Embarcadero is on the eastern waterfront of the Port of San Francisco on San Francisco Bay. Historically, San Francisco's shoreline was further inland than it is now, but as the city grew, seawalls were built and mudflats filled in to create the financial district as well as the Embarcadero. This area used to be a major center for ferries, but when the Bay Bridge was completed, ferries fell into decline along with the neighborhood.
The area was rebuilt after a 1980s earthquake and is now considered a historic place. This neighborhood stretches for some distance along the coast and has several pleasant parks and landmarks as well as businesses and restaurants for you and your dog to enjoy. Lots of restaurants offer patio and outdoor seating so that you can enjoy the breezes and views of the bay. The Water Bar is an upscale seafood restaurant with views of the bridge and Epic Steaks offers waterfront views. There are quite a few options in this neighborhood.
Most of the walking surface along here is concrete, but there are several parks to break up your walk. Rincon Park, closest to the bridge, offers a nice little grassy area along the water while Sue Bierman Park provides a little grassy field with paths around it. You can also push further inland to a nice tree-filled area as another option.
Embarcadero is very urban with most of the green spaces being well-manicured and quite small. Pioneer Park offers more variance and some legitimate wilderness areas with steep terrain. You can follow Telegraph Hill Boulevard up to the rocky slopes of this mountain and enjoy the sweeping views of the city. There are private homes in this area as well and the forest sometimes seems to open right up onto people's backyards, so be careful not to invade private property.
By crossing the bridge, you can get to Yerba Buena Island and all of the beautiful natural cliff shoreline that this island has to offer. Blue Park provides trails so that you can enjoy wandering the island about worrying about stumbling onto private property or getting into too steep of terrain. Little beaches and areas of natural shoreline exist throughout, but there is a nice beach called Clipper Cove with a stairway down for easy access.