48 HOURS IN SF
a mini san fransisco edit from 48 hours in the city!!
Notes from a weekend in SF, sponsored by June gloom and dumplings.
Day 1:
Coming from LA, it’s easy to take one of the first flights of the day into SFO. Prices were a bit inflated for this time of the year, which I am blaming on the World Cup, but it is hard to beat a hour long flight to a new place. I am also shocked at how different SF is from LA, which it makes it feel like a true weekend getaway (even without leaving the state).
Planning this trip, my friends and I wanted it to be a leisurely weekend, but not in a way where we just wandered aimlessly around for two days without a plan. So one of us (hi, Bianca) was in charge of the food and I was in charge of the drinks (🍸). The in-between was just a lot of walking, feeling nauseous on the bus, and rotting in the parks.
First things first: drop bags, find caffeine. We stayed at the Palace Hotel on the edge of the Financial District right next to the SF MoMA. Honestly, I had Bilt Rewards to redeem and this hotel got me a ton of perks which is why we chose it.
We got matcha einspanners at a Japanese spot called Shoji that is a cafe during the day and cozy bar at night. My favorite type of combo.
Breakfast: Bones Bagels (Noe Valley)
Phenomenal sourdough bagels. Small menu but so good, and they do BEC breakfast sandwiches on Thursdays/Fridays if that is more your speed.
Order: open faced salmon on the salted rosemary bagel and a cheddar chive biscuit for future snacking
We spent the rest of the morning walking around and getting a second coffee at The Coffee Movement since the June gloom was in full effect, but ideally, you have your bagels and coffee and find a park to read in. It wasn’t my favorite coffee but it was a good spot to pop in and listen to vinyl.
Lunch: Lucinda’s Deli (Alamo Square)
Perfect spot to grab sandwiches and drinks at before heading to Alamo Square city park to bask in the sun and snap a pic with the painted ladies.
Order: soppresetta + sun chips
We sat in the sun at the park for what felt like hours before finally peeling ourselves up off the grass and finding a bar to watch the afternoon World Cup games at.
Dinner: Key Klub (Nob Hill)
We probably could’ve made a whole night out of this place. Only complaint: no cocktails. The food was really good and easy to share, and although they don’t take reservations we were able to walk in on a Friday at 7 and snag a prime table
Order: everything!! we got the burger, fries, chicken bites, crab arancini, and eggplant parmesan sticks
Drinks: Pacific Cocktail Haven - PCH
One of the best tequila espresso martinis I’ve had out at a bar. They also have 10 cocktails that are $10 and that is just hard to pass up.
We had a long list of places to bar hop to including but not limited to: Persona, The Library, and Moongate Lounge, but unfortunately the early morning flight (and afternoon day drinking) caught up to us.
P.S. as San Fransisco is not my area of expertise, su! writes some of the best SF guides:
Day 2:
Breakfast: Outerlands (Outer Sunset)
I can’t get over the fact that it is end of June and people were walking around in puffer jackets and winter sweaters, but I can’t deny that this was the perfect cozy, morning breakfast spot.
Order: again, everything sounded amazing. We tried a somewhat assortment including the chia bowl, potato & leek soup, and breakfast sandwich, but the star was the pecan brioche sticky bun.
Coffee: Andytown Coffee Roasters (Outer Richmond / Ocean Beach)
We had really good plans to get coffee and matcha prior to our walk/hike, but breakfast was sitting hard and we ended up just buying beans as a souvenir instead.
From Andytown and Ocean Beach, if you follow the coastal path up a steep hill, you will find yourself at the start of one of the best hikes I have ever done - Lands End Trail. Only 3.4 miles but felt like a good workout, stunning views, and not tooooo much uphill action. 10/10 would recommend.
After the hike, you end up in the Richmond District which is a quieter area full of beautiful homes. We ended up walking California Street all the way to coffee stop #2 of the day.
Coffee: Kissaten Hifi (Inner Richmond)
Another cool spot that was spinning records, which must be the new coffee shop thing there, or maybe it is just there way to have good vibes and prevent laptops.
Order: the matcha einspanner was amazing but I ended up getting the Letter From the Shogun which was a brown butter espresso drink and loved it
Dinner: Dumpling Story (Pacific Heights)
Really casual spot on Fillmore Street which reminded me a bit of Abbot Kinney except there were about 70% less people out. I have to find photos on yelp because we were so hungry that not a single picture was taken.
Order: dan dan noodles, pork xiao long bao (our fav), crab and pork XLB, curry lamb dumplings
*They are known for the juicy pork bao, and maybe this is a hot take, but it was our least favorite thing. I would skip and double down on the pork XLB
& that’s a wrap! Polk Street nearby has as plenty of spots to bar hop to continue the night but Love Island UK was calling us for an early night.
until next time, SF…
hi! wonderful guide, no notes!