15 Best Restaurants in Union Square, Civic Center, and the Tenderloin, San Francisco

This white, high-ceilinged space offers what some claim are the best croissants—not only outside France, but in the world. You simply can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Try for the almond croissant or anything with berries, and enjoy it in-store or to go. The original location thrives in the Inner Richmond (397 Arguello Blvd.).

Casual eaters of Americanized Thai food probably won’t recognize much at this modern, Michelin-star restaurant, but travelers to Thailand will likely see a few familiar items on the short, focused menu. Ingredients are sourced—more accurately, tracked down with dedication—from regional purveyors to create a range of powerful, unique dishes ranging from a mushroom curry mousse with crispy rice cakes to spicy charred squid.

Inspired but not defined by the chef's native Hawaii, Ravi Kapur's lively restaurant is known for big-hearted, high-spirited cooking. It offers contemporary riffs on staples like poke and Spam, as well as squid served with crispy tripe and manila clams in coconut curry. The dining room and front bar area are perpetually packed, and are dominated by an enormous photo of a beaming woman who happens to be none other than the chef's mother.

Robin's-egg-blue banquettes and metal chairs in different colors add to the cheer at this sunny spot. Drop in for hearty local coffee and excellent breakfast and lunch sandwiches, including those on the popular cragel, a combination of a croissant and a bagel.

Located in the Tenderloin's Little Saigon quarter, this casual Vietnamese bistro brims at lunchtime with fans of its steaming bowls of pho (the beef version is particularly good). For dinner, the round tables are overloaded with signature specialties like roast squab and bun cha Hanoi (broiled pork over rice vermicelli). You'll see many French touches on the extensive menu.

Chef Matthew Ho cut his teeth at his family's excellent, bare-bones Bodega Bistro, an anchor of the Little Saigon restaurant scene for years. This new incarnation elevates traditional Vietnamese recipes with a modern twist and the freshest ingredients. Popular dishes include citrusy bo tai chanh (beef carpaccio) and bun cha (pork belly and meatballs). Warm woods on the floors, ceiling, and walls soften the modern decor at this buzzy and inviting dining room, and black-and-white photos of San Francisco reflect deep city roots. 

The good times roll at the city's definitive choice for New Orleans cooking. Brunch is the preferred meal here, but it's just as good to come for a weekday lunch of gumbo or a fried chicken dinner when the scene is a little more subdued.

Head downstairs to this hole-in-the-wall ramen house for some of the most authentic noodles in town, served until 2 am. Hand-drawn pictures of specials punctuate a colorful interior with too-close tables and a couple of stools around the bar.

High-priced Vietnamese food meets high style at this French-colonial time machine. Stamped-tin ceilings, period photographs, and tropical plants are the backdrop for the menu, which includes a selection of fried or fresh appetizer rolls. Downstairs are two large and rather formal dining rooms. Anything goes upstairs in the lively lounge: you can eat appetizers, listen to live music, or just sip a cocktail and take in the scene. Plenty of locals find the dining room stuffy—and expensive—but are quick to defend the lounge.

Try something beyond the same old pad thai at this authentic Thai standby. Thai herb sausage and papaya salad with salted egg are good appetizers to share, while the pork belly with crispy rind and basil leaves and duck larb (meat salad) come packed with flavor and heat. The food has been such a hit that the restaurant has two other spots in the Mission and Hayes Valley. It's a favorite for late-night dining.

Hand-pulled noodles are the real star at celebrity chef Martin Yan's show palace, a swank restaurant on the fourth floor of Market Street’s Westfield Mall with Chinese opium bottles on display and a megaton bronze bell from China as the bar centerpiece. Whether Yan is there, you'll be sure to watch his cooks stretch, twist, toss, and drop noodles into a beef short-rib soup flavored with star anise; a Dungeness crab menu highlights six styles of Chinese cooking.

Look for the lines on busy Geary Street where Union Square blurs into the edges of the Tenderloin, and you'll find what eager ramen fans consider the city's best bowl. This was the first U.S. outpost of a prominent Tokyo-based ramen shop, and the quality and consistency of its noodles and broths continue to be spectacular. The decor on the walls is primarily a series of graphics explaining the scientific aspects of ramen; if you want a doctorate in ramen, this is a good place to start.

It's hard to describe this ode to France's many culinary specialties without a map diagram, as this is a full six-story, four-concept venue just a block from Union Square. The shimmering gem of the house is upstairs, the exquisite fine-dining tasting menu space O' by Claude Le Tohic; the other floors are taken up by a modern cocktail bar (Elements), a more casual bistro and grill (closed for remodeling at time of writing), and a ground-floor bakery and patisserie.

Stop by this hole in the wall for some of the best—and cheapest!—takeout banh mi in the city. Favorites include thit (roast pork) and ga (roast chicken).