San Francisco wine bars and restaurants: 10 hotspots not to miss

San Francisco is a relatively small city, fondly referred to as ‘7x7’ for its roughly 49 square miles (127 square kilometres). Yet for such a small area, the City by the Bay is big on wine.

It makes sense, being the closest urban zone to much of California’s most famous wine regions.

A visit brings the opportunity to taste varied wine offerings, inevitably focused on local producers, as well as the chance to investigate the exciting, boundary-pushing culinary landscape that has steadily kept San Francisco in focus.

Here are 10 super spots to savour.

Fresh faces

Palm City

4055 Irving Street

A respite from the bustling central city, Palm City is in the quiet Outer Sunset neighbourhood, sister spot to Bar Jabroni in the Lower Haight.

The open-beamed, one-room space is simple, with chunky, round wooden tables under large, woven basket pendant lampshades and a dark, L-shaped counter.

A vintage photo booth sits in the corner and several bright yellow tables are set outside. Shelves of wine to go (or you can enjoy there for a $15 corkage fee) are priced from a $23 Txakoli up to almost $300.

The by-the-glass list, with three or four selections of each category, skews natural, mostly from France and Spain, plus a handful of local wines, like the 2024 Picpoul-Chenin Vini Jabroni collab with the Les Lunes Wines label based nearby, their house wine.

By far the most popular things to eat are the giant hoagies, especially the Italian American with nduja sauce. Al Green on the stereo on a Wednesday at noon made for a chill lunchtime.

DON'T MISS: Any of the hoagie sandwiches.

Gigi’s

299 Divisadero Street

Far from standard, Gigi’s is a new wine bar and bottle shop in the fun Divisadero neighbourhood, featuring chef Tu David Phu’s food, lovingly inflected with his Vietnamese-American heritage.

The space is small and intimate, but with diverse seating options, including a communal table, numerous window-side stools, cosy burgundy banquettes and a row of chairs at the main bar.

Dark burgundy walls, plants and wood accents add a sultry vibe. The small by-the-glass selections change three to four times per week, allowing for constant exploration and discovery.

The wine list is designed to be playful and accessibly priced, with most bottles offered at $50-$100. The Made in the USA section has some stars, such as the 2023 Ruth Lewandowski, Naomi Grenache Gris.

And of course, all of the wines selected by general manager Madison Michael are intended to pair beautifully with the food’s Asian flavours.

The signature dish at Gigi’s, and the one you’ll see all over the internet, is the wagyu hot dog. It’s cheeky, and it’s meant to be – an homage to the Costco hot dog that was a childhood treat for the chef.

DON’T MISS: Anything in the menu’s seafood section, or the Happy Hour ‘Bump and a Shot’ of sparkling wine and a spoonful of Tsar Nicoulai Baerii caviar.

Bar Gemini

2845 18th Street

This Mission District wine bar pulls you in like a hug. The space, while small, is lovely and glowing, with round light fixtures, flickering lamps and booths with honey-toned wood bench seats.

Dark green walls and a long, L-shaped bar with leather seats add to the cozy atmosphere. It also smells good, like butter browning, thanks to the small team of cooks crafting bar bites.

The food has been curated by chef Brandon Rice from nearby Ernest, a sophisticated New American restaurant that’s much harder to get into than this place. Nibble on the wide selection of tinned seafood and dippy things, all served in ceramic bowls, while sipping on something from the thorough natural wine list (one of the co-owners also heads up local wine label Subject to Change).

The owners also run Gemini Bottle Co (now being rebranded Gemini Bottle & Market), a wine shop a few blocks away, in case you’d like to grab a bottle of any of the interesting selections on offer, such as Stagiaire’s Don’t Tell Mom sparkling red.

DON’T MISS: Sweet, smoky curried spiced nuts or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Key Klub

850 Bush Street

Opened by the folks behind the beloved Bodega SF, Key Klub is a party. Located in Nob Hill, the moody red-lit ‘drinkery’ fills two levels with booming music and piñatas.

Huge paper-lantern lampshades hang from the ceiling above a copper bar with a view of the 15 wall taps of mostly local beer.

But natural wine is certainly a draw, too, with cool selections by the glass and extremely fun tasting notes. ‘All gas, no brakes, side show’ describes the Weingut Fritz Haag Riesling.

Equally fun is to do a few Key Bumps of rotating vermouth for $6 – maybe buy one for the bar staff, too. The food menu consists of robust dishes such as crab cake arancini and mushroom poutine fries.

DON’T MISS: Oozing, spicy eggplant parmesan sticks with San Marzano dip; French toast with duck liver mousse.

Get schooled

Ungrafted

2419 3rd Street

For an added educational layer to your wine enjoyment, head to Ungrafted in the quiet area known as Dogpatch.

This neighbourhood is seeing more and more culinary enhancements spring up, with a large concentration of wine-leaning spots for such a small zone. In fact, you could make Dogpatch a wine destination if you wanted, with visits to the Domaine SF wine shop, La Fromagerie cheese shop and an outpost of the popular Souvla chain, which features a Greek-centric wine bar.

But Ungrafted has been here since 2018, opened by husband and wife Master Sommeliers Chris Gaither and Rebecca Fineman, with the goal of creating a community space and wine education centre. It’s a wine bar, restaurant, wine shop and wine club, with bi-weekly classes, workshops and weekly blind tastings.

The all-sommelier staff will guide you through the diverse, global wine list (plus a big bottle list of around 600) with multiple by-the-glass options, plus sake and beer.

Cocktails with vermouth, Sherry or wine as the base are also available, such as a classic Champagne cocktail with bitters.

The large, warehouse-type space has a copper-topped bar, French bistro tablescapes and white walls with golden vine trunk murals.

DON’T MISS: A fried chicken sandwich or the mixed mushroom toast with whipped cheese and pickled daikon radish.

Bin 415

950 Mason Street

While San Francisco is chock full of places to enjoy wine, it’s also close to several notable California wine regions, so if time allows during your trip, you could enjoy a full vineyard immersion less than two hours from the city.

Bin 415 – a tasting room and tour operator located within the historic Fairmont Hotel on top of Nob Hill – is the answer. They offer special tastings of wines from nearby Napa and Sonoma, the bottles sourced directly from the wineries based on longstanding relationships with founder Michael Lagau.

Entry-level, walk-in tastings are just $25, with pours of the newest selections in the shop. From there, a variety of alternate tastings are available, or you can arrange full excursions to wine country.

The tasting room is an alluring space nestled among the boutiques and art galleries in the lobby level of the hotel.

Furthermore, the iconic Fairmont itself is an ideal place to stay when visiting the city. Historic black and white photos adorn the halls, majestic marble columns tower in the lobby and the basement-level Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar is the place for tiki drinks (rum-forward tropical cocktails) when you’ve maxed out your wine palate.

DON’T MISS: A curated, guided tasting experience or an excursion to Sonoma wineries.

San Francisco Champagne Society

1097 Howard Street

Bill Marci, owner of the San Francisco Champagne Society, is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a true Champagne lover.

Spend five minutes with him and you’ll quickly understand that his dedication to discovering and showcasing grower producers and family-owned vineyards is personal for him – a real hobby turned career.

So for a deep dive, head to this reservation-only Champagne lounge in SoMa (South of Market), which offers a few tiers of tastings, featuring unique selections sourced through Marci’s personal relationships and allocations from small producer lists.

Several add-ons are available, as well as a very informative comparative glassware tasting. Marci calls his glassware his ‘tools’ and is very specific about what he serves in which glass. Some of his own comprehensive education occurred during the Covid lockdown, when he tasted 100 bottles of Champagne in 100 days.

DON’T MISS: The ‘Champagne face mask’ experience from a wide, open-mouthed wine glass; the French cheese pairing add-on.

Food first: San Francisco restaurants

Saison

178 Townsend Street

Saison is a restaurant for wine lovers. With two Michelin stars under chef Richard Lee, the openhearth cooking is, of course, unforgettable. But the wine pairings are more than just notable, too, with an extremely thorough cellar and special attention to Burgundy.

There’s not much signage or fanfare upon arrival at this SoMa (South of Market) location, with a subtle entrance in a red-brick building, but stepping inside, you’re enveloped in a wood smoke-scented, lodge-like atmosphere, especially in the barside salon area, which is loungy, with brick walls, leather stools and booths adorned with furry pillows.

Two astounding tasting menus are on offer and the entire restaurant bustles with the energy of culinary purpose.

Also worth visiting is the new Saison Cellar & Wine Bar, just a short walk away, which was opened by Saison Hospitality co-founder and winemaker Mark Bright in 2024.

DON’T MISS: The full tasting menu with the matched wine flight.

Verjus

550 Washington Street

A popular bistro, opened by acclaimed chef couple Michael and Lindsay Tusk in 2019 (then closed for four years, with a new iteration opening in late 2024), Verjus is inspired by the lively atmosphere of Parisian cave à mangers (wine shop restaurants) and skews French in every way.

The lengthy, mainly French wine list features very thorough Champagne and Burgundy sections, priced as high as $1,800 for a 2015 Kenjiro Kagami Sonorite du Vent Chardonnay.

There are also a handful of cocktails on offer, courtesy of Thad Vogler of Bar Agricole. Try the Bijou with Nebbiolo vermouth.

The menu is posted on a back-lit cinema marquee-style board above the open kitchen that reflects off the high-gloss red lacquered ceiling. It’s partly in French, so be sure to get your translations ready.

Wall shelves are full of bottles and a long communal table set in the middle of the space is always packed.

DON’T MISS: Rolled omelette au Boursin and the custardy, bruleed Pain Purdue with vanilla gelato. Lunch on Saturdays.

Bar Brucato

275 South Van Ness Avenue

While technically more spirit-forward than wine-forward, Bar Brucato is worthy of a mention on this list. Founded by Sierra and James Clark in 2021, Brucato Spirits is centred around producing California amari (Italian herbal liqueurs), using local ingredients and promoting a sense of place.

Their amari, gin and kumquat liquors are all distilled onsite in their Mission District distillery, with the new Bar Brucato situated upstairs, featuring drinks crafted from their products and memorable food, made with similar intentions.

The cocktail program is directed by Leila Malikyar, who has put together an approachable menu for all, even non-drinkers.

The effervescent section, which will appeal to those seeking lighter, more wine-centric beverages, features the Angel Island, with blood orange aperitif and Lambrusco, and the Treasure Island, with Cava – bright and tart, akin to an Aperol spritz.

The tight wine list, with nothing above $90, is mostly California selections, with a few Italian sparklers.

DON’T MISS: Baked-to-order piada bread with house-cultured cacio e pepe butter; spicy lamb meatballs with almond anchovy sauce.

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