I love Seattle and it’s food but yeah it’s really expensive by default - I haven’t spent enough time in the Bay recently to compare but it feels equally pricy.
There are still reasonable & very good places though you just have to know.
Seattle used to have good food at reasonable prices. The extreme increase in costs, much of which is self-inflicted, has killed any restaurant that didn't both dramatically increase prices and cut corners on quality. Almost all of my favorite restaurants in the city are no longer around.
Seattle had much better food 15 years ago. The average food quality has noticeably deteriorated at the same time as prices skyrocketed. It is a shame really.
Unique to us, we have anomalously high minimum wages and a specific driver fairness pay law that makes for eye-watering delivery costs. This is on top of all of SF's problems w/ density, zoning, pricing out cheap indie spaces and the artist class that would put things in them, etc.
I’ve lived in both and I can say confidently I spent more on groceries, dining out, and drinks overall for me in Seattle…despite not feeling like the care or quality was always there. The hardest thing about Seattle for me was the lack of food variety. I could only eat so much teriyaki and pho..I know these are fighting words..but I actually would rank Portland above Seattle strictly on food alone. Portland has a great food scene, and it’s not obscenely priced.
Locals would (passive aggressively) remind me though how amazing Seattle is, and I should be grateful for no income tax
There are still reasonable & very good places though you just have to know.