Blue Plate

"If you haven’t guessed at this point, if a restaurant patio is lush and plant-filled, it's certainly on this guide. Another one is Blue Plate. The casual Bernal Heights spot is a neighborhood staple and has a charming backyard with dim lighting, heaters, and lots of greens. Forget about the rat race going on outside while you dine on comfort food like smoked trout deviled eggs, black truffle risotto, or some of the best fried chicken ever." - lani conway, julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong

"Bernal Heights’ Blue Plate has kept the community fed for more than 25 years, and the restaurant’s outdoor dining is not to be slept on. The heated back patio turns magical at night with trees creating a canopy overhead and heaters to keep everyone warm. Those classic smoked trout deviled eggs taste all the better when one isn’t shivering at a picnic table out back." - Dianne de Guzman

"Blue Plate in Bernal Heights is a casual Mediterranean-ish spot that serves excellent wines and an even more excellent fried chicken, which is luckily on their three-course Restaurant Week dinner menu. For $45, you’ll get a choice of one of their small plates (like smoked trout deviled eggs or little gems with green tahini), one main course (like the aforementioned fried chicken or an egg pappardelle), and one dessert (like a key lime pie or a dark chocolate sea salt brownie sundae)." - ricky rodriguez

"Very smoky smoked trout deviled eggs are a classic at Blue Plate, a Mission/Bernal comfort food staple. They’re topped with castelvetrano olives, fried garlic, lemon, and pretty edible flowers." - Rose Garrett, Caleb Pershan

"This casual Mediterranean-ish spot has been making us feel at home and filling us up with homemade pastas, hearty meatloaf—and the best fried chicken in town—for the last two decades. The space resembles a cottage more than an actual restaurant, with dimly lit dining rooms outfitted with chandeliers, and eclectic paintings in mismatched frames of cars, boats, and people. And the patio, filled with twinkle lights, bricks, and flowering trees, is so cozy and quaint, we half-expect to run into a family of anthropomorphic cartoon farmer bears out there. Come to Blue Plate for date nights, big group dinners, pinot noir-soaked meals with someone you used to hunt mushrooms with, or whenever you want the weight of the day to dissipate." - lani conway, julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez