5 of the Best Seafood Restaurants Near San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf

If the idea of freshly baked sourdough bread makes your mouth water, then you owe it to yourself to visit Bistro Boudin At The Wharf, which is renowned for the San Francisco specialty, particularly their bread bowl filled with traditional clam chowder. Of course there are plenty of other seafood dishes to choose from, including roasted Dungeness crab, beer-battered fish and chips, and salmon succotash. Bistro Boudin serves desserts featuring their signature baked goods such as sourdough beignets and sourdough bread pudding.

Named for the flavorful seafood stew invented by San Francisco’s Italian American community, Cioppino’s offers a version that includes clams, Dungeness crab legs, calamari, mussels and shrimp cooked in tomato broth and served with sourdough toast. Other locally caught delights include Dungeness crab and blackened Pacific snapper. Dining with friends or family members who hate seafood? Don’t worry. They can choose from a variety of traditional Italian staples such as lasagna, pizza and chicken Parmesan.

Scoring a table at this tourist hotspot on Pier 39 might be a challenge, but at least you’ll know that however long the wait, the food is worth it. Visitors come to Fog Harbor Fish House for what many consider San Francisco’s best clam chowder, and the views of Alcatraz and the bay from the second-floor dining room are hard to beat. Among the other menu favorites are the shareable shellfish tower, seafood mixed grill and lobster roll served with house-made potato chips. And if there’s a crowd, at least the waiting area features an outdoor fireplace and couches that’ll help you pass the time comfortably.

Not far from the Fisherman’s Wharf area is San Francisco’s Embarcadero and the historic 1898 Ferry Building with its landmark clock tower. Among the restaurants inside you’ll find Hog Island Oyster Co., which proudly announces that they harvest oysters at their own farms at Humboldt and Tomales bays. Their menu presents oyster selections from up and down the Pacific Coast in the same way that wine menus list vineyards. Other dishes visitors love at Hog Island are the chowder and the seafood stew. Try to get a table facing the bay or out on the patio to enjoy the bay views.

Sure the dining room at McCormick & Kuleto's is stylish, but it’s the San Francisco Bay views through walls almost entirely made of glass that really set this Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant apart from its neighbors. The seasonal menu lists a variety of fresh seafood with a particular focus on oysters but also including Alaskan halibut, Hawaiian mahi mahi and Oregon petrale sole. Other house specialties include the San Francisco fish stew known as cioppino and wonderful crab and shrimp stuffed salmon.

AAA Travel provides peace of mind when you travel—before, during and after your vacation! Members enjoy the advantages of membership including exclusive benefits, savings, map routing and travel planning, plus additional travel needs such as AAA Travel Guides, TourBook® guides, passport photos, International Driving Permits and travel insurance. Your next vacation starts with AAA—your complete travel solution. Visit AAA.com/Travel.