Too overwhelmed by the number of killer SF restaurants to pick a spot to eat? We looked to the stars for help.
If astrology can predict a daily horoscope, it’s gotta have something to say about where to get dinner, right?
Using a super-sophisticated methodology (or, the opposite of that), we filtered the city’s restaurants through the zodiac, in search of matches that made sense. From bold and fiery Aries to dreamy and creative Pisces, here’s where to eat in San Francisco according to your star sign.
Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19): Copra
(Chad Santo Thomas)
Bold, fiery Aries will feel right at home at Copra, chef Sri Gopinathan’s passionate send-up to his childhood in southern India. Fearless in flavor and heat, the restaurant’s menu of favorites from home, street, and coast is Aries-level ambitious and vibrant (think shrimp roasted in chili chutney, varuval spice-crusted hamachi collar, and pork belly curry). So too is Copra’s decor, an enchanting forest of living and fiber-woven vines, and layered with traditional baskets, jugs, and jars. One of the city’s most dynamic restaurants from kitchen to dining room, this place is drenched in the creativity and energy that Aries just can’t get enough of.
// 1700 Fillmore St. (Pac Heights), coprarestaurant.com
Taurus (Apr 20-May 20): Tartine Manufactory
(Nicola Parisi)
With a beautiful airy space and a serene upscale vibe, Tartine Manufactory is Taurus in culinary form. The offspring of SF’s most lauded bakery, there’s no shortage of finery at the Manufactory. Indulgent pastries, artisan breads, impeccably selected wines—even the restaurant’s fermented-dough pizza—is luxe, made with the kind of dedication and quality a Taurus can’t help but fall head over heels for.
// 595 Alabama St. (Mission), tartinebakery.com
Gemini (May 21-Jun 20): Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine
(Erin Ng)
Arguably the most playful, spontaneous and outgoing restaurant in town, Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine is a Gemini’s happy place. The pizza joint doesn’t just show off its creativity in its maximalist, monotonal vibe or its clever serveware. Almost everything that comes through its kitchen was once destined to be food waste but, like Gemini, Shuggie’s deploys a boundless creativity and curiosity to upcycle ingredients into irresistible eats like sexy shroomy pizza puffs, beef-heart meatballs, and sausage party pizza made with guanciale, sausage, and upcycled whey vodka sauce.
// 3349 23rd St. (Mission), shuggiespizza.com
Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22): Greens
(Courtesy of @greensrestaurant)
Sensitive Cancer has a dedicated friend in Greens, Fort Mason’s ground-breaking vegetarian restaurant. After 45 years, Greens is finding creative new ways to serve compassionate meat-free dishes of local, seasonal ingredients. If California-inspired dishes like cauliflower quinoa griddle cakes and spring vegetable piccata with lemon caper sauce don’t deliver the nurturing and nostalgia a Cancer requires, just wait to see what some of the city’s most trusted chefs—Francis Ang, Spencer Horovitz, and Brandon Jew—have in store when they take the helm during Greens’ 2024 guest series.
// 2 Marina Blvd., Bldg. A (Fort Mason), greensrestaurant.com
Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22): Empress by Boon
(Courtesy of @empressbyboon)
Like Leo, Empress by Boon is a born star. The dramatic Cantonese restaurant, a gorgeous space evocative of the glamorous Chinatown of yore, is as charismatic as the dishes developed by Michelin-starred chef Ho Chee Boon. Seasonal menus have the passion Leo craves, with modern takes on classic dishes including scallop and caviar rolls; smoked pork ribs with plum and watermelon, and chocolate and black sesame cremeux.
// 838 Grant Ave. (Chinatown), theempresssf.com
Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22): One Market
(Courtesy of One Market)
With a proven 30 year track record of attention to detail and a practical location at the crossroads of Market and the Embarcadero, One Market is a midday no-brainer for logical Virgo. What’s more sensible than an all day happy hour Monday through Friday (11:30am to 8pm)? Or getting to select from two different menus, one farm-to-table-inspired, one New York deli-style? In every choice from One Market’s fried chicken to its famous butterscotch pudding, perfectionist Virgos will delight in the restaurant’s meticulous preparation.
// 1 Market St. (Financial District), onemarket.com
Libra (Sep 23-Oct 22): Early to Rise
(Dave Bazzano)
Early to Rise is exactly what Libra, a lover of harmony and balance, needs to start their day off on the right foot. The comfortably charming neighborhood brunch spot approaches the meal with impeccable attention to detail, preparing everything from hot sauce to bacon in house, and an authentic desire to cultivate meaningful connections over shared plates. Easy-going Libra will also love Easy to Rise’s new “brunch in a bag,” a mini morning feast for a picnicking with friends in nearby Alamo Square or the Panhandle.
// 1801 McAllister St. (NoPa), earlytorisesf.com
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21): 606
(Courtesy of 606)
With all the confidence and ambition of a Scorpio, Chinatown’s former New Sun Hong Kong rebranded this spring to excellent effect. Now in the hands of the family-owned restaurant’s next generation, 606 is earning rave reviews for its revamped menu of dim sum, noodles, and other Hong Kong–style eats. Despite its minimalist atmosphere, the restaurant’s craveable classics are as magnetic as the scorpion itself. 606 is a newly hidden gem Scorpio won’t be able to resist—but it won’t be for long.
// 606 Broadway (Chinatown), 606sf.com
Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21): Fiorella
(Ekaterina Izmestieva)
Like Sagittarius, Fiorella is boundless. With an ambitious new location in Noe Valley to add to those in the Richmond, Inner Sunset and Russian Hill, the friendly neighborhood Italian juggernaut is nothing if not ambitious. But through it all, Fiorella’s enthusiasm for wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas has never waned. Like fair-minded Sagittarius, the restaurant is the ideal partner whether you’re out for a date night or a family gathering.
// 4042 24th St. (Noe Valley) and other SF locations, fiorella-sf.com
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19): Foreign Cinema
(Courtesy of @foreigncinemasf)
No restaurant better encompasses Capricorn’s discipline and determination than Foreign Cinema. An SF essential for 25 years, Foreign Cinema is so dedicated to its craft, so loyal to its community, it’s even had a day named in its honor: September 18th is “Foreign Cinema Day” in SF. Despite its longevity, the restaurant’s menus still have the ambitious nature a Capricorn admires, with complex seasonally-inspired dishes like Monterey Bay calamari with Oaxacan mole and such cocktails as the Indian-spiced Madras Bloody Mary.
// 2534 Mission St. (Mission), foreigncinema.com
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18): Merchant Roots
(Courtesy of @merchantroots)
With its revolutionary immersive take on unexpected themes that go so deep even the music is carefully curated, Merchant Roots is kindred spirits with water sign Aquarius. But it’s more than just innovative world-building to which intellectual, creative Aquarius will be attracted. Humanitarianism is integrated directly into the restaurant’s model, with $6 from every meal donated to a specially selected nonprofit like Food Not Bombs. With new themes (think time travel, Vanity Fair, and into the forest) released quarterly, Merchant Roots is as independent, unconventional and unpredictable as the zodiac’s penultimate star sign.
// 1365 Fillmore St. (Fillmore), mechantroots.com
Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20): Alora
(Neetu Ladha)
The inventive fusion of Mediterranean flavors and locally sourced ingredients at Alora will satisfy Aquarius’ creative spirit. Imagination fuels the menu, with influences from southern Europe to northern Africa to the Middle East in dishes like grape-lacquered steak shish kebab, oysters broiled in pancetta-marmalade, and honey-sherry stewed olives with whipped ricotta. Located on the Embarcadero, it’s not just Alora’s sized mezzes and mains that nail the sign’s aesthetic. The waterfront restaurant’s Moroccan-inspired patio on the edge of the bay is a day-dreamer's escapist fantasy.
// Pier 3 (Embarcadero), visitalora.com
