The eclectic mix of restaurants in San Francisco Pier 39 draws locals and visitors to stay and eat. After a few hours shopping for souvenirs at the pier’s fun shops, checking out its many entertainment venues, and watching resident sea lions flip through the water, getting something delicious in your belly will be on your mind.
Some of San Francisco’s Pier 39 restaurants focus on California coastal cuisine, while others serve familiar favorites. Discover the unique flavors of San Francisco on the go with portable food options like a bowl of chowder or basket of fish and chips. Or sit down for a fine dining experience complete with a bib and crab crackers.
Check out our list of eight delicious restaurants in San Francisco Pier 39.
Hard Rock Café
We know the Hard Rock Café has locations worldwide, so why pop into the restaurant in San Francisco Pier 39? Because they feature local musicians passionate about rocking out—and awesome food. Make your rockstar entrance and strut under the gigantic red neon guitar lighting up the front of the restaurant.
Once inside, the essence of rock legends is all around, stoking music groupie awe. Floor-to-ceiling music memorabilia display favorite bands and performers’ stage costume pieces, album covers, and instruments.
Come hungry for the Hard Rock’s legendary steak burgers and specialty dishes like baby back ribs and grilled salmon noodle bowl. Then grab a beer, cocktail, or slice of housemade apple cobbler while enjoying a live stage performance. Don’t forget to get up and dance too!
Wipeout Bar & Grill
Surf’s up at Wipeout Bar & Grill, a quintessential beach shack for scarfing down California coastal eats. This surfer’s paradise San Francisco Pier 39 restaurant is big on chill hangout vibes with outdoor picnic table seating with casual booths and tables inside. Wipeout’s restaurant sign is a surfboard, and surfboards have been turned into totally rad wall decorations and slick tabletops.
The Surfrider Foundation and California Green Business certified ocean-friendly grill dishes up all the comfort food needed to refuel after a morning riding the waves. The fried seafood combo—battered Pacific cod, calamari, and coconut shrimp—to burritos with grilled fish and salads big enough to feast on are on the menu.
Unwind with a locally-inspired cocktail like Sex on Baker Beach from the walk-up bar. At Wipeout, it’s all about the waves.
Fog Harbor Fish House
For Fog Harbor Fish House, sourcing sustainably caught seafood is the only way to go. The James Beard Foundation Smart Catch Leader was the first restaurant in San Francisco Pier 39 to offer a completely sustainable seafood menu. Their relationships with fisheries allow Fog Harbor to know how and where their seafood comes from.
Guests relax and enjoy Fog Harbor’s fresh seafood dishes with a side of spectacular San Francisco Bay waterfront views. You can’t miss spotting the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island when dining inside or outside.
Delight in a variety of seafood selections from starters, like ahi tuna poke and freshly baked sourdough bread bowls filled with steamy clam chowder, to entrée choices like surf and turf filet mignon and lobster tail.
Chowders
Ahoy, Matey! After an exciting day sailing the often foggy San Francisco Bay by fishing boat or ferry boat, housemade clam chowder served in a bread bowl will hit the spot. Chowders ladles two varieties of the good stuff, white clam and red clam. Who says you have to pick one or the other when you could order both?
Chowders is one of the most kid-friendly restaurants in San Francisco Pier 39. This on-the-go eatery has indoor and outdoor seating with water views. Deep-fried seafood served in baskets, freshly breaded fish and chips, popcorn shrimp, and crab cakes are asking to be dipped in tartar, cocktail, or chipotle mayo sauce. Or forego fried food and opt for a Shrimp Louie salad or crab melt-in-your-mouth sandwich.
Pier Market
The smoky aroma of mesquite grilled seafood and meat wafts through the air at this restaurant in San Francisco Pier 39. The smell almost makes the decision to stay and eat for you. Watch Pier Market chefs display their wood grilling prowess as they sizzle fresh, sustainable seafood near the restaurant entrance. What’s more devour-worthy than smoke-infused lobster tails?
Here, crab cakes aren’t just appetizers. They’re dinner too. Three crab cakes drizzled with Cajun remoulade served with French fries and coleslaw make a delicious meal.
The bounty of fresh-caught fish: teriyaki salmon, blackened Pacific rock cod, and grilled shrimp skewers are enough for any seafood lover. Choose inside or outdoor seating; both are perfect vantage points for watching sailboats in the harbor while sipping a Cable Car Martini.
Crab House
It’s all about Dungeness crab at Crab House restaurant, claws and all. During the local Pacific crab season (November through March), the crustaceans served often weigh over two pounds each. Tie a bib around your neck, poise a pair of crab crackers over a crab leg, and start the hunt for sweet, tender crab meat.
Many of the dishes at Crab House are served on sizzling iron skillets, presenting roasted mussels, shrimp, and whole crab. For an extra splash, servers pour white wine over the hot skillet creating aromatic steam and flavor tableside. Dunk these seafood delicacies into Crab House’s secret garlic sauce to discover their complex flavor. Or try a crabby twist on classic comfort foods, like crab-topped cheeseburgers or crab-fried rice.
Lorenzo’s Pizzeria
Stopping for pizza holds an almost universal appeal, and Lorenzo’s Pizzeria has what it takes to satisfy the hungry traveler. Choose from classic round Italian pizza or Detroit-style pan sliced into squares with crunchy bottom crust.
This San Francisco Pier 39 restaurant makes its sauce using locally sourced tomatoes and delicious mozzarella cheese. Turn your slice of pizza into a meal by ordering a salad like the classic Caesar and digging into an oversized homemade spicy meatball.
Luau Lounge
Once you’ve reached the end of Pier 39 after visiting all the shops and fun activities along the way, hello carousal, chances are you’ll be ready for a relaxing tropical getaway. Unwind at the outdoor Luau Lounge, part of the Players Sports Grill & Arcade at the end of the pier. This restaurant in San Francisco Pier 39 has a gorgeous panoramic view of the exciting Bay action.
Order a fruity cocktail served with or without alcohol in a Tiki glass. Classic options include the light rum Blue Hawaiian, coconut lover’s piña colada, and rum connoisseur’s Mai Tai.
Munch on some island-inspired appetizers like ahi poke and mahi-mahi Baja fish tacos. If you have room for dessert, try the luau pie with vanilla ice cream in an Oreo cookie crust drizzled with fudge and macadamia nuts. It’s enough to share with the ‘ohana (family).
Eva Barrows is a San Francisco Peninsula freelance writer and book editor. She writes for regional magazines PUNCH (The Spirit of the Peninsula) and Edible Silicon Valley and contributes to the Kampgrounds of America (KOA) blog. She visits San Francisco and its restaurants on weekends when she needs an adventure. Read more of her travel and food writing at www.evabarrows.com.