Seed Oil Free Restaurants in San Francisco

Cooks in: Extra-virgin olive oil (about 90% of cooking); also tallow, ghee, coconut oil, and butter

Cow Hollow California-cuisine restaurant on Union Street. Their own site states about 90% of cooking uses extra-virgin olive oil, with the restaurant's other named fats being tallow, ghee, coconut oil, and butter, a complete list of what's used in the kitchen. Dropped the old copy's unsupported "single-estate Koroneiki" and "regenerative organic" coconut oil specifics, neither of which appears anywhere on the site.

Cooks in: Extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and avocado oil; explicitly excludes seed oils

Mission District fast-casual chain (also Oakland and LA, with a 5th Bay Area location opening in 2026). Their own Food Sourcing Criteria page states directly they never use highly processed seed oils, naming canola, soybean, peanut, rice bran, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, corn oil, and margarine as excluded, with extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, sustainably sourced palm oil, and avocado oil as approved. One stated exception: full-fat dairy from pasture-raised ruminants is allowed in some dishes despite the menu's general dairy-free framing.

Cooks in: 100% seed oil-free kitchen, per their own site

Alameda restaurant with a Greek- and Italian-influenced menu. Old proofHref (parkstreettavern.com) pointed to an unrelated bar in Columbus, Ohio, not this restaurant at all. Correct domain is theparkstreettavern.com; their own About page states the menu is "proudly prepared 100% seed oil-free, using only natural and traditional ingredients." Dropped the old copy's specific EVOO/ghee/tallow trio, which traced only to a directory listing, not the restaurant's own site.

Cooks in: Beef shortening/tallow (fryer); most wet sauces contain soybean oil

Wings and sports bar chain. Standard US sit-down locations have fried in beef shortening (100% beef tallow) since 2017, confirmed in the chain's own allergen documentation. The wings themselves come out of the fryer seed-oil-free; most wet sauces (Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Asian Zing) contain soybean oil, so naked or dry-rub orders are the clean choice. San Jose location at Blossom Hill Rd (standard sit-down). Note: San Francisco's only in-city location was a takeout-only BWW Go format (soybean oil) and has since permanently closed per delivery-app listings, so it isn't listed here. Steak 'n Shake has no Northern California presence at all (its only 2 CA locations are Victorville and Yucca Valley, both Southern California).

Cooks in: Extra-virgin olive oil and avocado oil (roasted proteins/vegetables)

Salad and grain bowl chain. Sweetgreen switched to EVOO and avocado oil for roasted proteins and vegetables, per the CEO's public statement and reporting. Dressings and toppings aren't confirmed under this claim. Multiple Bay Area locations including San Francisco.

Cooks in: Olive oil (Crazy Feta dip only); falafel/pita chips/pita crisps fried in canola oil

Mediterranean fast-casual chain. Cava's own 2017 statement to the Vegetarian Resource Group confirms falafel, pita chips, and pita crisps are fried in canola oil. The only item Cava's current published ingredients page names olive oil for is the Crazy Feta dip; hummus, harissa, tzatziki, and the grilled proteins aren't broken out by oil type in anything Cava has published. Multiple locations.

Cooks in: Beef tallow (fries), per their own menu

NoPa BBQ and burger spot from butcher Ryan Farr. Old proofHref (4505meats.com) is the separate retail meat-snacks company, not the restaurant; corrected to the restaurant's own domain. Fries are cooked in beef tallow per the restaurant's own menu description. No source, restaurant-side or press, backs the old copy's broader "animal fats throughout the menu: beef tallow, coconut oil, ghee, and butter, no seed oils" claim, so narrowed to the one confirmed item.

Cooks in: Butter, ghee, and coconut and olive oils, per their stated food philosophy

West Berkeley community-supported kitchen, the nation's first. Their own philosophy page states they make liberal use of traditional fats such as grass-fed butter and ghee, plus cold-pressed virgin coconut and olive oils. Their retail shop also carries Seka Hills EVOO, a Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation-owned California brand. Dropped the old copy's "exclusively" framing and "no industrial oils of any kind" claim, neither of which appears on their site; the shop itself also carries flax and avocado oil.

Cooks in: Avocado oil and olive oil, whole menu

Fox Restaurant Concepts' wellness-focused chain. True Food Kitchen went 100% seed-oil-free chain-wide in February 2025, exclusively cooking with avocado and olive oil across all locations and its full menu. Bay Area location at Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto.

Cooks in: Organic ghee, cold-pressed avocado oil, and organic coconut oil, whole kitchen

San Rafael Indian restaurant, cooking seed-oil-free since 1998. Their own site states directly: "No Seed Oils Used. Our food is cooked in Homemade Organic Ghee and Cold Pressed Avocado Oil," fried in "Organic coconut Oil." A whole-kitchen policy naming all three fats used.