There are few things more irresistible than waterside dining – at Mersea on Treasure Island, for example, where the lunch fare comes with a side of waves, or Malibu Farm in Tiburon, where you can watch the Angel Island Ferry dock as you dine.
Here are five great spots to explore.
MALIBU FARM, Tiburon
You cannot beat that view: the Bay unfurling at your feet, Tiburon’s Angel Island Ferry dock just below, sailboats gliding past and San Francisco glimmering in the distance.
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Malibu Farm might seem an odd name for a restaurant with that waterfront view. Ditto for the cafe on the Malibu pier where it all began. It’s a nod to founder Helene Henderson’s locavore tastes, her seasonal menus and the produce sourced from farmers markets, local small farms and, at least in the beginning, her garden.
Today, there are Malibu Farms in Lanai (Larry Ellison is a major fan) as well as San Diego, Newport and Malibu, and the Tiburon eatery opened in 2023. That said, you won’t find Hog Island oysters ($22 for six, $40 for a dozen) and crispy Dungeness tacos ($28) anywhere but here. And though the burrata salad ($21) is a mainstay, the seasons dictate its other ingredients, sometimes beets or pears and sometimes (personal fave) citrus and chimichurri.
Pan Seared Halibut at Malibu Farm in Tiburon, Calif. on Sept. 11, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Vegetarian and vegan options abound, including avocado and ricotta-topped pizzas and roasted cauliflower steaks, as well as pescatarian fare (lobster slider, anyone?) and dishes for the omnivores (hello, hanger steak).
As for that gorgeous view, you can take it all in from the deck — with heat lamps for chilly days — or the airy, Scandi interior.
Details: Opens at 11 a.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. weekends at 9 Main St. in Tiburon; www.malibu-farm.com
HURRICA, Redwood City
This waterside hot spot is tucked away in Redwood City’s Westpoint Harbor, a marina for local boaters that sports an intriguing history.
Starting in the 19th century, this corner of San Francisco Bay was home to lumber shipyards, concrete manufacturing and salt-farming facilities. Local boater and entrepreneur Mark Sanders saw an opportunity in the 1980s, but it took decades to bring his dream to fruition. The marina opened in 2008 — and a destination restaurant just last year.
Hurrica Restaurant & Bar occupies a spot on the north side of the Westpoint Harbor Marina in Redwood City, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Redwood City’s appealing climate and the placid bay waters provide an appealing spot for Hurrica’s alfresco diners designed by noted chef Parke Ulrich, who has built the menu around live-fire cooking. Grab a table and order a hearth-roasted Liberty duck salad ($21), smoky slow-roasted pork chop ($45) or beer-battered fish and chips ($22) with remoulade.
Indoors, diners get a peek outdoors — plus what you might call an ocean view, courtesy of the museum-caliber jellyfish aquarium.
Oysters are served with a green tea and apple mignotte during lunch at Hurrica Restaurant & Bar in Redwood City, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Details: Open from 5 to 9:30 p.m. daily for dinner and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch Wednesday-Sunday at Westpoint Harbor, 150 Northpoint Court, Redwood City; www.hurrica.restaurant.
MERSEA, Treasure Island
With the San Francisco skyline in the distance, a pair of cyclists relax in the courtyard at the Mersea Restaurant on Treasure Island, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in San Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Baked-to-order mega snickerdoodles with some of the best waterfront views of the Bay, minus the crowds? This indoor-outdoor restaurant built from shipping containers is decked out in vibrant murals. Add lawn games, succulents in abundance and delicious burgers, and you have a complete package for a small island getaway, a secret Bay Area life hack and instant escape from rush hour.
The seasonal menu varies, but the Island Double-Decker Cheeseburger ($18), Fish and Chips ($19) with curry tartar and vegan Beyond Burger ($16) with caramelized onion and chipotle crema offer creative flourishes on the classics. And the Snickerdoodle ($7) is enormous.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 15: Mersea restaurant owner MeeSun Boice, left, looks on as customers Rahul Cariappa, left, Varun Vijayakumar, Rahul Bhaskar and Vikram Nagaraj, all of San Jose, enjoy the view and beer at Mersea Restaurant on Treasure Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, May 15, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
There’s live music Friday-Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. And if you want to make a day of it, the petite Treasure Island Ferry zips over to the San Francisco Ferry Building in a matter of minutes.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 699 Avenue of the Palms, San Francisco; mersea.restaurant.
SHARP PARK TAPROOM, Pacifica
Just a block from the Sharp Park Taproom in the works and the Shmash’d smashburger pop-up it hosts each week is the Pacifica Pier. Time your order right and you can eat a burger by sunset. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
OK, technically this is a “coming soon” venture — but it should be very soon. After two years of fundraising, planning and prepping, the Sharp Park Taproom is set to open this spring in its new digs near the Pacifica Pier. The brain child of co-owner Kris Englund and her partner Alex, the taproom will offer brews from across Northern California and bar bites, including housemade dips and paninis.
While they await final permits, the couple has been hosting pop-ups, including a weekly pop-up with Shmash’d Burgers, whose burgers ($11) draw an enthusiastic neighborhood crowd. On a recent Thursday, the gathering included Pacifica resident Paul Zadin, who says he’s planning to be the first in line when the taproom opens. “Beer,” he says, “makes everything happy.”
Details: 100 Santa Rosa Ave., Pacifica; keep tabs on the taproom progress at instagram.com/sharpparktaproom/.
WATERFRONT RESTAURANT, San Francisco
Good thing the signature Waterfront Cioppino ($45) arrives piping hot at the table — and stays that way for a while. You’re going to be setting down the soup spoon and seafood fork every couple of bites to soak up the spectacular San Francisco Bay views. The scene outside the expansive windows at this white-tablecloth Pier 7 restaurant encompasses the Bay Bridge, two riverboats (the Klamath and the San Francisco Belle) and the Ferry Building.
To maximize your enjoyment of the day’s colors, reserve a view table — inside or outside — an hour before sunset to order cocktails and appetizers and take in the azure blue water and skies, the gulls swooping down and boats slipping by.
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Soon the bay will turn slate blue, and the sun’s setting rays will glint off the glass on buildings across the Bay. As night falls, the lights of the Bay Bridge and Embarcadero buildings create a sparkling tableau on the shiny obsidian waters.
By then, it will be time to order dessert, maybe a seasonal fruit crisp or the Valrhona chocolate-walnut brownie, each topped with vanilla bean ice cream ($10 each).
Details: Open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at Pier 7, the Embarcadero, San Francisco, with $20 valet parking onsite; www.waterfrontsf.com.