Waterbar

Waterbar sits on the Embarcadero with sweeping views of the Bay Bridge and one of the most celebrated sustainable seafood programs on the West Coast. Co-owned by Pat Kuleto, Mark Franz, Pete Sittnick, and Executive Chef Parke Ulrich, the restaurant is as striking inside as it is outside, with cascading oyster bars and tall cylindrical aquariums. Waterbar has been ranked among the top 10 U.S. restaurants for seafood sustainability by the fish2fork organization, and its oyster selection has been called “the most diverse on the West Coast” by Rowan Jacobsen, author of A Geography of Oysters.

Waterbar’s commitment to the ocean extends beyond the kitchen. For every oyster sold, the restaurant donates 5¢ to a different local nonprofit each quarter through its Oyster Give Back campaign. Since launching in 2014, the program has raised over $268,955 for Bay Area and national causes, including Sandy Hook Promise, Make A Wish Greater Bay Area, the Edible Schoolyard Project, and GLIDE. The current Q2 2026 partner is the Parkinson Association of Northern California. The annual OysterFest brings together producers, guests, and community partners to celebrate the ocean and raise additional funds.

The menu is a daily-changing map of the Pacific’s most responsible fisheries, built around what Purchasing Manager Eric Hyman calls “meticulous sourcing.”

Waterbar has built something rare on the San Francisco waterfront: a restaurant where spectacular views and serious environmental commitment reinforce each other. Every sourcing decision is traceable, every oyster sold gives back to the community, and the kitchen is led by people who have made seafood stewardship their life’s work. For Tinġo, it’s a benchmark for what responsible seafood dining looks like at scale.