Hidden gems
By Virginia Miller
The Tenderloin gets a massive amount of bad press as the center of San Francisco’s worst drugs and homelessness. But the neighborhood remains a tiny part of our ever-vibrant city filled with top-notch food, as it is the case in every SF community. I remember it as a rough place to live as a girl 1998, but my long experience with the TL and San Francisco also informed me on the best places to eat there, and you’ll really find some great ones. These are my top picks:
Saigon Sandwich
Saigon Sandwich is a legend in Vietnamese bánh mi sandwiches. The sandos remain a steal at $5, churned out all day long, cash only. When I returned from a life-changing month in Vietnam over 20 years ago as a girl, their banh mi tasted most like what I had in Vietnam. Yes, SF is silly with “real deal” banh mi and Vietnamese food, being part of California’s biggest Vietnamese population in the U.S. for decades. Despite all the great bánh mi out there, Saigon’s remain among the very best — at the best prices. The generously-loaded roast chicken or pork bánh mi win every time, but I go for the combination: steamed pork, roast pork and silky pâté.
// 560 Larkin Street, www.yelp.com/biz/saigon-sandwich-san-francisco
Brenda’s French Soul Food
Queer-run Brenda’s French Soul Food has been our best, authentic New Orleans restaurant. Partners in business and life, Brenda Buenviaje and Libby Truesdell, opened the equally great Brenda’s Meat & Three in 2014 on Divisadero. The OG Brenda’s shrimp and grits (a Low Country speciality from South Carolina), seafood po boys and catfish des Allemands transport straight to the Big Easy. But over 15 years of research later, even in my beloved New Orleans I’ve never found anything close to her unparalleled crawfish cheese beignets. Lucky us.
// 652 Polk Street, https://frenchsoulfood.com
Bandit
Closet-sized Bandit has been a TL treasure since 2017 for good-time burgers and chicken sandwiches. But we have an endless number of local burger and chicken sando greats in town. Yet few do breakfast sandwiches — a whole menu of them — as well as Bandit.
With no less than seven breakfast sandos blessedly served all day, it’s hard to go wrong whether you get the simple but utterly gratifying Petty Cash (scrambled eggs, Tillamook cheddar cheese, chives) or signature Bandit sandwich, layered with fatty-good butcher’s cut bacon, muenster cheese, scrambled eggs, avocado and arugula. In even better news for the rest of the city, they opened a second location in Dogpatch in March and just opened their third Mission location next to Dolores Park this weekend, September 24, 2023.
// 683 Geary Street, www.banditsf.com
Cantoo Latin Asian Rotisserie
Cantoo gives us an unusual mashup of traditional Chinese dishes alongside Venezuelan coastal specialities from their town of Puerto Cabello, like a seafood packed soup or Pollo Valenciano rotisserie, paired with the mini-corn arepas, coleslaw and addictive green garlic sauce. Co-owner Christina Wu Feng’s dad/chef and mom immigrated from Guangzhou, China, to Venezuela years ago before moving to SF.
From empanadas to Chinese dumplings, this is familial comfort food. Most crave-worthy is their sweet and sour in chicken, pork or fish form — I go for the fish filet. Beyond ubiquitous fried fish, you can taste the difference in their made-from-scratch sauces and light, crispy fry.
// 572 O’Farrell Street, www.yelp.com/biz/cantoo-latin-asian-rotisserie-san-francisco
Bodega
Little Saigon has rich offerings in a few short blocks, and there’s nothing quite like new Bodega, like modern diner in sleek woods, serving Vietnamese-influenced cocktails and quality Vietnamese food.
Matt Ho opened Bodega in 2022, but the Ho family has deep roots in the ‘Loin with Bodega Bistro, run by Matt’s father and uncles and a 14-year TL favorite. Don’t miss their bánh cuốn, a fresh rice roll wrapped around ground pork and wood ear mushrooms, in crispy shallots and nuoc mam fish sauce. Another standout is bun rieu: Dungeness crab, tofu and egg in a tomato-y broth over vermicelli noodles recalling SF-created cioppino.
// 138 Mason Street, http://bodegarestaurants.com
Proper Hotel: Three restaurants and bars
SF Proper Hotel’s restaurants and bars each come with range of moods. Most importantly, each kitchen is helmed by chef Jason Fox, formerly of Michelin-starred Commonwealth, an SF great I still very much miss.
- There’s scene-y rooftop Charmaine’s, with its elevated bar bites (think huitlacoche-stuffed potatoes), cocktails, stunning views and live music.
- Downstairs is the more elegant but relaxed Villon, where all manner of meats and veggies shine, from eggplant agnolotti pasta to pork katsu with miso cabbage slaw. But dishes showcasing our coastal setting most intrigue, whether Parker house rolls with seaweed butter, or silky scallop crudo over plum ice with licorice herbs, radishes, tapioca and fresh wasabi.
- Around the corner is La Bande, a Cal-Med (not traditional Spanish) aperitif and tapas bar with gorgeous Art Deco decor.
// 45 McAllister Street and 1100 Market Street, properhotel.com/san-francisco/restaurants-bars
Chutney
Chutney is a bit dingy and there are more “authentic” Indian restaurants in town. But in the long-nicknamed “TandoorLoin,” representing the neighborhood’s deep Indian-Pakistani roots for decades, Chutney has been a beloved all-day go-to since 2002 when Pakistan-born Mohammad Bajwa opened the humble spot.
First for cheap, crushable curries and naan priced generally $8–13.99 for entrees. Also, Bajwa sources halal meats, making it a welcome destination for Muslims and all seeking halal food. You can fill up on the cheap here with robust flavor to boot. There’s ubiquitous chicken tikka masala but also comforting bengan masala eggplant curry or green, vegetal saag paneer (spinach in soft, neutral Indian cheese). Some of my historic Tenderloin Indian favorites, namely Little Delhi and now-closed Lahore, aren’t as good as they used to be under original owners, but divey go-tos like Shalimar are going strong since 1994, right by Chutney for a Curry Crawl.
// 511 Jones Street, www.yelp.com/biz/chutney-san-francisco
LINE Hotel: Two restaurants
Rise over Run and Tenderheart are some of the TL’s chic-est offerings that opened late 2022 in the LINE Hotel SF.
- Tenderheart is a downstairs haven for Chinese-American chef Joe Hou’s inspired New American food, weaving from killer fish crudo to hand-held little gems or signature sweet and sour quail in gochugaru (Korean chili powder) and pineapple. It’s is equally a draw for also Chinese-American bar master Danny Louie’s creative cocktails, with ingredients perfected in his LINE basement cocktail lab.
- The more casual but popular rooftop and solarium Rise Over Run is worth it for stellar SF views alone. You also have a whole separate Louie cocktail menu and Hou’s shareable food, like a double royale cheeseburger in yuzu mayonette or a bucket of Korean-spiced fried chicken with cheddar chive biscuits.
// 33 Turk Street, www.thelinehotel.com/san-francisco/restaurants-bars
Lers Ros
There are three Ler Ros Thai restaurants in SF, but this Larkin Street original was the OG since 2008. It was a far more humble space back then, since spiffed up with a remodel to match its hipper Hayes Valley and Mission District locations. Chef/owner Tom Silargorn lived in Cholburi in East Thailand, but takes a lot of inspiration from his mother’s recipes. Regional Thai classics line the long menu, but it’s fun to dig into Silargorn’s chef specials unique to Lers Ros, like chicken curry puffs dipped in peanut sauce, fried black bass in sweet chili sauce or dry tom yum noodles.
// 730 Larkin Street, http://lersros.com/larkin-street
Morty’s Delicatessen
Humble Morty’s Delicatessan has been a Tenderloin deli treasure since 2006. Their tagline is, “East Coast Soul, West Coast Style.” They bring it with their popular pastrami or corned beef Reuben sandwich, or sandwich twists like a “New Cubano” with avocado aioli and pineapple. But they really have fun with starters like their Reuben fried egg rolls. You heard right: egg rolls filled with pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing.
// 280 Golden Gate Avenue, https://mortysdelicatessen1.com
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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