The Best Things to Eat and Drink at Outside Lands 2022

By now, anyone attending Outside Lands 2022, which takes over Golden Gate Park from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7, has probably already planned a concert schedule — though why would anyone make us choose between Disclosure and SZA, we’ll never understand. But let us never forget that in addition to being a huge music event, this weekend also marks an occasion to celebrate some of the best of the Bay Area’s food and drink scene. So while you plot your sprint from the Sutro Stage over to Land’s End, don’t forget to schedule some time to explore the many food and beverage experiences scattered throughout the expansive grounds.

We’re focusing our recommendations on the major dining and drinking attractions: Taste of the Bay Area, that impressive lineup of local restaurants wrapped around the Polo Field; Wine Lands, tucked up by the main entrance; and Beer Lands, perched on the edge of the Polo Field as well. But in case you’re craving more, there’s also Cocktail Magic, Grass Lands, and, for some ticketholders, the ultra-luxe Golden Gate Club, designed by Ken Fulk and serving food from top chefs including Tyler Florence, Nancy Oakes, Dana Younkin , and Ravi Kapur.

For the rest of us, here are the restaurants, breweries, and wineries we’re most excited about at Outside Lands this year:

Taste of the Bay Area

Bodega SF

This family-run Vietnamese restaurant just made a big comeback with a new location in the Tenderloin and will be serving pancetta lo mein loaded with oyster mushrooms and chile flakes in Lindley Meadow this year. Other menu options will include Hoi An chicken with turmeric chicken rice and Thai iced coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Other

This Haight Street restaurant is known for its vegetable-heavy menu of Mexican food, including tacos and tostadas served on tortillas made from house-ground heirloom masa. Not surprisingly considering the care and attention Otra always pays to veggies, the restaurant will be offering vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free food options at the festival.

Sandy’s

Sandy’s

Head to the north side of the Polo Field to get your muffuletta fix — and really, you don’t want to skip your chance to grab a sandwich from Sandy’s since the popular pop-up has been on hiatus while on the hunt for a more permanent home. In addition to the classic provolone and mortadella-stuffed handheld, look for a vegan option, too.

day trip

Oakland natural wine bar and restaurant Daytrip took to Instagram to tease its “fun festival food” earlier this summer, promising whole hog sandwiches and “durty fries.” Known for being deep into the fermentation game, it’s no surprise they’re also bringing housemade shrubs and “new wild ferments.”

El Chino Grande

Chef Chris Yang’s Taiwanese night market-inspired menus are never to be missed. This time around choose from options including a chashao roast pork or shoyu hot dog rice bowl; Taiwanese hot dog topped with kimchi slaw; and nori furikake-flavored Hurricane Popcorn.

Hi Felicia

This supper club-turned-fine dining destination is easily one of the year’s buzziest new Bay Area restaurants, but with reservations booking up minutes after dropping online, it’s not exactly easy to get a taste. Good news, you can find Hi Felicia and the restaurant’s Ayesha Curry-approved food on the Polo Fields this year.

Cathy Park

Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos

The Choco Taco might be officially over but its legacy lives on thanks to Santa Clara-based dessert shop Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos. Who cares if it will be foggy and cold and unobjectively not ice cream weather? Now is your chance to get ice cream wrapped in a crunchy shell and topped with chocolate, peanut butter, sprinkles, and more.

The Bussdown

Chefs Solomon Johnson and Mike Woods are bringing their pan-African pop-up the Bussdown to OSL so pull up for a serving of mac n’ cheese topped with Gullah-Geechee-style prawns.

um.ma

Last year, an order of super-crunchy, slightly sweet honey butter wings from um.ma, the Inner Sunset’s Korean soul food experts, earned a spot as one of our best bites of the weekend, so we’ll be B-lining back for another taste this year. Just remember to grab some napkins.

Wahpepah’s Kitchen

James Beard Award-nominated Emerging Chef Crystal Wahpepah brings her namesake groundbreaking Indigenous restaurant to the festival this weekend. Look out for dishes that incorporate native ingredients like blue corn, acorns, and wild huckleberries.

Wine Lands

Ashes + Diamonds

Ashes + Diamonds is the Napa Valley winery for people who don’t like Napa Valley wines, known for its super-cool aesthetic, and 60s and 70s-era winemaking techniques. It’s a lively lineup, leaning far drier than your usual Napa Valley jammy zins and oaky chardonnays.

Scribe

Sadly, you’ve got to be club member to take in the expansive views at this winery’s stunning Sonoma hacienda but at least you can get a taste of the excellent terroir-driven wines at Outside Lands. Go for something bubbly like a pet-nat if you can, though you can’t go wrong with any of the offerings.

Field Recordings

If you’re into wines of the natural variety then you’re likely familiar with Field Recordings, recognizable for its incredibly straightforward labels. From the orange Skins to the Fiction Red, these wines deliver on flavor and value.

Beer Lands

Fort Point

Fort Point is the city’s coolest indie brewery, known for its art deco-inspired cans and lineup of fresh beers. A cold KSA (that’s kolsh-style ale) is basically a taste of San Francisco summer in a can.

Altamont Beer Works

Seek out this Livermore brewery for a hoppy treat: the Maui Waui single-malt IPA is their most popular brew.

Humble Sea Brewing Co.

If you haven’t had the chance to head down Highway 1 to hit this Santa Cruz-based brewery, swing through at OSL for a taste of the beachy beers.