At the beginning of 2026, I spent two great weeks for work in San Francisco. After the mess that was there during covid, I expected unpleasant vibes, but discovered instead a charming and cool city with quite a bit of character. So wanted to share the places I love the most.

True Laurel: a perfect cocktail bar where they already greet me by name. Amazing weekend brunch and the cocktails are generally excellent.

Vesuvio Cafe: fun and great bar, where I made new friends and instead of snacks - they serve homemade pies that the owner’s wife made.

Tupper & Reed: a surprisingly good cocktail bar in Berkeley. The mexican bartender incorporates unique ingredients from South America.

Smuggler’s Cove: famous tiki bar. Be careful, there is more booze in the drinks than you expect.

Nice shops:

Green Apple Books: a fantastic bookstore that also hosts great events.

Aggregated Supply: a shop with incredible staff who talked me into buying pants I hope I’ll actually have the courage to wear.

Food:

Hon’s Wun-Tun House: there are quite a few excellent soup dumplings in the city, but these really stood out.

Dumpling Home: okay, these were also great.

Tartine: the most hyped bakery in the city, and rightfully so.

New England Lobster Market & Eatery: an amazing place near the airport to eat crabs tacos!

General tips:

Partiful: I found plenty of events in the city, including a relaxed weekend gathering at a workspace that’s somewhere between a community center and WeWork.

SF Museum of Modern Art was a great place to roam and gather some thoughts.

Corner Maps: I discovered the app that I always wanted to develop myself. The recommendations were excellent and great UI (just a bit heavy)