Social policy on the menu

But city officials need to be careful of "shooting the golden goose" if they keep driving up menu prices, she warns. "What drives tourism partially is the reputation San Francisco has for dining," she said. "If we make it difficult for restaurants to keep affordable prices -- not just for the high-end tourists -- then we're going to see less tourism."

Perhaps San Francisco's best-known restaurateur is program supporter Mayor Gavin Newsom, a partner in five out-of-town eateries who sold his interests in the city after being elected. "No one argues that our program is perfect, but it's better than anywhere else," he said. "City Hall is not going to back away."

The restaurant surcharges are spreading. Market Street favorite Zuni Cafe charges 4% of the total bill. Others, including Delfina, a trendy Mission District trattoria, collect a flat fee of $1 to $2 per person.

"The major players I talked to are all doing it. It's in the dozens," said Daniel Scherotter, the executive chef and owner of an Italian restaurant in the Financial District and president of the Golden Gate Restaurant Assn. "It's a scary move, and only the bold are venturing into the territory."

But other top restaurants, such as the Slanted Door, a Vietnamese haute-cuisine hot spot, said they simply hiked food prices, preferring not to alert patrons to the new costs.

Charles Phan, executive chef and owner of the 200-seat venue with a splendid view of the Bay Bridge, said that "customers will look at surcharges and say, 'Why do I have to pay for that?' "

Phan pays as much as half the cost of health insurance for about 100 full-time employees. Another 100 part-timers get no coverage. He estimates that his healthcare costs will jump by 67% to $500,000 this year with the new program.

Such "a constant assault" makes "every chef I talk to not want to open another restaurant in San Francisco," he said.

And owners of smaller places, with fewer than 20 employees and exempt from the healthcare requirement, say that it's become too costly to expand in the city, even when business is booming.

"We will always have 18 [employees] now," vowed Anna Weinberg, a co-owner of South, a 50-seat restaurant featuring Australian cuisine that opened in October. Weinberg plans to open her next eatery on the Westside of Los Angeles.