1
American•Potrero Hill•moderate
PoBoys Kitchen
PoBoys Kitchen is not trying to be a night out, and everything about it confirms that from the outside.
dinnerdate night
Read restaurant page
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
9.4 Google
9.4
454 Google reviews
GuideUpdated July 15, 2026
3 Best Places for Fried Calamari in San Francisco
Where to find the best fried calamari in San Francisco — each restaurant rated 4.0★ or higher. Top-rated at 9.4★. Spanning american and greek kitchens. Curated by TastyPals.
The best places for fried calamari in San Francisco are PoBoys Kitchen, Novy Restaurant, Soma Restaurant & Bar. Start with PoBoys Kitchen if you want the strongest overall first pick.
Google
Top picks at a glance
Who this guide is for
This guide covers the highest-rated spots for fried calamari in San Francisco. Whether you're a local hunting your next regular or visiting and want to eat well, these picks are sorted by quality and review depth.
Quick picks
PoBoys Kitchen
American • Potrero Hill
PoBoys Kitchen is not trying to be a night out, and everything about it confirms that from the outside.
Novy Restaurant
Greek • Noe Valley
Novy has a backstory that could easily become a burden.
Soma Restaurant & Bar
Italian • SOMA
Soma Restaurant & Bar reads the room in a way that a lot of mid-range San Francisco spots don't bother to.
Editorial details
On this page
How the restaurants compare
PoBoys Kitchen
Potrero Hill • American
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
dinner
Mood
Potrero Hill
Google
Novy Restaurant
Noe Valley • Greek
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Noe Valley
Google
Soma Restaurant & Bar
SOMA • Italian
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
business dinner
Mood
SOMA
How we chose
We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →
Room tone
Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.
Food fit
We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.
Useful range
The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.
3 ranked picks
PoBoys Kitchen — PoBoys Kitchen is not trying to be a night out, and everything about it confirms that from the outside. The Potrero Hill spot on Connecticut Street runs on a small footprint — a handful of indoor seats, three sidewalk tables that take on fog and the rhythm of the neighborhood without pretense. This is, by all accounts, a lunch place: somewhere you go because you live nearby and already know the order. Owner Martin Y. is reported to run it with hands-on attention, which in a space this size means the concept either holds together or it doesn't, and by most accounts it does. That kind of stripped-back honesty is rarer in San Francisco's current landscape of performative casual than it has any right to be.
The menu leans Cajun-Creole but wanders — a Bento Box alongside Veggie dishes and global sides, which reads as either an endearing shrug at category or a mild identity problem depending on your tolerance for range. The anchor is the Buttermilk Crispy Fried Chicken, which Martin is known to describe as made to order, taking twenty-plus minutes from placement. Diners consistently cite that wait as non-negotiable and worth accepting. The Seasonal Seafood Jambalaya is reportedly built on the kind of low, patient heat that distinguishes a kitchen taking it seriously from one that isn't. The Fried Calamari has a reputation for surprising people — an unexpected strong point at what is nominally a po'boy counter. The Limoncello Cake closes the menu on a bright, deliberate note that reads as more considered than the room's casualness might suggest.
Come for lunch rather than dinner; the place finds its register before 3pm. Sit outside when the weather is cooperative — the interior is intimate in the way that means proximity to strangers. Order the fried chicken, then give it the half hour it needs. Do not arrive on a deadline. View restaurant →
Novy Restaurant — Novy has a backstory that could easily become a burden. The Gianaras daughters, Kristen and Kathryn, reclaimed a Noe Valley address their father ran as Panos' from 1977 for roughly twenty years — a place the neighborhood apparently never stopped thinking about. That kind of legacy pressure tends to produce something timid or over-reverent. By all accounts, Novy went the other direction: global menu, prices low enough that a second round requires zero mental arithmetic, and a room fitted with cheese grater lamps that signal a particular kind of self-aware confidence. The draft-only beer and wine program — every pour on tap to reduce bottle waste — is one of the more substantive sustainability commitments you'll find at this price level, the kind that actually affects the pour rather than just occupying a paragraph on the website.
The menu leans Mediterranean without treating that as a boundary. The Lamb Gyro is the anchor — thin-sliced roasted leg of lamb with grilled onion, tzatziki, lettuce, and tomato — and it has the reputation of a dish built by people who grew up eating the real thing. The Moussaka has reportedly developed the kind of devoted regular following that only accumulates around something done consistently right. The Galaktoboureko is where Novy distinguishes itself most clearly: crispy phyllo over semolina custard, finished with huckleberry compote and almonds, and diners consistently flag it as the dish that reframes the whole meal. If you're splitting starters, the Grilled Halloumi Cheese and Lamb Meatballs are the combination the menu seems designed around.
Brunch is the lowest-resistance entry point — Novy has landed on multiple neighborhood top-ten brunch lists, and a noon reservation is considerably easier to secure than a Friday dinner slot. Whenever you go, the Galaktoboureko is the way to finish. View restaurant →
2
Google
Greek•Noe Valley•value
Novy Restaurant
Novy has a backstory that could easily become a burden.
dinner
Read restaurant page
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
8.8 Google
8.8
834 Google reviews
Soma Restaurant & Bar — Soma Restaurant & Bar reads the room in a way that a lot of mid-range San Francisco spots don't bother to. This stretch of SOMA — wedged between the ballpark and the freeway ramps — has never been precious, and the restaurant doesn't try to make it something it isn't. Price-level two here means you're getting contemporary coastal cooking without the theater tax: no sommelier's raised eyebrow, no reservation you stress about for three weeks. What diners consistently report is a kitchen that treats a Tuesday night with the same seriousness as a weekend, pulling a crowd of people who've figured out that the neighborhood's mid-range spots often outwork their fancier neighbors on the sheer effort of the plate.
The seafood program is where Soma's reputation is built. The Mussels are reportedly served in a broth aromatic enough that you'll want bread alongside — enough acidity to keep the shellfish tasting bright rather than overcooked. The Seafood Linguine is described across reviews as the dish to send a skeptic: pasta handled properly (a smaller miracle than it sounds in this city), with a sauce that leans hard into the ocean. Fried Calamari is known for dodging the rubbery trap that sinks so many bar kitchens, with a crust that diners consistently flag as having actual crunch. For dessert, the Tiramisu is the kind of old-school closer that reminds you why Italian-American desserts took over the world — unapologetically classic, nothing deconstructed.
The practical move: anchor your order around the Mussels to start and the Flat Iron Steak — an 8oz cut — as your main, a combination that makes the neighborhood pricing work clearly in your favor. Skip doubling up on dessert if you're already eyeing the Tiramisu. Book midweek if you want your server's actual attention, and aim for the bar side if you're a party of two. View restaurant →
3
Google
Italian•SOMA•moderate
Soma Restaurant & Bar
Soma Restaurant & Bar reads the room in a way that a lot of mid-range San Francisco spots don't bother to.
business dinnerdinnercocktails
Read restaurant page
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
8.6 Google
8.6
859 Google reviews
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Save these spots to your San Francisco list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.
Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist