About SF Restaurant Inspections
Our Mission
SF Restaurant Inspections is dedicated to providing transparent, accessible information about restaurant health inspections in San Francisco. We help residents and visitors make informed dining decisions by presenting official health department data in an easy-to-understand format.
Our Founder
Chris Nesbitt founded SF Restaurant Inspections with a unique combination of legal training and medical expertise:
- Legal Background: Graduate of Boston University's Paralegal Studies Program with focus on regulatory compliance and public records law
- Medical Expertise: Licensed Emergency Medical Provider in New Hampshire with experience in public health
- Data Science: Advanced training in transforming complex datasets into accessible information
What We Do
We process and analyze health inspection data from the San Francisco Department of Public Health to provide:
- Real-time reporting on restaurant inspections and violations
- Detailed inspection reports for food establishments
- Health and safety violation tracking with severity assessments
- Restaurant closure and reopening notifications
- Searchable database by restaurant name, location, or cuisine
- Historical inspection records and pass/fail trends
Our Data Source
All data presented on SF Restaurant Inspections comes directly from official government sources:
- San Francisco Department of Public Health: Primary source for all inspection data
- Environmental Health Division: Inspection reports and violation records
- DataSF: Open data portal for San Francisco city data
- Tracking Since: August 2025
Data Collection & Accuracy
Collection Schedule:
- Our automated system checks for new inspections every hour, 24/7
- New reports are processed and published within minutes of availability
- We maintain continuous monitoring to ensure no inspections are missed
Data Accuracy:
- Successfully gathered and processed 2,012 of 2,077 available inspections
- 97% success rate in data collection and processing
- Our system is not perfect, but we are committed to transparency about our coverage
- Missing data typically involves inspections where official PDF reports were unavailable from the source
Data Timeliness
Important: We publish inspection reports immediately when the San Francisco Department of Public Health posts them online. Publication timing varies significantly:
- Some inspections are published same-day by the Health Department
- Others take longer before appearing online
- Publication timing is controlled entirely by the city and varies by inspection type
The inspection dates shown on our site reflect the actual date of inspection, not when the city published the report. Our hourly monitoring ensures we capture and publish reports immediately when they become available from official sources.
Our Commitment
Accuracy
Data sourced directly from official government databases
Transparency
Clear identification of data sources and update frequencies
Accessibility
Information presented in clear, easy-to-understand formats
Independence
Complete editorial independence with no payments from restaurants
Editorial Independence
SF Restaurant Inspections maintains complete editorial independence. We do not accept payment from restaurants or food establishments for coverage decisions. Our automated systems treat all facilities equally based on objective data criteria.
Contact Us
For questions, corrections, or media inquiries, please visit our contact page.