Cliff House

San Francisco

LoginSave

Populist millionaire Adolph Sutro imagined the Cliff House as a working man's paradise in 1863, but Sutro's dream has been rebuilt three times. The latest reworking, a $19-million 2004 facelift, turned the Cliff House into a largely generic, if panoramic, complex housing two restaurants, two bars, two lounges and a gift shop. The key attractions remain: sea lions barking on Seal Rocks and the Camera Obscura, a vintage 1946 attraction projecting sea views onto a parabolic screen.

After an 1894 fire destroyed the original structure, Sutro rebuilt the Cliff House as a palatial eight-story Victorian resort with art galleries, dining rooms and an observation tower. It miraculously survived the 1906 earthquake, only to be destroyed by fire the following year. The 1909 stark, neoclassical replacement built by Sutro's daughter Emma remained popular for its saloon and restaurant.

Today, the Bistro restaurant is located in the 1909 structure and serves classic San Francisco fare (walk-ins only). The upscale restaurant Sutro's, in the 2004 addition, has two-story floor-to-ceiling windows providing sweeping views (reservations recommended). The Balcony Lounge hosts jazz each Friday night, from 7pm to 11pm.

Transportation

  • bus: 5, 18, 31, 38

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • An aerial view of Golden Gate Park from the Pacific Ocean. Golden Gate Park is the third most visited city park in the US.

    Golden Gate Park

    1.91 MILES

    When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…

  • High-angle view of the San Francisco Ferry Building during the morning.

    Ferry Building

    6.68 MILES

    Hedonism is alive and well at this transit hub turned gourmet emporium, where foodies happily miss their ferries over Sonoma oysters and bubbly, SF craft…

  • Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, USA.

    Alcatraz

    5.99 MILES

    Alcatraz: for over 150 years, the name has given the innocent chills and the guilty cold sweats. Over the decades, it’s been a military prison, a…

  • Exploratorium

    Exploratorium

    6.51 MILES

    Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out…

  • Balmy Alley

    Balmy Alley

    5.84 MILES

    Since at least the 1980s, if you stroll through San Francisco's Mission District you've likely noticed the neighborhood's profusion of colorful murals and…

  • Sun shining through the redwood tree forest in Humboldt County, California.

    Muir Woods National Monument

    8.55 MILES

    Muir Woods National Monument is located just a few miles north of San Francisco in Marin County, and is a prime peaceful destination for reflection within…

  • APRIL 24, 2018: Victorian-style homes in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.

    Haight Street

    3.65 MILES

    Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…

  • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. 15th August, 2017: historic san francisco chinatown neighborhood

    Chinatown Alleyways

    5.94 MILES

    If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…

View more attractions

Nearby San Francisco attractions

1. Sutro Baths

0.14 MILES

It's hard to imagine from these ruins, but Victorian dandies and working stiffs once converged here for bracing baths in woolen rental swimsuits…

2. Lands End

0.2 MILES

Looking out from Lands End feels like surveying the edge of the world. Nestled on the point of land between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, the park's…

3. Windmills

0.56 MILES

Surfers aiming for Ocean Beach keep in sight these twin landmarks on Golden Gate Park's extreme western edge. The 1902 Dutch windmill at the northwestern…

4. Ocean Beach

0.75 MILES

The sun sets over the Pacific just beyond the fog at this blustery beach. Most days are too chilly for bikini-clad clambakes but fine for hardy…

5. Lincoln Park

0.77 MILES

America's legendary coast-to-coast Lincoln Hwy officially ends at 100-acre Lincoln Park, which served as San Francisco's cemetery until 1909. The city's…

6. Legion of Honor

0.82 MILES

The Legion of Honor, or more formally known as the “California Palace of the Legion of Honor”, is a part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. It is…

7. Buffalo Paddock

0.96 MILES

Since 1899, this has been Golden Gate Park's home where the buffalo roam – though technically, they're bison. SF's mellow, well-fed herd rarely moves –…

8. Golden Gate Park

1.91 MILES

When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "usa/san-francisco/golden-gate-park-and-the-avenues/attractions/cliff-house/a/poi-sig/383863/1329646",
  "destination": "San-Francisco",
  "continent": "North-America",
  "country": "USA",
  "region": "California",
  "city": "San-Francisco",
  "position": "superzone"
}