The Tadich Grill (240 California St., in the Financial District)...reputed to be the oldest restaurant in SF (c. 1849)...see Frommer's review (infra.)....
Frommer's Review
Not that the veteran restaurant needed more reason to be beloved, but the city's ongoing loss of local institutions makes 158-year-old Tadich the last of a long-revered dying breed. This business began as a coffee stand during the 1849 gold rush and claims to be the very first to broil seafood over mesquite charcoal back in the early 1920s. An old-fashioned power-dining restaurant to its core, Tadich boasts its original mahogany bar, which extends the length of the restaurant, and seven booths for private powwows. Big plates of sourdough bread top the tables.
You won't find fancy California cuisine here. The novella-like menu features a slew of classic salads such as sliced tomato with Dungeness crab or prawn Louis, meats and fish from the charcoal broiler, and even casseroles. The seafood cioppino is a specialty, as is the baked casserole of stuffed turbot with crab and shrimp à la Newburg, and the petrale sole with butter sauce. Everything comes with a heaping side of fries, but if you crave something green, order the creamed spinach.
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http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sa ... HJMcncOD&B