San Francisco Named the Culinary Capital of the U.S.

San Francisco came in at No. 1.

By Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca

Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeared in print or online for Travel + Leisure, Time, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and many more. You'll usually find her in an airport. If you do see her there, please say hello. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on February 13, 2025

Close Historic cable car on the street in San Francisco, California. Photo:

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Food and travel go hand-in-hand. When you get out and explore the world, you should taste all the flavors your new destination has to offer. However, the U.S. is a pretty big place with lots of diverse food offerings. So, to help you narrow down the best places to tickle your tastebuds in America, Clarify Capital created a list of the top food destinations in the country. 

To figure out which cities are the top spots for foodies, the financial services website looked at data using Yelp's API to "find the most diverse culinary cities" among the 100 most populated in the country. It then analyzed several categories to determine its rankings, including "cuisine diversity based on restaurant cuisine tags, the ratio of local mom-and-pop restaurants to chain restaurants, the quality based on average rating, the popularity based on average review count, and the affordability based on average number of dollar signs." Next, it surveyed 1,000 Americans about their dining out preferences and habits, using this data to help finalize the rankings.

After all that work, it named San Francisco the nation’s culinary capital. 

"San Francisco was the undisputed culinary capital of the US, scoring 91.47 points out of 100," the findings noted, specifically shouting out its high ratio of independent restaurants and food quality. "The City by the Bay's vibrant food scene, diverse offerings, and innovative approaches to food have solidified its position at the top of the list." 

Clam chowder served in a sour dough bread bowl in San Francisco.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

San Francisco’s food scene has a mix of Michelin-starred restaurants, legendary seafood spots, and diverse global cuisine. It offers everything from fresh Dungeness crab and rich cioppino (a fish stew) to Mission-style burritos and crispy Dutch Crunch sandwiches. Don’t miss the city’s famous sourdough bread, dim sum in Chinatown, or a sweet treat from Ghirardelli Chocolate.

The team explained that “California dominated the top 10 culinary capitals list, claiming seven of the spots,” with neighboring Oakland, California, coming in second place. It was joined by Seattle in third, followed by four other California destinations in the top 7 spots: San Diego, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Jose. New York City; Irvine, California; and Jersey City, New Jersey, rounded out the top 10. 

However, if you’re looking for quality over anything else, then it’s time to head to Las Vegas, which took the No. 1 spot for that category. “Establishments in the Entertainment Capital of the World had the highest average Yelp ratings, suggesting that the city’s dining scene offers high-quality culinary experiences.”

Hungry for more? Check out all the rankings at clarifycapital.com. 

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