El Mil Amores focuses mainly on Mexico City-style breakfast and lunch plates. All the dishes serve up more than enough food to make you want to nap in the sun at Dolores for three days straight. The Yulis breakfast sandwich is a high pile of scrambled eggs, supple arrachera, cheese, and avocado between the softest telera-like roll that instantly catapults this to the top of our internal Mission breakfast sandwich list.

No two meals are ever the same at Mijoté, a French restaurant that changes their four-course, prix fixe menu daily—and that’s exactly what makes it so exciting. Expect to see simple, bright dishes like maitake mushrooms that've been slow-roasted and drenched in harissa butter, a tower of scallops stacked high with cucumbers and nectarines, and crispy-skinned chicken with elderberry jus that’s poured tableside.

Funky Elephant is the Mission’s party restaurant. The Thai spot is lit up with a spinning disco ball overhead and pink and purple mood lighting, and odds are high you’ll spot at least one group with birthday hats clinking glasses of natural wine. Vibrant dishes add to the fun—papaya salad is refreshing yet fiery. Charcoal grilled pork is crisp around the edges and cuts like butter. And the appropriately named “party wings” are dotted with chilis and perfectly charred.

Bubbling vats of spicy tteokbokki and flat-out luxurious galbi are packed with so much flavor you’ll most likely spend 75% of the meal taking it all in with your eyes closed while wondering if you’ll ever eat a piece of beef this great again. Booking a table at this place that feels like an exclusive underground club usually requires month-out planning, but the effort is worth it. Get here for celebratory occasions, dinner with the parents, or any time you want a spread of life-changing meat.

The super burrito with carne asada from Taqueria El Farolito is a top contender for our favorite burrito in town - it’s about the size of a newborn baby, and filled with tender steak. And if you’re still searching for your number one burrito, coming here (for science) is never a bad call. You can also get quesadillas and nachos, or try one of each meat in taco form. FYI - it’s cash only, so come prepared.

Donaji is a counter-service Oaxacan restaurant in the Mission that we beeline to as often as Harry Styles reaches for a feather boa. The bright pink and teal walls will make you feel spontaneously transported to a beachside town where everyone exclusively wears jean shorts. The feeling will intensify once you get a glass of their ice cold sangria, richly spiced mole, and tamales with a flavorful chicken filling. Donaji’s thick housemade tortillas will also do wonders for your mood.

The food at this Mission izakaya is last-meal-in-the-city worthy. Exhibit A: the juicy, crispy-skinned yakitori with a dipping sauce that gets rich and creamy after you mix in the raw egg yolk. Or the hand-rolled udon with lingcod fishcake that soaks up the dashi broth like a sponge. It all makes for a pretty delicious escape, which you should enjoy while sipping on barley tea or umeshu. Get here with your parents, a group of friends, or someone you want to impress.

Taishoken specializes in tsukemen, a dipping ramen you won’t find at most Japanese spots in SF. Their version is one you should clear your schedule and get to immediately. The broth is rich with an intense pork-y flavor, the noodles have an ideal chew to them, and the sous-vide chashu basically falls apart when you poke it with a chopstick. Other dishes, like spicy cucumber salad and chicken karaage, and the spicy ramen with thinner noodles are also deserving of your time.

There are no wrong orders at this counter-service spot that makes Mexico City-style tacos. They’re the best in the city. Yes, that's a strong statement, and, yes, we stand by it. They're serving up quick tacos that make for a perfect casual weeknight dinner. Achiote-seasoned pastor spins on the spit in the back, asada is perfectly charred on all sides, and the plump, creamy fish of the fish taco will teleport you straight to Baja.

Flour + Water has crossed over from being a great restaurant to being a city-defining one. When you eat the best pasta in SF, you’ll be mentally comparing it to your last experience here. The restaurant itself is laid-back, but still feels like somewhere you’d go for a special occasion and some corn cappelletti or garganelli with braised rabbit. If you’re serious about pasta, they have a pasta tasting menu for $125 per person, but there’s nothing wrong with going a la carte.

The best dumplings in the Mission are at Dumpling Story, the second outpost of the Pacific Heights original. At this walk-in Valencia spot, you’ll fill tables with steamers of translucent xiao long bao, crisp-bottomed shengjianbao, and boiled cabbage and pork with pudgy, hand-folded edges. And the space itself is one of the vibiest in the area, complete with plush green booths, monkey chandeliers overhead, and a full bar.

Ernest may be home to excellent seafood and seasonally changing entrées - but it’s also one of the most exciting dinner spots in the city, and one where we go for a Big Night Out. That big night usually includes the $95 chef’s pick menu, which comes with 10-ish courses that showcase the spot’s Asian-influenced dishes. For a more casual experience, walk up to the bar where it’s first come, first served, and grab a glass of wine and the beef tartare topped with glistening orange ikura.

Whenever lunchtime rolls around and the closest thing we have to a proper meal is half a box of Wheat Thins, we immediately start thinking of a backup plan. And luckily, Stonemill Matcha - and their incredible chicken katsu curry, which we could write endless love letters about - exists. Settle into a corner of their peaceful space with an iced matcha latte and something involving their perfectly golden-brown katsu, whether it’s the curry plate with rice or the pork katsu sandwich.

Yes, the momos at this Nepali restaurant on Valencia Street are the stuff of legend, but there’s more to Dancing Yak than well-spiced proteins wrapped in beautiful crimson-colored wrappers. They serve amazing small plates, curries, skewers, and other house specials that are as beautiful as the casual, jewel-toned place. Plus, the space is big enough to usually have room for you and a group of friends on any given day of the week, and everyone you encounter will be friendly and welcoming.

At Itria, house-made pastas and fresh crudos are the name of the game. Which is why your table will probably quickly fill up with bowls of squiggly gramigna with tender ragu bianco and an assortment of oysters and scallops after you’re seated in their bustling dining room. Itria has a pretty extensive wine selection, too, making it a great place to bring a date or a group of friends to celebrate a special occasion or unwind after a long week.

You come here for pupusas, and the ones at this Salvadoran restaurant are great. Thick corn cakes with meat and cheese oozing out of them - it’s not the lightest lunch ever, but you’ll be set for a while. We like the chicken or the loroco, but no matter which filling you get, make sure to top yours with the cortido that comes on the side.

Handroll Project is the only place in town where you can sit alongside 13 raw fish enthusiasts, and devour temaki that’ll make you reconsider everything you know about combining seafood with rice. Diced scallop is coated in creamy aioli and slices of avocado. Pickled radish is mixed in with fatty tuna to add a great crunch. And buttery wagyu gets topped with crunchy garlic chips and chives. The glistening toppings and perfectly vinegar-y rice are held together by crisp nori.

There are some restaurants that we like to keep in our back pocket because they’re perfect for literally any scenario. Prubechu is one of them. The Guamanian spot in the Mission has a well-spaced outdoor seating area, a chill vibe, and an excellent menu you’ll want to take your time going through. Come here and share the creamy tinaktak with handmade egg noodles and coconut beef, tender ko’ko’ wings and tangy lemon fina’denne sauce, Chamorro BBQ plates, and fluffy banana donuts for dessert.

Whenever we want a quick lunch for under $10, we head straight to Basa Seafood Express. The small, counter-service seafood spot has everything from salmon burgers and sushi to chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. But what makes them great is the poke, which is some of the best in the city and will run you only $7. There are three options, but the spicy creamy salmon poke is the way to go - the buttery chunks of salmon come in a tray with house spicy mayo, red and green onions, and roe.

If you’ve never eaten panuchos in a place with flashing lights and reggaeton playing at full blast, go to Poc-Chuc. The Yucatecan spot in the Mission transforms into a karaoke bar with a DJ and a fog machine four nights a week. At times it can feel more like a nightclub or a wedding dance floor than a spot to dive into saucy cochinita pibil and chicken drenched in nutty mole. But it’s both, and the food alone keeps us coming back.

Good Good Culture Club feels like a backyard potluck we never want to leave. Just like a potluck, the menu doesn’t necessarily have a cohesive theme—dishes are influenced by the foods of Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines (to name a few). There’s a huge array of shareable entrées, like adobo chicken wings stuffed with garlic sticky rice, refreshing crying tiger shrimp, or the short ribs with a sweet sesame-date glaze.

At this South Indian restaurant, you’ll tear into showstopping dosas, shovel back coconutty prawn curry, and pop fiery chicken 65 into your mouth like it’s candy. The laidback spot, with its bright orange walls and twinkle lights, is the best back pocket restaurant in the area. It’s easy to walk in, great for groups, and you’ll likely have leftovers that’ll motivate you to make it through the day tomorrow.

Whenever the craving for fresh aguachile, incredible ceviches, and tender quesabirria hits, our internal GPS always leads us right to Chuy’s Fiestas. The Mexican restaurant is the perfect place to come with a group and get into a family-style spread of all of the above - the menu is pretty big, but if you focus on the seafood, you can’t go wrong. Wash it all down with one of their massive micheladas with a tamarind straw.

We swing by this Arab bakery for midday lunches with friends, even those who are visiting the city for the first time. This Mission spot serves incredible pastries, chicken wraps, flatbreads, and hummus, all of which are great for sharing out on their sunny parklet. Make sure to get any dish that comes out of the oven—this is a bakery, after all—like the freshly-baked mana’eesh smeared with caramelized onion purée, or a falafel sandwich on ring-shaped sesame bread.

Penny Roma is the younger sibling restaurant to certified Cal-Ital pasta icon, Flour + Water. But despite having a lot to live up to, the Mission spot holds its own by focusing on traditional-leaning dishes that might convince you to make like Timothee Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name and buy a one-way ticket to an Italian countryside villa. The fresh, handmade pastas change from time to time—the pillow-like agnolotti dal plin is a must-order, as is the tortelloni with a roasted squash filling.

Lazy Bear is a fine dining restaurant that’s the opposite of stuffy. The vintage camping theme keeps things loose from the moment you sit down and flip through a menu designed to look like a field guide, tiny pencil and all. Rustic floral arrangements, camping decor, and a portrait of Nick Offerman wearing flannel are the backdrop to your 11-course meal. The out-of-the-box dishes, from tequila-spiked oysters to whipped scrambled eggs served in an actual eggshell, are pulled off with style.

Yamo is a tiny, cash-only Burmese spot about a ten-minute walk from Dolores Park, and it’s where you should go for fantastic wok-tossed noodle dishes. We’re especially big fans of the tea leaf salad and the Yamo house noodles with garlic and pork. Not only are both delicious, but they cost under $6.50 each - as do most of the dishes on the menu. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal in the city.

Tartine Manufactory, the younger and even more ambitious sibling of Tartine, is a destination spot for anyone who appreciates simple, impeccably made baked goods - and more. Pop in for a breakfast sandwich or house-made granola in the morning, or drop in during lunch for tartines and salads. Or, if you want to ditch the wait, hop in the takeout line for coffee, a country loaf, and croissants to go.

When’s the last time you sat down for hickory and cedar-smoked duck, an impressive charcuterie plate that included an incredibly buttery tête de cochon, and wine from a list that reads more like a long, captivating novela? If the answer is never, get to The Morris. Here, service is impressive, the space feels intimate, and the energy is high without being chaotic. Ultimately, this spot looks a lot like a laid-back neighborhood place, but it’s actually a destination restaurant in disguise.

La Torta Gorda is a casual Mexican restaurant whose tortas live up to the oversized moniker. Sandwiches here come in two sizes (junior or regular), and are monstrous. Don’t believe us? Kindly refer to the Mega Cubana, a behemoth featuring milanesa, sausage, pierna, ham, chorizo, eggs, turkey, queso fresco, and American cheese that’s large enough to feed five or six people. Share it with friends at a table inside the diner-inspired spot, or under an umbrella out in the back garden.

A strong contender for the coolest restaurant building in town. Foreign Cinema is housed in an old-school movie theatre, and the owners keep with the theme by projecting classic movies on the wall of the back patio. The atmosphere is hard to beat, day or night, and the food is great - get fried chicken at dinner, without question. Even if you come here casually, Foreign Cinema always feels like a special occasion.

Burma Love in the Mission hails from the Burma Superstar family, so you already know you’re in very good hands. It’s good for groups, good for dates, and, basically good for everything else. Which is why you should come here, order the tea leaf salad, platha with yellow curry sauce, and ohn no khao swe, and don’t think twice.

When you need pizza, wine, and romance ASAP, Angie’s is the answer. The tiny pizza place has the whole date night thing down to a science. It’s always sexily lit inside with moody mushroom lamps and the glow of the wood-fired oven. And the thin-crust pies topped with bacon and goat cheese or pepperoni with hot honey are built for splitting with someone you like.