The Best Late Night Restaurants In San Francisco

SF isn’t a late-night dining town. That’s just a fact of life. But there are still great food options—even if those options are slim—for those who are working, drinking, dancing, or swan diving off a table while singing karaoke until late. So when you need something like pizza to offset the sweet margaritas or just want to inhale a burrito before knocking right out, head to one of these spots—they're open past 11pm.

THE SPOTS

Beep's Burgers

Beep’s is a decades-old burger institution in Ingleside, so prepare to happily devour a fantastic burger and curly fries after coming up for air from an hours-long Bravo binge—this drive-in is open until 2am daily. We love the simple burgers: they’re cooked to a juicy medium, stacked with just lettuce and tomatoes, and have tangy mayo-based Beep’s sauce dripping out of the sides. Don’t leave without one of their root beer floats, which are creamy, perfect, and the best way to cap a night.

Orphan Andy's

Need some no-fuss french toast and chicken fried steak smothered in gravy at 1:30am? The two-story, retro-style diner is open 24 hours from Thursday through Saturday and until 9:45pm the rest of the week. It will draw you in with red swivel chairs, bright neon lights, and a menu of hearty breakfast classics that never fail to hit the spot. Orphan Andy’s has been a Castro staple since the 1970s, and based on the after-bar crowds, locals, and tourists who continuously pack this joint at the stumbly end of the day—this place will never go out of style.

Panchita's Pupuseria Restaurant #2

Operating for over three decades at 16th and Valencia, Panchita’s is where to go for some of the city’s best pupusas—and a filling meal for under $10 at 2am on a Friday. They’re packed with delicious meats and vegetables, and plenty of cheese that oozes out to form crispy edges around the griddled masa. When we head to this counter-service Mission spot, we inevitably end up with a couple of revueltas, a classic mix of chicharron, bean, and cheese, and make sure to add an extra serving of fresh curtido on top before heading out.

King's Thai Cuisine #2

If you find yourself in a wine bar time warp at High Treason in the Richmond and it’s suddenly 11:30pm, run to King’s Thai Cuisine #2 before they close at midnight. As far as we’re concerned, this is the only Thai spot that’s worth checking out in both a drunken stupor and during the blinding daylight hours. Get a table full of pad see ew and the extra-hot papaya salad to wake you up, and order the crispy chicken wings if you’re looking to meet a deity sometime soon.

Primo Pizza

The neon “pizza by the slice” sign glowing in the window of Primo Pizza is a beacon of all things cheesy and carb-filled. The NoPa spot, located on a sleepy stretch of Divisadero, has the exact pizzas you’ll want to stuff in your face at 2am, or at the end of the night when you’ve lost your voice to karaoke. They’re dripping with mozzarella, and loaded with meatballs, garlic and buffalo sauce, and other toppings that get messy in the best way.

Bob's Donuts

Who said donuts were only for breakfast and in-office team meetups? Bob’s Donuts on Polk Street is open 24 hours a day, every day—which comes in handy when you’re closing down Harper and Rye , or some other nearby bar at 2am and need to munch on something. Go plain glazed donut—they're puffy and amazing. But odds are the super dense maple buttermilk bar, or the sprinkled mega donut the size of your face will call to you.

Joyride Pizza

The Detroit-style pizzas at Joyride in the Mission are a sight to behold—they’re loaded with a mountain of toppings that the Mission Cliffs crowd would eagerly climb. Their pizzas are especially what you need when you’re trying to stave off the spins with a hefty slice piled high with toppings like pepperoni, bacon, or brussels sprouts. The Mission slice joint (there’s also a sit-down outpost in Yerba Buena) stays open until 12am Thursday through Saturday, and 11pm every other day.

Cocobang

This Korean restaurant in Lower Nob Hill is one of the more fun places on this guide (plus, they're open until 2am Sunday to Thursday, and 4am Friday and Saturday). K-pop music videos are projected onto the wall, pitchers of soju and beer are everywhere, and you won’t even mind having to use your outside voice to be heard—this spot is loud. The food that comes out ranges from solid to great, whether you're sh*tfaced or not. Think sizzling plates of corn cheese, crunchy Korean fried chicken, and spicy tteokbokki that'll make your nose run.

Uncle Boy's

One episode of Love Is Blind turned into you finishing half the season, and now it’s 11pm and you unintentionally skipped dinner. Beeline to Uncle Boy’s. The Richmond counter-service place serves lots of fried things like chicken “fritters” and french fries, along with chicken, pork, and vegetable lumpia you’ll inexplicably crave at all hours. But you’re here for the standout burgers, which you can get decked out with everything from onion rings to deep-fried bacon to mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce—they hit the spot no matter the time of day.

Brazen Head

Brazen Head is probably the only place in town where you can roll in at 11pm, and gobble up perfectly charred NY pepper steak, some cheesy french onion soup, and marinara-drenched meatballs that are the comfort equivalent of Lenny Kravitz’s blanket-scarf. The Cow Hollow steakhouse has no signage out front and everything we want in a late-night spot that looks like an 1800s Scottish pub: paintings of bearded old men, velvet curtains, a dim red glow, sports bobbleheads for kitsch, and strong cocktails that pair well with stories that begin with, “Back in the day...” No wonder Brazen Head’s been firmly rooted here since 1980.

Horsefeather

Not all late-night spots in this guide rely heavily on a deep-fryer. Horsefeather focuses on lighter, shareable plates. The American-ish dishes at this cocktail bar in NoPa won’t make you fall asleep at the table, like the Moroccan spiced carrots and smoked tuna poke. If you’re after a cheeseburger and fries, they have that, too. Come with a date and admire the plant-filled space over wine or cocktails infused with hojicha.

Taqueria El Farolito

This is one of the few places in town where you can stagger in for a burrito at 2am. And El Farolito’s burritos just so happen to be the best in the city . All of the meats at this Mission taqueria, from the al pastor to the charred carne asada, are crisped perfectly on the plancha. Love to get messy? Go for the super quesadilla, overflowing with cheese, drippy meat, and all the standard fixings.

Toyose

Toyose is located inside a converted garage, but unlike our third-grade science projects, most of what comes out of this place is actually pretty good. It’s open until 12am weeknights and 2am weekends, and late-night is when you should come here—both because that feels like the right time to eat out of a converted garage and the Korean food they serve is filling and perfect for after you’ve had a few drinks. We like the seafood pancake with shrimp, calamari, and vegetables, the kimchi fried rice, and the kimchi stew.

ABV

ABV, open until 2am daily, is a great casual get-to-know-you bar—it’s moody, dimly lit, and will likely suck you in for more than a few hours. When you realize “a quick drink” turned into a late dinner, go for their excellent charcuterie board or the burger (it’s one of the best in the city ) topped with secret sauce and white American cheddar. They also have other excellent small plates that sound like they were plucked off the menu from a fancy California cuisine restaurant, like squash blossom tacos and beet-cured salmon toast.

Grubstake Diner

Grubstake looks like a streetcar, which is certainly one reason this American diner in Polk Gulch stands out. The other is that this spot, which has been going strong since the 1960s, caters to the red-eye crowd—serving straightforward burgers, tuna melts, breakfast plates, shakes, and fries until 3am Sunday through Wednesday and 4am Thursday through Saturday. And since this is a late-night spot with greasy-spoon energy, you can slide into a red booth, admire the old mural and fake grapes hanging from the ceiling, and fill up on all things fried.

Trick Dog

Yes, you’re at Trick Dog for the cocktails and constantly changing, themed drink menus. But you should also get to this multi-level Mission spot for the above-average bar food . Get the Mission Dog, a butterflied hot dog topped with bacon and jalapeño spread, or their creamy, cheesy “Famous Kale Salad” that we think should actually become a local celebrity.

Sam's

You’ll smell what’s cooking at Sam’s before you even step foot in the door—burgers are always sizzling away on the flat-top well into the night. The North Beach spot is a simple, almost-too-tight set-up, with a few bar stools down a skinny space. But you’re not here to stay long. Throw back a triple cheeseburger or other fried things like onion rings and corn dogs. Cash only.