Franciscan Crab Restaurant

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Address:
Pier 43 1/2
San Francisco, CA 94133

Neighborhood:
Fisherman's Wharf

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Cuisine:
Seafood

Price: $30 and under

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Franciscan Crab Restaurant Details

Dining Style: Casual Dining
Website: http://www.franciscancrabrestaurant.com
Email: comments@franciscancrabrestaurant.com
Phone: (415) 362-7733
Hours of Operation: Daily 11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Payment Options: Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, Visa
Cuisine: Seafood
Executive Chef: J.C. Becerra
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Full Bar, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
Private Party Facilities: Semi-private dining with seating from 28 - 58 people. Banquet menus available.
Private Party Contact: Vinny Kim (415) 362-7733

Getting there

Cross Street: Taylor
Public Transit: Muni: F-Line
Parking: Public Lot
Parking Details: Public Lot in front of the restaurant.
Two hours free parking with validation.

A word from Franciscan Crab Restaurant

"Hands down the best food you'll find on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf" proclaimed Sunset Magazine. An extensive renovation has revitalized the Franciscan Crab Restaurant, a Fisherman's Wharf institution since 1957. White tiled walls, beautiful marble bar and twenty foot windows overlook the… bay and Alcatraz. Terraced dining affords views from every table: hand blown glass shades and chandeliers dazzle, black and white photos of celebrity patrons adorn the stairs and walls. Continued

Foodspotting photos

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Awards voted by OpenTable diners

Diners' Choice WinnerSeafood

Diner Reviews

"I can't believe that it took me this long to visit the Franciscan Crab and afterwards I can't believe why I did not visit this wonderful restaurant sooner. Opened in 1957, Franciscan is long known for its great views of the Bay and great crab and now I know why. My girlfriend and I celebrated our fifth anniversary and we would not ask for better food, better service and a better time. The cioppino is among the best I ever had and the crab fondue appitizer was superb. The perfect place for couples and familes."
Dined on 4/13/2014
"We had dinner and the food was very good. Our server was so attentive and gracious. I had the Halibut and it was delicious."
Dined on 4/12/2014
"We were so pleasantly surprised! This place has an amazing view. We were leery about the quality of the food given this is on Fisherman's Wharf and VERY touristy. The food was VERY good. I had cioppino and highly recommend it. The interior is very "diner"-like, and the menu is set up strangely. Our waiter was very helpful, attentive and funny. It turned out to be a very fun experience"
Dined on 3/26/2014
"Fun and touristy, this restaurant is in "Position A" on Fisherman's Wharf. An endless parade of sea lions and seagulls provide the entertainment, and the seafood-heavy menu is well-documented with plenty of pictures. One interesting twist is that the recipe for many of the items is displayed right on the menu! Loved the very unusual crab chowder in a sourdough breadbowl!"
Dined on 4/9/2014
"I will start with the positives. The view was amazing! The restaurant was well designed. We had a wonderful view of the ocean and Alcatraz Island. The food on the other hand was just okay. I consider myself a lover of Dungeness crab. Unfortunately, the garlic butter they use over powers the delicate flavor of the crab. The oysters were good, but gritty. The service was pretty bad. Our server only came to the table once. I would steer clear of this restaurant. The food is better elsewhere."
Dined on 4/6/2014
"I've visited San Francisco many times, and finally decided to try this place out. The restaurant was very clean, provides very nice views, and the service was excellent. The food however was nothing special. I would imagine for the food quality to increased it would be very expensive, considering the location. I suppose for the price, it is quite a good value considering the view, service, and location. I will say that I eat out a lot and have experienced some of the top restaurants, so my opinion may be skewed."
Dined on 4/6/2014
"Yes it's a tourist destination restaurant , but the service is attentive, the view is great, and the crab was delicious. Unpretentious and I would recommend it. Great martini too."
Dined on 4/3/2014
"Longtime SF Wharf restaurant with speculator view from most every table. Food is reliably good and wine markup acceptable. Nice menu feature that allows you to select a type of fish and match it with one of four preparations."
Dined on 4/4/2014
"... With FANTASTIC VIEW. Food is some of the worst ever. Prices are Wharf Level hjgh."
Dined on 4/2/2014
"I was celebrating my birthday with out of town visitors including my 94 year old father. The Franciscan reserved the perfect table for us, with a fabulous view right at the bottom of an easy-to-walk ramp. The food was simple and delicious and our server was friendly and helpful. I won't be waiting for more guests before I return to this San Francisco classic."
Dined on 3/31/2014
"took over 50 minutes for us to get our appetizers. Too long for sashimi and grilled shrimp, everything else was great, server was a bit preoccupied and dint offer an apology for the delay. The people next to us sat down 30 minutes after us and where served at the same time...."
Dined on 3/29/2014
"An out of town friend and I had dinner at the Franciscan and enjoyed it. Being in tourist territory for the first time in many a moon was an interesting experience! Food and service were good, the view stellar."
Dined on 3/29/2014
"SF classic. It is a super touristy area of Fisherman's Wharf, but so worth the views and food. Get the crab...nothing better."
Dined on 3/28/2014
"Had double shrimp and crap - was just ok. Service was not the greatest - she took our order - no refills of drinks -- had crab so needed extra napkin during meal but she didn't come by to check on us until we were done. If we make it back to San Fran will not choose the restaurant again"
Dined on 3/18/2014
"Great view of the Bay and Bridge in the heart of Fisherman's Wharf. Dont pass up this gem."
Dined on 3/15/2014
"Even though this place is in the touristy Wharf, I love the Franciscan's preparation and presentation of their Dungeness Crab on sizzling cast iron trays. The butter and garlic sauce is amazing. No lemon or drawn butter needed. Their wines by the bottle are impressive. Far Niente Chardonnay and Crab. What more need I say?"
Dined on 3/8/2014
"Had a lovely lunch with an out of town friend and it was a beautiful day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. You can't beat the view and the food was terrific."
Dined on 3/12/2014
"The only negative thing I can say is it is so overpriced. The food was good (not exceptional) - the service was good and the atmosphere was neat and fun with a great view. It was the biggest check I think I've ever seen and all I could say was it's for tourists. Not a place locals go. Which explains why it was empty on a Thursday night"
Dined on 3/6/2014
"The Franciscan is one of the most enduring of the many restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf. The quality of the food, the excellent service, and the great view all combine to make it a special place for a special event. Kudos to the ownership for maintaining and growing the reputation of this great San Francisco Landmark."
Dined on 3/8/2014
"A very nice place. Food was good but extremely over priced. Great location! Staff was extremely friendly and efficient. A nice night but just way over priced."
Dined on 3/8/2014
"Unique seafood menu. The crab enchiladas were outstanding. Great view. Service was outstanding."
Dined on 3/5/2014
"The atmosphere was grand, the wait staff was attentive, the food was memorable. Had a case of sticker shock when the bill arrived but it really is a meal I'll remember. It is a great special occasion place. The staff was so intent on clearing things from our table as we finished they started taking things we really we're ready to give up. But I hate to gripe about such a small thing that I could have prevented. They were just trying extra hard and who can fault someone for that. I would recommend the place to a friend but would warn them to bring an extra $100.00 bill."
Dined on 3/7/2014
"I love the franciscan ....I odnt need to say anymore....."
Dined on 2/21/2014
"We had a wonderful time. The view was definitely the first noticeable asset of this restaurant. Second was the service - excellent from start to finish. We receive excellent attention and prompt service. The food was delicious and all of us were please with our meals. I'd come back in a heart beat. It seems this building and restaurant have a lot of history and this was part of the restaurant's intrigue along with the architecture and interior design. A "must see" and "must eat at" when in SF and at the Wharf. Thank you!"
Dined on 3/4/2014
"My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Carlos was attentive and made the dining experience special for us. The food was delicious, we both had seafood (of course) -the bottle of cabernet was great! We would definetly go back again and would recommend the restaurant to friends!"
Dined on 2/28/2014
"Wish I could include the photo I took of the massive crab delivered to the table. Service was great. View was great. Overall experience was wonderful."
Dined on 2/26/2014
"Bit more of a tourist restaurant than we were looking for. Overall our dinner was fine, but based on Yelp reviews we expected a bit nicer restaurant, food and service. Good spot to stop if your touring the Fisherman’s Warf for the day, but I wouldn't recommend it as a destination restaurant."
Dined on 2/22/2014
"Chose to go here for dinner for the view of the bay. At night the lights inside reflect off the windows and the outside is dark, making the giant window we were looking at basically a mirror rather than the view we were hoping for."
Dined on 2/22/2014
"This restaurant has gone through a lot of changes since it first opened in 1957. Currently it appears as a stylish noveau art deco eatery with a decent size seafood menu. There are a number of signature style dishes that feature a garlic based secret sauce. My wife loved her halibut done in a lemon caper sauce. I enjoyed the oven poached olive oil infused salmon with a spoonful of the garlic sauce on its top. Service was prompt. The noise level was fairly high but we were there on a Friday at 7 to 9PM so it was not completely unexpected. I would recommend this restaurant to tourists and locals because the food is good and the location cannot be be beat."
Dined on 2/21/2014
"Skip all of the tourist traps like Fishermen's Grotto & Alioto's - This place blows the competition out of the water. The ambience, food and friendly/attentive service are all on par to create an exceptional water-front dining experience. The pasta dishes shine as do all of the fresh seafood selections."
Dined on 2/20/2014
"The views are amazing and the service is great. Big booths help to make for a romantic moment or a nice ladies night out. The bar scene is rather vibrant. Retro pics of celebrities galore add a little something special to the ambiance. The food is always tasty, but I must admit that it's beginning to have more of a commercial/chain feel. We ordered calamari, which had a ketchup based sauce and not a true marinara. We also had clam chowder and crab bisque which everyone seemed to enjoy. For a main course, we ordered the salmon and a combination seafood pasta. Both were tasty but didn't necessarily qualify as a party for our tastebuds. Dessert was ice cream sundaes and a chocolate mousse cake. Kind of hard to go wrong with those."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"Service was extremely slow and the restaurant was empty. This is certainly more of a diner place over lunch."
Dined on 2/17/2014
"The best thing about the Franciscan is their service and the scenery. I really enjoyed the service our waiter provided. It felt like I was at a friends house for a meal. Unfortunately, the food and pricing was lack luster. Now I'm not saying I shoulda known better, but damn it, it's a tourist trap. I have no problem paying for a good meal, but with their pricing, I expected better food. Other than that, come here for the experience of eating at the wharf, a must do when visiting our great city."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"We chose this restaurant for our Valentine's Day dinner while visiting San Francisco. Although we made reservations in advance we were seated in a glass front table below the bar. It was extremely loud and there was a lot of traffic from the wait staff in this area, Other walk-in dinners were seated in more desirable areas. The crab and shrimp skillet was delicious! You can also order it will muscles as well. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. I would recommend this restaurant but I would be very specific about location when requesting a table. Part of what makes this restaurant so inviting is the view of the bay. This is also reflected in the prices so make sure you get what you are paying for!"
Dined on 2/14/2014
"Come here all the time but will reevaluate in the future. Service was so awful. Waited 10 minutes for server, 20 min. For drinks had to get our own utensils since crab was delivered and we waited a while crab was served whole without being cut up like normal and our server could care less. Food was so so this time. Maybe time to find a new place for crab. So sorry about this since we were considering throwing a party here."
Dined on 2/15/2014
"We had a great time spending our special Valentine's Day dinner here. The service was great and the food was amazing. We took our time and savored the experience. Thank you for making our day special."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"We did like our dinner but when ordering the server uses an iPad and once you say what you want, one cannot tweak it because once he types on the iPad the chef has the order. So no changes... Like remembering to say Oh and May I have the dressing on the side is saying it too late. The restaurant was busy and so when we needed more cocktail sauce for our calamari we finally pulled at another waiter to help us. The basa fish in our fish and chips was so very delicious but the fries were soft and sitting like they had been there awhile on our plate. The restaurant employees had good intentions we believe but were just too busy."
Dined on 2/15/2014
"Great place great food Need more food to appeal to those who prefer lighter fair"
Dined on 2/14/2014
"Our visit was on Valentine's Day so maybe busier than usual, but we reserved the day before for 7pm and our party of 5 not seated until 7:45. Maybe there were not many tables large enough to accommodate this group size - most seemed to be tables of 4. Our drinks arrived with a long delay with the food following shortly thereafter. We ordered oysters, but they were served without shellfish forks which we had to ask for. One of our party ordered crab cakes which were served without any sauce whatsoever - a bit dry. Another of our party had crab and pasta with some big crab claws that were not cracked and no tools brought to the table until we asked for them. However, everyone enjoyed their meal and I found it to be excellent."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"This is a beautiful restaurant with very good food. But it is not fine dinning, 1 in 5 tables had hoddies. To best experience this place dress very very casually, think outdoor BBQ and you will be fine. The Dungeness was awesome and don't miss the $45 full bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne!!! Also don't ask for aioli or anything else but tarter sauce for the calamari...just a warning."
Dined on 3/11/2013

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