The Most Romantic Restaurants in San Francisco

Cotogna is a warm, inviting spot in Jackson Square, with exposed brick, big windows, and a wood-fired oven at the center of the room. Split the ricotta raviolo, one large parcel filled with a runny farm egg, or one of the restaurant’s seasonal pastas. If the weather allows, grab a table in the parklet, where heat lamps and blankets make it easy to settle in for a long dinner.

A dinner at Foreign Cinema takes place in a covered Mission courtyard, where string lights hang overhead and an old film plays across the back wall throughout the night. Start with oysters from the raw bar and settle in under the heaters once the sun goes down. Ask for a courtyard table when you book. It’s the setting that has made Foreign Cinema a classic SF date spot for decades.

Zuni Café has been a San Francisco institution since 1979, with big windows overlooking Market Street and a copper wood-fired oven at the back of the room. The classic order is the roast chicken for two, which takes about an hour to prepare and arrives over a warm bread salad. It’s a meal that gives you plenty of time to linger over a drink and actually talk. If you can’t get a reservation, grab two seats at the walk-in bar and split a dozen oysters instead.

Hidden down Gold Street, a brick alley off Montgomery, Bix feels removed from the city before you even walk through the door. Inside, the two-story dining room is filled with dark mahogany, deep banquettes, and live jazz every night of the week. Dress up a little, order cocktails, and settle in. On Fridays and Saturdays, the kitchen stays open until midnight, making it the kind of place where dinner can easily stretch into the rest of the night.

Penny Roma is the more relaxed sibling in the Flour + Water family, with a covered courtyard lit by dim lights and filled with loose flower arrangements. For two, go with the family-style menu and share crudo, antipasti, and hand-cut pasta as everything lands in the middle of the table. The courtyard is especially nice for a date, with enough energy around you to feel lively without being overwhelming.

Trattoria Contadina has been serving Italian food from the same North Beach corner since 1984. The small dining room is strung with lights, and the Powell-Mason cable car passes close enough to hear from your table. The menu sticks to comforting classics like Rocky’s meatballs, spicy penne with burrata, and roasted bell pepper filled with cheese and covered in tomato cream. It’s cozy, unfussy, and particularly good for a date when you want somewhere that feels distinctly San Francisco.

The Anchovy Bar from the State Bird Provisions team is a small, low-lit room where the tables sit close enough to make dinner feel intimate. The kitchen cures its own anchovies and serves them over grilled sourdough, alongside oysters, Dungeness crab, and a rotating selection of seafood dishes. Grab a table for dinner, or take two seats at the bar and work your way through a few plates together.

Nopa fills a former 1920s bank on the corner of Divisadero and Hayes, with high ceilings, tall windows, and a mezzanine overlooking the dining room. It’s lively and usually packed, which can be especially nice for an early date when a little background energy helps. The wood-fired kitchen stays open until 11 on Fridays and Saturdays, so it also works well for a later dinner after drinks nearby.

Rich Table is a warm, wood-lined restaurant in Hayes Valley with an open kitchen and plenty of dishes made for sharing. Start with the sardine chips and porcini doughnuts, two of the restaurant’s signatures, before moving into the rest of the menu. For a bigger night, book a table and do the full tasting menu. For something more casual, grab two of the walk-in bar seats and split a few plates.

Mijoté is a small Mission restaurant serving one four-course French menu each night, with Japanese influences and sauces often finished tableside. Ask for seats at the counter by the pass, where you can watch each plate come together just a few feet away. Dinner unfolds over roughly two hours, making it a good choice when you want the meal itself to be the plan for the night.