RFK Rankings · San Francisco
Best Restaurants for Brunch in San Francisco (2026)
Weekend brunch · San Francisco · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published July 15, 2024 · Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
San Francisco brunches at a counter, in a courtyard, and out of a pop-up that finally found a room. The city's best weekend tables are run by Michelin alumni and New Orleans transplants, not hotel buffets, and the lines start before the kitchens open. These six, ranked, are where to spend a Saturday morning when the cooking matters as much as the mimosa.
1.Foreign Cinema
Gayle Pirie and John Clark's Mission courtyard, films on the wall since 1999; book the weekend table for the city's defining brunch.
Gayle Pirie and John Clark have run Foreign Cinema at 2534 Mission Street since 1999, a California-Mediterranean room built around a heated courtyard that screens films on the back wall. The daily-changing brunch leans on the wood oven and the raw bar, with the fried-egg-and-pop-tart and the slow-cooked eggs the long-standing orders; plates run roughly $18 to $32.
The room is the destination as much as the food, equal parts dinner-party and date, and it has been a James Beard semifinalist kitchen for years. Reserve through OpenTable for the courtyard rather than the indoor tables, and come for the brunch that locals still rank first.
2.Abaca
Francis Ang's ube biscuits and pandan waffles at the Wharf; reserve the weekend table for the city's best Filipino brunch.
Francis Ang cooks Abaca at 2700 Jones Street inside the Kimpton Alton hotel at Fisherman's Wharf, a contemporary Filipino room that ran for years as a pop-up before landing here in 2021. The Saturday and Sunday brunch, 8 to 1:30, runs ube biscuits, fried chicken and pandan waffles and a seasonally shifting Filipino-Californian menu; pastry chef Vince Bugtong shapes the morning.
The room is bright and modern, the rare Wharf table that is not a tourist trap, and Ang trained in pastry before the savory side. Book through OpenTable for the weekend, order the ube biscuits to start, and treat it as the destination Filipino brunch of the six.
3.Brenda's French Soul Food
Brenda Buenviaje's stuffed beignets and shrimp and grits on Polk Street; arrive early for the city's New Orleans brunch.
Brenda Buenviaje, raised across the river from New Orleans in Harvey, Louisiana, runs Brenda's French Soul Food at 652 Polk Street in Civic Center, the city's New Orleans brunch by consensus. The stuffed beignets, the shrimp and grits and the fried chicken biscuit headline a Creole-meets-Southern menu, with most plates in the $14 to $22 range.
The room is small and the line is real, so the trick is an early-morning or weekday arrival rather than a Saturday noon. Brenda's is walk-in heavy with limited bookings, and it stays closed for dinner Tuesdays; order the flight of beignets and a chicory coffee.
4.Early to Rise
Quince alum Andrew McCormack's scratch brunch in NoPa, Dungeness crab on the eggs; book the small room for serious morning cooking.
Andrew McCormack, a former chef de partie at the Michelin two-star Quince, cooks Early to Rise at 1801 McAllister Street in NoPa, a scratch-made brunch he ran as a pop-up for nearly a decade before opening the brick-and-mortar in 2024. The challah French toast with apple butter and the Eggs Stinson under a Dungeness crab salad are the signature plates, roughly $16 to $26.
The room is small and homestyle, the cooking far above the diner average, and it serves brunch seven days a week from a former Automat space. Book through OpenTable or arrive early; this is the chef-driven pick when you want technique on a brunch plate.
5.Zazie
Cole Valley's French bistro for gingerbread pancakes and a tip-free room; walk up early on Cole Street for an easy weekend brunch.
Zazie sits at 941 Cole Street in Cole Valley, a French bistro that has run a beloved weekend brunch for decades and operates as a no-tipping, profit-sharing room. The gingerbread pancakes and the eggs Florentine are the long-standing orders, with a back patio that is the seat to angle for; plates land around $15 to $24.
The room is warm and neighborhood-tight, the line forming early on Cole Street for weekend tables it does not take by reservation. Come before nine on a Saturday or brace for the wait, and order the pancakes; this is the easy, unfussy bistro pick.
6.Plow
Potrero Hill's morning institution for the potatoes and lemon-ricotta pancakes; line up early for a no-reservation weekend brunch.
Plow anchors the corner of 18th and Texas at 1299 18th Street in Potrero Hill, a daytime room famous for two things: the crisp Plow potatoes and the lemon-ricotta pancakes. The menu is short and Californian, built on local eggs and produce, with plates roughly $14 to $20 and a coffee program to match.
The room is sunny and small, the wait notorious on weekends because it does not take reservations for the morning. Put your name in early and grab a coffee while you wait, or come on a weekday; the potatoes alone justify the queue.
Not for everyone
Closed, or not actually brunch
Kitchen Story. The longtime 16th Street brunch favorite in the Castro has closed, so the millionaire's bacon is gone. For the same indulgent weekend energy, cross to Brenda's on Polk Street or Early to Rise in NoPa instead.
A no-reservation Saturday at noon. Zazie and Plow do not book the morning, so a noon walk-up means a long wait. Arrive before nine, or aim the destination rooms that do take reservations, Foreign Cinema and Abaca, for a Saturday at peak.
Mission tourist counters. Several Mission spots trade cooking for a quick line and a photo. Skip them for the chef-driven rooms here; Foreign Cinema a few blocks south cooks a daily-changing menu worth the table.
How to brunch well in San Francisco
San Francisco brunch clusters by neighborhood: the Mission for Foreign Cinema's courtyard, Civic Center for Brenda's beignets, NoPa for Early to Rise, Cole Valley for Zazie, Potrero Hill for Plow, and Fisherman's Wharf for Abaca, the rare Wharf table worth crossing town for. The hills make a car tempting, but Muni and a short walk reach most of them.
Half this list does not take morning reservations, so the rule is to arrive early or book where you can. Foreign Cinema, Abaca and Early to Rise take bookings and fill fast; Zazie, Plow and Brenda's are walk-in mornings, so come before nine on a Saturday. San Francisco brunch runs every day at several of these, not just weekends, which is the local advantage.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in San Francisco?
Foreign Cinema in the Mission is the marquee pick, Gayle Pirie and John Clark's California-Mediterranean courtyard at 2534 Mission Street that has anchored the city's brunch scene since 1999. For a chef-driven Filipino morning instead, Francis Ang's Abaca at Fisherman's Wharf is the destination; for New Orleans cooking, Brenda's French Soul Food on Polk Street.
Which San Francisco brunch is best without a reservation?
Zazie in Cole Valley and Plow in Potrero Hill are the walk-in mornings, both no-reservation rooms where the trick is an early arrival before nine on a weekend. Brenda's French Soul Food on Polk Street is the third walk-in option, famous for stuffed beignets and a real Saturday line.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in San Francisco?
At the destination rooms, yes. Foreign Cinema in the Mission, Abaca at Fisherman's Wharf and Early to Rise in NoPa all take bookings and fill their weekend tables early, so reserve through OpenTable. For a walk-in morning, Zazie and Plow do not book the morning, so arrive before nine on a Saturday.
What is a good upscale brunch in San Francisco?
Abaca is the dressed-up pick, Francis Ang's contemporary Filipino room inside the Kimpton Alton at Fisherman's Wharf with ube biscuits and pandan waffles. Early to Rise in NoPa is the other chef-driven choice, a scratch brunch from Quince alum Andrew McCormack built on Dungeness-crab Eggs Stinson.
Is Kitchen Story still open in San Francisco?
No. Kitchen Story, the 16th Street brunch favorite known for its millionaire's bacon, has closed. For the same indulgent weekend cooking instead, Brenda's French Soul Food on Polk Street and Early to Rise in NoPa are the destinations.
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