"Oakland has come out on top in Conde Nast Traveler's latest Readers' Choice Awards ranking of the best US food cities, but San Francisco comes in at number five. Conde Nast Traveler has just released the 2025 winners of its annual Readers' Choice Awards for travel destinations, hotels, airlines, and more. And in the ranking of destination food cities in the US, Oakland has come in at number one this year. This may be in no small part to the great diversity of cuisines available in the city, and the sheer number of restaurants by our estimate, with around 1,500 restaurants, there is one restaurant for every 293 residents in Oakland."
"And the past year has also seen plenty of buzz around elevated soul food spot Burdell which was named Food & Wine's Restaurant of the Year in 2024 and the newly Michelin-starred Sun Moon Studio, which the Chronicle named its favorite restaurant of last year. The city has another Michelin star over at 15-year-old Commis on Piedmont Avenue. (But, ahem, SF has 26 Michelin-starred restaurants, three of them with three stars apiece.)"
"The magazine also called out the "out-of-the-box pizzas" at Pizzaiolo, and the editors write, "Fruitvale, named after the fruit orchards that dominated this part of town in the mid-19th century, is packed with taco trucks that serve some of the best birria in the country." Oakland, no doubt, punches above its weight for a city of 440,000 people."
"Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee put out a proud statement about the Conde Nast Traveler list, saying, "Oakland has always known what the rest of the country is now discovering our food is world-class. From North Oakland to East Oakland, West Oakland to the hills, our food scene reflects the diversity, creativity, and resilience that makes our city special.""
Oakland ranked first in Conde Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards for US food cities, while San Francisco placed fifth. The city offers a wide diversity of cuisines and about 1,500 restaurants, equating to roughly one restaurant for every 293 residents. Recent acclaim centers on elevated soul food spot Burdell, Michelin-starred Sun Moon Studio, and longtime Commis. Editors praised Pizzaiolo's inventive pizzas and Fruitvale's taco trucks for notable birria. San Francisco still holds 26 Michelin-starred restaurants. Local leaders credited the recognition to neighborhood diversity, creativity, resilience, and small-business entrepreneurship.
Read at sfist.com
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