Hog Island Oyster Company is about 10 miles north of the town of Point Reyes on Highway 1. There are tables and grills where you can shuck your own oysters at the edge of Tomales Bay. In Pt. Reyes, you can buy a baguette at the Bovine Bakery, some local cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery and some wine or beer.

Then drive north to Hog Island. The ocean fog often burns off in the late afternoon. A marvelous way to induce a sense of wellbeing.

www.hogislandoysters.com

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Pasta Moon in Half Moon Bay, which is on Hwy 1 just a short drive from San Francisco, serves some of the best Italian food to be had anywhere.

It is not cheap but for Brits with the exchange rate as it is now, it is very inexpensive. Go for the seafood/fishy options. Seafood risotto is superb.

I could go on and on, but if you appreciate great Italian cooking - GO THERE! It made a great start to our Pacific Coast Hwy trip.

www.pastamoon.com/

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This restaurant is linked with Green Gulch Farm, a Zen centre and farm which provides organic produce. The restaurant serves outstanding vegetarian haute cuisine. The cookbooks by two of its cooks, Deborah Madison (Greens, Vegetarian Cooking for everyone) and Annie Somerville (Fields of Greens) have been my best friends in the kitchen for many years.

On the waterfront in San Francisco

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This is a restaurant located in the Ferry Building. They serve great, great food.

Watch out for the dog, though. He is not dangerous, but the owners are not polite enough to keep the dog away from the communal table, which I think is weird.

You have a straight view on the Bay Bridge, which doesn't have the fame of the Golden Gate, but is still well worth looking at.

Right in the Ferry Building. Tons of trams and buses go there.

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This restaurant has the most amazing views of San Francisco. Perched on top of the Hyatt, across from the Ferry Building in the Embarcadero area, Equinox offers stunning views of the bay, the financial district and the Bay Bridge. But this is not all, for not only is the view fantastic, but the restaurant does a 360-degree rotation in about 45 minutes; whilst you’re savouring your meal you can enjoy the beautiful skyline of the city.

The food at the Equinox is of very good quality. For starters their crab cakes and their oysters are simply superb. Their filet as a main is tender and it melts in your mouth; their salmon is simply-cooked and yet it has a taste of uniqueness. The desserts come in big portions, or bigger than you’d expect at such a restaurant; and by the time you’ve got to leave you feel just right and not in need of any extra nibbles. Prices are a bit high, but if you’ve got the chance to set some money aside before you leave San Francisco, the place is worth a visit.

If money is an issue, we noticed that some people also go in to have a drink and some dessert rather than a whole meal. The one drawback we thought Equinox has is that the menu is not as extensive as one might like, especially if you’re a vegetarian: you might find there’s nothing for you to choose from.

sanfranciscoregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/restaurants/index.jsp

Equinox, at the Hyatt Regency
5 Embarcadero Center,
San Francisco,
California 94111

Equinox Reservations: (415) 291-6619

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Cute cafe and wine bar in North Beach run by a Brit. Cold beer and decent wines. Free Wi-Fi, Premiership on the telly, great sandwiches, delicious fondue. On Mondays and Fridays local musicians and poets perform.

www.melt-cafe.com

Melt!
700 Columbus Ave @ Filbert
San Francisco

Tel: (415) 392-9290

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Just the name would be enough for a recommendation, but this cafe/diner also has locals and visitors queueing down the street on weekends. The pulled pork, bacon and ham is clearly a main feature, but there's plenty on the typically diner style menu for non-pork or meat eaters.

1451 Haight St

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Connoisseurs will turn up their noses, but this is one of my favourite places to go for good, inexpensive, and fun sushi. I have brought people here who are wary of sushi but find themselves enjoying rolls with creamed cheese, fried salmon skin, and other not-very-authentic additions.

And I've never paid more than $30 for two people to be stuffed at the end of the meal.

Valencia/22nd st, San Francisco

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Cha Cha Cha is a restaurant on Haight Street. The food is Caribbean - my favorite is the red snapper wrapped in banana leaves with black beans and plantains - but no matter what you eat, or even if you're not hungry, DO NOT MISS the sangria (just make sure you don't have to drive afterwards).

As the Frommers website says, Cha Cha Cha is not a meal, it's an experience. Moderately priced. No reservations. Weird people, weird neighborhood, great food and wine (not a full bar).

1801 Haight Street (nearest intersection: Schrader street) - a few blocks from Ashbury and half a block from Golden Gate Park;.
tel: (415) 386-7670
public transport: bus 71 stops less than a block away

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One of the pleasant surprises about visiting San Francisco is that it has fantastic food. Not indigenous US food, but the food-culture imported by its immigrants from south of the border. Taquerias provides authentic, very tasty, cheap Mexican-style food to locals everywhere - especially in The Mission District. The best one is El Toro Taqueria on Valencia St. It is vegetarian-friendly (ie: it definitely doesn't cook beans in lard).

El Toro Taqueria: 598 Valencia St;
tel: (415) 431-2535;
Here's a photo: www.flickr.com/photos/bryceedwards/134769479/

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A great late afternoon/early evening walk up Grant Avenue starting at Market Street and ending at Coit Tower. You start in the heart of downtown but soon transition to Chinatown and then the Italian North Beach district before ending with panoramic views of The City and The Bay.

Stop at local establishments Tosca (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7859) for an Irish coffee, Cafe Macaroni (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7860) for dinner, then catch some live blues at the Saloon (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7858) - Perfect!

Start at Grant Ave and Market Street.

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An intimate little Italian restaurant with cheesy decor but great food and bags of character. The upstairs has a ridiculously low ceiling with pasta stuck to it! I heartily recommend the gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce.

59 Columbus (at Jackson) in North Beach;
tel: (415) 217-8400
www.caffemacaroni.com

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The dim sum in San Francisco is some of the best in the world. SFGate.com has a very good guide.

www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/chinatown.shtml

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Cocktail bar and restaurant that has a Pacific island theme. The band plays on a boat that drifts out into the lagoon to a mock storm complete with rain. As fabulously tacky as it sounds.

Fairmont Hotel: 950 Mason Street (there's an entrance off California Street);
tel: (415) 772 5278;
www.fairmont.com

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Walk around the Mission District, the heart of the Latino district. Eat at any place (I miss the food so much), and go into a few supermarkets for special treats. At night there are many good bars (Divas for their mojitos), movie theatres and clubs. Check out the area during the day first to familiar yourself with the streets if you are the easily-scared type. Some people think the area is a bit unsafe. This petite female never had any problems.

Around Valencia, 16th and 24th streets;
www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/mission.shtml

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Go for Sunday brunch in one of the city's most beautiful rooms: the Garden Court at the Palace Hotel. Refurbished and charming with fabulous light, the setting is perfect for not-at-all-your-typical buffet. There are choices from generous American specialties to a Japanese section from the hotel's A-1 restaurant, Kyo-Ya and Chinese food as well as seafood and, well, it must be experienced (with champagne, of course).

Inside the Palace Hotel: 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105;
tel: (415) 546 5089;
www.gardencourt-restaurant.com

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Modern American cuisine with international influences and classic cocktails. The dishes are small and it is recommended to order 3 or 4 each (like tapas) from the menu and share with your partner or party, so you get to sample most of the menu. Definitely more on the quality of the food and not quantity, Friendly staff and quick service, or just pop in for a drink.

1085 Sutter St (& Larkin), San Francisco (next door to Hotel Carlton); tel: (415) 441 4232;
www.brickrestaurant.com

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I'm almost reluctant to share this one in case it gets too popular - but the seafood here is out of this world. Tadich is a San Francisco institution. Reputedly the oldest restaurant in the city. Check opening hours as it's in the financial district so may close earlier than expected.

240 California St, near the Embarcadero Center, between Front and Beale Streets;
tel: (415) 391 1849

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Traditional diner near Union Square. Very well known, grumpy staff, but genuinely great breakfast - especially pancakes and corned beef hash.

439 Powell St, near Union Square; tel: (415) 986 1160

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Chez Panisse is a Berkeley institution. Just across the Bay Bridge from SF (itself a beautiful and highly underrated bridge with great views of the SF Financial District, always coming in second place to the Golden Gate Bridge!) is Berkeley, probably the most liberal of places in the US. Home to Berkeley University (where I spent 2 happy years as a student) and numerous incredible restaurants, my pick of which is definitely Chez Panisse in the Gourmet Ghetto district.

Alice Waters, creator of "California Cuisine" (all natural, organic, local, fresh, seasonal ingredients), founded this restaurant in 1971, and it is still serving up some of the best, freshest food in the whole of the Bay Area. It is not cheap, but not outrageously expensive either, and worth splashing out on.

They have two sections in the restaurant - the a la carte cafe upstairs, slightly cheaper, where you can choose between courses, and the restaurant downstairs, which serves a set menu every night. The wine list is also impressive, and it is worth asking the waiters to pair your meal with some excellent local Napa and Sonoma Valley wines, as they are extremely knowledgeable and will no doubt recommend the perfect wine to go with your meal. I have eaten in both the a la carte section and the restaurant downstairs, and both times felt I had eaten the best meal of my life!

Reservations should be made, as it is a popular place.

1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (nearest BART station is Downtown Berkeley;
Café reservations: (510) 548 5049; Restaurant reservations: (510) 548-5525;
www.chezpanisse.com

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