We’ve got you covered for everything from coffee to soul food.
There are dozens of ways to honor Black culture in our city, and one of the easiest is to order from a local Black-owned restaurant. Black history and culture is an iconic and essential part of life in San Francisco. Be sure to acknowledge and uplift SF’s Black community every month of the year!
1. Old Skool Cafe (Soul food)
Location: 1429 Mendell St, San Francisco, CA 94124
This jazz-themed supper club trains and employs at-risk youth, ages 16-22, to run all aspects of the restaurant and business. Enjoy international soul food including delicious 3-cheese mac & cheese, braised collard greens, gluten-free shrimp n’ grits, Vietnamese chicken curry, clever cocktails, and more.
2. Tastebuds (Soul food-inspired)
Location: 600 5th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118
Melvin and Helen Simmons started this soul food-inspired cafe to bring together great food, energy and music. Delicious food options include classics like chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and red beans and rice. Other more contemporary items include a pastrami and gouda sandwich, a breakfast burrito, and more.
3. Axum Cafe (Ethiopian)
Location: 698 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Axum Cafe started out as a small coffee and tea shop, later growing into a popular Ethiopian restaurant in the mid 1990s. Menu items include sambusa (savory vegetarian pastry), lamb alicha (stew), and a variety of vegetarian and meat entrees.
4. Z Zoul Cafe (Sudanese/Middle Eastern)
Location: 295 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Aref and Dalia Elgaali opened this innovative Sudanese and Middle Eastern restaurant after moving to San Francisco in 2016. Food items include fuul mosalah (seasoned fava beans), zoul mezza (fried chickpea patties), roasted chicken and lamb, salatat dakua (peanut butter salad), roz billaban (rice pudding), and much more.
5. New Eritrea Restaurant (Eritrean/Ethiopian)
Location: 907 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
This restaurant serves up spectacular Eritrean and Ethiopian food, and is currently open for delivery. Enjoy items such as lentil, vegetable and meat sambusa, zebhi dorho (marinated chicken drumsticks), asa kilwa (sautéed catfish), alicha-ater (vegetarian chickpea puree), and dozens more!
6. Voodoo Love (Creole)
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Location: 1710 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
This lively, sustainable Creole restaurant has dozens of beautifully plated dishes including the Pineapple Fo’ Yo Soul Bowl, the Hush Yo Mouth plate, smoked gouda mac and cheese, creole spiced baby back ribs, and more.
7. Sunset Cantina (Mexican)
Location: 3414 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122
This energetic cantina offers a large menu of Mexican and Latin American dishes including crispy carnitas, fresh ceviche, dry fried ribs, chicken tostadas, various taco options, elote, frozen tamarind rum punch, mezcal, and much more.
8. Yvonne’s Southern Sweets (Southern-style bakery)
Location: 5128 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94124
Yvonne Hines has been creating delicious southern sweets since 2003 in memory of her late grandmother Vermell. Her creations include pralines, old school butter cookies, sweet potato pies, peach cobblers, and cakes.
9. Sextant Coffee Roasters (Coffee shop)
Location: 1415 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Sextant Coffee Roasters offers high-quality Ethiopian coffee roasted right here in San Francisco. It was founded by first-generation Kinani Ahmed from Ethiopia, who works directly with farmers in his home country, Kenya, Colombia, and more. You can buy coffee by the bag or enjoy a variety of drink options in the shop.
10. Gourmonade (Gourmet lemonade)
Location: 899 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
When Viktor Stevenson was opening Gourmonade in 2018, he had the police called on him because someone thought he was breaking into his own business. After 4 officers approached him and accused him of burglary, he managed to overcome this racist incident and now has a thriving gourmet lemonade company 3 years later. Try delicious lemonade flavors including jasmine, ginger, and strawberry.
[Featured Image: Instagram / @voodoolovesf]