Unique Dining Experiences in San Francisco

It’s no secret that San Francisco contains a veritable smorgasbord of different cuisines—and you don’t need a passport to travel the world through your taste buds.

But if fancy or faraway is not what you ordered, here are some Bay Area spots that are doing dining, well, differently. With options ranging from fine dining to casual, here are a few of the more unusual eateries.

KitTea

If a formal, traditional tea service is what you seek, then the Palace Hotel might be more your scene. But if you’re looking for a tea place that is fluffy instead of stuffy, then San Francisco’s premier cat café, KitTea, is the purrrfect spot.

KitTea serves up lunch and light bites, with tea sourced from a small tea farm in Kyoto, Japan. Visitors can watch the cats through a window in the tea lounge or meow, mix and mingle with them inside the cat lounge (reservations recommended). Be careful, you might leave with more than just a few extra scones, as all the cats are adoptable through Wonder Cat Rescue.

^{Photos courtesy of Bridget Veltri.}

BrainWash Café and Laundromat

Break the cycle of mundane meals. BrainWash, which has been serving hungry multitaskers since 1987, was SOMA’s first laundromat, and one might say they coined the concept of a combination laundromat and café. Their diverse menu ranges from breakfast favorites (until 2:00 p.m.) to classic pub fair, salads and sandwiches (until 9:00 p.m.). Wash-n-folders can drop off their laundry and pick up food to go too.

^{Photos courtesy of BrainWash Cafe and Laundromat.}

AsiaSF

This sleek, modern eatery gives “dinner and a show” a whole-new meaning. The lovely and talented transgender ladies of AsiaSF not only serve up delicious California-Asian fusion cuisine, but also they perform for you during dinner. Upon being seated, you might wonder, where will this performance take place? That’s an easy one: the bar, which doubles as a runway, and it’s about to get worked.

Diners select a prix fixe menu (depending on party size), or on Wednesdays you can order à la carte with a $25 minimum.

^{Photo courtesy of Snappy Monkey Photography.}

^{Photo courtesy of Snappy Monkey Photography.}

^{Photo courtesy of Jonathan Mangosing.}

^{Photo courtesy of Jonathan Mangosing.}

Opaque

If sensory deprivation intrigues you but you’d rather eat than float in a tank, then Dining in the Dark at Opaque is for you! Before turning off the lights, patrons choose their meal from the prix fixe menu and check their bags in the lit lounge. Even by San Francisco standards, Opaque is a unique experience and might just be the place to take a blind date to the next level.