Anthony Bourdain

"The undisputed specialty here is the cioppino, a pleasant enough seafood and tomato stew."

Emeril Lagasse

"Look how fresh this is. See how the fish is just glistening. Beautiful! It’s not over tomatoey, it’s just melting with the shellfish and the seafood so nicely."

Fodor's Travel

"Try the crab Louie."

Zagat

"Steeped in SF history, this circa-1849 Downtown seafooder represents old-school dining at its finest, with a damned good menu highlighted by a famous cioppino and fresh-out-of-the-oven sourdough bread."

Michael Bauer

"We enjoyed the Boston clam chowder, a thick starchy mixture with a heavy dose of celery and clam flavor."

Laura Siciliano-Rosen

"Here it’s served like a frittata—a hearty serving of eggs is studded with thick-cut diced bacon, whole oysters (that have been breaded and fried), green onions, and pockets of melty cheese. Be sure to ask for Tabasco sauce on the side: A splash of the vinegary heat cuts through the dish’s richness well."

Marina O'Loughlin

"And the food’s no slouch either: rich, rich oysters Rockefeller."

Jonathan Kauffman

"From the way the sweetness of the prawns and crab meat mellows the tomatoes' acid spike and the way the scallops, fish, and clams come out so fat and tender, you know that time and tourists have not dimmed the cooks' respect for the dish."

Time Out

"Invented right here in San Francisco, cioppino is a spicy Italian seafood stew made famous (and delicious) by one of the city's oldest and coziest establishments."

Saveur

"Over the years, Bay area chefs transformed it into a luxurious stew using local delicacies such as dungeness crab, as in this version from the city's legendary Tadich Grill."