SF · Walk-ins
Restaurants you can get into without a reservation. 15 open rooms in San Francisco already have a walk-in, bar-seat, or same-day note in this directory.
Difficulty is Midnight Table's own estimate, not official Resy data. Rooms with no walk-in note on file are left off, including score 2 when that is the only fact we have.
How drops work · SF release times · Hardest reservations in San Francisco · San Francisco restaurants · Where SF restaurants book
The easier end of Midnight Table's scale, and only where a walk-in, bar, or same-day note is already on file. A score of 1 is Walk-in friendly. A score of 2 is Plan ahead, which means sellout speed was not measured, so it is listed here only with that note. The score is Midnight Table's own estimate, not official Resy data.
South of Market · Plan ahead 2/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Bar experience Tue-Thu welcomes walk-ins when there is room; dinner is reservation-only
There is a separate bar experience Tuesday through Thursday. Those seats are encouraged as reservations, and walk-ins are welcomed when there is room.
Downtown/Civic Center · Plan ahead 2/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Reservations are recommended, and walk-ins are welcome.
Difficulty 3 or higher on Midnight Table's scale. Each note is a sourced tip already stored on the restaurant, quoted with its source, or the walk-in line on that record. Nothing here is official Resy data, and a tip is not a promise of a table.
Downtown/Civic Center · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
The bar is walk-in only, first come, first served. Groups of seven or more should email ahead.
Downtown/Civic Center · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Resy takes dinner parties of up to seven and lunch parties of up to ten; bigger groups book by email. Seating, including for walk-ins, stops at 2 PM for lunch and at 9 or 10 PM for dinner, so a late walk-in has to beat that cutoff.
Hayes Valley · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Walk-ins accepted
OpenTable opens the book six weeks out at midnight. Walk-ins are accepted. If you want to eat before 10pm, that is the part that disappears first.
Hayes Valley · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Yes
OpenTable opens 30 days out at noon. If no times are showing, the night is fully committed, so use Notify Me. The bar takes walk-ins first come, first served, though seats are few.
Mission · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Resy opens 28 days out at midnight. Some seats are saved for walk-ins. If you are waiting, Flour + Water Pasta Shop down the street is the holding spot. Penny Roma, the more casual sister in the Mission, is the other book.
Mission · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Counter for 1-2 from 5pm
SevenRooms opens 29 days out at 10am. A couple of walk-in tables are taken at the 5pm open, and people line up around 4:30. There is no waitlist. If you miss those seats, come back around 9pm.
North Beach · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Reservations are recommended for dinner and brunch. Walk-ins are still welcome. Brunch, and the panaderia, run Saturday and Sunday from 8:00am to 1:30pm.
Nopa · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: A few tables and bar seats are held
Resy opens tables 30 days out at 5pm. A few tables and bar seats are held for walk-ins. If you are waiting, The Page is across the street.
Chinatown · Near impossible 5/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: 10-seat counter, easier after 9pm
The 10-seat counter is walk-in all night, and it is easier after 9pm. OpenTable opens three weeks out at noon.
Nob Hill / Van Ness · Near impossible 5/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Walk-ins taken nightly; the wait can run a few hours
The book opens a year ahead. Walk-ins are taken nightly in the dining room and at the bar, and the wait can run a few hours. Calling the day of is how people catch a cancellation.
Lower Haight · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Outdoor, bar, communal table
SevenRooms opens 14 days out at midnight. Outdoor tables, four bar seats, and the eight-seat communal table are saved for walk-ins.
Walk-in lines form between 4:30 and 5 PM. If you arrive between 5 and 6 PM and are happy to have a drink nearby first, the team can usually fit you in; miss the first wave and the wait can stretch to two hours.
Fillmore · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Part of room held for walk-ins
Some seating is always kept for walk-ins, first come, first served, from the 5:30 PM open. Check the posted closure dates before you go.
Jackson Square · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Bar, window counter, communal tables from 4pm
SevenRooms opens a week out at midnight. Walk-ins start at the 4pm open. Saturday lunch has same-day tables.
The newsletter
Every Thursday: what's dropping next week, new rooms worth chasing, and the walk-in tricks the regulars use. Free.
We'll tell you when tables release or a cancellation appears. You book it yourself, in your own name.
You’ll finish payment on Stripe. We never store card numbers.
Join The Guestlist. Thursday drops, free. This prompt stays dismissed after you close it.