Just released today, our 2008 Zagat San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants Survey – based on input from 8,161 frequent diners and covering 1,153 restaurants from the Wine Country in the north to Lake Tahoe in the east and down south to Carmel – confirms that the SF region is home to one of the country's hottest dining scenes.
Sixty-three new restaurants and strong spending show the renewed dynamism of the area’s dining landscape. And the big winners illustrate its sophistication and diversity: Gary Danko, the sleek Fisherman’s Wharf New American, takes Top Food honors for the sixth straight year, also capturing the title of Most Popular restaurant; Pacific’s Edge, a Carmel standout, won for Decor; Erna’s Elderberry House in Oakhurst scored for Service; and Perbacco in Downtown SF rates as Top Newcomer.
“It’s great to see how far San Francisco has come from the dark days of 2001 and 2002,” says Tim Zagat, Co-Chairman and CEO of Zagat Survey, who calls SF "one of the most dynamic dining destinations in America today."
By a 22% plurality, surveyors named Italian as their favorite cuisine, so it’s no surprise that “scrumptious pasta” at Perbacco earned it honors as this year’s Top-Rated Newcomer. Napa newcomer FARM followed closely, wowing diners with its “delicious” New American farm-fresh fare. Japanese sushi-spot and izakaya Hime rounded out the top three. As for other favorite cuisines, French scored 15%, Japanese 14%, American 13%, Thai 9%, Chinese 8% and Mexican 7%.