Shopping & Services >>

• Best Pet Boutique
  Babies
  It's no secret that San Francisco is a dog lovers' town, and no one caters to all types of dog lovers better than Hayes Valley's Babies. Whether you deck out your Chihuahua in the latest fashions or seek the most wholesome food for your Great Dane, Babies has it all. The owner, Michael... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Frogs
  Sunset Super
  San Francisco's sizeable Asian population ensures that the city stays stocked with creatures not particularly indigenous to the American diet, including live frogs and turtles. Frogs are a notable inclusion in Sunset Super's vast selection of meat in a department that ranges from giant, wiggly... More >>
• Readers' Poll (6 Comments)
  Best Massages Kabuki/International Orange (Tie) Best Bookstore Green Apple Best Cannabis Club The Vapor Room Best Women's Clothing Store H&M Best Men's Clothing Store Macy's Best Thrift Store Crossroads Best Shoe Store Shoe Biz Best Mechanic No winner Best Furniture Store... More >>
• Best Brazilian
  Marilyn Jaeger Skincare
  There's no one quite like Marilyn Jaeger, a woman who can make you feel comfortable and chatty in the midst of removing all of your pubic hair. She has turned the once painful Brazilian wax into a world-famous art form. Jaeger's version is virtually painless and takes all of four minutes. Her... More >>
• Best Cheap Records
  101 Basement
  We've argued the merits of this record store with many a San Francisco record dork, and they always proffer three points: One, the dude with horn-rimmed glasses behind the counter cops an attitude. (He's always nice to us.) Two, the gear for sale on the main floor is overpriced. (The needle for... More >>
• Best Bulk Shopping
  FoodsCo
  When you want the low prices of Costco but don't want to pay for membership or brave the sheer mass of cheap humanity, give the unexpectedly helpful FoodsCo a try. The warehouselike building is nothing fancy — OK, it's a little scary — but the prices can't be beat. Here you can buy... More >>
• Best Funky Hotel
  Hotel Boheme
  When our friends visit from London and New York, we put them up at Hotel Boh�me because it's fabulously cosmopolitan (right in the heart of North Beach) without being absurdly spendy. Rooms run from $159 to $189, and they're sumptuous: no chintz bedspreads or hideous floral artwork here.... More >>
• Best Baby Store
  Day One Center
  Baby's on its way and you have no idea where to start. Friends are having a kid and you want to buy them something they might actually use. Got an infant at home and need to find updated supplies. For all of these situations — for just about any baby-related event, really — there's Day... More >>
• Best Place to See a Doctor for $39
  Farmacia Remedios
  It may not be ideal from a traditional doctor's point of view, but the recent trend of mini-offices in drugstores is often the only option for people without health care. Locally, Farmacia Remedios caters proudly to Spanish-speaking clients, but the large shop's friendly workers make it easy for... More >>
• Best Veterinarian
  Mission Pet Hospital
  San Franciscans spoil their pets horribly. Handmade clothing, special food, and excellent health care are practically the norm. We do it our own way, of course — this is no L.A. full of rich ladies clutching toy poodles. Mission District denizens, for example, are as likely to lavish a mutt... More >>
• Best Place to Learn a Language (1 Comment)
  Pacific Arabic Resources
  Jamal Mavrikios, the president and founder of Pacific Arabic Resources, begins a class by reminding students that there's no better time to learn Arabic. And he's right. This feisty, multilingual Greek New Yorker is the perfect Arabic instructor, with a sharp wit and an easy teaching style. He... More >>
• Best Lingerie Store
  Alla Prima
  These extravagant, elegant boutiques give new meaning to the word sexy. The stores have an air of rococo elegance, from the crystal chandeliers to the array of silks and lace. In addition to a divine selection and sultry atmosphere, Alla Prima owners Magie Crystal and Yolaida Dur‡n are known for... More >>
• Best Pet-Friendly Hotel
  Hotel Palomar
  As more and more hotels open their doors to our pets, it takes a lot to stand out. Hotel Palomar, near Union Square, has gone the extra mile. When making reservations, guests have two pet package options to choose from — a deluxe room or a suite, ranging from $239 to $439. And with 10... More >>
• Best Thrift Store
  Thrift Town
  Thrift Town is not a shop for the weak-willed or the time-strapped. Unlike some other Mission District "thrift" stores, its selection has not been pre-edited by hipsters. For some this is a deterrent, as it requires more digging. To the pure of heart the store presents a welcome challenge, and... More >>
• Best Gifts
  Period George
  The art of display is key here. At Period George the carefully curated and orchestrated tableaux of china, tableware, cooking utensils, vases, candle holders, framed prints, and sundry other decorative objets are delightful to peruse on a regular basis, whether or not you find something to... More >>
• Best Mascara Alternative
  Benefit Cosmetics
  Eyelash tinting — it sounds like the kind of scary beauty procedure that's normally the sad provenance of starlets and sorority girls. But when you consider all the shortcomings of mascara (bleary, early-morning pokes in the eye; the emotional foresight needed to avoid it on days when... More >>
• Best Cheap Designer Threads
  Jeremys
  Nestled on the darling little alley leading to the almost disgustingly charming little South Park, Jeremys has long been the preferred feeding trough of S.F.'s cheapskate clotheshorses, a classy, well-organized riot of discount designer threads for broke boys and girls. The store reels in... More >>
• Best Indian Bazaar (4 Comments)
  New India Bazaar
  Every square foot of this friendly, fragrant grocery store is packed with the makings for your next Indian banquet. Dried rajma, moong, chandal and masoor beans, bulk cardamom, coriander and other essential spices, and huge sacks of basmati rice, both raw and puffed, adjoin cans and jars of... More >>
• Best Office Supplies (Plus) (1 Comment)
  Polk-a-Dot Stationers
  Polk-a-Dot stocks all the usual stationery-store suspects — pencils, paper clips, staples, and such — but it's the stuff between the glue sticks and the Wite-Out that makes you want to browse the afternoon away. Tiny wooden drawers are neatly stocked with glitter, ladybugs, pint-size... More >>
• Best Tobacconist
  Grant's
  Grant's is a venerable refuge for anyone who still enjoys a contemplative puff of the pipe and the vanishing aroma of smoldering carcinogens. Tucked into only its third location since 1849, this handsome, wood-paneled den is fragrant with history as well as cedar and tobacco. Originally the... More >>
• Best Dog Walker/Trainer (1 Comment)
  Youngblood Harris
  After just one session with dog trainer extraordinaire Youngblood Harris, your stubborn pooch or unruly puppy will be well on the road to good behavior. Harris has worked with animals for most of his life, and it shows. He cultivates an instant rapport with your four-legged friend with just the... More >>
• Best Store to Inspire You to Open Your Own Restaurant
  Kamei Household Wares
  There's something strangely disorienting about stepping inside Kamei Household Wares & Restaurant Supply, the Inner Richmond's bargain-filled answer to Bed Bath & Beyond. Its aisles are filled with thousands of items most people have never seen outside a restaurant. At every turn, there's... More >>
• Best Map Resource
  Get Lost
  Try as they might, the goons at MapQuest will never supplant the tactile gratification of opening a map, creases intact, and thinking about faraway places with strange-sounding names. Although the wistful fun of plotting a 'round-the-world voyage is nearly obsolete, Get Lost doesn't seem to... More >>
• Best Shoeshine
  Allen Feaster, St. Francis Hotel
  "I don't give shoeshines," says Allen Feaster. "I give shoe care. I'm a shoe doctor. You know what I call people who put shoe polish right on a shoe? Shoe murderers. And if you do it yourself, it's shoe-acide." Instead Feaster, proprietor of the vintage shoeshine stand off the St. Francis Hotel... More >>
• Best Cheap Haircut
  Bing Du, Supercuts
  Supercuts may be the McDonald's of hair salons, but if the opinions of a growing number of style-conscious locals count for anything, then at least one Supercuts stylist — Bing Du at the chain's Noe Valley branch — should win awards for her work. Her no-nonsense approach (you're in and... More >>
• Best Hole-in-the-Wall Florist
  Guy's Flowers
  Guy's Flowers creates a riot of color on the leafy, pedestrian-friendly stretch of Noe Street between Duboce and Market. On open days (currently Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) the genial florist can often be seen lolling about outside his garage storefront in a deck chair,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Veggies
  Golden Produce
  A David to Safeway's Goliath across the street, the cramped yet bountiful Golden Produce grocery on Church Street serves a faithful clientele with its high-quality selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. Stocking everything from the humble spud to obscure varieties of kumquat, the family-run... More >>
• Best $8 Manicure
  Relax Nails
  Many nail salons look like Relax, but few offer the same level of service and attention to detail. While an $8 manicure in a similar beauty parlor might leave you with uneven tips, ragged cuticles, and smudged lacquer, the ladies here take so much care over the job they do that they'd rather... More >>
• Best Animal Groomer
  Bow Wow Meow
  From Bernese mountain dogs to Siamese cats, Bow Wow Meow is the place to have your pal scrubbed, clipped, and trimmed. With its great prices and top-notch facilities, no place in the city rivals Bow Wow Meow when it comes to grooming our furry friends. The air-conditioned grooming space and... More >>
• Best Place to Take an Art Class (23 Comments)
  San Francisco Center for the Book
  In this era of instant-gratification entertainment and techno-peppered art, it's nice to know that there are still places to cultivate hobbies that hark back to a simpler time. The San Francisco Center for the Book ups the ante on the craft of bookmaking with a smattering of innovative and... More >>
• Best Naked Yoga
  One Taste
  San Francisco may have more yoga studios than people, but for $12 a pop, you can forego all the others and get the city's quintessential yoga experience at One Taste. Naked yoga has been getting its share of raised eyebrows from less crunchy aficionados — particularly those who... More >>
• Best Bike Shop
  The Bike Hut
  We're not sure if Victor Veysey, proprietor of the Bike Hut at Pier 40, would go so far as to say that using and exchanging bicycle stems over and over until a customer finds one that's just right — as he allowed us to do once — counts as official store policy. But it's a good example... More >>
• Best World Music Store
  Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl
  First off, Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl — that white building with all the candy-colored albums hanging in the windows sitting just around the corner from It's Tops Coffee Shop — is not a used record store dedicated exclusively to world music. It peddles all kinds of styles: rock, jazz,... More >>
• Best Place to Get (Almost) Everything for Dad
  Cable Car Clothiers
  It might be the arresting scent of leather and Brut that greets you at the door, but Cable Car Clothiers ("San Francisco's British goods store since 1939") simply screams Father's Day.* The place has a mountain of headwear to choose from — wool newsies, Borsalino fedoras, safari-ready pith... More >>
• Best Place to Get Dad That Other Thing (1 Comment)
  Sally Beauty Supply
  Take some advice: Though Cable Car Clothiers has nearly everything else you might want to get for your pop (see above), don't ask about picking up a straight razor. You'll be quickly put in your place when the lads behind the counter roll their eyes and tell you such razors are technically... More >>
• Best Spa
  Kamalaspa
  Aside from the fact that Kamalaspa looks like it's straight out of an Arabian Nights fairy tale, it's singular among its S.F. cohorts for specializing in the ancient Hindu practice of Ayurveda, an across-the-board wellness practice that means "knowledge of life" in Sanskrit. Launched by... More >>
• Best Picnic Supply
  24th Street Cheese Company
  We've learned our soggy lesson well: Fickle microclimates make it impossible to plan a picnic in advance. So when the sun breaks through, we have to be ready to grab the checkered blanket and get to the park on a moment's notice. A pit stop at the 24th Street Cheese Company makes Bay Area... More >>
• Best Reason to Sell Your Car
  City CarShare
  Wish you could get rid of that gas-guzzling eyesore? It's expensive, smelly inside and out, and nearly impossible to park. Join City CarShare, sell your hunk of junk, and you're likely to save money — and definitely lower your blood pressure. The math may seem complicated at first: Add up... More >>
• Best Craft Haven (1 Comment)
  Craft Gym
  Craft Gym is a hidden gem located near the Tenderloin's tenements. Inside it's another universe — a cozy, minimalist space arranged to please craft fanatics. To get things warmed up, the place offers a wide selection of teas. The bathrooms are clean and smell nice and are stocked with hand... More >>
• Best Boutique Hotel
  Inn at the Opera
  Built half a century ago to cater to visiting opera stars, this sophisticated European-style resort is the perfect accommodation for patrons of nearby Davies Concert Hall, War Memorial Opera House, and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. (Among notable guests who've slept here are Pl‡cido Domingo and... More >>
• Best Eyebrow/Lip Wax
  Jai Anderson at BeneFit Brow
  There aren't many people in the world you'd trust to handle both your facial aesthetics and your most sensitive nerve endings. That's why an excellent waxer is so valuable; she must be gentle yet brutally precise about the requirements of your bone structure. Benefit's star is Jai Anderson,... More >>
• Best Flea Market (1 Comment)
  Alemany Flea Market
  We're always hesitant to draw attention to Bernal Heights: For all its marketable charm, the neighborhood remains oddly quaint and unhyped. Its weekly flea market, however, is too great to keep secret. Unfortunately, for you Saturday-night-owls, you must hit the market by 11 a.m. (it runs every... More >>
• Best Sporting Goods/Outdoor Store
  Sports Basement
  Take a cavernous warehouse, stuff it with sporting goods of every imaginable kind, add a staff that's as friendly as it is knowledgeable — presto, you have Sports Basement. From snowboards to hiking boots, biking helmets to swimming goggles, brand-name equipment can be had here for —... More >>
• Best Magazine Stand
  Fog City News
  There's nothing like a good magazine stand to make you realize you're reading the wrong magazines. A corporate rag like Spin may seem like a hot ticket at the doctor's office, but it pales when set among hipper labor-of-love endeavors at a place like Fog City News, which has the kind of... More >>
• Best Surf Shop
  Mollusk Surf Shop
  In the 1970s, surfing had plenty to do with art — boards were sculpted more than manufactured, airbrushed in wild designs, and ridden with an anything-goes flair more about personal expression than knocking off competitors. Mollusk celebrates that spirit with a ramshackle shop inspired by... More >>
• Best Brand-New Vintage Clothing
  Al's Custom Originals
  You can spend years hunting at thrift stores for the perfect '70s trench or '50s swing coat, but when you consider the potential for failure, the lost hours, the gas money, and the knickknacks you'll inadvertently pick up along the way, you should probably just head to North Beach to see Al. The... More >>
• Best Custom Fashions
  My Trick Pony
  Oh, the tyranny of the T-shirt. Stroll down Haight Street and the situation appears positively oppressive: You're either stuck with an overpriced ironic vintage concert tee ("Journey World Tour 1983") or one of a hundred new tees with a Curious George knockoff smiling back at you. How to free... More >>
• Best Surveillance Technique
  The Safeway Club Card
  Has anyone else noticed that the rise of the Safeway Club Card — that credit-card thingy the store gives out when you sign up with your name and address — nicely parallels that of the Department of Homeland Security? We're not sure this is just a coincidence. Because a record of... More >>
• Best Return Policy
  REI
  Imagine the following scenario: You purchase a backpack. You take it camping — 50 times. Five years after you bought it you're trudging through Yosemite when one of the shoulder straps breaks off. In any normal situation your only option would be to buy a new one or learn to sew industrial... More >>
• Best Small Clothing Stores
  Painted Bird and Minnie Wilde (tie)
  Second-hand stores are getting a bit greedy in hawking their wares. Who wants to pay $60 for a dress that you know would cost $5 at a suburban Goodwill? Luckily, there are still places like Painted Bird in this city, shops with discriminating taste in buying clothing and decency in pricing when... More >>
• Best Creative Reuse
  SCRAP
  An imaginative person's junkyard, SCRAP describes itself as a "creative reuse center" that encourages both innovation and environmental awareness. The store and workshop is a scrounger's paradise of castoffs repurposed as art supplies — textiles, paper, jewelry, wood, buttons, and plastics.... More >>
• Best 24-Hour Establishments
  Bob's Donuts
  Bob's is an oasis of civilization in the wee small hours of the morning when the rest of the city's fast asleep and there are glazed old-fashioneds to be dunked. These fresh, hot, made-from-scratch triumphs come in several varieties — plain, cinnamon, glazed, jelly, light, dense — yet... More >>
• Best 24-Hour Establishments
  Fiesta Laundromat
  The Fiesta glows like a Fab-scented beacon in a dirt-stained post-midnight world, its cheerful yellow edifice beckoning the sleepless and the crazed to wash, fluff, and fold their way through the predawn hours. There's more to the place than its all-day, all-night welcome mat, though. The city's... More >>
• Best 24-Hour Establishments (8 Comments)
  Walgreens
  When you wake up at 3 a.m. with the sort of sharp pain only prescription drugs can handle, head for one of the 24-hour Walgreens listed above. And even if you aren't in need of round-the-clock Vicodin service, it's a comfort to know that there are other human beings up and about at this time of... More >>