How to Spend 24 Perfect Hours in San Francisco

There’s only one time of the year that is unarguably peak San Francisco, and that is September. That’s when the fog retreats toward the Pacific and the heat is high but not wildfire hot and denizens from every pocket of the city come out for buttery garlic noodles, exquisite espresso, and rich cioppino cozy enough to comfort you through the late-night, when the city flickers into a paradise of Japantown karaoke and circuit parties in SoMa’s leather district. 

Despite doom loop hysteria and much-villainization thanks to Fox News and the like, San Francisco remains a historic city for lovers of fine food and sweeping, stunning scenery. It was an indulgent valhalla for OG (original gourmand) James Beard, shorthand for culinary talent for evangelist MFK Fisher, and the greater Bay Area has birthed so many upscale restaurant firsts it’s dizzying. 

And now you’ve got just a day and night to take in all the early fall splendor. Here’s just one of the ways to blow through 24 hours in San Francisco, a city with as many wonderful ways to take it all in as it has restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs.

Hotel — Hotel Castro

The California Department of Justice has found crime in San Francisco is not exceptional nationwide. Still, most brand-name hotels are in the city center, and walking around there at night can be jarring for solo travelers. The Hotel Castro provides easy access to the city center, loads of late-night options on the block, the chance to take in one of the country’s most legendary gayborhoods, and rooms starting at under $300 a night. Moreover, the hotel’s groundlevel bar Lobby Bar is a delightful destination for vinyl vibes and elegant cocktails: a nightcap a few blocks from Harvey Milk’s old apartment is tough to top.

4230 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Coffee — Paper Son

Coffee came to the United States through three main ports: New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. While all of those cities have their own fascinating legacies with the buzzy bean, only San Francisco overlaps with the paper son migratory experience. Coming to the states for work, Asian immigrants created familial relations by pen stroke to bring community members through the Golden Gate. Alex Pong is a barista who honors that family history at his new SoMa cafe with drinks like the Pandan Aerocano, an Aeropress-pulled Americano with a bubbly body. His approach to fruit coffee shows his attentiveness to the industry’s pulse, orange juice and grapefruit espresso concoctions taking over the scene left and right. The rotating pourover menu, available on Sundays, is worth marking on your calendar. Take one of these drinks on a walk to the much-visited Embarcadero and sprawling Ferry Building, just a short walk to the north.

2343 3rd St UNIT 100, San Francisco, CA 94107

Lunch — Taqueria El Farolito

Headed south from downtown, one must eat the San Francisco original: a Mission-style burrito. Yes, Chipotle ripped the recipe from the Baghdad by the Bay. Though a number of restaurants in the predominantly Latino area claim they came up with the culinary depth charge, all agree San Francisco founded the tightly wrapped tin foil creation in the 1960s. Taqueria El Farolito is the go-to for plenty of Mission locals, a busy corner spot well-known for a late-night fix or filling lunch before hitting the scene (or calling it a night). Nab a super burrito, this ideal portable luxury, and take in the neighborhood’s alleyways full of murals, long Valencia Street corridor full of quirky hipsterism, or historic 24th Street with its plentiful tiendas. 

2779 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
2950 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Dinner — State Bird Provisions

Now that you’re properly caffeinated, fed, and seen a number of the San Francisco sights, though one can barely check all those boxes in a day, it’s time to really tuck in. State Bird Provisions won’t let you down. It’s tough to find any fault in the dining experience at this Filmore Street dim sum-inspired icon, revered as one of the city’s must-visit dining outfits since it opened in 2012. Chef Stuart Brioza loves these character describing things, but he loves cooking great food even more, and for over a decade this character has been providing consistently excellent dinners to San Franciscans and visitors alike. 

Eating here feels like the free-flowing dinner parties Brioza used to host in his Hayes Valley apartment, and the dishes land in much the same fashion. Fried quail that takes days to prepare, oysters with chili oil, lamb tartare and much more are all likely to show up on the menu. It’s not the most expensive meal in town, but remains one of the most innovative and energising, and it’s likely you’ll get a reservation if you look in advance.

1529 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Drinks — Moongate Lounge & Li Po Cocktail Lounge

The day and night cannot be complete, despite all the coastal sights and divine dining, without parading through Chinatown. That’s really what one does in this neighborhood, considered by many to be the United States’s first Chinatown. Starting on the upscale side of things, to better segue from your dinner, head to Moongate Lounge. It’s the upstairs companion outfit to Mister Jiu’s, the country’s only restaurant categorized as Chinese to hold a Michelin star. Order a punchbowl of any of the listening lounge’s seasonally inspired cocktails and get weird with whomever is DJing that night. Then head a few blocks east to Li Po Cocktail Lounge for the legendary, Bourdain-approved bar’s patented Chinese mai tai. The sugary punch in the face will keep costs down as you blur your way, hopefully slowly, back to Lobby Bar for that nightcap. 

Or, take in a bit more of San Francisco by spending the afterhours a few more blocks away to Columbus Avenue, the gateway to North Beach, the city’s Little Italy, and another big chunk of California history. Keep on going to the water’s edge once more and catch a glimpse of Golden Gate Bridge on your left, that span of fantastical red metal. It’s just 24 hours, and San Francisco’s 48 hills are limitless.

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Paolo Bicchieri is a writer living on the coast. He’s worked in restaurants since he was 15, cutting his teeth at legendary fine dining destination McDonald’s and sugar dusting morning buns at underground cult hit Tartine. His writing has appeared in Eater, Standart Magazine, the San Francisco Standard, and more. All photography by Paolo Bicchieri, except otherwise stated. Header: courtesy Taqueria El Farolito / Facebook.