Inner Sunset is hands-down one of the most kid-friendly neighborhoods in San Francisco! There are at least 5 ice cream shops. Need I say more? Yes, I do – it’s right by one of the main entrances of Golden Gate Park – quickest route to places like the Botanical Gardens, Japanese Tea Garden, California Academy of Sciences, DeYoung, and Stow Lake. Inner Sunset also has so many kid-friendly restaurants, shops, and events throughout the year too! Check these places out next time you are in the neighborhood – these are places in the Inner Sunset beyond the Golden Gate Park! 

Are you planning on going to Golden Gate Park? Check our top things to do in Golden Gate Park with kids here.

Places to Get Ice Cream in the Inner Sunset San Francisco

You know a neighborhood is kid-friendly when there are more ice cream shops than Starbucks. In the Inner Sunset in San Francisco, there are 4 ice cream shops within 2 blocks! Here’s the highlight of 5 of the best ice cream shops in the Inner Sunset.

San Francisco’s Hometown Creamery

So cool!

From “farm to cone” – pretty much literally. They hand crack eggs and separate them to make their ice cream! And… they have FLIGHTS of ice cream. Forget banana splits, a flight of ice cream is the way to your kid’s stomach (and an amazing sugar high to follow). They have cool flavors you won’t find anywhere else like honey ginger chamomile sorbet and Crème Fraîche with cranberry orange cake.

Easy Breezy

They make the “highest protein, highest probiotic organic frozen yogurt, custard and dairy-free soft-serve available”. Honestly, didn’t know any of this and we’ve been going since it opened. We just knew it was delicious, and they have sooooo many toppings!

Honey Creme

Using South Korea’s top fresh milk ice-cream recipes. You really taste the amazing milkiness flavor! They have really cool toppings like organic cotton candy, honeycomb, and popcorn!

Let’s Roll Ice Cream

It’s entertaining to watch them make this! The literally roll up a thin layer of ice cream that gets frozen right on the spot. They also have cool toppings like Pocky, fruity pebbles, and mochi! Try their purple yam ice cream. It’s delicious!

Holy Gelato

They have so many cool gelatos flavors, including 12 vegan ones (their cones are vegan too)! Their fun flavors are honey lavender, goat cheese, and Charlie Brown’s nightmare. 🙂 They have fun gifts that our kids love too. We make Henry choose between a “toy” or “ice cream” and somehow he always negotiates us into getting both…

Special Events in the Inner Sunset San Francisco

Inner Sunset Farmers’ Market

This farmers’ market is every Sunday from 9am-1pm. There are flowers, produce, cheese, baked goods, honey, eggs, meats, and fish. There’s usually live music too! It’s in a parking lot between 8th and 9th Avenue, between Irving and Judah.

Inner Sunset Sunday Street Festivals

This is one fun block party where Irving Street gets blocked off from traffic between 9th and 10th Avenue on Second Sundays from May-October. There usually are fun kids activities (bubbles, arts & crafts, toys, etc.), market vendors, and more! It’s a fun way to get to know local San Franciscans, or your neighbors!

Block Parties

Especially in the fall, you will see random neighborhood streets blocked off for that block of neighbors to have a fun day and night! You never know when you will run into them, so next time you are in the area in the fall time, be sure to check out some of the quieter streets, it may be a block party going on!

Kid-Friendly Restaurants in the Inner Sunset San Francisco

There are so many to list them all, but these are our favorites in the order of closest to the Golden Gate Park to the furthest. (Because I know your kids will be whining about eating something as soon as they are done playing at the Golden Gate Park!)  

Park Gyros (9th Avenue & Lincoln)

Super casual, super good Mediterranean place. We love their wraps with spicy sauce in them or the salmon salad. The kids love their thick french fries. This place is right across the street from the park, so it’s a go-to when the kids are starving from playing in the park, or we want something to take home. They also deliver in the neighborhood.

Pacific Catch (9th Avenue & Lincoln)

This restaurant makes us feel like we are at a restaurant in the suburbs. We mean that in all the good ways. It’s spacious, kid-friendly, and they bring you edamame and pretzel goldfish-like snacks right away. Amazing cocktails and TVs at the bar for Tony to check any sports scores. It’s a win-win for everyone in the family. They also take reservations, so perfect if you know you have family coming to town. Bonus: There’s a parking lot! It’s small, but it’s great they have that.

Jenny’s Burger (9th Avenue between Lincoln and Irving)

Great burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and cheese fries! The cheese fries are spicy, so not great for kids who can’t eat spicy stuff. What makes this burger place even more special is the friendly service and the topping bar. They have shredded lettuce (which I love), chopped onions, and probably 20+ more things you can top your burger, hot dogs, and fries. Seating is limited but the atmosphere is casual, so if you can snag a table, it’s perfect for hungry kids!

Gordo Taqueria (9th Avenue between Lincoln and Irving)

Quick, grab and go, or eat-there Mexican food. There’s usually plenty of seating. It’s one of the main “chain” Mexican place in San Francisco (and now in the East Bay). You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu!

Jamba Juice (9th Avenue & Irving)

Ok, I know this is totally not San Francisco original, but the kids think it’s such a special treat when we get “soothies” from here. Perfect place for a quick snack and a smoothie to go.

Sheng Kee Bakery (Irving between 9th and 10th Avenue)

Their baked goods are fluffy and tasty. Henry loves the hot dog bun. (Andrew eats anything.) You can stop by here for an easy lunch, or come for dessert. You can’t go wrong with this Taiwanese bakery.

La Fonda (Irving between 9th and 8th Avenue)

We love this quick Mexican restaurant for a different reason than Gordo’s. This place is also a quick order and go kind of place (with seating there too), but their menu selection is wider with shrimp and “Azteca Burrito”, which comes smothered in sauce. I feel like their burritos are generally more “gooey-er” than Gordo’s. It’s soooooo good!

Pasquale’s Pizza (Irving between 9th and 8th Avenue)

This place has great pizzas and pasta, and spacious seating. Henry loves to watch them make pizza too! We’ve had one of the friendliest services towards having kids here. Definitely one of the most kid-friendly pizza place in Inner Sunset San Francisco.

Arizmendi Bakery (9th Avenue between Irving and Judah)

Get their pizza! They have nice seating outside, for a nice day, or get some baked goods for breakfast. It’s one of the best bakeries in San Francisco!

Social Kitchen and Brewery (9th Avenue between Irving and Judah)

This place is our go-to when we have a group of out of town people and don’t know where to eat last minute. They always have a table available (when we call ahead of time) even on the same day and flights of beer (can you tell we like flights of things?) that is locally brewed in San Francisco. Oh, and of course kid-friendly. We love their brussels sprouts, buffalo cauliflower bites, and their burgers. I just saw that they have beer in ice cream in beer ice cream float. Excuse me while I go make a quick trip back to the restaurant….

Yellow Submarine (Irving between 7th and 6th Avenue)

Hands down the best subs and more notably – the potatoes! Their “fries” are whole potatoes sliced and fried. It’s the best kind of chip/fry ever. We love the veggie sub (I think it’s called the avocado cheese sub) and the pepper steak sub. Love their homemade hot sauce too! Lots of cool drawings inside to keep the kids occupied.

Yummy Yummy (Irving between 11th and 12th Avenue)

Best Pho, perfect for a foggy Inner Sunset, San Francisco day (which is basically every day in August), They are super friendly there. It does get pretty crowded, but the wait goes pretty quickly! They are great for take-out too.

San Tung (Irving between 11th and 12th Avenue)

Arguably the best Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, if not, the best chicken wings in San Francisco. Pro tip though – get the Dry Fried Fish. It’s the same sauce, but it’s fish, and no bones to deal with. It tastes as good and comes out waaaaay quicker. If your kids are like mine and not a fish fan, just tell them its chicken and they will never know or care. It’s so good. This place also gets crowded, no matter what time of the day or week. We love getting take out here. (Again, get the fish, not the chicken if you don’t want to wait forever.)

Peasant Pies (Irving between 11th and 12th Avenue)

Grab 2 pies per adult, 1 per kid, and head to the park! (They do have seating there too.) Their pies are loved by literally everyone, all over the world (because we’ve taken visitors from all over the world there). It’s a perfect snack, breakfast, lunch, or dessert.

Fun Shops & Places to Visit in the Inner Sunset San Francisco with Kids

We wrote this list of fun places to visit in the Inner Sunset San Francisco with kids for Bay Explorer, so check it out under their “Mom’s Corner” section! (They have amazing tips on what to do with kids in the Bay Area. They are also one of our favorite accounts to follow on Instagram!)

Here is the list of shops & things you have to do when you are in the Inner Sunset San Francisco with kids!

Golden Gate Park

Park entrance at 9th Avenue

This park is probably one of the main reasons people come to the Inner Sunset. Check out how we like to spend an entire weekend in the park here.

Green Apple Books

Their Inner Sunset location’s kids section is comfortable and is a perfect place to get your kids to chill out. They have a pretty big kids’ book selection with seating. Lot’s of San Francisco themed books too. They have toys and gifts – perfect if you have to go to a birthday party after this stop!

Misdirections Magic Shop

This place makes me nostalgic with all the cool magic stuff they sell. Henry loves looking through the window and laughing at “fart candy” or pointing at each item and asking “what’s that?!” So it’s fun for all ages. Their selection of magic goods is huge! If you need anything magic related, they have it!

Sakura – Japanese Discount Store

We speak Japanese (I am half, so H + A are quarter Japanese), so this store is like stepping into mini Japan for us and love it. Not only that, they have really fun Japanese goods and food items. Henry’s favorite thing to get is the eraser puzzles, which they have for 79 cents!

How to Get to the Inner Sunset San Francisco

Parking

Parking here is mostly street metered parking. It gets easier (and you will find more non-metered parking) from around 6th Avenue or 12th Avenue. Pacific Catch also has a little parking lot for their guests. There is also a public parking lot on 9th Avenue (bridging over to 10th Avenue) between Irving and Judah, which becomes the Farmer Market on Sundays. You can also drive into the park to find parking too. We usually get lucky by the baseball fields (which is closest to the Inner Sunset neighborhood) or if you want a nice stroll, Stow Lake usually has plenty of parking.

Overall, this area’s parking isn’t so bad compared to other neighborhoods in San Francisco, but it is still tough to find if you want to park

Muni & Bus

N Judah makes multiple stops in this neighborhood and lots of busses like the 7 & 44 lines also makes stops. There are many ways to get here by public transportation, so check on Google Maps to see what the best way is to come here!

Bicycle

You can come here on your bikes! There are plenty of bike parking throughout the area, and if you are coming from downtown, you can take the Wiggle so you don’t have to be afraid (too much) of the hills.

Have you been to Inner Sunset in San Francisco with kids? Share us your thoughts!