Ordering a steaming bowl of cioppino remains a rite of passage for any food lover visiting San Francisco. The iconic stew first started simmering in the late 1800s after Northern Italian immigrants arrived during the Gold Rush. Many eventually settled in North Beach, or Little Italy, and wound up catching salmon in the summer and crab in the winter. Cioppino is a result of their resourcefulness, tossing seafood scraps into stockpots, down on Fisherman’s Wharf.
The Italian American classic hasn’t changed much since then. It typically brims with fresh shellfish, such as crab, mussels, and squid, along with fillets of firm white halibut or local rockfish. The tomato broth should be aromatic and sippable, often brightened with white wine, fennel, and fragrant herbs. Infusing seafood shells in the stock adds an extra edge of brininess, so you can taste the ocean singing from your spoon. Slices of crusty sourdough are essential for mopping up every last drop. Lifelong obsessives, like myself, would argue a proper cioppino must include Dungeness crab, our prized wild crustacean with a limited season. Some old-school joints use frozen or canned options year-round—a forgivable workaround when doused with enough garlic.
For the past 15 years, I’ve seen creative takes come and go, but the traditional dish is beloved for a reason. Whether passed down through family recipes or calibrated with fine dining precision, cioppino reflects our immigrant heritage and wild ingredients in San Francisco. These eight spots offer exemplary versions, found at seafood counters in the city, and on oyster farms and in fish shacks up and down the coast. So dive in with your hands and get cracking.
Sotto Mare
Owned by the Azzolino family since 2014, Sotto Mare is a legend in the heart of North Beach, boasting “the best damn cioppino” in town. The slogan delivers, and locals and tourists alike pack the narrow dining room every day of the week. Brave the wait, and you’ll be greeted by the scent of simmering garlic, Giants decor, and taxidermied marlin leaping off the walls. One order of cioppino allegedly feeds two people but could sustain a family of four, packed with exclusively shellfish, including a tangle of Dungeness crab legs, squid tentacles, and petite shrimp. Lurking in the depths of the classic tomato broth, you’ll spot a highly unusual yet satisfying addition: penne pasta. Seating may be hard to come by, but barstools turn over quickly.
Scoma’s
Brothers Al and Joe Scoma opened their dockside restaurant in 1965 with half a dozen stools and their mama’s recipes. After 60 years, Scoma’s has become a local institution, known for its ship cabin-like interior filled with wood-paneled walls, cozy booths, and bay views. Come winter, you can feast on Dungeness in every form, from crab cocktails to crab cakes and in the “Lazy Man’s” Cioppino, which showcases lump crabmeat, the ultimate luxury (no cracking required). Surprisingly, they rely on vegetable broth, sweetened simply with San Marzano tomatoes and floral Sicilian oregano and served with garlic bread. Pair that throwback with a Caesar and barrel-aged Manhattan. To avoid wait times and tourist-swamped public parking, book ahead and enjoy the free valet.
Anchor Oyster Bar
One-time neighbor Harvey Milk helped secure this charming restaurant’s building permits in the rainbow-spangled Castro in 1977. Since then, it has become an integral part of San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community, earning official legacy status with the city. Chef and owner Roseann Grimm’s menu is inspired by her Italian grandfather, a crab and salmon fisherman from Amalfi, who owned an oyster house in North Beach destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1906. Anchors and buoys hang from the walls, among the rest of the navy and white details which trim the snug space. Start with a dozen local oysters before digging into the hearty cioppino. Fresh thyme and roasted garlic butter make for a bright-yet-rich broth, always mounded with Dungeness claws and hefty prawns.
Hog Island Oyster Co.
Hog Island Oyster Farm’s creamy, plump Sweetwaters glisten on raw bar menus across the city. If you can’t make the 90-minute drive north to enjoy them straight from the source in Tomales Bay, head downtown to their sleek brick-and-mortar located inside the historic Ferry Building. Make it a morning excursion by strolling through the elegant Beaux-Arts landmark, stopping by the indoor food hall or outdoor farmers market on your way to a leisurely lunch. Then tuck into the Rustic Seafood Stew, swimming with Calabrian chile-tinged treasures like local lingcod and Manilla clams, served with grilled Acme Pain au Levain. WhenDungeness crab—the star we wait for all year—is in season, it’s offered as an optional add-on in your bowl.
Via Aurelia
This sprawling Tuscan restaurant, decked out with luxurious Italian marble and aquatic-colored frescoes, is the latest, and perhaps most ambitious venture by the team behind Che Fico. Unlike the casual pizza and pasta served at its sister restaurant, Via Aurelia leans upscale, with a five-course tasting option and an extensive wine list that roams Italy and beyond. In addition to elegant porcini custard or wild boar pappardelle, you’ll find a stellar cacciucco—technically a precursor to cioppino. Chef David Nayfeld’s rendition reimagines the humble fishermen’s stew with fine dining finesse: vermillion rockfish, gulf prawns, mussels, clams, and a velvety sauce. A squash blossom stuffed with scallop mousse adds an elegant finishing touch.
Popi’s Oysterette
Popi’s Oysterette may be a relative newcomer compared to other local stalwarts, debuting on a prime corner of Chestnut Street in 2023. But chef Abel Padilla is a veteran in his industry, having worked previously at Hog Island Oyster Bar for 18 years. His experience, as well as his coastal upbringing in Honduras, shines on a menu where moules frites make perfect sense alongside Dungeness-stuffed aguacate, Baja-style shrimp tacos, and bright clam ceviche. The cioppino accents a silky lobster stock, fresh fennel, spicy Calabrian chiles and, true to Hog Island philosophy, Dungeness crab only when they’re in season. Unlike some older, more established spots, you can catch a reservation.
Nick’s Cove
If you’re up for the road trip to oyster country, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and wind north to Tomales Bay. Nick’s Cove is a scenic stop on Highway One, with a row of quaint cottages that line the waterfront, and a rustic restaurant embellished with a stone fireplace and stag heads, all dating back to the 1930s. Chef Matt Alfus, another veteran of Hog Island Oyster Farm down the road, draws inspiration from the restaurant’s seaside history and sources local ingredients from Marin and Sonoma Counties, and even the kitchen’s own garden. The comforting cioppino is showered with untraditional but welcome toppings: a generous dollop of aioli and thinly sliced backyard fennel and fronds. Don’t miss other seaside classics like the sticky-sweet barbecued oysters or the clam chowder. If you aren’t up for the drive back, you can even check in to the adjoining pet-friendly inn for the night.
Barbara’s Fishtrap
281 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
A quick hop south of the city you’ll find Barbara’s Fishtrap in Half Moon Bay. Barbara Walsh took over this storied fish shack in 1978, which once called Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio patrons. Since Walsh’s passing in 2017, daughter Melodie Madsen and granddaughter Angie Howard have run the show. The ocean blue dining room is as enchanting as ever, adorned with fish nets and twinkle lights. Lines run long to get a table for their legendary fish and chips in the summer and cioppino in winter, featuring half a crab dropped into a buttery, garlicky broth. Make sure Dungeness season has officially started before heading over; they’re big sticklers (for good reason) and won’t put cioppino on the menu until then.