Date Night: Late Night Dining

On those rare nights when the kids are at grandma’s house or your babysitter offered to stay late, try taking advantage of the many late night dining options San Francisco has to offer. Our friends at 7X7 dug up a comprehensive list of the best spots to grab a great meal later in the night. These awesome date night restaurants serve great fare until midnight (and sometimes later)!

A San Franciscan’s lament is often that there’s no late-night dining in this town. But there is—and it reaches far beyond Nopa and greasy spoons. In fact, today it’s standard for restaurants to (try to) stay open late.

Following is an impressively diverse list of restaurants that serve food—good food—until midnight, at least a couple nights a week, and often beyond.

Craving a late night snack of dumplings, pizza, meatballs, deviled eggs, kimchi ramen, pupusas, sushi … ? The city is your oyster. Come and get it.

* Signifies restaurants serving food past midnight at least a couple nights a week.

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar (Civic Center)
Eats: Beef tartare, California Lam Shoulder Confit, Coq Au Vin
Last call for food: midnight, Tues–Sat (Mon closed)

Betelnut (Marina)
Eats: lettuce cups, pork confit with scallion pancakes, Happy Buddha dumplings
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Beretta (Mission) *
Eats: pizza, eggplant caponatina, meatballs
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Bix (Jackson Square)
Eats: hand-cut steak tartare, deviled eggs, black-truffle cheese burger
Last call for food: 9:30 pm, Sun–Wed; 10:30 pm, Thurs–Sat; bar menu until midnight, Thurs–Sat

Boxing Room (Hayes Valley)
Eats: fried seafood po’boy, Southern-fried chicken, crawfish etouffée
Last call for food: 12:30 am, Thurs-Sat; 11:30 pm, Sun–Wed

Brazen Head (Marina) *
Eats: oysters on the half shell, crab cakes, pepper steak
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Chambers (Tenderloin)*
Eats: marble potatoes, summer bean salad, burger
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Cotogna (Jackson Square)
Eats: sformato, roasted meats, handmade pastas
Last call for food: Mon–Thurs, 11 pm; Fri and Sat, midnight

Criolla Kitchen (Castro)
Eats: chicken and waffles, gumbo, sweet potato tater tots
Last call for food: midnight, Friday & Saturday; 11 pm, Sun–Thurs

Delarosa (Marina) *
Eats: proscuitto and argula pizza, carpaccio of beets, gnocchi with rock shrimp
Last call for food: 12:50 am, daily

District (SOMA)
Eats: cambazola cheese fondue, pear and endive salad, lamb meatballs in charmoula
Last call for food: late-night menu until midnight, Thurs–Sat

Don Pistos (North Beach)
Eats: tortilla soup, lamb ribs, tacos al pastor
Last call for food: Tues–Sun, 12:30 am

El Farolito (Mission) *
Eats: three-ton burritos
Last call for food: 3 am, Sun–Thurs; 4 am, Fri and Sat

El Zocalo (Bernal Heights) *
Eats: pupusas, plantains and beans
Last call for food: 3 am, daily

Gaspare (Outer Richmond)
Eats: old-school thin-crust pizzas; old-school antipasto misto
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Genki Ramen (Richmond) *
Eats: kimchi ramen, shrimp tempura, seaweed salad
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; 1 am, Fri and Sat

Globe (Jackson Square) *
Eats: tuna tartare, salad lardon, rib-eye with potato gratin
Last call for food: 1 am, Mon–Sat; midnight, Sun

Gitane (Union Square)
Eats: bacon bonbons, Pacific wild swordfish, French lentils
Last call for food: 11 pm, Tues–Wed; midnight, Thurs–Sat

Golden Boy Pizza (North Beach) *
Eats: pesto pizza, clam pizza
Last call for food: 12:30 pm, Sun–Thurs; 2:30 am, Fri and Sat

Grubstake (TenderNob) *
Eats: linguisa with eggs, French dip sandwich
Last call for food: 4 am, daily

Heaven’s Dog (SOMA) *
Eats: soup dumplings, kung pao tofu, chicken curry claypot
Last call for food: 1 am, Mon–Sat

Hecho (Union Square)
Eats: seared sashimi with cucumber and chili paste, yakimono of all sorts, shishito peppers
Last call for food: 11:30 pm (sushi bar), Sun–Thurs; 11:30 pm (kitchen) and 12:30 am (sushi bar), Fri and Sat

Katana-Ya (Tenderloin) *
Eats: kimchee fried rice, chasu ramen, sushi
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

King of Thai Noodle (Union Square)*
* several locations
Eats: wonton noodle soup with greens, yellow chicken curry
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Liverpool Lil’s (Cow Hollow)
Eats: french onion soup, paella, beer-battered fish and chips
Last call for food: 11 pm Sun and Mon; 12 am, Tues and Wed; 1 am, Thurs–Sat

Locanda (Mission)
Eats: handmade pastas, roasted meats, pizza bianca
Last call for food: daily until midnight

Lucky Dogs (Cow Hollow) *
Eats: chicken apple sausage, Louisiana hot link, bacon-wrapped dog, Reuben dog
Last call for food: 2:30 am, Fri and Sat

Magnolia Pub + Brewery (Upper Haight)
Eats: burgers, maple-laquered pork chop
Last call for food: midnight, daily

The Monk’s Kettle (Mission) *
Eats: house-made veggie burger, giant pretzel, chicken paillard
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Namu (Inner Richmond) *
Eats: cold soba noodles, shiitake dumplings, crispy vegetable tempura
Last call for food: 10:30 pm, Sun–Tues; 12 am, Wed–Sat

Nombe (Mission) *
Eats: ramen, chicken wings with honey and chili, blood orange salad
Last call for food: 10 pm, Wed, Thurs, Sun; 11:30 pm, Fri and Sat

Nopa (NOPA) *
Eats: warm chicory salad, Moroccan vegetable tangine, hamburger
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Osha Thai Noodle Café (TenderNob) *
Eats: fried squid balls, greem papaya salad with salty crab, pad khee mao
Last call for food: 1 am, Sun–Thurs; 3 am, Fri and Sat

Panchitas #2 (Mission) *
Eats: pupusas!
Last call for food: 2:30 am, daily

Ryoko’s (Nob Hill) *
Eats: sushi, sushi, sushi
Last call for food: 1:30 am, daily

Starbelly (Castro)
Eats: chicken liver terrine, porchetta
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Tacolicious (Marina)
Eats: carnitas tacos, tuna tostada, Marina Girl salad
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Wed; midnight, Thurs–Sat

Yuet Lee (North Beach) *
Eats: clams in black bean sauce, salt-and-pepper squid
Last call for food: midnight, Sun–Thurs; 3 am, Fri and Sat; closed Tues

Zuni Café (Hayes Valley)
Eats: roasted chicken and bread salad, ricotta gnocchi, shoestring potatoes
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun, Tues–Thur; midnight, Fri and Sat; closed Mon

By Sara Deseren

This is our weekly guest post from our friends at 7×7, a site that keeps you up on the best of SF. We’ve teamed up for an exciting partnership to bring you a fantastic Date Night idea each week. Be sure to check out their blog for hourly doses of the best of SF.