Food // Restaurants

Michael Bauer’s best restaurants around Union Square

Shopping can make you hungry, and if you're shopping at Union Square, San Francisco's premier retail hub, you're lucky. There are literally dozens of places to fill up.

Filling up is different, however, than dining. So if you want to move beyond alleviating hunger pangs to some very good dining, here are the places on or near the square that hit that mark.

All the restaurants listed here are open for lunch, and all but the Rotunda in Neiman Marcus is open for dinner. Some serve breakfast and many serve continuously between lunch and dinner — flexible schedules for this busy season.

The Rotunda restaurant looking toward the City of Paris glass dome at Neiman Marcus in 2015.
Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

The Rotunda

There's something utterly charming about the Neiman Marcus restaurant, where the circular dining room, during the holidays, surrounds a four-story Christmas tree and views of Union Square. When the Dallas-based restaurant was founded in the 1950s, lunch started with a demitasse of chicken broth and popovers, a tradition that carries over today in San Francisco. Dining on the signature chicken salad, crab Louie, lobster club sandwich, chicken Milanese or pappardelle with red wine braised short ribs makes for a special experience.

150 Stockton St., (415) 249-2720, Ext. 2465 or . Open daily until late afternoon.

The bar at Scala's Bistro in 2016.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle

Scala's Bistro

A recent remodel bastardized the classic brasserie-style décor and made it less appealing. Despite the changes, this Italian-French restaurant remains a popular stop for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The wide-ranging menu at lunch features pasta and pizza, sandwiches and salads, including a Cobb. In between lunch and dinner the restaurant offers a lighter fare menu, and there are always cocktails served in the elevated lounge.

432 Powell St., (415) 395-8555 or . Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

Campton Place

Few Union Square restaurants offer the luxury of this hotel dining room under Chef Srijith Gopinathan. His menu offers a creative Indian cuisine with strong California influences. At lunch diners select either a two-course menu for $39 or three-course for $49, which might include curried shrimp naan and halibut with a jalapeno-basil crust with sour carrots and roasted garlic and almond crumbs. At dinner a seven-course tasting menu is featured for $155; vegetarian for $140. The bistro menu in the adjoining lounge features a western menu with a few "Spice Route Dishes."

340 Stockton St., (415) 781-5555 or . Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

E&O Kitchen and Bar

Celebrating its 20th year, this huge restaurant is one of the few remaining places that first heralded the fusion trend. The food touches on China, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and other Asian outposts and is a prime stop for a midafternoon repast, as it's open continuously for lunch and dinner. The menu includes sates of steak, shrimp and chicken; dumplings; noodles; and other popular items. The big draw: there's something for everyone on this menu.

314 Sutter St., (415) 693-0303 or . Open continuously for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday; dinner only on Sunday.

Hand sushi is prepared at Akiko's.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle


If seeking out this popular sushi restaurant for the first time, look for the Irish Bank sign. There's no sign on Akiko's door, so it feels like a find. It also serves some of the best sushi in the city, whether it's tuna belly that's been aged in-house for 12 days or pristine fish from Japan. Diners can order by the piece or let the chef guide you through the omakase menu. There's also some hot dishes including excellent deep-fried soft-shell crab and yellowtail collar. Diners can sit at the sushi counter or in the cave-like dining room.

431 Bush St., (415) 397-3218 or . Lunch weekdays; dinner Monday-Saturday.

Cafe de la Presse

It's a little bit of Paris at this newsstand/brasserie that anchors the corner of the "French Quarter" across from the ornate gates to Chinatown. This restaurant and newsstand is a perfect place for breakfast before shopping, or for a light lunch of French onion soup or a superior quiche Lorraine and butter lettuce salad. Of course, you can also fork into something more substantial like steak frites and duck confit. In the evening the restaurant features an a la carte menu or a three- or four-course menu priced for $44 or $51.

352 Grant Ave.; (415) 398-2680 or . Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

Cafe Claude

Classic French dishes — steak tartare, French onion soup, steak Frites, coq au vin— are extremely well done at this bistro tucked away on Claude Lane. The interior feels like a traditional brasserie with a nod to San Francisco (note the massive earthquake beams). However, many dishes get a gentle update under chef Miguel Millan. He makes a rich casserole with king trumpet mushrooms and farro verde; serves roast chicken with braising greens, olives and lemon confit; and bathes mussels in hard cider and saffron tomato stew. There's a protected patio in front and live music inside Thursday through Saturday nights.

7 Claude Lane (between Bush and Sutter), San Francisco; (415) 392-3505 Lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner only Sunday.

A server polishes glasses before service at Gaspar.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle


The handsome two-story interior has the feel of an upscale French brasserie, enhanced by the food produced by new chef Jason Morales. You'll discover many well-prepared classics such as steak tartare, brandade croquettes, escargot, and a pristine house salad with butter lettuce and tarragon. Morales serves Petrale sole with brown butter, Meyer lemon and capers, accented with cauliflower and Brussels sprout leaves. He also prepares duck confit, steak frites and a vegetable terrine for non-meat eaters. But of course, you can also get an excellent hamburger with aioli on a brioche bun.

185 Sutter St., San Francisco; (415) 576-8800. Lunch and dinner continuously weekdays; dinner only on Saturday.

The Mussels Marmande at Aquitaine.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle


With its funky vibe that includes chandeliers made from wine glasses, the cozy restaurant honors chef-owner Laurent Manrique Gascon heritage. At lunch this Southwestern French wine bar and restaurant features pommes frites thickly dusted with pimento and fried garlic, foie gras torchon, what Manrique calls a Gascon burger (a half pound Angus beef patty with shallot marmalade and duck confit), and a duck Reuben sandwich. The menu expands at dinner, and the wine list highlights lesser known areas.

175 Sutter St., (415) 402-5290 or . Lunch weekdays; dinner Monday-Saturday.

Dim sum platter at Hakkasan in S.F.
Photo: Mark Whitfield


The large, elegant 170-seat Cantonese restaurant may be part of an international chain, but it serves the most refined Chinese food in the area. The dining room overlooks Market Street and is a prime stop for a dim sum lunch or a relaxed multicourse dinner. Specialties include stir-fried mushrooms in lettuce cups, pan-seared Shanghai dumplings, stir-fried black pepper rib eye with Merlot, and locally inspired dishes such as Sichuan lamb tenderloin.

1 Kearny St., (415) 829-8148 or . Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday.

Super Duper

Sometimes all you want is a good hamburger, and Super Duper easily satiates that craving. This expanding local chain sources beef from humanely raised cows. They bake their own buns, use local produce and process their own dill pickles. In addition to the excellent burgers and fries, there's soft-serve ice cream made with cream from the Straus Family Creamery.

721 Market St., . Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Also at 783 Mission (in the Metreon).

The main dining room at Amber India.
Photo: Katy Raddatz, The Chronicle

Amber India

While the food has slipped a bit over the years, this Indian restaurant still has a lot to recommend, including the handsome upscale dining room and the bar that features creative cocktails and snacks. At lunch people line up for the buffet, well priced at $19.95 ($26.95 on weekends). It features all the expected favorites such as butter chicken and some more unusual items like curried goat. At night the menu is a la carte, and the food is more precisely prepared, including dishes like cauliflower Bezule with coconut, curry leaves and mustard seeds; duck Tinka kebab with nigella, dill and caper chutney; and braised lamb shank with vindaloo sauce.

25 Yerba Buena Lane, (415) 777-0500 or . Lunch and dinner daily.

The bar scene at Delarosa.


Pizza and pasta are on the menu at this restaurant that's a perfect spot for those with children. Who doesn't like the thin-crusted, Roman-style pizza, or an order of meatballs? Salads are fresh, particularly the arugula and fennel with Parmesan. Most seating is at communal tables in front of the open kitchen.

37 Yerba Buena Lane, (415) 872-7363 or . Lunch and dinner daily.

Bluestem Brasserie

The modern feel of this restaurant and the contemporary cooking of new chef Trevor Ogden makes this a top stop for weekday lunches, weekend brunches and nightly dinners. The menu includes a stellar burger made with two meat pattys, bacon, cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli; a bronzed half chicken with changing seasonal accompaniments; and exceptional desserts made by Lori Baker. Between lunch and dinner, there's a compact bar menu that include mac and cheese, deviled eggs and Little Gem salad with Caesar dressing.

1 Yerba Buena Lane, (415) 547-1111 or Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Bartenders work at John's Grill.
Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

John's Grill

In business for more than a century, John's gained national fame as a setting for Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon." The restaurant and bar are woven into local lore, and the place embraces that past with its scarred mahogany paneling and hundreds of photographs lining the walls. Top choices include the favorite salad of the late fitness guru Jack LaLanne, with crab, shrimp, avocado, mushroom, tomato, lettuce and blue cheese dressing. It's also a good place for a crab cocktail, local Petrale sole amandine and lamb chops.

63 Ellis St., (415) 986-3274 or . Open continuously for lunch and dinner daily.

Johnny Foley's

Every city needs a good Irish pub, and Johnny Foley's admirably fills that requirement. With its ornate ceiling and hexagonal tile floor it looks like something out of the early 20th century. The walls are lined with portraits of famous people of Irish ancestry such as John F. Kennedy and Oscar Wilde. As should be expected, the bar is staffed by friendly bartenders. The food, crafted by Larry Doyle, is classic but well prepared: cottage pie, corn beef and cabbage, bangers and mash and a vegetarian Irish stew.

243 O'Farrell St., San Francisco; (415) 954-0777. Lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m. (kitchen open until 10) nightly.

Diners enjoy dinner at Kin Khao in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28th, 2014.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle

Kin Khao

It's worth veering a couple blocks off Union Square to the northwest corner of Mason and Ellis for some of the best Thai food in the city. Owner Pim Techamuanvivit makes no compromises when serving the cuisine of her homeland, and she insists on seasonal produce and sustainable seafood and meat, the reason the food is more expensive than at other Thai places. Best bets include the "pretty hot" wings, green curry rabbit and braised beef cheeks in Massaman curry. The restaurant also serves excellent cocktails.

55 Cyril Magnin St. (corner of Mason and Ellis in the Parc 55 Hotel ), or (415) 362-7456 . Lunch and dinner daily.

Customers at the bar at M.Y. China.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle

M.Y. China

Most of the ambitious restaurants that debuted at Westfield San Francisco Centre more than a decade ago have closed. However M.Y. China has continued to excel at Chinese food since it opened five years ago. The restaurant is a partnership between celebrity chef Martin Yan and the owners of Koi Palace. Best bets are the juicy pork dumplings, wild boar lettuce cups; scissor-cut noodles and other hand-pulled noodles; and roast chicken with its crispy, bronze skin

845 Market St., (415) 580-3001 or . Lunch and dinner daily.

54 Mint

If the sun is shining, the restaurant's patio, with views of the Old Mint, beckons; if you dine indoors the cozy feel of this Roman trattoria warms the bones. Breads and pastas are made in house and include spaghetti carbonara and fettuccine with mushrooms. At lunch the menu highlights panini (sandwiches) and several main courses. The menu expands at dinner and includes a local fish main course, slow braised oxtail, and simple but satisfying grilled lamb chops with roasted lemons.

16 Mint Plaza, (415) 543-5100 or . Lunch weekdays and dinner nightly.

The fish and chips at the Cavalier.
Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle


A block behind the Westfield mall, backing up to Bloomingdale's, this beautifully detailed restaurant features specialties you might find in a London brasserie, reimagined though a California lens. The menu includes Scotched duck egg crusted in pork sausage and rock shrimp, roasted bone marrow, pan-seared salmon with grilled avocado and smoked creme fraiche, and some well-done classics including a admirably light fish and chips. Another reprieve for weary shoppers: in the afternoons diners can drop by the bar for a dozen oysters and a bottle of rose for $30.

360 Jesse St., San Francisco; (415) 321-6000. Breakfast (or brunch), lunch and dinner daily.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant critic and editor-at-large. Email:

Full disclosure: My partner is involved with the IfOnly website featuring the chef/owner of Aquitaine and Cafe de la Presse.