If you're serious about fish, don't…EAT SEAFOOD AT FISHERMAN'S WHARF
The old adage holds true: The better the view, the worse the food. Oh, you'll spot plenty of enticing-looking raw bars, with beefy-armed men in white aprons cracking open freshly boiled crabs, but no self-respecting San Francisco food-lover would dream of eating at any of Fisherman's Wharf tourist traps. We thought parsley-sprig and orange-wedge garnishes disappeared with the disco years, but apparently we were mistaken. It's not that the seafood isn't fresh, but in the hands of the assembly-line chefs, it's generally overcooked, badly sauced, and overpriced.
Instead…
EAT AT SWAN OYSTER DEPOT
For fresh-off-the-boat shellfish, queue up beside the locals at Swan Oyster Depot, a century-old landmark with just 20 stools lining a marble counter. With the exception of a creamy New England-style chowder, the entire menu is cold—oysters on the half shell, cracked crab, smoked fish and shrimp salad tossed in Louie dressing (a sort of Thousand Island without pickles). It's perfect picnic food to take to nearby Sterling Park, atop Russian Hill, where you can gaze out at the glittering blue bay as you lunch. But get there early: Once the lunch rush ends and the fish runs out, Swan Oyster Depot closes up shop. For a special-occasion white-tablecloth seafood feast, you won't find better than Aqua. On a par with New York's famed Le Bernardin, Aqua expertly blends French technique with New American sensibilities, using fresh-off-the-boat ingredients in such signature dishes as Moroccan-spiced tuna tartare and Alaskan halibut with licorice jus. Unlike at the Wharf, you won't soon forget what you ate.
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