Tasty tourism
San Francisco Ferry Building guide 2024: What to eat and drink now
The Ferry Building offers many culinary delights from renowned artisans and chefs, all while enjoying breathtaking views of the bay.
By Virginia Miller
San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building is a landmark since 1898 and home to Foodwise’s unparalleled Farmers Market and programs. Inside, the stalls are permanent though some restaurants, shops and purveyors rotate out.
Yes, you can weave from creative ice creams at the great Humphry Slocombe, breads from legendary Acme Bread since 1983, on to tea at Imperial Tea Court. But there are stalwarts it’s easy to forget are still there and better than ever — like Boulettes Larder — alongside brand new openings like A16 La Pala, both reviewed here. We also can’t wait for chef Nite Yun’s new Cambodian spot Lunette to open here later this spring, as we miss her great, closed Oakland restaurant, Nyum Bai.
A16 La Pala
The original A16 on Chestnut Street just turned an impressive 20 years old, predating the Neapolitan pizza craze that swept the country. Owner and award-winning wine director Shelley Lindgren just opened a Ferry Building location in February 2024: A16 La Pala. Instead of Neapolitan pizza, the focus is pizza al taglio, a rectangular focaccia pizza originally from Rome. In 6-inch or 9-inch slices, the simplicity of the Tomato Crudo with basil and garlic stood out, though the Escarola pizza was more interesting, layered with braised escarole, fior di latte mozzarella, anchovies and a killer crema di cipolla onion cream.
Besides being a small Italian grocery, dishes include focaccia panino, salads, a couple pastas and small plates, house pastries and legit cornetto pastries from Poesia Cafe baker Giovanni Liguoro, filled with cream or nutella. Another rare treat is coffee or uber-tart lemon granita that transports me straight back to Sicily where granita with cornetto is a common breakfast — they also make a mean cannoli, speaking of Sicily.
Boulettes Larder
Opening way back in 2004, it’s easy to forget about Boulette’s Larder, a Ferry Building respite. You shouldn’t. It’s better than ever and serves some of the best food in the building. Cozy and behind a partition, you feel like you’re in a separate restaurant, with full service, solid cocktails — like a Sloe Gin Gimlet — and a thoughtful wine list. The larder portion serves foods to-go, but sit down menus for lunch or early dinners shine.
Pizza Wednesdays offer a reasonable $40 prix fixe of pizza, salad and a “surprise” starter, like irresistible black rice arancini in spicy tomato sauce with citrus aioli. Entrees like a dense, comforting corn custard pudding and turkey sugo tastes like the holidays. Pizzas wow in a modern California way, whether a squash, walnuts and cotija cheese LA pizza, or truly unique Musa, a thin but filling pie topped with ground lamb stewed in Turkish chilies, cinnamon, black pepper, date syrup, sumac, barrel-aged feta, yogurt, mint and parsley.
Hog Island Oyster Co.
The great Hog Island began farming oysters in 1983 in sleepy, idyllic Marshall on Tomales Bay off Highway One, just north of the City. They sell millions of our impeccable local oysters, sorting all shellfish by hand and purifying the seawater in an ultraviolet sterilizer. Their Ferry Building oyster bar opened 20 years ago in 2004. In 2014, they expanded to the bigger, multi-oyster bar space with Bay views. Yes, there are often lines to get in, but they flow people through quickly for good cocktails, wine and beers, mountains of oysters and decadent clam chowder. Their grilled oysters — like bourbon chipotle — are fab. So are bites like abalone ceviche or geoduck belly fritters.
Miette
Miette is an SF treasure for its delightful, delicious cookies and pastries, as it is for its candies. They have a few shops around the Bay Area, but the SF original in Hayes Valley is a charming melange of pinks, yellows and greens. They’ve long brought their colorful confectionery cheer to the Ferry Building. Miette cakes, cupcakes, shortbread, macarons, all manner of candies and treats are as good as they look. But I have a straight up addiction to their candied sour belts or strips, particularly the striped watermelon and uber-tart mango.
Dandelion Chocolate
There are two great chocolatiers in the Ferry Building. I haven’t been back to Recchuiti in a while, but was a fan from day one of their elegant chocolate truffles. Dandelion Chocolate is a superb bean-to-bar producer with their chocolate factories in SF’s Mission District, gorgeous pastries, truffles, drinking chocolates and bars of single origin chocolate they source thoughtfully around the world.
Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Cafe
Tsar Nicoulai blessedly brought their caviar cafe back to the Ferry Building after an 11 year absence in 2021 and it’s the ideal spot to pull up to the counter for a caviar and bubbly break. You can get champagne or sparkling wines served in coupes or champagne glasses, splurge on full-on caviar service or go for distinct caviar bites. Best of all, since 1984, they’ve pioneered sustainable local caviar from their Sacramento County aquaculture farm.
Peaches Patties
Longtime SoMa catering company and chef-owner and SF native Shani Jones opened Peaches Patties at an outside Ferry Bld. stall in early 2023, offering an SF rarity of Jamaican food. There’s a jerk chicken and vegan Jamaican stew, but the main focus is Jones’ mother’s patties — her name is Peaches, by the way. They’re golden and warm, filled with comforting irie lentils or Jamaican curry chicken, to name my two favorites. Wash it down with housemade sorrel, a traditional spiced hibiscus drink.
Cholita Linda
For years, Cholita Linda has turned out superb Peruvian and Mexican food with Bay views from the waterside of the Ferry Building. Their Baja fish tacos are on point, as are hefty sandwiches like the popular Papito, stuffed with steak, plantains, caramelized onions, arugula, aioli and Swiss cheese on crusty French bread.
Obour Foods
A little counter in the main hall, Obour Foods makes organic hummus, tahini and their own pita chips in fun flavors like date or pomegranate tahini or hot curry hummus. I particularly like their zhoug hummus, inspired by the Yemen hot sauce, inflected with cardamom, cilantro, parsley and serrano chiles. Their recycle and reuse program is an incentive to return with a $1 credit for every empty jar brought back.
Juice House
While I remain a fan of Juice Shop in Hayes Valley, when I’m on the Embarcadero, Juice House is king. They offer a rich menu of juices, including many vegetal, no-fruit juices,like I prefer. A good savory option is Green Mary, loaded with kale, cucumber, apple, celery, lemon, ginger and blessed hits of horseradish, chili pepper and black pepper.
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
The Bold Italic is a non-profit media organization that’s brought to you by GrowSF, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. Donate to us today.
