Swan Oyster Depot

Straightforward seafood complemented by a couple of draft beers. Here is old San Francisco at its best. Half fish market and half diner, this small, slim seafood operation, open since 1912, has no tables, only a narrow marble counter with about a dozen and a half stools. Most people come in to buy perfectly fresh salmon, halibut, crabs, and other seafood to take home. Everyone else -- locals and out-of-towners -- hops onto one of the rickety stools to enjoy a bowl of clam chowder -- -the only hot food served -- a dozen oysters, half a cracked crab, a big shrimp salad, or a smaller shrimp cocktail. Come early or late to avoid a long wait.

-Fodor's Travel/Random House, Inc.