16 Best San Francisco and Bay Area Food Blogs
San Francisco is a culinary behemoth. We’re absolutely talking about one of the best food cities in the U.S. – and that’s before we even zoom out to include the whole of the Bay Area. It’s no wonder, that with such a big scope, people turn to food blogs and travel publications for restaurant and dining recommendations. These voices, from authoritative national publications dropping comprehensive San Francisco food guides to independent food bloggers sharing their own nuanced foodie insights, simplify the travel experience and let people enjoy the good stuff.
The best San Francisco food blogs, from Oakland and Alameda to Santa Cruz and San Jose. For all the Bay Area foodies!
Eater SF 🔗
A food blog heavyweight with a broad and reliable lens.
Eater SF is an oracle of San Francisco’s dining scene, offering a combination of insider knowledge and industry news. The informative platform is a beacon for epicurean enthusiasts, with its finger on the pulse of restaurant openings, trends, and critiques. Alongside specific reviews, profiles of up-and-coming chefs, and curious thought pieces, readers can scroll through curated gastronomic lists that simplify their exploration of The Bay’s local dining landscape.
Tablehopper 🔗
Independent newsletter turned Bay Area stalwart with a direct and personal voice.
Self-proclaimed as a must-read for anyone who “lives to eat” in San Francisco, Tablehopper is a seasoned guide to the city’s dining experiences. The platform’s maestro, Marcia Gagliardi, calls on nearly two decades of gastronomic experience to provide practical insights, honest reviews, culinary anecdotes, insider stories, and thoughtful recommendations. Now a member-supported entity, new subscribers will enjoy access to Tablehopper's complete back catalog of over 12,000 food-related articles.
7x7 🔗
Good for first impressions of new restaurant openings in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
7x7 casts a broad net across all things San Francisco, being an editorial voice intended to maximize every moment spent in The Bay Area. As such, the platform’s culinary catalog provides a running narrative on trending restaurants, events, and new openings. Simply put, whether you're seeking a cozy neighborhood café, an offbeat food adventure, or first impressions of a fresh launch, 7x7 has you covered.
Cyn Eats 🔗
An archive of SF restaurant reviews worth browsing. Plus some contemporary insights via Instagram.
Originally a website expressing Cynthia’s love for culinary experiences in the Bay Area, Cyn Eats – as she’s better known – now mostly operates via Instagram. Still, a vast catalog of food insights remains on her website, and Cyn continues to add new dining discoveries on her social channels. As an independent voice, Cyn Eats offers readers a genuine and personal perspective on San Francisco’s food scene – an ideal source of information for foodies seeking relatability.
Worth noting: Cyn now resides in Bend, Oregon, where she has opened a restaurant inspired by Asian street food culture. Nonetheless, SF-centric food insights still make their way onto her Instagram when she travels.
The Infatuation SF 🔗
A leading voice, and for good reason. One of San Francisco’s most comprehensive food guides.
The Infatuation is an authority in the culinary commentary space, operating in dozens of cities across America and the wider globe. As with each location, the San Francisco branch takes its food influence seriously, delivering both neighborhood-specific recommendations and curated lists for refined needs – think everything from cheap eats and bring-your-own-booze options to people-watching hotspots and fine dining options. The Infatuation even plants a red flag atop food places to avoid, with its “wasting your time and money” category. In all, the publication is a leading voice for San Francisco's culinary insights in San Francisco; opinions are unfiltered, honest, and come direct from knowledgeable insiders.
Inside Scoop 🔗
True to its name. A running commentary of the latest culinary news and trends in San Francisco.
Brought to you by the San Francisco Chronicle, Inside Scoop offers a behind-the-scenes peek into the city’s diverse culinary world. The publication operates foremost as a feed of the latest industry news, posting frequent articles about new eatery openings, restaurant expansions, and general food-based chatter. For those seeking honest journalism about the city's evolving food culture, Inside Scoop is a proven read.
KQED Food 🔗
Multimedia content that includes restaurant reviews.
KQED’s food section leverages the platform’s public media organization status to deliver culinary content via several digestible mediums – from traditional features of industry trends and local restaurant news to their “Check, Please!” production show providing insightful dining reviews. KQED’s breadth of resources makes it a valuable guide throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Hoodline SF 🔗
No-frills industry news.
Hoodline’s San Francisco publication strikes an informative tone with its feed of city-wide news stories. Nuanced restaurant recommendations take a backseat here. But the site remains a reliable resource for any and all movements in the Bay Area’s food industry – whether it’s restaurant openings, forthcoming closures, or general culinary discourse.
Allie Eats 🔗
Short and snappy restaurant recommendations.
Born and raised in the Bay, Allie is a much-followed food blogger who – like Cyn Eats – has turned to Instagram as her main content outlet. By virtue of her foodgram success, Allie travels throughout the US and leaves a trail of reliable restaurant recommendations. Still, San Fransico-specific advice flows frequently as the city remains her home base. The short-form nature of social content keeps the word count low for her dining recommendations, making for easy browsing – though you will just have to trust her word.
Edible San Francisco 🔗
Newsletter accompaniment to a quarterly food magazine.
Though foremost a quarterly magazine “telling the story of how [San Francisco] eats, drinks, and cooks,” Edible’s bi-weekly newsletter still provides value for hungry residents and explorers. Alongside a host of recipes, the frequent publication dishes information on the Bay’s evolving food culture and immerses readers in the stories of local producers, chefs, and artisans. Again, like Hoodline, specific recommendations are infrequent, making Edible function more as an informative news companion to sites like The Infatuation. Still, it’s worth keeping on your radar.
Food Gal 🔗
Informative restaurant reviews with nuanced discourse from an independent San Francisco insider.
Carolyn Jung’s Food Gal delivers a candid perspective on San Francisco's culinary offerings. Her writing has not only fuelled the rise and success of her independent blog but has also graced the pages of some of the Bay’s most-read magazines – of course, Jung’s publication is the focus here, but her credentials should further win the trust of any reader’s stomach. Restaurant reviews on Food Gal span from Michelin-grade spreads to streetside eats.
SFGate 🔗
Broad coverage from well-connected journalists alongside some more informal culinary content.
Once the home of the San Francisco Chronicle, before it became its own entity, SFGate covers a spectrum of topics. The site’s food section is a culinary hub and go-to resource for everything related to dining and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area. Coverage is comprehensive and candid, giving readers a straightforward insight into the region’s culinary landscape, and content includes restaurant reviews, food trends, chef profiles, and recipes. SFGate even curates sections titled “Eat Like a Tourist” and “Dumpling Report.”
Also, given its association with the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate food commentary benefits from the entity’s long-standing reputation and access to expert food journalists.
SF Travel 🔗
Comprehensive San Francisco travel blog with quick-read foodie insights such as best pizza and iconic SF restaurant lists.
SF Travel casts a broad net across all things Bay Area-related. The San Francisco Travel Association runs it; so it makes sense for them to cover everything from inner-city activities to experiences in the beach communities beyond. Still, the publication’s food and drink wing is a trove of information and recommendations. It’s a pretty comprehensive read given SF Travel’s scope and budget.
InsideHook 🔗
Finger-on-the-pulse lifestyle magazine with destination food guides, from Berkeley lunch spots to SF bakeries and breakfast.
InsideHook covers everything from the East Coast to the West Coast. And while their urban living and fashion long-form are worth a read, it’s the destination food guides that stand out. Their San Francisco foodie portfolio includes easy-to-read recommendations for the best steakhouses, breakfast spots, cocktail bars, and so on. Bay Area foodies have their fair share of reading too. Their cache as a national publication also helps them dive into in-depth interviews with the Bay Area’s best chefs and restauranteurs.
A Side of Sweet 🔗
An independent voice sharing culinary, lifestyle, and travel insights from San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Between a growing catalog of home recipes, DIY inspiration, and lifestyle insights, Kelly – A Side of Sweet’s founder – manages to deliver a reliable stream of San Francisco dining recommendations. Her penchant for travel also means a bevy of destination guides for places in the surrounding Bay Area. Kelly’s “Guide to Carmel-by-the-Sea” is a great example for readers wanting a down-to-earth account of travel experiences along the West Coast.
Of course, like any independent blogger worth their salt, Kelly’s Instagram is a constant source of her San Francisco lifestyle, travel, and food insights.
SFist 🔗
Authoritative over opinionated. Digital news platform sharing informed San Francisco restaurant and food events.
SFist adds its name to the list of Bay Area news platform that keeps up-to-date with all relevant food news – whether it’s new restaurant openings, unexpected closures, or weekly roundups of the city’s best eats. Near-daily articles make it one of the best online destinations for current culinary news, though it’s less of a place for nuanced recommendations and personalized insights.
