06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The best deals from Top 100 restaurants
When my colleague Cesar Hernandez and I were assembling our list of the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area, we paid attention to price. Yes, some of our favorite establishments are of the money-is-no-object variety, but at a full third of the spots, two people can leave well fed for under $50.
I break for an affordable meal, but the thing I love even more than a reasonably priced dinner is a deal. Early bird prix fixes, happy hour BOGOs, lunch specials — all of them offer the allure of value. Here are some of the most undeniable deals deals DEALS offered by Top 100 restaurants.
Even under normal circumstances, a slice ($5.50-$8) at either of Outta Sight's two locations won't break the bank. But the happy hour deals? Outrageous. Ten bucks will get you a slice of cheese, a slice of pepperoni and a can of Busch Lite with a dollar left over for the tip jar. The slice, sandwich and drink specials run from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday at the Tenderloin location and from 3 to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday in Chinatown. The specific offerings vary by location; at the Chinatown shop, all bottles of wine are half off, while at Larkin Street, select bottles are $25.
Weekends? For amateurs. Two of our favorite fine dining restaurants, Madcap in San Anselmo and Mägo in Oakland, offer discounted menus Tuesday through Thursday. At Mägo, weeknights showcase the same eight-course, Colombian-inspired menu that you would find on the weekend, but it's offered at $86 instead of $115. Madcap serves its 11-course tasting menu for $165 every night it's open, but the abbreviated, $140 8-course meal is only available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It's plenty special and terrific value from a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Lunch and early dinner at Lily
Many readers might associate Vietnamese restaurant Lily with the $72 luxury fried rice that started as a joke and became, much to chef Rob Lam's torment, wildly popular. But when I think of Lily, it's the early bird and lunch specials that come to mind. Between 5 and 6 p.m., Lily offers an appetizer and entree for $38. The even better deal is at lunch Friday through Sunday, where $32 nets you an appetizer and an entree, plus a non-alcoholic beverage. We're not talking Diet Coke; there are tropical smoothies, slushies and Vietnamese iced coffee with salty duck egg crema. Portions are generous and the food is, of course, top notch.
When I ate at Damansara in November, select snacks — kaya buns, cereal and salted egg fried chicken, the exceptional curry puff — were 25% off with the purchase of three or more small plates. When I reached out to chef-owner Tracy Goh to inquire if that was ongoing, she informed me that the discounts were part of a restaurant week special. However! She's running a different promotion through the end of May. Take 15% off all food, including Goh's hauntingly good Malaysian crab, before 7 p.m. until the end of the month.
Damansara. 1781 Church St., San Francisco.
