The Buena Vista

Stopped in for a few Irish coffees. The drinks were great and the staff were super friendly.

There was a long line outside but was able to go straight in to the bar seating since I was only getting drinks. Definitely recommend stopping in!

Had to stop by for the "world famous Irish coffee". To be fair, the Irish coffee was delicious. Location is prime, perfect for heading home after a day of tourist stops.

Overall, the food was yummy. Surprisingly tasty for diner food. The potato skins were well cooked with generous toppings, and the clam chowder tasted fresh.

The service left much to be desired. Far more than can be brushed off as "old school diner sass", the waitress was cold and left most of the bar unattended the whole time we weee there.

My honey and I have been in SF for about a week and I've been to the buena vista 2x for Irish coffees and chowder. They're no frills, but full of nostalgia, with an incredible waitstaff and efficient service.

One of their biggest perks are the to-go Irish coffees, which would normally be fabulous on a cold SF day. They're incredibly busy most hours of the day so turnover on tables is very high and very quick. We never felt rushed while there, but there was definitely a sense of excitement in the air!

On a weekend, wandering around Ghirardelli square we decided to try out the infamous Irish coffees at The Buena Vista- as always it was pretty busy for midday on a weekend but we were lucky enough to find two seats at the far end of the bar.
Always a bustling vibe here filled with tourists and locals, with a busy bar and friendly bar staff making Irish Coffees constantly in front of the bar. Great atmosphere inside, feels like you are entering into part of sf history.
There are actually a variety of types of Irish coffees to choose from which we were pleasantly surprised with as one of us is not the biggest fan of coffee in general, so we opted to try a couple of the different flavors available as well as the world famous classic Irish coffee.
The Irish coffees are pretty darn good- worth the hype, and great to sit and enjoy in the atmosphere of the cafe with its rich wood interior decor and many pictures hanging along the wall offering history of the bar. Also really liked the nutty Irishman coffee as it was a little on the sweeter side with a hazelnutty hint which I loved.
After a few coffees we got peckish so also opted to order some food- we tried a bowl of clam chowder and the Dungeness crab melt - both were good but the Dungeness crab melt could have been more crab flavor as it had a lot of seasoning mixed into it.

Irish coffee was perfect!

I had heard about this place when did the Tullamore distillery tour in Ireland. The Buena Vista goes through hundreds of bottle so Tullamore whiskey a day! You will understand why you try the Irish coffee. They even offer it Togo if you are in a rush.

The buena vista is located near the pier so you can walk around after grabbing a bite here! The service was amazing here. Everyone was so friendly and kind upon entry!

The Irish coffee had the perfect whiskey to coffee ratio and the cream was just perfect on top. Took me back to the one I had at the Tullamore Distillery.

The garlic fries were something else! Sooooo good!! I couldn't stop eating them. I will definitely be back again for some more!

Got some drinks and food from this classic place on Fisherman's Wharf and thought it was meh. It seems more like the experience is the highlight than what is ordered. The Buena Vista is one of the city's oldest restaurants. Has to be relying on the tourist factor to stay in business. You can find much better and cheaper food elsewhere just saying.

Coffee drinks are what they're known for basically. It's about $13 for the Venetian Coffee. That's a lot for a basic coffee with a splash of cheap liquor. As for the food it's not any better. It's about $9 for the Garlic Fries. These are one of the few vegetarian choices it seems. A lot of the rest of the menu is seafood, which isn't surprising because this is near the piers of course. The service is also pretty slow and it took forever for our basic order.

Has a pretty nice location close to the water, which is the best thing about it. It's often crowded even at non peak hours it seems. There's pretty expensive cocktails and food, and there's not much to get for vegans and vegetarians.

Can't stop raving about this place - I love their fries and nutty Irish Coffee. I recently tried the pasta there - white sauce - very delicious. 100% recommend.

Best coffee hands down

We always try to stop here when we are out for the night in the city!

It's just a cool old bar that also serves food and desserts.

Honestly never had any of the food but the coffee is to die for

We get the Irish tea has no liquor!

Great spot definitely a must try

Take all my friends there and some of them don't like coffee and I swear everytime they try this they always say wow!

Classic spot, good food, fun environment and of course, the Irish Coffee was delicious.

We were staying across the street at the Argonaut and having posted a photo to friends on social media of our view, and a friend immediately messaged saying you got to try the Buena Vista. It's right up the street. They have the best Irish coffees. I felt like an idiot being a native northern California not knowing about this place and the Irish coffees. Delicious ...they even offer Irish coffees kits to go. We had breakfast, which was great, and had fantastic service ...with an a great view. We sat and watched the cable cars come and go in the roundabout. Definitely will return... I can see how this place would get very crowded though especially on the weekends! we came mid week and I thought it said they opened at 10 and they opened at nine ...so when we got there and they were somewhat busy, but we were able to get a table pretty quick.