San Francisco Neighborhoods · Potrero Hill
Potrero Hill
Transition zoneThe city's sunniest hill — sweeping downtown-and-bay views, sleepy residential streets, and a tucked-away 18th Street strip of neighborhood favorites.
- One of SF's sunniest, warmest spots
- Downtown & bay views
- Quiet, low-key 18th St
- Central & freeway-close
On the map
Open Potrero Hill on the map →The story
Potrero — Spanish for “pasture” — was 19th-century grazing land that grew into a working-class, industrial neighborhood of shipyard workers and a tight Russian and Slovenian community. Sheltered from the fog by the hills to its west, it's among the sunniest parts of the city. Long overlooked, it's now prized for its sun, its big views, and its quiet streets above the old industrial flats.
Things most people don’t know
The sunny pasture
“Potrero” means pasture in Spanish — and tucked in the lee of Twin Peaks, the hill is one of the sunniest, warmest, least foggy neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Home of Anchor Steam
Anchor Brewing brewed its iconic Anchor Steam on Potrero Hill from 1979 until the brewery's closure in 2023 — a neighborhood institution for over four decades.
A working-class, immigrant hill
Shipyard and industrial jobs drew Russian, Slovenian, and other immigrant families; the Slovenian Hall on Mariposa St still stands as a reminder of that heritage.
The other crookedest street
Vermont Street's tight switchbacks on Potrero Hill are often argued to be even more crooked than Lombard — with a fraction of the tourists.
Front-row downtown views
The hill's eastern slopes look straight across at the downtown skyline and the bay — a big reason its quiet streets have become so sought-after.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Plow · 1299 18th St
- Chez Maman · 1401 18th St
- Goat Hill Pizza · 300 Connecticut St
- Umi · 1328 18th St
Bars
- Bloom's Saloon · 1318 18th St
- Thee Parkside · 1600 17th St
- Ruby Wine · 1419 18th St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The 22 Fillmore crosses the hill toward the Mission and Mission Bay, with the 19 Polk and 10 Townsend serving the slopes. The 22nd Street Caltrain station sits at the eastern foot for quick trips down the Peninsula.
Nearest hospital. Zuckerberg San Francisco General, 1001 Potrero Ave (about 0.7 mi)
Thinking about Potrero Hill?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.