Neighborhood Guide: Polk Gulch
Bookstores, sidewalk cafes, bikes, buses – bustling Polk Street.
Modern and historic in a dozen city blocks.
I’m cheating a bit here because, by real estate standards, Polk Gulch isn’t technically a neighborhood. But if you live here and know the history, you know it is.
Polk Gulch–essentially the north/south-running adventure that is Polk Street from ~Bay to ~Geary streets–is a melting pot of the neighborhoods surrounding it. It’s hipster coffee and family-owned joints, sushi handroll and a Chinese restaurant with a C health department score, boutique shops with handmade gifts on the same block as Walgreens, wine bars with a DJ and dive bars with the original patrons still in place. It’s long-time artists and club kids and pilates queens and the last remnants of SF’s original gay district. San Franciscans live life on Polk Street.
Polk Gulch is truly neighborhood-y, and it’s a great place to enjoy a local’s experience without wandering far from the city center. I still see my former neighbor walking with his two canes and a bag of books on his way back from morning coffee. I see the guy who manages the gym-that-used-to-be-a-theater grabbing Thai takeout. It’s a place where people just hang out. Polk Street is whatever you want it to be, and that’s the beauty.
Grab a sandwich at Boy’s Deli and take it up to the picnic tables in Francisco Park for lunch with a view or pull up a sidewalk table at Bell Tower and cheer for your team over some nachos. People say Juniper has some of the best pastries in the city (must be since there’s always a line). Certainly, absolutely, definitely get Bob’s Donuts (even if there is a line). They say no visit is complete without stopping at Swan Oyster Depot (where there’s an even longer line), you’ll smell it from a block away and only the smell of Bob’s can wash the scent away.
The street isn’t offering up a ton of culinary experiences or epic craft cocktails, but it’s filled with good meals and shops enjoyed by an absolute grab bag of different kinds of people going about their days. Polk Gulch is approachable and enjoyable for everyone–locals and visitors alike.