Chocolate in all its different forms, from bars to bonbons to ice cream, is not hard to find in San Francisco. This includes the city’s restaurants, where a myriad of clever, creative, and just plain indulgent chocolate desserts challenge anyone’s willpower. No basic brownies or fudge cake; here are the most unforgettable chocolate desserts the city has to offer.
Baker and Banker’s XXX Chocolate Cake
Partnerships don’t get much more delicious than Baker and Banker, a restaurant opened by husband and wife team Jeff Banker (the chef) and Lori Baker (the pastry chef). The high banquettes and dark wood paneling give the restaurant a cozy, romantic vibe, ideal for intimate conversation and the inventive new American cuisine. End the meal with Lori’s signature XXX chocolate cake, a triple threat with layers of flourless chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake, and devil’s food cake. You can also pick up a slice of the cake at the bakery right next to the restaurant.
Located at: 1701 Octavia St
A16’s Chocolate Budino
The casual, lively A16 has become a San Francisco staple for its perfectly charred, wood-fired pizzas. However, don’t skip dessert: Budino is a traditional Italian dessert similar to pudding or custard. A16’s version tucks the velvety custard into a chocolate cookie crust, and tops it with sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil, making a dynamite combination of salty and sweet.
Located at: 2355 Chestnut St
Chocolate Lab’s Lab Cake
Michael Recchiuti’s chocolates are a must for any chocoholic, but perhaps even better are the plated desserts at his restaurant Chocolate Lab. Tucked away in Dogpatch, this place resembles a cross between French bistro and science lab. Recchiuti mixes his restaurant background with some fun experimental dishes. The signature Lab Cake is Recchiuti’s ever-evolving take on chocolate cake; its current incarnation is a mousse cake with a milk chocolate center served with nougatine and chocolate sorbet.
Located at: 801 22nd St
Gary Danko and Café Jacqueline’s Chocolate Souffles
Rich and ethereal may seem like a contradiction, but chocolate soufflé is that contradiction realized: both delicately light and satisfyingly rich at once. For best chocolate soufflé, it’s a tie between Gary Danko and Café Jacqueline. Gary Danko’s impeccable service, consistently excellent contemporary new American cuisine make it a fine dining institution in San Francisco. It’s hard to choose from their extensive dessert menu, but the chocolate soufflé with vanilla and chocolate sauces is difficult to resist. In comparison to Gary Danko, Café Jacqueline specializes in soufflés both savory and sweet. This very French, very intimate restaurant is date-perfect; the soufflés are sized for sharing, and the bittersweet chocolate soufflé the sweetest of endings.
Gary Danko is located at: 800 N Point St
Café Jacqueline is located at: 1454 Grant Ave
Foreign Cinema’s Pot de Crème
Sometimes nothing but a pure hit of chocolate will do. Foreign Cinema’s pot de crème fits the bill admirably: made with Valrhona chocolate, they are heady, dark, pure pleasure, topped with a swirl of Chantilly cream. They are a perfect denouement to Foreign Cinema’s California-Mediterranean cuisine. Make it dinner, dessert, and a movie: as its name implies, the restaurant shows foreign and independent movies on the wall of the outdoor courtyard. Don’t miss their art gallery (called Modernism West) as well.
Located at: 2534 Mission St
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Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa
2-Night Stay for Two with Wine Tasting or Private Dinner, Massage, and Wine at Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa in Bodega, CA
A 4-star hotel near the Sonoma County coast; every option includes a wine tasting for two
Bodega Bay, CA
$589 $279
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After leading expeditions in search of underwater treasure, the instructors of Sonoma Coast Divers show their students how to cook and eat the spoils—abalone. They try to conclude each of their abalone diving classes with a group picnic, where everyone can compare their catch in hopes of snagging a record-size shell. Persistent hunters can even compete in the autumn's abalone cook-off, part of a Halloween celebration that includes subaquatic pumpkin carving.
These special events highlight the dive venue's dual emphasis on community and adventure. Whether they are hosting a scuba-certification class, a Stress & Rescue course, or a simple air-fill service, the staff freely shares their passion for oceanic exploration. Their training pathways safely transform patrons from first-time pool divers into instructor-level dive masters. By filling their curriculum with specialty courses—such as night diving, wreck diving, and bubble collecting—they inspire guests to pursue different disciplines. They also plan several trips for all skill levels, guiding tours through local kelp forests and planning weeklong retreats to Caribbean islands.
5702 Commerce Blvd
Rohnert Park,
CA
US
Though Andrea Ballus' wedding frustrations propelled her into reality-television fame, the camera never focused on personal drama?instead, it zoomed in on the cupcakes. As she planned her marriage, Andrea couldn't find a bakery innovative enough to cater her reception. Rather than settle for tired designs, she decided to create her own cupcakes, mixing confections in signature flavors and garnishing them with edible art. These concepts led to the first incarnation of Sift?a dessert venue whose ingenious edibles have since won first place on the Food Network's Cupcake Wars and returned to compete on Cupcake Champions.
Sift Dessert Bar's current cupcake menu pays homage to classic tastes as well as cunning combinations, from the Snickerdoodle and Samoa to the Berry Good Cheesecake?a vanilla cake atop a graham cracker crust, filled with raspberry jam and topped with cream cheese frosting. Visitors can pluck their favorites from the onsite displays or order custom servings that suit a wedding or party theme. In the past, Andrea and her staff have festooned cakes with images of cheerful dragonflies, company logos, and Pink Floyd album art as well as holiday graphics for New Year's and Christmas.
Alongside their signature item, Sift prepares a separate catalog of nostalgic desserts, including whoopie cookies, french macarons, and ice-cream sandwiches.
7582 Commerce Blvd.
Cotati,
CA
US
Property Location
With a stay at Bodega Bay Lodge in Bodega Bay, you'll be within the region of Tomales Town Hall and Bohemian Grove. This 4-star resort is within the region of Tomales Regional History Center and Marimar Estate Vineyard.
Rooms
Treat yourself to a stay in one of the 84 guestrooms, featuring fireplaces. Rooms have private balconies. Premium TV channels and CD players are provided for your entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Conveniences include desks and refrigerators, and housekeeping is provided daily.
Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities
Relax at the full-service spa, where you can enjoy massages, body treatments, and facials. You're sure to appreciate the recreational amenities, including a spa tub, a sauna, and a fitness facility. Additional features include complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services, and gift shops/newsstands.
Dining
Enjoy a meal at a restaurant, or stay in and take advantage of the resort's room service (during limited hours).
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include business services, audiovisual equipment, and complimentary newspapers in the lobby. Event facilities at this resort consist of conference/meeting rooms, small meeting rooms, and banquet facilities. Free parking is available onsite.
103 California 1
Bodega Bay,
CA
US
Captained by multi-instrumentalists Aja and Daniel, the talented teachers at Music to My Ears have trained many accomplished pupils on a range of instruments. The team includes teachers John Paul Norris, who specializes in guitar, bass, and ukulele, and John John, who teaches students to keep the beat through drum and percussion instruction. New students can hone their musicality with one-on-one sessions or alongside their peers during group classes in the 15?x10? ensemble room. Afterward, they can stock up on music books, accessories, or rental instruments in the shop. Players ready to demonstrate their musical chops can rent out the recital room, where up to 45 guests can hear them belt out gorgeous melodies after they quiet the stage's baby grand piano with a pacifier. In addition to concerts, Music to My Ears fills stages with song through its non-profit musical theater program, which annually introduces youngsters to the process of auditioning, rehearsing, and performing in a Broadway-style show.
8500 Gravenstein Hwy
Cotati,
CA
US
Today they’re playfully dubbed “The Boot Camp Guys,” but Jaron Eliopoulos and Jeffrey Sears were merely students of kinesiology when they met in 2005. After bonding over a shared passion for fitness, the two began to move toward their current nickname by leading boot camp on the side of personal-training jobs. But when their camp spread to two cities and more than 100 patrons, the amount it takes to overthrow a tyrannical couch potato, Jaron and Jeff could ignore their calling no more and LiveFit Boot Camp was born.
Accountability is the glue that holds campers together at the sessions, which are held at parks all over the region. Jeff and Jaron dream up a new workout each day and turn it over to trainers who not only encourage the clients that attend, but also check in with no-shows to make sure they’re staying on track. Through combinations of sprinting, suspension training, kettlebell moves, and other exercises, the routines keep muscles guessing and attendees engaged.
5475 Snyder Ln
Rohnert Park,
CA
US
Copa Vida Med Spa helps to revamp figures with minimally invasive and noninvasive cosmetic treatments vetted for their efficacy and scientific soundness. Board-certified maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Tony Chu chairs the facility with expertise in facial reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, which he developed through stints as an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Texas and through training with Mayo Clinic's former chairman of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Chu's seasoned staff of aestheticians, surgical nurses, and surgical assistants lends a helping hand during the med spa's various treatments, which include everything from Botox and liposuction to facials and event makeup for weddings or visits to the DMV. With an emphasis on the individual, Copa Vida Med Spa tailors custom skincare regimens to each client using professional products from Colorescience, SkinCeuticals, and Jan Marini.
1350 Medical Center Dr
Rohnert Park,
CA
US
