San Francisco: Family Friendly Restaurants - Travel

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Best Hotel Restaurant: Ame, 689 Mission St. (tel. 415/284-4040), located in the swank St. Regis Hotel, means "rain" in Japanese. But the only drops you'll see coming down here are tears of joy from local foodies who no longer have to drive to St. Helena to enjoy a meal by Hiro Sone, James Beard Award winner and master of Japanese, French, and Italian cuisine.

Best for Impressing Clients: Show your business associates you've got class -- and deep pockets -- by reserving a table at the Financial District's Aqua, 252 California St. (tel. 415/956-9662).

Best Romantic Spot: Anyone who loves classic French cooking will be seduced at Fleur de Lys, 777 Sutter St. (tel. 415/673-7779), under the rich burgundy-tented canopy that swathes the elegant room in romance. There's lots of question-popping here, too.

Best for a Celebration: Great food, a full bar, and a lively atmosphere are the key ingredients that make Boulevard, 1 Mission St. (tel. 415/543-6084), the place to celebrate. Or celebrate Latino-style with pitchers of sangria at the Haight's Cha Cha Cha, 1801 Haight St. (tel. 415/386-7670).

Best Decor: Celeb restaurant designer Pat Kuleto spent a week sketching sea life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before applying his genius to whimsical Farallon, 450 Post St. (tel. 415/956-6969). Another fantastic design feat is within the Grand Caf?, 501 Geary St. (tel. 415/292-0101), where the old-world European ballroom meets Art Nouveau glamour.

Best Wine List: Renowned sommelier Rajat Parr, at Michael Mina, 335 Powell St. (tel. 415/397-9222), will pour liquid heaven provided you can swallow the steep prices. Another sip-worthy spot is bacar, 448 Brannan St. (tel. 415/904-4100), which offers 60 wines by the glass.

Best Pizza: Pauline's, 260 Valencia St. (tel. 415/552-2050), does two things -- pizzas and salads -- but does them both better than any other restaurant in the city.

Best Brunch: The Sunday spread at the Terrace Restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, 600 Stockton St. (tel. 415/773-6198), offers the city's most lavish buffet, featuring sushi, caviar, freshly made blinis, and endless oysters on the half-shell. See chapter 5.

Best Dim Sum: Downtown and Chinatown dim sum restaurants may be more centrally located, but that's all they've got on Ton Kiang, 5821 Geary Blvd. (tel. 415/387-8273), where carts bring the best Chinese dumplings and other dim sum delicacies to your table.

Best Vegetarian Food: For excellent farm-fresh food and an equally stunning view of the Golden Gate, go to Greens Restaurant, Building A, Fort Mason Center (tel. 415/771-6222). Also check out Millennium, 580 Geary St. (tel. 415/345-3900).

Best Cafe: If you want to know what life was like before Starbucks, spend some time at North Beach's beloved Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store, 566 Columbus Ave. (tel. 415/362-0536); and Caff? Trieste, 601 Vallejo St. (tel. 415/392-6739). See chapter 7.

Best Dive: Anyone who's a connoisseur of funky little ethnic eateries will love Sam Wo, 813 Washington St. (tel. 415/982-0596), my favorite Chinatown dive.

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