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Who spends 24 hours in a City like San Francisco? I'll tell you who, me! On the end of our trip to Napa we went to visit a friend that lives in Los Gatos CA, after staying with our friend we were flying out of San Francisco. I've always wanted to visit San Francisco, as many people have told me that it is one of America's best cities! I have a few friends that used to live in SF, so I was apprehensive about visiting post covid. I was told that the city had fallen into complete disarray, that crime was rampant, and that it overall felt very unsafe.
All of this to tell you that my visit to San Francisco was one of the most remarkable and impressive 24 hours I've ever experienced in a new city...
10:00 am - Check in to Ritz Carlton Hotel, San Francisco.
Located just a 10-minute walk from Union Square and the financial district, The Ritz Carlton property is in close proximity to China Town and the "North Beach" Neighborhood. Upon checking in, we were welcomed warmly by the hotel valet staff, and Concierge.
After settling into our room, we changed outfits and prepared to set off towards the ferry building. We had been told that this was a spot we must visit, especially as it was a Saturday, and Saturday is the day they host their farmers' markets. We had decided to take a ferry across the bay to Sausalito for lunch, and all ferries depart from the famed "ferry building"
11:30 am - Explore the Ferry Building
We walked down California street, until it spat us out at the main intersection by the Ferry Building. We purchased our tickets to Sausalito, and luckily the ferry didn't depart for another 40 minutes, so we were free to roam the farmers markets outside the building as well as the extensive artisanal shops and eateries within the building. I was overcome with excitement at the smorgasbord of unique food items there were to discover. If only I had more luggage space, I would bring home some caramel honey, handmade candles, Californian grown olive oils, the list goes on...
12:10 pm Catch the Ferry to Sausalito
The Ferry ride from San Francisco to Sausalito took about 35 minutes. It was a spectacular way to take in the view of downtown San Francisco, we also got a great view of Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.
I couldn't believe how foggy it was around Sausalito and the nearby islands. It gave the landscape a sense of drama that I hadn't expected.
1:45 pm Lunch Reservation at Scoma's Sausalito
I had done my research and looked into the best restaurants in Sausalito, I had stumbled across Scoma's, it really stood out to me because of its unique location and interesting history. Scoma's is a landmark waterfront dining experience. The restaurant opened in 1969, after their wildly successful Scoma's San Francisco was a huge success, owned and operated by two of San Franciscos most famous restaurants families, the Scoma's and the Gotti's. The Scoma family also have Sicilian heritage, which, as you know after my trip to Taormina and Palermo last June, I'm obsessed with all things Sicilian cuisine.
The Victorian style building the restaurant is housed in, is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. I thought it was simply adorable, and I was very excited to have lunch here after exploring the small waterfront town of Sausalito.
3:30 pm Catch Ferry back to San Francisco
Upon arriving back at the Ferry building, we set off on a 1.2 mile walk along the bay to the Fishermans Wharf.
This is a must-see spot as the famous seals are all lounging around at the marina. Warning: they stink, but it's a sight to behold!
After our exploration of Fishermans wharf, we caught an uber back to the Ritz Carlton to rest and prepare ourselves for dinner. The Uber took us by the famous Lombard Street, known as the "crookedest street in the world" which has eight sharp hairpin turns that seem to zig-zag down the hillside. A huge crowd was gathered, stopping traffic to take photos, it really was quite the spectacle.
8:00pm Dinner reservation at "the Progress"
Since we were only spending one evening in San Francisco, it was imperative that I select the perfect restaurant for our meal here. I read multiple lists and consulted my trusty guide “Eater” (San Francisco.)
I eventually settled on a restaurant called the progress, because of its unique approach to cuisine, and also for the fact that it has won a James Beard award, and separately because it has held and maintained a Michelin star from 2017 to 2024. The progressive’s cuisine is a wholistic approach to rustic cooking. Their philosophy: Whole animal, whole vegetable, incorporates Smoke & Fire, Curing, Fermenting, Preserving, and Dehydrating which all contribute to the Big, Bold Flavors of their dishes.
Fortunately for us, the Ritz Carlton offers a car service for its guests. We had a car take us 15 minutes across town to the progress. On our way to the restaurant, we could not get over how many self-driving cars we saw on the streets. My husband remarked that he would love to catch a self-driving car home, I said I was up for the adventure.
When we first arrived at the progress, we were greeted warmly by the host. Immediately we were sat at a table, and the person that sat us went through the menu with us. They explained the different categories on the menu, and explained the way the kitchen works. The space itself is charming and a little bit hipster. Not typically what I would book for my husband, he has more of a classic style approach to dining, but I figured since we’re in San Francisco, we needed the full San Francisco experience.
To begin we had the strawberry and cucumber salad, served with fresh mint. We then had the tierra vegetables masa dumplings with toma cheese & huitlacoche creme, followed by the biodynamic tomatoes & eggplant with melon, green peppercorn & toasted black rice.
As our mains, I had the corn & black pepper-ricotta cavatelli with mascarpone, sungold tomatoes & blackberries, my Husband had the grilled bone-in pork chop with crispy squid, refried beans & peaches.
The food was simply outstanding. A very creative harmony of hearty foods served with various fruits as accompaniment which made for interesting flavor profiles and a magnificently dazzling visual feast for the eyes. It felt very San Francisco, and the owners also own several other restaurants, State Bird provisions being one of them, that was also highly recommended to visit.
I must add here that my husband remarked that although an interesting way to serve a bone-in pork chop, it was the juiciest and tastiest pork he had ever had, I promise you, that's saying something!
After dinner, we decided it was time to try the self-driving cars by Waymo.
We had been seeing the Waymo cars all around the city of SF and were super curious about them. My husband had downloaded the app at dinner, which as we discovered is connected to your Google account. Once the app is downloaded you can order a car like you do an Uber. When you order the car, it asks you what color you want the top of the car to be for ease of recognition, we chose green, and upon arrival the car had a green light at the top of it with the initials DR for my husband's name. You need to use the app to unlock the car doors - obviously to prevent people getting in the wrong car, and once you get in the rest is pretty self-explanatory. The driverless car took us home and besides it being a bit freaky to see the steering wheel moving on its own with no driver, it felt safe, and I wasn't worried at all.
After our fun and futuristic ride home, we settled in for the evening at our hotel and the next morning checked out of the hotel and made our way to the SF airport.
All in all, we spent 24 hours in San Francisco, and it was just enough time for me to get a taste of what the city is all about and convince me that I simply must come again and stay for at least a week next time.
If you ever find yourself on an extended layover, or just passing through, I hope this itinerary can serve as a great starting point of some must-visit places!
Summary- 24 hours in SF
Stay at the Ritz Carlton, (Close to China town and Union Square)
Catch a ferry to Sausalito for lunch (see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz)
Walk the bay area past the wharves and see the Seals
See Lombard Street
Experience an amazing restaurant for dinner
If you have ever been to SF, I'd love to hear from you below, what were your favorite places to visit? I'd love to add it to my list for next time.
Until next time,
Fallon xo
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