Restaurants

San Francisco Landmark Tadich Grill

Another “must see and eat at” for any San Francisco visitors or new residents, is Tadich Grill in the Financial District.  I read somewhere that Tadich was referred to once as, “It’s kind of like the Peter Luger’s of Seafood”. Having eaten at both The Palm Restaurant on Second Avenue in New York and Peter Luger in Brooklyn, I have to agree.

When you dine at Tadich Grill be prepared to be served large portions by sometimes grumpy but always no-nonsense waiters. This is not your trendy super-friendly chain restaurant, this is a piece of San Francisco history that has survived a hundred trends. If you close your eyes, the atmosphere is a little Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, especially if you hear a cable car clang its bell on the up/down California Street outside the restaurant.

Now for lunch but especially for dinner, you have got to try the Cioppino, white bib around your neck and all. Cioppino is seafood stew that was developed in the late 1800’s by Italian fisherman living in San Francisco’s North Beach district. It’s essentially chopped leftovers from fishing all day.  For me Tadich Grill has one of the best versions with its Dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish with fresh tomatoes in a wine sauce. Yum and yum! Add fresh San Francisco sourdough bread for a taste of heaven.

Street parking is tough so I recommend grabbing a cab down the hill from your hotel or even better, catch a cable car for $5 and ride it all the way to the restaurant’s front door. This might be the oldest restaurant in the city, opening its doors in 1849, at the start of the Gold Rush. With this rich history, I recommend looking past the occasional problem with your order (i.e. overcooked calamari) and appreciate that they are still around – Tadich Grill just survived a small kitchen fire in late August.  They do charge for splitting an order so if you like to do that (which I do), don’t say anything and just go with someone who doesn’t mind trading plates.

240 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 391-1849
www.tadichgrill.com

Mon-Fri. 11:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Sharon Castellanos