Friday Five

June ushered in the return of outdoor dining in San Francisco, with residents cooped up for months once again able to get out of their cramped homes for a bite and a drink to support some of their favorite restaurants. Some places have reopened existing patios, while others have jumped in on the city’s Shared Spaces program to convert parking spaces, lots, sidewalks, even blocks or alleys, into outdoor dining space.

All restaurants, whether upscale or fast casual, are struggling right now. We can support local and enjoy much-needed lower-risk excursions outside our homes by dining outside. Below are five of our favorite patios in San Francisco that you can head to now. All are working hard to adhere to safety regulations. While there, you’ll need to be masked at all times, unless you’re actively eating or drinking, and you must stay at least six feet from others. For comprehensive lists of businesses offering outdoor dining, head to Eater SF.

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If you’re not comfortable dining outside, we hear you — here are some of our favorite takeout options and picnic spots.

1. An urban downtown garden party in the Vault Garden

You probably haven’t been to the desolate Financial District in a while, but now’s your chance. As one of the first spots to reopen, the Vault’s seductive restaurant in the Bank of America building has a completely new, lush, and expansive patio. Surrounded by high-rises, the Vault Garden is one of the largest open-air dining spaces in the city, and we actually prefer it to dining inside. It’s a poster child for how to do safety right: detailed signage, table cards explaining what to expect, sanitizing stations, and distancing. Definitely order one of bar manager Kaitlin Ryan’s refreshing cocktails. We’re loving the subtle layer of sesame in Right on Thyme, a cocktail of Barr Hill gin, Lillet, thyme, and lemon. Chef Robin Song’s dishes are elevated yet breezy-fun for the outdoors. Think halibut ceviche dotted with avocado, red onion, habanero, and citrus, or silky pan-seared salmon with heirloom tomato panzanella (bread salad). The Vault just expanded its hours with an all-afternoon and late-night lounge menu, including Vault Garden After Dark, designed for summer nights.

555 California Street (between Kearny and Montgomery)

2. Beer garden, distillery, and beignets at Seven Stills

Need a beer? We hear you. Seven Stills’ outdoor space is a great spot to get outside for a drink, with plenty of spacing, hand sanitizer, and mask wearers. Owners Clint Potter and Tim Obert moved this distillery/brewery from its Bayview location to a huge space in San Francisco’s Design District late last year. After being shut down a few months, they’re now back with bold new moves: bringing on veteran chef Joe Humphrey, who has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area and New Orleans, as well as cocktail experts Norah Furst (True Laurel, California Gold) and Chris Longoria (Che Fico). Try the Keep on the Grass, made with California Courage vodka, celery, ginger, lemon, and Carpano Bianco vermouth. The chef’s NoLa days come into play with a full beignet menu of seven different toppings, including clam dip or spring peas in mustard oil and sea urchin butter. Yes and yes.

100 Hooper Street, Suite 4 (between 7th and 8th Streets)

3. A San Francisco seafood classic with new waterside outdoor dining at Scoma’s

We’re already starting to see some of our most beloved and classic restaurants close. You can’t bring that history back. If you want to support a San Francisco legend, head to Scoma’s, an Italian family–run seafood destination at Fisherman’s Wharf since 1965. Yes, we’re suggesting you head to Fisherman’s Wharf… we know, we know. But the tourists aren’t around, and it’s truly delicious, so hear us out. Scoma’s keeps it blessedly old school but with improved dishes and cocktails and a recently opened parking-lot dining space on Pier 47, so you can enjoy your food and drinks right on the water. The area remains unusually relaxed with few tourists, making now a good time for locals to go, though there’s also a to-go menu. A while back, both locations (the other has been in Sausalito since 1969) brought on veteran chef Gordon Drysdale to step up the menus. Must-have SF classics like shrimp or crab cocktail, clam chowder, crab cakes, and cioppino stand strong, while salads and fish entrees benefit from a light hand. The beer-battered fish and chips is one of the best in town. Drew Bernier’s improved cocktail menu includes a clarified Pisco Punch, a locally born late-1800s classic, here in silky milk-punch style.

1965 Al Scoma Way/Pier 47

4. Japanese breakfast, DJs, and cocktails on the rooftop at Charmaine’s

How good does a drink on a rooftop sound? You can get that at Charmaine’s, the rooftop bar at SF Proper Hotel. Pre-pandemic, lines to get in here kept some locals away. Now they take reservations and keep things nicely spaced out and chill, with DJs some evenings and during mid-afternoon on weekends, as well guest bands like San Francisco’s own Gaucho Jazz. Get excited about fire pits, couches, crushable drinks (like a red, white, and blue frozen rum cocktail special), and bar food from chef Jason Fox of the recently closed, Michelin-starred Commonwealth. Also check out the new Japanese breakfast for two and the brunch dishes, like a waffle loaded with cherry compote, tonka bean cream, and salted maple sorbet.

45 McAllister Street (at 7th Street)

5. Feel-good films, wine flights, and superb food at Foreign Cinema

Dining on the Foreign Cinema patio in the Mission is a classic San Francisco experience, and now you can have it back in your lives. Since 1999, chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark have ensured that the restaurant’s outdoor space is one of the most magical patios not just in the city, but anywhere. Films on the wall, drive-in speakers next to wall tables, and strewn lights equal magic. The superb food, wine lists, cocktails, and service draw us back again and again. Since reopening in June, Foreign Cinema has been screening feel-good classics like The Princess Bride and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Wine flights featuring beloved regions like Jura, France, plus garlic and Meyer lemon brodo (broth soup) accented with tiny pastina pasta have made the return summery and current. Dive into Bombay-style Maine lobster baked with coconut, lime, and Thai green chilies or that still-perfect sesame fried-tandoori masala chicken and you’ll know why this remains a modern-day classic. The excellent brunch is also back. Reserve ahead for all.

2534 Mission Street (between 21st and 22nd Streets)