Alioto's Restaurant

Alioto's Restaurant A 100 year old San Francisco landmark located on Fisherman’s Wharf, we served a tantalizing selection of fresh seafood and Sicilian dishes. Alioto’s knows fish.
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Alioto’s Restaurant, a San Francisco landmark located on Fisherman’s Wharf, is one of San Francisco’s oldest fine dining seafood restaurants specializing in traditional Sicilian recipes. To this day, the family name is closely associated with the City of San Fransisco itself. The Restaurant began as a fresh fish stall on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf in 1925. Since then, little has changed. Fi

sh is still bought fresh daily by Alioto’s full time fish buyer. Alioto’s serves a tantalizing selection of fresh seafood, including sea bass, sand dabs, sole, swordfish, tuna, scallops, and Dungeness crab all caught locally, whenever possible. Alioto’s never skimps on the fish they purchase. Alioto’s fresh seafood is served charcoal grilled or griddle-fried. Or choose from Alioto’s Sicilian specialties that have been passed down the family. A favorite is Cioppino, a spicy tomato shellfish stew created by the restaurant’s founder, Rose Alioto. Or a Sicialian mixed grill, seafood cannelloni, shellfish risotto, or artichoke and arugula salad. Alioto’s San Francisco favorites include lightly pan-fried calamari that is unsurpassed, crab cakes, cracked crab, and homemade clam chowder. These dishes continue to be favorites of visitors and locals alike. Alioto’s restaurant is a culinary landmark that is still owned and operated by the descendants of the Nonna Rose Alioto who show the care and commitment of running a restaurant bearing their name. Oh, and our view is also famous.

Alioto’s Plaza - The Legacy RemainsFor nearly a century, Alioto’s was more than a restaurant. It was a place that made y...
08/31/2026

Alioto’s Plaza - The Legacy Remains

For nearly a century, Alioto’s was more than a restaurant. It was a place that made you feel part of San Francisco, set against the fishing boats, the Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge, with good food and good company at the center of it all. Many of you returned year after year for the cioppino, cracked crab, and that unmistakable view of the Bay.

Over the years, so many of you shared your special moments with us, from birthdays and anniversaries to family gatherings, first dates, and countless meals that became part of your own San Francisco memories.

Those memories are part of the Alioto’s story. But they are also part of the story of Fisherman’s Wharf and the Italian American community that helped build it.

Now, the Alioto’s name will continue at the Wharf with the creation of Alioto’s Plaza.

The Port of San Francisco will host the Alioto’s Plaza Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this Wednesday, September 2, and we hope you will join us for this meaningful milestone for San Francisco and the Italian American community.

📍 Taylor Street between The Embarcadero and Jefferson Street
📅 Wednesday, September 2
⏰ Noon–12:45 pm

For our family, it will be a meaningful and bittersweet day. For everyone who has a memory of Alioto’s, we hope it will be a chance to return to the Wharf, see the new plaza, and remember the place that meant so much to so many.

The building may be gone. The memories are not. And the Alioto name remains part of the Wharf we helped build.

We hope to see you there. ❤️🇮🇹

For nearly a century, Alioto's Restaurant stood at Fisherman’s Wharf—not just as a business, but as a heartbeat of San F...
06/08/2025

For nearly a century, Alioto's Restaurant stood at Fisherman’s Wharf—not just as a business, but as a heartbeat of San Francisco. From Nunzio’s humble fish stall in 1925 to our iconic cioppino, cradled by the stunning bay views, we became woven into the tapestry of this city. My great grandfather built the first structure here; my grandmother Rose officially opened the restaurant in 1938 as one of the first business women in San Francisco. Our doors not only withstood fire and wartime but the surge of generations who returned for birthdays, anniversaries, the comforts of heritage and delicious food.

When the pandemic forced us to close in March 2020, there was hope for a reopening. Three years later, the Port of San Francisco concluded that redevelopment costs, high vacancy rates, and declining foot traffic made reopening unviable. In June 2025, it announced plans to demolish our building and replace it with a public plaza—marking the end of an era.

This restaurant is more than bricks and mortar being removed—it’s a cornerstone of the city’s identity. Alioto’s was one of the first buildings here, a community anchor and a living testament to immigrant grit, family legacy, and civic pride.

While the structure may disappear, the legacy endures:
- The memories formed under our turquoise and black sign.
- Our family name, our recipes, and the “ #8” resonate beyond any address—those belong to the wonderful community and generations of people that made it an iconic part of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf landscape. Historic.
- Every guest who made Alioto’s the heart of their San Francisco story.

It was a privilege to share the public’s celebrations, confidences, and palates. To all of you that dined at Alioto’s you now carry our history with you in your memories of every bowl of cioppino/cracked crab/seafood sausage/calamari, every cherished photograph, and every life-changing conversation.

As this chapter in our family's history closes, I truly hope that future storytellers of Fisherman’s Wharf remember us not just with nostalgia, but with appreciation for the immigrant dream and family perseverance we embodied.

Tonight, we raise our glass to those that live on in our memories and those that remain the fabric of the restaurant we remember.

Grazie per tutto!

Great reviews don't happen by luck -- we are proud to earn every single one. Check out what people are saying on yelp: h...
03/16/2020

Great reviews don't happen by luck -- we are proud to earn every single one. Check out what people are saying on yelp: https://bit.ly/3cPEubL

A picture is worth a thousand words. A bite is worth a million.
03/13/2020

A picture is worth a thousand words. A bite is worth a million.

Leave your worries at the door, and settle in for some great views and delicious food.
03/11/2020

Leave your worries at the door, and settle in for some great views and delicious food.

Food just tastes better when you're sharing it with someone you love. Tag your favorite person to share a meal at Alioto...
03/09/2020

Food just tastes better when you're sharing it with someone you love. Tag your favorite person to share a meal at Alioto's with.

There’s always an Alioto at Alioto’s!
03/08/2020

There’s always an Alioto at Alioto’s!

Keeping your plate fresh is what we do best.
03/06/2020

Keeping your plate fresh is what we do best.

This is what we like to call "happiness on a plate."
03/04/2020

This is what we like to call "happiness on a plate."

Address

2829 Taylor Street
San Francisco, CA
94133

Telephone

+14156730183

Website

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