Best Clam Chowder in SF

[Civil Bear]

Fridays at Breakfast at Tiffany's all the way baby! It's got a touch of color in it so it may not be perfectly authentic, but it is rich, creamy, and full of meaty clams. If anyone knows where to get better in SF, please let me know.

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Breakfast At Tiffany's
2499 San Bruno Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

[annabana]

also not in SF but the Marshall Store up the coast has great clam chowder. I still miss Cathy the former owner, but her chowder was too thick and over herbed, much better now and the view of Tomales Bay and those bar b q'd oysters are all still fabulous.

[SunsetKid]

Not in San Francisco but along the San Mateo coast - Barbara's Fish Trap.

[carfeng]

Bar Crudo has excellent clam chowder.

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Bar Crudo
655 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

[steve h.]

good call.
bar crudo is pretty good. fish in sausalito is pretty good, too.
haven't tried any others but this thread intrigues me.

[Cicely]

A touch of color? Like from tomatoes?

Swan Oyster Depot has a decent clam chowder, and I was really taken with their oyster crackers! Really tasty. They're not flavored or anything, just good plain crackers, but so much better than the ones you usually get which are like mini-Saltines. I even asked where they were from, but I forget the answer.

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Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

[Robert Lauriston]

Swan's clam chowder is canned. Great old-school place but that's not the thing to order.

[baron45]

I like the version at Hog Island. It's got whole clams in shell.

[Robert Lauriston]

Hog Island's is pretty untraditional, more like an oyster stew only with clams.

[IanW]

I always liked the Chowder at Swan's when I thought that it was fresh. I normally hate canned clam chowder but it must be ambiance at Swan's that makes it taste better.

[davewise]

Weird Fish has excellent chowder. Lots of flavor. Haven't had Breakfast at Tiffany's so I don't know how it compares.

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Weird Fish
2193 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[augustiner]

i really objected to the chowder at weird fish. not because it wasn't traditional, but because it just tasted awful. three of us took a few bites and just let it be.

[Melanie Wong]

Cool, is the chowder only available on Fridays? Also, have you tried the corned beef hash here?

[casalbore spirit]

Not in SF,but outside of New England my favorite clam chowder is at Steamer's Grillhouse in Los Gatos.Not too thick,nice cream flavor sans floury or cornstarch feel.Tender potatoes,slight crunch to the celery,tender sweet clams .Delicate but highly tasty.Prefer this to Hog Islands version.Available daily.

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Steamer's Grillhouse
31 University Ave, Los Gatos, CA

[Civil Bear]

>>"Cool, is the chowder only available on Fridays? Also, have you tried the corned beef hash here?"

Sorry that it took me so long to reply Melanie, but I have been chowing my way through MD, WV, and PA. Yeah, I believe BAT only serves their clam chowder on Fridays. I haven't tried their corned beef hash because they said their CB was not homemade. They do a souped-up version of hashbrowns though by adding cheese and peppers which is pretty good ( if not heart stopping). You can even get it turned up another notch with sour cream and bacon. Can't recommend that one though.

BTW, not to hijack my own thread, but so far both the service and the bathrooms have been noticeably better in the mid-Atlantic.

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks! To clarify, is it just the corned beef that isn't homemade or the hash isn't? I mean, I can deal with hash made with grocery store CB, I just don't want CB hash that came out of can. I think I'll have to stop by after my next visit to Alemany FM, after loading up on fruits and veggies to balance out the rest of the week after that meal.

I'm not surprised by the service difference you're seeing. The Bay Area isn't known for top service, despite the high prices we pay in our restaurants.

[Civil Bear]

It's the stuff from a can. I always thought it was just some sort of processed corned beef in the can which was mixed with hash-browns to form corned beef hash.

[Melanie Wong]

That may be, but I've also see plates of corned beef hash that were slices off the cylinder shape right from the can. If you look at the ingredient list for the typical canned hash, it lists "dried potatoes".