How to Eat and Drink Your Way Through SF’s NoPa Neighborhood

NoPa describes the Western Addition neighborhood that runs from Masonic to Divisadero west to east, and Turk to Fell north to south, but usually just refers to the stretch of bars, restaurants, and shops that dot both sides of Divisadero. There are a lot of reasons why it’s called NoPa (you can read all of them here), but the obvious fact is that NoPa stands for North of the Panhandle, even though the main drag is actually two blocks east of it.

The neighborhood is full of excellent bars, restaurants, and shops, all within a four-block stretch (plus one of SF’s best music venues and a gorgeous old movie theater-turned-old school arcade), and we especially appreciate the prevalence of parklets that popped up during the pandemic. Pre-2020, much of the area’s congregating was happening indoors out of sight, but now the sidewalks feel festive and alive, especially on the weekends, and that is all thanks to these bars and restaurants, a mix of casual and not-so-casual spots where you’ll find everything from fancy burgers to stiff drinks to omakase menus to Saturday night dance parties.