For folks required to (or attempting to) eat gluten-free, dining out in some parts of the country can be a challenge. But San Francisco is a smorgasbord for the GF food lover, with delicious options on nearly every menu. From world-class pizza to sourdough bread to fried calamari, here's our list of what to eat when you're dining sans wheat (and barley and rye) in the city.
Please note that only a few of the following 50 restaurants and shops are entirely sans gluten, but most know how to help you mine the menu for the safe stuff (and many will go out of their way to avoid potential cross-contamination). Menus and recipes change frequently and not all ingredients are listed, so be sure to tell your server you're gluten-free and confirm your selections are safe before ordering.
1601 Bar & Kitchen's egg hopper. (Courtesy of sarahcraves.com)
Tony's pizza with GF crust. (Tim Costner / Accidental Wino)
1. Tea Leaf Salad @Burma Superstar, 309 Clement St.,burmasuperstar.com
2. Tuna Poke @ Liholiho Yacht Club, 871 Sutter St., liholihoyachtclub.com
3. Pork & Shrimp Imperial Rolls @ Out the Door, 1 Ferry Building, outthedoors.com
4. Chicken Hash with Eggs (hold the toast) @ Ella's, 500 Presidio Ave., ellassanfrancisco.com
5. S+S Beet Burger @ Seed + Salt, 2240 Chestnut St., seedandsalt.com
6. Pancakes @ Little Gem, 400 Grove St, littlegem.restaurant
7. Rotisserie Chicken @ Nopa, 560 Divisadero St., nopasf.com
8. Tuna Sashimi @ Foreign Cinema, 2534 Mission St., foreigncinema.com
9. Grilled Monterey Bay Calamari @ Delfina, 3621 18th St., delfinasf.com
10. Fried Chicken (w/ cornbread) @ Firefly, 4288 24th St., fireflysf.com
11. Octapodaki tou Yiorgou (grilled octopus) @ Kokkari, 200 Jackson St., kokkari.com
12. Spicy Mung Masala Dosa @ Dosa on Fillmore, 1700 Fillmore St., dosasf.com
13. Smoked Mount Lassen Trout @ Alta SF, 1420 Market St., altaca.co
14. Mussels Marinière @ Chez Maman, 1401 18th St., chezmamansf.com
15. Fried Calamari @ Scoma's, 1965 Al Scoma Way, scomas.com
16. Any Sandwich @ Mariposa, 1 Ferry Building Plaza, mariposabaking.com
17. Josey Baker's Adventure Bread @ The Mill, 736 Divisadero St., joseybakerbread.com
18. Falafel Bowl (sans pita) @ Sababa, 329 Kearney St., sababasf.com
19. Pizza! (Ask for GF crust) @ Tony's Pizza Napoletana, 1570 Stockton St., tonyspizzanapoletana.com
20. Prime Rib @ House of Prime Rib, 1906 Van Ness Ave., houseofprimerib.net
21. Chilaquiles @ Tacolicious, multiple locations, tacolicious.com
22. Native Salad @ Native Juice Co, 168 Sutter St., nativejuiceco.com
23. Eggs Benedict "Pierre Noir" on GF bread @ Zazie, 941 Cole St, zaziesf.com
24. Tamal de Acelgas Veracruzano @ Nopalito, multiple locations, nopalitosf.com
25. Caesar Salad (hold the croutons) @ Zuni, 1658 Market St., zunicafe.com
26. Roasted Sunchoke Soup @ SPQR, 1911 Fillmore St., spqrsf.com
27. Deviled Egg @ Octavia, 1701 Octavia St., octavia-sf.com
28. Black Sesame & Sonoma Honey Ice cream on a GF Cone @ Bi-Rite Creamery, 3692 18th St., biritecreamery.com
29. Squid Ink Risotto @ Acquerello, 1722 Sacramento St., acquerello.com
30. Cassoulet @ Monsieur Benjamin, 451 Gough St., monsieurbenjamin.com
31. Verduras a la Catalana @ Coqueta, Pier 5, The Embarcadero, coquetasf.com
32. Wood Oven Roasted Crushed Red Potato @ Boulevard, 1 Mission St., boulevardrestaurant.com
33. Rice Noodle With Shrimp (ask for GF soy sauce) @ Yank Sing, multiple locations, yanksing.com
34. Traditional Egg Hopper, 1601 Bar & Kitchen, 1601 Howard St., 1601sf.com
35. Seafood Cioppino (hold the garlic bread), Tadich Grill, 240 California St., tadichgrill.com
36. Butterscotch and Chocolate Pot de Crème @ Town Hall, 342 Howard St., townhallsf.com
37. Hand-Picked Dungeness Crab Salad @ One Market Restaurant, 1 Market St., onemarket.com
38. Raw Bar (ask for GF bread) @ Swan Oyster Depot, 1517 Polk St., facebook.com/SwanOysterDepot
39. Arepas @ Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, 401 Valencia St., picapica.com
40. Pho Ga @ Turtle Tower, 5716 Geary Blvd, turtletowersf.com
41. GF Vanilla Cupcake @ Kara's Cupcakes, 3249 Scott St., karascupcakes.com
42. St. Louis Cut Ribs @ Cat's Head BBQ, 1665 Folsom St., catheadsbbq.com
43. Grilled Cheese on GF Bread @ The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, 799 Battery St., theamericansf.com
44. Pad Thai @ Marnee Thai, 1243 9th Ave., marneethaisf.com
45. Grilled Grass-Fed Lamb Chops @ Kitchen Istanbul, 349 Clement St., kitchenistanbulsf.com
46. Honey Butter Toast on GF Bread @ Samovar Tea Lounge, 411 Valencia St., samovartea.com
47. Bread SRSLY Sourdough @ Bi-Rate Market, 550 Divisadero St., shop.breadsrsly.com
48. Nana Joes Ocean Beach Granola Bar @ Rainbow Grocery, 1745 Folsom St., nana-joes-granola.myshopify.com
49. Black Rice Pudding @ Kin Khao, 55 Cyril Magnin St., kinkhao.com
50. Pumpkin Curry @ Osha Thai, 686 Geary St., oshathai.com
About the author: San Francisco native and sourdough lover Erika Lenkert is the founding editor of San Francisco's only national food magazine, GFF: Gluten-Free Forever. A longtime food critic and cookbook author, she had to go GF 17 years ago and continues to eat very, very well.
