Westlake - Daly City, CA Area Guide

Daly City was founded by priests, who first referred to Daly’s Hill as La Portezuela (or "the little door" in Spanish) between San Bruno and San Francisco in 1778. After several decades of development, Daly City was incorporated in 1911.

Westlake sprang from this ongoing development, the brainchild of Henry Doegler in the 1940s. This planned district of homes and businesses, including the Westlake Shopping Center, thrived until a 1957 earthquake caused substantial damage. The Daly City BART station’s opening in 1972 began a new period of development in Westlake, connecting residents to all parts of the Bay Area.

Westlake has no museums to speak of and not much of an arts scene. Nearby Daly City supports galleries like Fish Studios and the Colma Historical Association, featuring exhibits related to the area’s history. The Century 20 Theatre also shows first-run films in the area.

Westlake doesn’t have any annual festivals or events.

Westlake and Daly City both represent a food lover's paradise, with many culinary choices available in all areas of this far-flung neighborhood. Korean, Filipino, and Japanese options exist alongside American staples, such as burgers and pizza, throughout the entire area.

Blue Line Pizza knows how to cater to locals by providing gluten-free options for those avoiding carbs. Meanwhile, chefs heap toppings, including spinach, ricotta, feta and Mediterranean chicken, into deep dish or thin crust pizzas. If you don't have an appetite for pizza, check out the sandwiches, salads and appetizers. Locals suggest leaving room for the caramel apple bread pudding for dessert.

If you crave unusual Japanese fare, check out Tani's Kitchen for tonkatsu curry, unagi donburi and karaage curry. If the 10 tables in this small establishment are filled, grab your order to go. Locals laud this restaurant as one of the neighborhood's true gems, a hole in the wall worth every savory drop.

Boulevard Cafe has breakfast, lunch and dinner options for those in the mood for American classics, such as salads, sandwiches, pasta and burgers. Locals say the burgers remain the reason they keep coming back, especially the lamb burger and turkey burger. Breakfast items also represent popular choices, including biscuits and gravy, country fried steak, and pancakes.

Nearby Daly City contains Sug's, a local spot to chill with a drink and a pal or meet new friends while dancing or just relaxing. Residents must travel outside Daly City to Live at Mission Blue or the Surf Spot to catch live music acts.

San Francisco is notoriously unfriendly to cars and a tough city for public parking. However, since Westlake lies outside the city’s perimeter, parking is a little easier than in the city center. What you find is apt to be affordable as well, whether at a parking meter or in a local lot. Overall, residents prefer to drive to their errands and destinations in this area.

Others prefer public transportation, since there are many options in the Westlake area. BART trains run to Daly City, connecting with almost every part of the Bay Area. Muni trains and buses also run here, as well as samTrans trains.

Cabs are easy to find at local stations, though you may need to arrange a pickup if you’re not connecting at one of those. Uber rides are also easy to arrange with a few taps on your smartphone.

Route 35 connects Westlake to Route 1 and the 280 heading south. The 280, 101 and 80 head north and east over the Bay Bridge.

Since Westlake was designed to be a self-contained community of homes and businesses, it’s very walkable, and amenable to biking. Many streets have bike lanes here, making it a safe option for cyclists.

Westlake doesn’t have any of its own parks, but many can be found in the surrounding areas. Fort Funston is both a historical site and dog park, providing local pooches tons of running room and their owners lots of space to relax by the water.

Palisades Park is also dog- and kid-friendly, with a playground and off-leash dog area. All are free and good exercise spots for jogging, walking and yoga. Locals just ask that you help out by cleaning up when you leave.

This area doesn’t host any annual festivals or events, though neighboring Pacifica’s Pacific Coast Fog Fest brings art, music and festivities to the area in late September. Leave the dogs at home for this one, though.

The cost of living in Daly City and Westlake is slightly lower than San Francisco’s average. This makes the cost of food and entertainment lower as a result. A typical one-bedroom apartment rents for about $1,600 per month. Getting into the city via public transportation is inexpensive and will run you around $3 to $4. Gas is about 9% higher here than the national average, and a beer in a local pub will cost about $5.

Since Westlake was designed around a shopping center, that's where most locals tend to their shopping needs. Chain stores like DSW and Home Depot share the extended mall space with many smaller shops and boutiques, including Tibetan Wellness & Healing Center, Structure Hair Design, and Red Wing Shoes.

When it comes to groceries, you'll mostly find chain stores in Westlake, many of them clustered in or around the Westlake Shopping Center. There’s a Safeway and a Trader Joe’s and, a little further south in Daly City, an ethnic grocery called 99 Ranch Grocery.

Westlake doesn’t have its own dedicated farmers market, but the Daly City Farmers Market, to the north, happens on Thursdays while the Pacifica Farmers Market, to the south, brings fresh produce to this area on Wednesdays from May through December.