San Francisco: Kimpton Alton Hotel + Abaca; hotel + restaurant review

San Francisco

Kimpton Alton Hotel

2700 Jones St./Beach St 5 stories; 248 rooms. Restaurant. Wine hour. Resort fee. Valet parking, fee. Fitness center.

This well-located, stylish hotel is painted a dark charcoal on the outside. Inside, the expansive lobby features contemporary furniture and art and is a comfortable place to relax.

exterior of Kimpton Alton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco, California

Guest rooms are attractive with tasteful, artful touches, and beds are made with duvets and white all-cotton linens. Old-time Victrola record players and vinyl albums are an unusual bonus in all guest rooms, with extra records available at the front desk. Upper rooms on the south side are quietest, and some have a limited city view featuring Coit Tower.

guest room at Kimpton Alton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco, California

Victrola and vinyl record albums in guest room at Kimpton Alton Hotel
at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California

A complimentary wine/beer hour is scheduled daily (it is not a tasting, and no snacks are provided). In the lobby, urns dispensing fruit waters are available, and complimentary coffee and tea are provided there each morning. Also, a small bodega sells snacks and drinks.

lobby at Kimpton Alton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco, California

This hotel is named for Alton Kelly, a San Francisco psychedelic poster artist during the 1960s.  One of his works is the “skull and roses” poster for a Grateful Dead show at the era’s Avalon Ballroom.


Under separate management, the Filipino restaurant Abacá operates in an airy, light-filled space off the hotel’s lobby. Convincing, but artificial, green plants drape down from a vaulted, sky-lit ceiling. In the morning, counter service is available for pastries and espresso drinks as well as full breakfasts.

dining room of Abaca at Kimpton Alton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco, California

The kitchen uses old family recipes and traditional flavors. I enjoyed the Filipino Breakfast, which includes tasty, tender pineapple-cured pork belly, flavorful garlic rice topped with two sunny-side-up eggs, and delicious, addictive pickled cucumber Atchara. My partner opted for the Alton Breakfast, a good old American combination of eggs, potatoes, and sausage. I additionally chose an unusual Yuzu white mocha coffee. Presentations are lovely.

Filipino Breakfast at Abaca at Kimpton Alton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco, California

The restaurant serves brunch on weekends and dinner some evenings. Items I’ve heard to try include tsokolate with an ube marshmallow, loco moco, and buko pie. A 20% gratuity is automatically added to each bill.

More hotels in San Francisco.

Way more things to do in San Francisco. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images c2024 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

 

San Francisco: The Franciscan Crab Restaurant; restaurant review

San Francisco

The Franciscan Crab Restaurant 

At foot of Powell St./The Embarcadero, Pier 43½. Reservations advised. Parking validated at adjacent lot.

The Franciscan restaurant is one of the last legendary fish houses on the Wharf. The mid-century modern exterior dates from 1957 and reminds me of a beached sea-going passenger ship, and the gigantic, open interior brings up thoughts of a shipboard dining room. 

exterior of The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

From ground level, a stairway leading upstairs to the dining room is lined with old-time, black-and-white celebrity photos, including legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. Everyone’s been here! Featuring 20-foot-high windows and staggered tiers of seating--some in cozy half-moon booths, some window side--the dining room gives every diner a fabulous view of Alcatraz and the bay. While here, I enjoyed watching people, seagulls, and ducks galore, as well as a variety of boats on the bay--even a low-flying helicopter!

stairway at The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

interior The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

binoculars and view at  The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

Cocktails include some playful concoctions as well as several non-alcoholic options. Daringly, bread is not San Francisco sourdough but instead Epi bread--a variation of a French baguette--from Acme Bread Company in Berkeley. Starters include crispy Dungeness crab cakes, seafood cocktails, and oysters on the half shell as well as delicious clam chowder with bits of bacon and thyme served in either in either a cup or a Boudin sourdough bread bowl. 

cioppino at The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

basa fish & chips at The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

The restaurant is famous for its whole “killer crab” in a secret garlic sauce and for the delicious housemade dressing on its crab Louis salad. This visit I enjoyed a simple, crispy fish & chips of delicate basa while my companion feasted on a richly flavored cioppino. Fish-hating kids have, in addition to fish, a choice of chicken tenders and fettuccine Alfredo. A creamy ice cream sundae provides the cherry on top.

ice cream sundae at The Franciscan in San Francisco, California

The Stinking Rose--A Garlic Fish House 

operates on the ground floor with both indoor and outdoor seating. If you’re after a more casual, faster place to dine, this counter-service spot moves things along. Think sourdough bread bowl clam chowder, fish sandwich, crab cake, burger, fish & chips, 40 clove garlic chickenwich, and beignets for dessert.

More restaurants in San Francisco.

Way more things to do in San Francisco. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images c2024 Carole Terwilliger Meyers