Tadich Grill
Seafood restaurant · Financial District ·
Fresh seafood, classic cocktails, old-school setting, lively atmosphere
Fresh seafood, classic cocktails, old-school setting, lively atmosphere
"In San Francisco, for legions of regulars, the 176-year-old institution feels like a true time warp where, inside its neon red sign and the gold-scripted window reading “The Original Cold Day Restaurant,” time pauses and old rituals endure. What began as a Gold Rush wharfside tent pitched by three Croatian immigrants has become a downtown brick-and-mortar that has changed hands only three times and survived earthquakes, fires, depressions, two pandemics, a gunfight in 1863, and 34 presidents. We sit shoulder-to-shoulder along an 80-foot-long counter as a brass order-up bell dings, servers in white coats (many from Morocco to Mexico) bustle like a nearly all-male family, and cocktails — including exceptional Martinis and $11 drinks — and shrimp cocktails are passed around. The food and menu are anchor points: steamy bowls of cioppino and red and white chowder, “Warm Water Lobster Tail Broiled,” pork chops with applesauce, Louie salad, sand dabs, petrale sole, mesquite-grilled salmon with green beans and new potatoes, bay shrimp presented in a sundae glass, and the bib-required cioppino; small but potent traditions (lemon wedges, a dab of parsley, the exact Martini style) punctuate the experience. Regulars — from a 92-year-old Richard who still orders pork chops, to lawyers who do business over lunches, to lifelong diners like Jim and Chris Dawe, Gilbert Herrera, Drew Williamson, Susan Amorde, and Todd Gray — animate the place, trading banter, civility, and the kind of familiarity that makes dining here feel like a remedy against the city’s transience. Warmth, light banter, and the restaurant’s dark wood interior are an antidote to the surrounding tech sterility; for 90 minutes we catch our breath, eat, drink, and then step back out into the foggy city." - Rachel Levin, George McCalman
"To be reminded of what SF was like before the dot-com bubble, head to Tadich Grill. We suspect California's oldest restaurant hasn't changed much in its nearly 200 years of existence with waiters in white button-ups and ties, a long wooden bar, and a seafood-heavy menu with one of the city's mosticonic renditionsof cioppino. Reservations go fast, but bar seating is always poachable especially right at 5pm." - Team Infatuation
"The oldest continually running restaurant in California makes crab cakes we would e-scooter across town blindfolded to get our hands on. Crispy outside, packed with a generous helping of crab, and doused in tartare sauce, these little stunners alone are worth the trip. We also come to this Financial District institution for their loaded cioppino and plates of grilled fish, the free hunk of sourdough, and an old-school setting complete with servers in white coats, and a bar that’s so long you can barely see the end." - lani conway, julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong
"One way to get old-school-sophisticated on a random weekday: lunch at Tadich Grill. The Financial District spot has been around since panning for gold was the city’s hottest activity, and still looks like a relic of the past with white jacketed waiters, tablecloths, and a bar so long you can barely see the end. Seafood is the main event. Crab cakes are delicate crispy pillows. Bowls of cioppino (complete with a plastic bib) are loaded with an aquarium’s worth of shellfish. And platters of broiled sea bass are dressed simply with bright lemon butter. Washing everything down with a martini is a local rite of passage." - lani conway, julia chen 1
"If Tadich Grill in the Financial District is one of those places you’ve “been meaning to get to,” take this as your sign to go. This seafood spot is oldest-running restaurant in the city, and you absolutely need to eat here at least once. Grab a seat at the bar with a bowl of cioppino and some crispy crab cakes, and settle into a vintage leather booth while waiters in white jackets shake your midday martini. They only serve lunch on weekdays, so save this place for when you need an escape from work." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez