, owner, Palio\"AHarris\u2019 Restaurant. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Harris\u2019 Restaurant, 2100 Van Ness Ave., Financial District
DiGrande has a long list of date-night favorites \u2014 and a story to go with each. Brazen Head is a family favorite, as he\u2019d bring his daughter when she was young. Dick\u2019s Drive-In is where, when he wanted to propose, he asked the woman who\u2019s now his mother-in-law for her blessing. But Harris\u2019 Restaurant will always hold a special place in his heart. \u201cAs a San Francisco native, there are a few places that my wife and I keep coming back to year after year,\u201d DiGrande says. He loves it because he knows the experience will be consistently excellent \u2014 and it doesn\u2019t hurt that his mother-in-law moved across the street. \u201cAs a restaurant owner myself, it\u2019s one of the rare places where I can truly relax, knowing the hospitality will be flawless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matt Brewer, cofounder, Che Fico and Che Fico Pizzeria<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Sociale, 3665 Sacramento St., Inner Richmond\u00a0
Charming staff, great space, incredible wine list \u2014 that\u2019s the trifecta Brewer looks for in a neighborhood spot. When he\u2019s not at NoPa, he and his wife of 15 years (they\u2019ve been together for 26) head to this cozy restaurant in Presidio Heights for hearty Northern Italian pastas. \u201cI usually over-order,\u201d he says, \u201cand the pastas are perfect for a foggy San Francisco night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amy Han, co-owner, Smish Smash\"\"Bon D\u00e9lire on the Embarcadero. | Source: Erin Ng for The Standard<\/p>\n

Favorite date-night spot: Bon D\u00e9lire, Pier 3, Embarcadero\u00a0
On anniversaries and birthdays, Han and husband Vic Donado splurge on Michelin restaurants like Saison, where the dry-aged antelope, she says, is \u201cone of the best bites I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d But on the average night, their mainstay is French newcomer Bon D\u00e9lire. Han typically orders the steak frites, rare, with a Caesar salad. Vic, on the other hand, likes to try something new but must have at least one order of oeuf mayonnaise. \u201cNot all French restaurants are equal, [but] Bon D\u00e9lire is consistent with food quality, menu offerings, and service.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recommendations are a dime a dozen, but in Pro Tips, we go directly to the source, asking food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[8697,35067,2499,412,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-176579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-bars","9":"tag-eat-here","10":"tag-pro-tips","11":"tag-restaurants","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","14":"tag-san-francisco-news","15":"tag-sf","16":"tag-sf-headlines","17":"tag-sf-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}