Streetwise: Dining on the West Side
by Frank Dunnigan
March 2025
Frank Dunnigan, WNP member and columnist. - The western neighborhoods have had countless restaurants over the years, featuring a wide variety of cuisines. Turnover in this industry is a regular occurrence, so this month, we take a look at some current and past locations that were popular with local residents.
Cliff House observation deck, circa 1935 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.The new Cliff House was built in 1909 by Adolph Sutro’s daughter, Emma Sutro Merritt, as a replacement for the ornate gingerbread structure that was lost to a fire in 1907. A variety of small businesses were opened on the west-facing terrace behind the building. Within a year of the opening, a lunch/candy/ice cream shop was being operated by the Stavrou Family (at right), and a Japanese Tea House and Restaurant (at left) was being run by Sadikichi Ihara. Shown here in 1935, these businesses were removed when the Whitney Brothers purchased the then-vacant Cliff House from the Sutro estate in 1937 and operated it in conjunction with their nearby Playland development.
The Hot House on Great Highway, Playland at the Beach, circa 1935 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.The Hot House was a popular Mexican restaurant on Great Highway that was opened by Barney Gavello circa 1935. The spot changed hands in the 1960s, but remained in business under new owner Juan Faranda until Playland’s 1972 closure. He moved the operation to a new location on Balboa Street in the Outer Richmond district and kept it going for another 20-plus years until his retirement in 1996. Buildings at the Playland site were demolished in September 1972 and the property remained vacant for several years until multi-unit housing was built there 10 years later, in 1982-83. Read more in the
Streetwise column from January 2014.
Noriega near 32nd Avenue, 1990s - Richmond Review Newspaper Collection / Courtesy of Paul Kozakiewicz, Richmond Review.Mr. Fong’s Restaurant and Prima Pizza were just two flavors of dining operating side-by-side in the Sunset District at Noriega and 32nd Avenue back in the 1990s. Later, the corner became home to a new blend of dining and beverage establishments—a Vietnamese restaurant, a noodle shop, and a sports bar.
Ebisu restaurant, 9th Avenue and Irving, 1990s - Richmond Review Newspaper Collection / Courtesy of Paul Kozakiewicz, Richmond Review).Ebisu Japanese Restaurant, a family-owned business, opened on 9th Avenue near Irving Street in the Inner Sunset more than 40 years ago in the early 1980s. Owned and operated by Steve and Koko Fujii, Ebisu continues to be a landmark Japanese sushi restaurant in the Inner Sunset and remains a popular dining spot today.
View southwest from West Portal and Ulloa, June 1974 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.West Portal Avenue in 1974 was home to French restaurant Rive Gauche (at left) and Mexican restaurant El Toreador (mid-block at right), plus a handful of American-style bakeries/coffee shops. Now the West Portal area includes a much wider variety of cuisines, including American, Asian Fusion, Brazilian, Chinese, donuts, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Peruvian, tapas, Thai, Turkish, and vegetarian.
Scotty's Drive In, 1951 - SFPL Assessor's Office Collection .Fueling the American craving for burgers, fries, and milkshakes in the pre-McDonald’s era, Scotty’s Drive In is shown here at the northeast corner of 31st Avenue and Geary Boulevard in a 1951 image. Located just across the street from George Washington High School and its large crowd of hungry students, business was good. Today, that corner is home to a 1960s-era apartment building.
Koffee Kup Menu - WNP Collection.From 1924 to 1954, Will King’s Koffee Kup was a popular 24-hours-a-day restaurant featuring American food, coffee, and cocktails in a small building located just steps away from the crowds that gathered regularly at the nearby Alexandria Theatre on Geary near 18th Avenue. By 1960, Zim’s was occupying the space at 5424 Geary and in more recent times, the building has been occupied by Joe’s Ice Cream. Learn more in
Outside Lands Podcast #259.
Ranch House Dinners, Geary and 16th Avenue, 1953 - WNP Collection.Beef and cocktails were staples at the Ranch House, located at 16th Avenue and Geary in the Richmond District, back in 1953 when Western themes were popular in dining, TV programming, and movies. Generous portions and bargain prices prevailed for a full decade or more. The site later became a pizzeria and after even more extensive remodeling, the building has housed a bank. Read more in this
2009 article.
Beach Chalet, 1990s - Photo by Philip Liborio Gangi, Richmond Review Newspaper Collection / Courtesy of Paul Kozakiewicz, Richmond Review.For many in the Baby Boom generation, Beach Chalet is often remembered as the home of a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) lodge hall on Great Highway from the 1950s to the 1980s—a somewhat run-down spot where young teens often purchased cigarettes from the building’s vending machines (and perhaps also a surreptitious beverage or two). Designed by architect Willis Polk in Spanish Colonial Revival style, Beach Chalet opened in 1925 as a city-run restaurant at the far western end of Golden Gate Park. The interior features classic fresco murals of city life that were added in 1936-37, before the premises were taken over by the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, the city leased the space to the VFW for a mere $50 per month, but the group gave up the lease in 1979 when the city raised the rent to $500 per month. Following the VFW’s departure, the somewhat-derelict building received landmark status on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and as a San Francisco Designated Landmark in 1985—even as it had evolved into a homeless encampment that was nearly destroyed by a fire linked to the occupants. After several years of closure and the building’s ultimate restoration, a popular new restaurant and brewery opened for business in 1996 and remains in operation today. Learn more about Beach Chalet on the
Outside Lands podcast and in a long series of posts on the
WNP message board.
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