Embarcadero spots with good food, views

Red's Java House

I can't think of a better place to get a burger than at Red's. Eat it in front with the bay breezes pushing you from behind, or in back on the worn deck overlooking the water. A cheeseburger with onion, mustard and pickles on a sourdough roll, and a cup filled with fries will cost you only $6, including tax.

Pier 30 (The Embarcadero at Bryant Street); (415) 777-5626. Open 6 a.m.- 5 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. No reservations. Credit cards accepted. $3-$9.50

Waterbar

This is the place to go for elegant seafood and oysters. Each fish is "pedigreed," listing where it was caught and by whom. As you eat, you can feast your eyes on the fish tanks inside or on the Bay Bridge outside. There's also a well-manicured patio on the side. If you crave steak, Epic Roasthouse is right next door.

399 The Embarcadero (near Folsom Street); (415) 284-9922 or waterbarsf.com. Lunch weekdays, brunch weekends, dinner nightly. Reservations and credit cards accepted. $29-$36.

Waterfront Cafe

The Waterfront has been around for more than 40 years, but now a new chef, Eric Hopfinger, offers a down-home American approach to seafood. This is a top stop for cioppino, whole roasted petrale sole or, when it's in season, roasted Dungeness crab. There are views from the dining room or from the enclosed patio overlooking the bay. Note: After this article went to press, Hopfinger left the restaurant.

Pier 7 (The Embarcadero and Broadway); (415) 391-2696 or waterfrontsf.com. Open continuously for lunch and dinner daily. Reservations and credit cards accepted. $21-$35.

Plant Cafe

The food here is designed for carnivores who dine with vegetarians, or vice versa. It's part Cafe Gratitude for the raw crowd, part Millennium for vegans, and a little Beretta for those who like pizza and cocktails. Everyone is accommodated either in the chic industrial/green interior or outside on the enclosed patio.

Pier 3, Suite 108, The Embarcadero (between Washington Street and Broadway); (415) 984-1973 or theplantcafe.com. Lunch and dinner daily. Reservations and credit cards accepted. $12-$20.

Pier 23

What could be better than live entertainment (cover charge applies) on the open deck and getting messy cracking crab, peeling shrimp or downing a burger? In the last few months, the food has improved, without damaging the cherished dive-bar ambience. Straw hats and sunscreen provided.

Pier 23 (The

Embarcadero

at Battery Street); (415) 362-5125 or pier23cafe.com. Open continuously for lunch and dinner daily. $12.50-$17.95.

La Mar Cebicheria

If you can't head to the beach in Peru, the next best thing might be to sit on the deck and have a ceviche and pisco sour at the chic La Mar. I'd recommend the tasting of four ceviches, the empanadas or a causas - traditional whipped potatoes topped with crab.

Pier 1 1/2 (The Embarcadero at Washington); (415) 397-8880 or lamarcebicheria.com. Lunch and dinner daily. $16-$31.

This article has been corrected since it originally appeared in print.

Note: Prices given are for main courses at dinner; lunch is generally less expensive.

Michael Bauer is The Chronicle's restaurant critic. E-mail him at mbauer@sfchronicle.com, and go to sfgate.com/food to read his previous reviews. Find his blog daily at insidescoopsf.com, and follow him on Twitter at @michaelbauer1.

This article appeared on page S - 18 of the San Francisco Chronicle