San Fran must go-pick one only!!!

Rare Barrel isn't in the city but is doable if you have all day available.

 

Cellarmaker, you can thank me later. =P

 

This is the correct answer. Toronado is an institution but Cellarmaker is crushing it. If you have extra time, City Beer Store is a block away and a good bottle shop with a small but well-curated taplist.

Edit: If you want other options to consider, this would be my personal top 5 in San Francisco (just SF, not general Bay Area):
1) Cellarmaker
2) Toronado
3) City Beer Store
4) Monk's Kettle
5) Magnolia

But seriously, just go to Cellarmaker.

 

Cellarmaker if you want a brewery, Toronado if you want to sample the Best Coast.

 

What he said...unless you don't like hoppy beer. If that's the case, I would hit Zeitgeist or Mikkeller Bar

 

Then definitely Toronado, but check the taplist at City Beer anyway. It can be occasionally mind-blowing.

 

Sucks about Cellarmaker!!! DAMN!!! Personally I like in order of preference after Cellarmaker -> Mikkeller, Toronado and City Beer ... but really, you can't go wrong with either 3 of those spots

 

1. Toronado
2. Cellarmaker
3. Mikkeller
4. Monk's Kettle
5. Hopwater

 

The last few times I've been to Monk's, I've been disappointed with the taps, but it's a decent option if you want food, too. (But the best is a Rosamunde sausage next door to Toronado.)

 

MIKKELLER BAR !!!

 

It's really a tossup between beer, as the T is going to have a far more diverse and interesting West Coast USA selection and Mikkeller is going to have a more interesting European selection and their West Coast picks are very, very well curated. Like, insanely so. I'm tempted to give them the edge if you look at their list and you have had none or very few of those beers.

Unless there are specific things you really want, I think this is determined by personality.

Are you a Toronado kinda guy or a Mikkeller kinda guy? They are very, very different places. Almost polar opposites.

There are several beers on Mikkeller's current tap list that are tempting, but given the choice of only one, I'm Team T 100%, and that's not even knowing what's on there.

#bigdaddy4lyfe

 

Regarding Cellarmaker, I might be flying to SFO with the wife for the day this Thursday. We'll be just hanging out and getting lunch and dinner. Lunch will probably be in the Chinatown area. The place I do want to visit is Cellarmaker. My question, "is there a place to get dinner nearby Cellarmaker?" Doesn't have to be fancy. But a good sit down place would be nice. Also is there a FedEx nearby Cellarmaker to pick up a box so that I could pack a growler or 2 for "check in" bag for my flight back to LAX? The civic center area will be our area of departure to get back to SFO via BART. Thanks.

 

Regarding dinner near Cellarmaker - my wife and I usually end up at Zuni Cafe. Its not "next door" but we just haven't found anything that looks/sounds better in the area (from a sit down perspective). As a bonus, Zeitgeist is just down the street from Zuni. Enjoy Cellarmaker - they have a killer line up on right now that hopefully lasts until your visit: Mocha & Cigarettes, Dank side of the Moon, Shared Sandwiches (collab with HPB), and dont sleep on Typo Pills - I enjoy that beer quite a bit. Cheers!

 

Zero Zero is like a 15 minute walk from Cellarmaker if you're into Italian. Or Ubers are everywhere in SF, so you could really go anywhere in the city you want for fairly cheap

 

Zuni is great, but for dinner, you need reservations well in advance.

Also fancy and closer to Cellarmaker is AQ. For less fancy, Citizen's Band is really good for brunch and dinner. There's also Fondue Cowboy if you're into that. Mikkeller is walking distance (or short cab ride) and there food is overpriced but good. There's also a new "beer garden" place where Radius cafe used to be but I can't comment on it since I haven't been yet.

 

Order some Basil Thai and bring it in to CM for some noshing while you drink. It's about a block away, and the best close option for takeout.

If you're there during the day, Deli Board and Radius Cafe both have good sandwiches

 

City beer store