Belden Place

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Patrick Heig

Joined 5 years ago

On an alley in the FiDi, lights are strung over the outdoor bistro tables of several restaurants in a near perfect imitation of a European street scene.. In what some have dubbed San Francisco's "European Quarter", a row of French, Italian and Spanish restaurants offer outdoor seating, and a faux-Euro ambiance that is nonetheless pretty convincing. Hostesses smile and beckon crowds evenly mixed between tourists and locals, who pack the restaurants' open-air bistro tables at lunch and on warmer nights. Off the restuarants on the alley, the French contingent is made of Cafe Bastille and Plouf, which has some of the better mussels in town, while the Italian spots Cafe Tiramisu and Belden Taverna stay pretty busy. B44 is a well-liked Spanish tapas joint, while Sam's Grill is an old-school, Financial District classic serving hearty American food. Voda is a "vodka bar" with very reasonably priced drinks.