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Restaurant Website: http://www.frances-sf.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Frances+san+francisco&sll=37.783062,-122.418938&sspn=0.051283,0.10231&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=Frances&hnear=San+Francisco,+CA&ll=37.782926,-122.44091&spn=0.051283,0.10231&z=13&iwloc=A

This intimate dining room, done in a palette of brown, white and black, has neighborhood restaurant written all over it. Tables are crowded convivially—close enough you’ll be able to see your neighbor pay for dinner with his black Amex. Walk-ins gather at the small bar in the front for snacks and wine sold, rather novelly, by the ounce.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>Chef-owner Melissa Perello, who earned her chops at Fifth Floor, where she was awarded three stars by the Chronicle, has created a sweet stage for her classic Franco-California fare. Silky chestnut soup studded with cipollini onions and Boccalone pancetta warms up a chilly winter night, clams with green garlic are understated and elegant; a generous wedge of “lumberjack cake,” rich with the caramel notes of fresh dates and offset by a scoop of Humphry Slocombe maple ice cream, is a cozy way to end a meal in the ’hood.</p>

Restaurant Website: http://www.saisonsf.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2124+folsom+st.,+san+francisco&sll=37.778825,-122.394065&sspn=0.006606,0.009484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=2124+Folsom+St,+San+Francisco,+California+94110&z=17

Foodies looking for an experience that they'll never forget come here to see what happens when a fine-dining chef takes over an informal kitchen and gallery space in the Mission District (directly behind Stable Cafe) on weekends. Huddling outside the outdoor heat lamps while waiting for your table inside in the compromise you might have to make. On warm nights, take advantage of the garden patio.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>The "restaurant" put on by Mina (as in Michael) Group alumnus chef Joshua Skenes and sommelier Mark Bright is casual when it comes to service but the food is star quality, with a new menu each week, with such food as sublime uni soup, beautifully presented liver mousse and honey-roasted squab. If you choose to reserve a seat at the chef's table—an affair that puts you two steps from the stoves as well as the dishwashers—you might even be served by Skenes himself.</p>

Restaurant Website: http://www.restaurantlulu.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=816+Folsom+St.+San+Francisco&sll=37.739431,-122.415547&sspn=0.009282,0.013304&ie=UTF8&ll=37.782638,-122.401836&spn=0.009277,0.013304&z=16&iwloc=A

During the dot-com days, Lulu was one of the most trendsetting restaurants in the U.S. Today, its patrons are a mix of conventioneers coming from the Moscone Center and diners who came of age during former chef Reed Hearon’s day, when his iron-skillet roasted mussels developed a cult following. Oenophiles still know Lulu to have one of the best cellars in the city, as well as 70 wines by the glass.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>Under the vaulted ceiling of the former 1910 warehouse, the centerpiece of the restaurant is an oak-fired rotisserie, grill and wood-fired oven. The Provencal-style menu still feels contemporary: Grilled local sardines and nightly rotisserie specials include rabbit with flageolet beans and suckling pig with red dandelion greens. The bar is a perfect place to sit down to an excellent wild mushroom pizza and a sampling of a few French wines.</p>

Restaurant Website: http://www.lamarcebicheria.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pier+1+1%2F2++San+Francisco&sll=37.753955,-122.404196&sspn=0.00928,0.013304&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=A

Superstar Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio’s first stateside restaurant occupies a breezy historic building smack-dab on the Embarcadero that, with its whitewashed beams and neon-blue webbed chairs, hints at country-club chic. Sample a refreshing pisco punch at the bar, grab a casual bite in the ceviche lounge or settle into a full supper in the dining room overlooking the Bay. The large deck provides some of the best waterfront dining in the city.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>A meal at La Mar is like a Peruvian primer—the menu is punctuated with traditional ingredients, from aji amarillo chiles to leche de tigre (a key ingredient in La Mar’s outstanding ceviche). Don’t miss the rice dishes, such as the arroz chaufa, an inspired Peruvian take on fried rice, and the full-flavored soups, among them a robust shrimp soup enriched by the addition of a poached egg.</p>

Restaurant Website: http://www.gitanerestaurant.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=6+Claude+Ln.+San+Francisco&sll=37.579413,-95.712891&sspn=37.779043,54.492188&ie=UTF8&ll=37.790269,-122.404196&spn=0.009276,0.013304&z=16&iwloc=A

Like its sister restaurant, Café Claude, Gitane (French for “gypsy”) is hidden away in a downtown alley. But Café Claude’s modest French-bistro decor has nothing in common with opulent Gitane, wrapped up in a reflective stretch polymer ceiling, midcentury chandeliers, hand-printed wallpaper and loud music. The narrow bar, which occupies the first floor, is a fun place to meet for a drink after a day of shopping, but cozy tables line the second floor loft for a more secluded dinner.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>The food at Gitane is inspired by the peripatetic wanderings of its namesake people. Broadly categorized as “Mediterranean,” the menu heavily favors the flavors of North Africa and Spain, with lusty, bold takes on tajine and bastilla, crab croquettes and pizzas loaded with piquillo peppers and Spanish chorizo.</p>

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1300+fillmore+sf&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=37.783384,-122.43207&spn=0.007377,0.013518&z=16&iwloc=addr

The arrival of 1300 on Fillmore (along with Yoshi’s next door) heralds the revitalization of the part of town formerly known as the Fillmore Jazz district. The lounge is hung with vintage sepia photographs depicting the glory days of the neighborhood, and spotlights complete the theatrical effect. The crowd, a mixture of ages, race, families and couples, is refreshingly diverse.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>Elements of soul food permeate the menu, including grits, cornbread and fried chicken, but they’ve all been given an upscale twist. The grits are enriched by mascarpone and topped with wild mushrooms; cornbread is accompanied by house-made pepper jelly; and crispy fried chicken has a dash of cumin in the crust and, on the side, whipped potatoes perfumed with truffle oil.</p>

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1230+Grant+Ave.,+++sf&sll=37.823616,-122.427177&sspn=0.105222,0.212173&gl=us&ie=UTF8&ll=37.803274,-122.407136&spn=0.012377,0.026522&z=15&iwloc=r2

Since 1994, husband-and-wife team Larry and Angela Tse have been bringing sophisticated, re-interpreted Asian dishes to a neighborhood better known for pasta and pizza. If you’re not paying attention, you may very well pass right by the unassuming brown-gray façade framing the spare interior. But don’t let the minimalist design fool you—the inspired menu and gorgeous plating speak for themselves.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>Asian-influenced dishes with American sensibilities charm diners who enjoy the unexpected. Maine crab cakes, for example, are served with pickled ginger rémoulade, and a shrimp tempura salad gets some extra kick from slices of fuji apple. Notable dishes include buttery black cod draped with slices of avocado roll and served on a bed of bok choy, and wasabi house noodles with flatiron steak.</p>

Theatergoers and young professionals drop in to this sleek space for cocktails and small plates at the curvy bar outfitted with a tropical-fish tank. Orange and aqua-upholstered banquettes and nightclub-style tables with elegant bar stools are intimately arranged in the elevated dining area—a good choice for dates or larger groups seeking privacy behind the heavy, dramatic drapery. Eats:What's on your menu.: The eclectic Asian menu features such favorites as garlic naan with apricot-peach chutney and cucumber raita, as well as chicken spring rolls served with butter lettuce wrappers, fresh herbs and sweet chile sauce. The protein-focused entrees feature seasonal vegetables and regionally diverse ingredients, such as a Vietnamese seafood stew with lemongrass and tomatoes, and a roasted half chicken with seasonal veggies like shiitake mushrooms and Chinese longbeans.

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=garibaldi's+,+sf&sll=38.087013,-122.280579&sspn=0.78903,1.697388&gl=us&ie=UTF8&cd=1&ll=37.805986,-122.423401&spn=0.052624,0.106087&z=13&iwloc=A

With ceiling fans, a color scheme of putty and sage and white tablecloths illuminated by tea lights, this is one of the few spots in the city that’s swanky enough to be a destination restaurant but has long functioned as a true neighborhood night out. A long, narrow room in the back is a popular place for celebratory dinners.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>The eclectic Cal-Med menu here epitomizes the neighborhood: sophisticated, yet safe enough to please anyone from your your picky date to your father-in-law who demands a martini. No one will go hungry. The chopped salad—a crunchy mix including florets of cauliflower and broccoli with a buttermilk dressing—is enough for two. Entrées, such as a dish of Loch Duart salmon with a tangy fennel-and-apple salad and a filet mignon with cipollini onions, carrots and a slick of green-peppercorn demi-glace, are heaping. Special prix-fixe dinners, such as “A Taste of Spain,” are worth inquiring about.</p>

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Essencia+,+sf&sll=37.808156,-122.404346&sspn=0.052622,0.106087&gl=us&ie=UTF8&ll=37.781705,-122.423143&spn=0.01238,0.026522&z=15&iwloc=A

Big windows flood Essencia with light, conferring a warm glow on the red-acacia tables; mocha-colored walls make the restaurant feel cozy. Because nearly every table is on display, it’s not the ideal place for an intimate dinner date.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>Consulting chef Anne Gingrass Paik has cast her skillful hand over Essencia’s menu, composed of Californicated Peruvian dishes. A sliced artichoke served with lemony quinoa salad is a light way to start the meal. Skewers of beef heart are intensely meaty, capable of converting any offal-phobes who dare to try them. Entrées depend on big flavors and rustic presentation: A piece of halibut sits atop a coarse mash of chickpeas, and the lamb is served with a miniature cast-iron crock filled with risotto-style rice. Desserts continue the Peruvian theme: A supple flan, a guanavana mousse and a plate of alfajores are all fine ways to end the meal.</p>