by Frank Dunnigan

Over the years, this column has reviewed many San Francisco dining and drinking spots, both past and present. This month, though, there is a focus on the variety of specialty cuisines that were featured locally at various times—again, both past and present. Here are some selections from the OpenSFHistory archive representing the specialized culinary and beverage offerings from several different San Francisco neighborhoods over many years.

View east across 3rd Street near Folsom, 1920s. (wnp33.03247; courtesy of a Private Collector)

The South of Market neighborhood surrounding 3rd and Folsom Streets was the center of San Francisco’s Greek community for decades—before and after 1906. Athens Restaurant and Oyster House at left, plus the adjacent businesses, Smyrna Café and Constantinople Café, all served various dishes from Greek cuisine to their patrons at the time of this 1920s photo.

Market & Church Streets, 1990s. (wnp07.00360; Richmond Review Newspaper Collection / Courtesy of Paul Kozakiewicz, Richmond Review)

Boston Market, located at the busy intersection of Market, Church, and 14th Streets in this 1990 image, served homestyle American cuisine in the Castro. The angular corner lot was once home to Burke’s, a drive-in restaurant from the 1950s. By the 1970s/80s, Burke’s was gone, and a number of different restaurants and bars occupied the space before the arrival of the Boston Market chain. Later in the 1990s, this corner was occupied by Home Restaurant for several years until it declared bankruptcy and closed in 2011. There was considerable community debate about future uses of the site, but in 2017, the building shown here was demolished, and since 2019, the angled lot has been home to a 7-story, 60-unit apartment building.

View north on Grant towards Sacramento, August 1959. (wnp25.5398; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

Kan’s Restaurant, at 708 Grant Avenue near Sacramento Street, opened in 1953 and is shown here in 1959. Owner Johnny Kan wanted to introduce authentic Cantonese cuisine to westerners, rather than serving the cheap standard “chop suey” that was heavily promoted by other restaurateurs of the time. Kan’s restaurant closed after the founder’s untimely death in 1972, but later reopened and continued in business until another closure in 2013, though the classic sign remains in place.

North side of Turk between Mason and Taylor, circa 1915. (wnp70.0793; Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell)

Located at Turk and Mason in 1915, this establishment catered to the considerable German population in San Francisco at the time. It was a different entity from the current Schroeder’s Restaurant that has been operating in the 200 block of Front Street since just after the 1906 fire.

Northwest corner of Diamond & Monterey, 1940. (wnp14.12508; courtesy of a Private Collector)

French and Italian dinners were available for 65 cents at Pellegrino Restaurant, located at 2972 Diamond Street near Monterey Boulevard in 1940, with more moderately-priced lunch offerings served earlier in the day. Two years later, in 1942, the name on the sign changed to M & M Restaurant. The building and the adjacent Union 76 gas station in the foreground were demolished in the early 1960s to make way for the construction of Interstate 280 and BART’s Glen Park Station. By the mid-1970s, multiple new low-rise apartment buildings were constructed at the corner.

View east on Grant between California and Pine, circa 1956. (wnp12.00499; Courtesy of David Gallagher)

Shanghai Low was offering meals and cocktails in Chinatown in this 1956 image, taken during the heyday of commercial neon lighting. The restaurant had been in operation on Grant Avenue near Pine Street since at least 1920. Today, the site is occupied by Lotus Garden Restaurant.

24th Street near York, 1951. (wnp58.841; SF Assessors Office Negatives / WNP Collection)

The Roosevelt Tamale Parlor, part of the commercial corridor along 24th Street in the Mission District, has been serving up tamales, enchiladas, and more since about 1920, when the neighborhood was largely populated by German and Irish residents. In this 1951 image, an older pre-WWII sedan is parked opposite a late-model Cadillac convertible, suggesting the broad range of customers patronizing local businesses there. The Roosevelt closed in 2015, but reopened several months later in 2016 under a short-lived new name: Roosevelt Sip & Eat, which soon reverted to the original Roosevelt name. After struggling through Covid-related business declines in 2020-21, the restaurant closed permanently in September 2022. It then reopened with new owners in May 2023, with yet another new name, Tacos del Barrio, but with the original Roosevelt Tamale Parlor neon sign still in place, now repaired and glowing warmly along 24th Street, as it did for decades.

View north across Broadway near Romolo, circa 1952. (wnp25.1242; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

Italian cuisine was available along Broadway in 1952 (New Joe’s at left and Vanessi’s at far right), plus Swiss dining at the St. Moritz Café/Little Swiss, and female inpersonators at the nightclub/bar named Finnochio’s. This stretch is barely recognizable today: The Beat Museum occupies the ground floor space that was once home to New Joe’s (the restaurant was displaced after a fire in the 1950s); St. Moritz/Little Swiss closed and the building was demolished for a small parking lot; Finnochio’s closed in 1999 and that building is now home to a series of small eateries and law offices; and Vanessi’s closed in 1997, with that site now occupied by a variety of small businesses.

View north on Fillmore and Fulton, April 1946. (wnp14.3611; courtesy of a Private Collector)

The Gold Mirror (at far left) was a popular cocktail lounge on Fillmore Street near Fulton in the Fillmore District in 1946. The business relocated to 18th and Taraval in the early 1950s in advance of Western Addition redevelopment, and remains in operation today, featuring Italian cuisine for the last 70+ years.

Foot of Taylor Street at Fisherman’s Wharf, September 1966. (wnp25.5688; courtesy of a Private Collector)

Fishermen’s Grotto (more recently named The Grotto), operating at the foot of Taylor Street since 1935, was a large and popular dining spot for locals and tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf in this 1966 image. Next door neighbor Alioto’s (out of sight at left) had a presence selling seafood on the wharf since 1925, and opened a full-service restaurant there in 1938 that was later expanded. The financial impact of mandatory Covid-related closures that began in March 2020, as well as their 66-year leases with the city, were factors that resulted in permanent closures for both. Nearby Sabella-LaTorre is still in operation, though the adjacent A. Sabella closed in 2007 when younger family members were pursuing their own careers in other fields. While there are still many dining opportunities at Fisherman’s Wharf, other recent closures have included many long-time historic names such as Castagnola’s, Pompei’s Grotto, and Tarantino’s.