Ofarrell St, Tenderloin

Most people from outside of the city know O’Farrell Street in the Tenderloin for O’Farrell’s, the strip club. But there is much more to the dressed up part of the street. It is, first of all, one of those streets like Geary, that feels more like a street in an east coast city than a windy, hilly SF street—at least near Market which is where I know it best. You have lots of hotels and four to five story buildings with fire-escapes right along the façade. I’m sure you must have some people who live up in these old apartments and from my time in apartment living of this kind, I bet they have noisy plumbing and limited privacy because of thin walls.

You do find some pretty good eateries here. I can think of two that deserve special mention—a vegetarian place and strange lounge called Bourbon and Branch. It is modeled as postmodern speak-easy, complete with a secret password you must utter to get a seat at the booth you reserved. It’s more than a little pretentious, but in a really kind of intriguing way. It is a little like that snobby friend or roommate you had in college that at first rubbed you the wrong way but that later really grew on you—the one that was fun for parties because you never knew exactly what he or she was going to say. Well that is what a trip to Bourbon and Branch is like.

There is also a good music venue here--in kind of a western cowboy opera sort of a style.

As to living on this street? Most of it is well inside of the Tenderloin, which means its like OZ—fun to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there permanently.

This is the center of the city of San Francisco! Near to everything, and very busy and congested. But, if you want to see it all, you must visit here. Macy's, the ice rink, Union Square and more shops that you can poke a stick at - all within a few blocks of each other. I think this is the true "heart" of San Francisco!

Somehow O' Farrel Street seems to miss out in the region. It's a main street, but it's almost as if it's the back door for businesses in the region. It was not great for walking and I didn't see any cafes or anything to make it really enjoyable to dwell there. I was only in the small region near Market Street and Powell, so I may not have seen the really great part.

O'Farrell in San Francisco is located centrally, close to everything. It is steps away from Union Square and Market St where all the nice shops are. If you in the area and you are a fan of good inexpensive food and happen to like Japanese cuisine look no more, you are at the right place. In O’Farrell you'll find Dojima-ann, a Japanese restaurant that is always full of locals, you need to wait in line to get in. But once you're in you'll get superb food and very friendly and unpretentious service.

O’Farrell Street is a fairly short street in downtown San Francisco lasting about a mile. The street begins at Gough Street and runs into Market Street. Regardless of its size however, O’Farrell is one of the more important streets downtown. It is home to many important buildings such as the famous Macy’s of downtown San Francisco. This is definitely one of the most popular stores in downtown. In addition to the giant Macy’s, Nordstrom’s is right next door and it is fairly large also. The gorgeous Hilton hotel is located on O’Farrell Street and is arguably one of the best places to stay in the entire city! The intersection at Van Ness and O’Farrell has even more stores including car dealerships and restaurants. If you ever get bored of the stores on O’Farrell move one street over to Powell or Market Street and you will find a wide variety of stores and attractions!

One of the other reviewers mentioned the Hilton San Francisco, and I just want to back up what he/she said. It really is a nice place to stay, and the courtyard is a great place to relax and swim and lounge in the sun (in the summer, at least, the rest of the year is just too chilly for proper sunbathing in SF) while you plan the rest of your day.

I don't really think that the fact that there is a large Macy's on this street quite qualifies it as a must see. There are Macy's all over the country and I would not spend all your time around here with all the other great things there are to do in the heart of San Fransisco. Yeah, it s a nice place with some nice shops, but that is just about it. Not something to go crazy over, but still a nice place.

When planning a Northern California vacation, Hilton San Francisco hotel in 333 O'Farrell Street offers the finest in California accommodation. Located just off Union Square and the Cable Cars in the heart of the city’s restaurant, theater, and shopping districts, you can enjoy the world-famous sites of Union Square, Golden Gate Park and the world-famous Chinatown. Probably a good idea to visit this location
for its expert service and hospitality.