On the Bridge

"Located on the walkway that connects the two halves of the Japan Center Mall, this charming, manga-lined spot is also a bridge between cultures and cuisines, as one of San Francisco’s only restaurants that specialize in yoshoku, or Western-style Japanese dishes like hayashi rice and hamburger steak. This is punk icon Patti Smith’s favorite restaurant in San Francisco; work your way through the extensive menu of fish roe-topped Japanese-style pasta dishes, and it might become one of your favorites too." - Paolo Bicchieri

"You go to On The Bridge for comforting specials that mix Japanese flavors with Western influences. Think big plates of curry rice and shrimp roe spaghetti, omu-rice, pizzas, and Japanese-style hamburgers. Eccentricity also abounds at this cafe-style Japan Center restaurant that’s been a neighborhood staple for several decades. Sit at the long wooden bar surrounded by plushies, sherbet-colored chairs, and bookshelves filled with every manga imaginable. Of course, unwinding with something from the encyclopedia-long beer and sake menu isn’t a bad idea either. Basically, land here to end good days, hide from the fact that Mercury is in retrograde, or anytime you don't feel like waiting in line at nearby Marufuku. " - julia chen 1, lani conway

"You go to On The Bridge for comforting specials that mix Japanese flavors with Western influences. Think big plates of curry rice and shrimp roe spaghetti, omu-rice, pizzas, and Japanese-style hamburgers. Eccentricity also abounds at this cafe-style Japan Center restaurant that’s been a neighborhood staple for several decades. Sit at the long wooden bar surrounded by plushies, sherbert-colored chairs, and bookshelves filled with every manga imaginable. Of course, unwinding with something from the encyclopedia-long beer and sake menu isn’t a bad idea either. Basically, land here to end good days, hide from the fact that Mercury is in retrograde, or anytime you don't feel like waiting in the long line at nearby Marufuku." - Lani Conway