Most Romantic San Francisco Restaurants

Easily half of San Francisco restaurants are romantic. San Francisco has a longstanding reputation as a "foodie" destination, but the other specialty of this city is theater. Combine the two and you end up with food as theater - enhanced by waiters who could double as actors (and many who actually are) and beautiful, carefully designed restaurants that resemble stage sets with subdued lighting.

So it's no surprise that the first restaurant on the "most romantic San Francisco restaurants" list is House of Prime Rib on Van Ness Avenue, which is dinner theater at its best. The waiter tosses your salad at the table, and throughout the meal a small (and charming) team attends to you and your lover. The prime rib is served from silver zeppelin-shaped carts with flaming heating elements in the base - it's not uncommon to hear waiters bellowing, "coming through!" carrying these heating elements in huge tongs through the dining room. This contrasts nicely with the warm, cozy fireplaces, the lovely crimson and amber hues, the early twentieth-century décor and the elegant table settings. This is not a great place to bring someone who doesn't eat beef (there is only one non-beef entrée, and it's the fish of the day), but if you and your dining partner are both carnivores, this is a very romantic spot indeed. If you want to blow the top off of someone's birthday, bring them to the House of Prime Rib. (But make sure to let the restaurant know in advance, so they know to make a fuss over the Birthday Boy or Girl.) The House of Prime Rib is located at 1906 Van Ness Avenue (between Washington and Jackson Streets). Opentable.com calculates dinner for one (including a drink and tip) at about $31-50 per diner. The restaurant has a full bar and valet parking, and is open every day for dinner until 10:00 p.m. Reservations are recommended, and you can make them on Opentable.com or by calling (415) 885-4605.

Another romantic San Francisco restaurant is Perbacco, located on California Street between Sansome and Battery Streets. "Perbacco" is a spontaneous expression of enthusiasm, loosely translated as "for Bacchus," the Roman god of great eating, drinking and partying. This is a modern, sleek Northern Italian-and-French restaurant. The interior is dim and intimate, deftly combining warm, inviting elements such as brick and marble with more upscale, trendy items such as digital artwork. It is easy to imagine that you are on the set of a very stylish French movie, with you and your lover as the stars, naturally! Perbacco has its own salumeria - a facility for curing meats -- onsite, and the food is impeccably prepared. The restaurant is very well- managed - you can see ongoing conversations between the people managing the front of the restaurant and the kitchen - and the result is great food with a minimum of ambient noise in the dining room. The subdued noise level is particularly interesting due to the fact that the restaurant is typically filled with ecstatic diners. Perbacco is another wonderful birthday party destination, and is located at 230 California Street between Battery and Front Streets in the San Francisco Financial District. You can make a reservation, which is recommended - this place is popular - at Opentable.com or by calling (415) 955-0663. Opentable.com calculates dinner for one (including a drink and tip) at $30 and under. Perbacco has a full bar and valet parking, and is closed on Sundays.

Yet another great romantic and theatrical San Francisco restaurant, and one I just recently discovered, is Kan Zaman, which is on Haight Street in San Francisco. The Haight-Ashbury has a counterculture vibe that many people do not care for, but if you can get past the neighborhood you're in for a treat. Kan Zaman features Middle Eastern comfort food with other Mediterranean influences as well. It is dimly-lit and sexy, with secluded banquettes lined with velvet pillows and small tea lights set on the table. If you want to take a relationship to a more passionate level, this might be a good place to set the stage. Try the baba ganos (eggplant puree with tahini, garlic and peppers) - it's exceptional. If you and your dining partner enjoy smoking, you can have a hookah brought to your table with fruit-scented tobacco. On weekend evenings the restaurant has more of a night club flavor, with belly-dancing performances. Kan Zaman is relatively inexpensive and its entrees tend to fall in the $11-14 range. It is located at 1793 Haight Street (between Shrader and Cole Streets) and is open every day, with lunch served only on weekends. Kan Zaman has a full bar and a Happy Hour Monday through Friday. You can make reservations (recommended) by calling (415) 751-9656.

All of these restaurants allow indulgence within an affordable range, at least affordable by San Francisco standards, which is why I selected them. There's no point in dining at a romantic restaurant if it puts you in hock for the rest of the year. So you can enjoy these restaurants and maybe go back later if you enjoy them. Here's to romantic San Francisco dining!

Sources:

Personal experience

http://houseofprimerib.net/home.html

http://www.perbaccosf.com/

http://kanzamansf.com

http://opentable.com