Other restaurants in California
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La Mar Cebicheria
Big and bustling, La Mar has spectacular bay views and a snappy electric-blue and polished-wood decor. The key ingredient in its collaged plates of Peruvian cebiche is leche de tigre, the 'milk of the tiger,' a marinade of lime, chili and brine that 'cooks' the fish without a fire, and is said to have aphrodisiac properties. Sunny days are prime for flirting outside by the bay over a plate of pristine, spicy cebiche classico of sustainably caught California halibut, habanero, Peruvian corn and yam, with a side order of crispy-delicious housemade empanadas.
reviewed
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Camino
Kick-back-chic Camino’s short daily-changing menu showcases the best of local organic produce and meats, most cooked over an open fire in slow-food-meets-California-now style. The tables are of recycled old-growth redwood, and the place buzzes with the city’s bon vivants, high on European biodynamic and organic vintages. Reservations essential.
reviewed
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Rainbow Grocery
The legendary cooperative attracts masses to buy eco/organic/fair-trade products in bulk, drool over the bounty of local cheeses and flirt in the all-natural skincare aisle. To answer your questions about where to find what in the Byzantine bulk section, ask a fellow shopper – staff can be elusive. Small though well-priced wine and craft beer selections; no meat products.
reviewed
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Zatar
Zatar’s mishmash Mediterranean–Middle Eastern cooking spans Morocco to Iran. We like the bold spicing, homemade Iranian bread and fresh ingredients – many from the restaurant’s own organic garden – but the food’s pricey and a tad precious.
reviewed
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Wood Tavern
The daily-changing New American brasserie-style menu features what’s in season, with earthy, soulful dishes like pan-roasted lemon-rosemary chicken, chopped salads, cheese boards, charcuterie plates and a damn good burger. Very local, happening crowd. Make reservations.
reviewed
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Shan Dong
Hand-cut sesame noodles, giant pork buns, fresh dumplings – you can’t go wrong at this authentic Mandarin hole-in-the-wall with plastic chairs and fluorescent lighting. This is the real deal, so don’t expect fortune cookies, which are American in origin.
reviewed
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Tamarindo
The carefully crafted antojitos (Mexican tapas) aren’t your usual Mexican fare. Expect flavor-packed spins on familiar dishes, like tostadas and tacos (try the shrimp), served in a stylish brick-walled space. No reservations.
reviewed
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Caffe 817
Bowls of steaming café au lait, poached eggs en croute (in pastry) and crunchy baguette sandwiches – if you’re looking for Paris in Oakland, you’ll find it at this deliciously unpretentious sidewalk cafe.
reviewed
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Everett & Jones Barbeque
The smoked pork ribs are damn good at this simple, family-run spot with plastic red-checked tablecloths, occasional live music and slow service (stick around, it’s worth it).
reviewed
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Vik's Chaat Corner
This is our favorite Berkeley cheap-eats, with all-fresh-made Indian classics (no tikka masala here) ordered at the counter.
reviewed
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Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
Enjoy BBQ, cheap beer and live music at honky-tonk Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace.
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Jai Yun
‘Hello? When? How many? $55, $65, $75 per person? OK, see you!’ That’s how the reservation system works at Jai Yun, where chef Nei serves 15- to 20-course Shanghai-style market-fresh feasts by reservation only. There’s no menu, since the chef creates the bill of fare based on what’s fresh that day – but fingers crossed, your menu will include tender abalone that drifts across the tongue like a San Francisco fog, housemade rice noodles with cured pancetta, and seemingly lowly yet truly opulent mung beans with sesame oil. Never mind that the restaurant has more mirrors than a Bruce Lee movie and Christmas tinsel wrapped around dining-room surveillance cameras – the…
reviewed
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Duarte’s Tavern
But the best reason to come to Pescadero is Duarte’s Tavern, a country-style diner in the heart of town, serving classic Americana blue-plate home cooking. The same family has run the place for three generations, and the James Beard Foundation named their little linoleum-floored restaurant an American Classic. The menu lists chops, steaks, deep-fried seafood, good sandwiches and the usual burgers, but it’s the fresh-fish dishes (such as fried sand dabs and cioppino), homemade berry pies with flaky crusts, and rich meaty pan gravies that really win our vote.
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Pelican Inn
The oh-so-English Tudor-style Pelican Inn is Muir Beach’s only commercial establishment. Hikers, cyclists and families come for pub lunches inside its timbered restaurant and cozy bar, perfect for a pint, a game of darts and warming up beside the open fire. The British fare is respectable, but nothing mind-blowing – it’s the setting that’s magical. Upstairs are seven luxe rooms (from $190), each individually decorated in Tudor style, with cushy half-canopy beds.
reviewed
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Nick’s Cove & Cottages
Celeb SF chef Mark Franz runs the kitchen at Point Reyes’ only destination restaurant, a vintage-1930s roadhouse perched over Tomales Bay (20 minutes north of Point Reyes Station), with trophy heads mounted on knotty pine walls and a roaring fireplace. Book a window table to bird-watch while you sup on impeccable seafood, grilled meats and local oysters – all sustainably farmed. Reservations essential. The adjoining cottages are expensive ($355 to $700), but oh-so romantic.
reviewed
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Swanton Berry Farm
South of Año Nuevo on the inland side, look for Swanton Berry Farm, 2 miles north of Davenport, where in spring and summer you can pick the Bay Area’s best organic strawberries or pop into an old-fashioned un-manned farmstand for flats of berries, berry pie, strawberry lemonade and hot chocolate – leave your money in the little box. Families gather at the picnic tables on the grassy lawns. This is old-school Northern California at its very best.
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Hog Island Oyster Co
Picnic on fresh local oysters in a bayside cove at this renowned oyster farm, which provides tables, barbecues, lemons, hot sauce, trays of ice, shucking knives and instruction. Bring wine, beer and other food items. Bay Area families come every year, and book months ahead for summer weekends (but you can sometimes show up without reservations late afternoons on Saturday and Sunday); best to come weekdays. Make reservations. If you love oysters, don’t miss it.
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Mitchell's Ice Cream
An otherwise nondescript Mission block is thronged with grinning grown-ups and kids doing happy dances as they make their Mitchell's selections: will it be a classic like Kahlua mocha cream or a tropical flavor like macapuno (young coconut)? The avocado and ube (purple yam) are acquired tastes, but they've been local favorites for generations – Mitchells has kept San Francisco coming back for seconds since 1953.
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Mijita
At this order-at-the-counter taco shop, owner-chef Traci Des Jardins puts her signature stamp on her Mexican grandmother's standbys. Expect fresh local produce for tangy-savory jicama and grapefruit salad with pumpkin seeds, and sustainably harvested fish cooked with the minimum of oil in seriously addictive Baja fish tacos. Wash it all down with melon agua frescas (fruit-flavored drinks) bayside, with envious seagulls circling overhead.
reviewed
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Burgermeister
All-natural burgers and fries.
reviewed
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Casa Mexicana
Good burritos.
reviewed
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Ad Hoc
Don't bother asking for a menu at Thomas Keller's most innovative restaurant since French Laundry: chef Dave Cruz dreams up his four-course, $48 market menu daily. No substitutions are offered unless you mention dietary restrictions when making reservations, but none are needed - every dish is comforting, fresh and fabulous.
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Pescadero Creekside Barn
If you’re compelled to stay in Pescadero, we love the one-room Pescadero Creekside Barn, a turn-of-the-century, 2nd-floor hay loft that’s been converted into a cozy, romantic hideaway for two, with a clawfoot soaking tub in the corner and big barn doors opening to the street below.
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French Laundry
The definition of California fine dining: inspired and seasonal, setting international trends with ingredients plucked from the organic garden out the back. A culinary experience worthy of lifetime achievements - a 40th birthday, say, or a Nobel Prize? Book one to six months ahead; call at 10am sharp.
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Sam’s Chowder House
In the tradition of big Cape Cod waterside fish houses, Sam’s makes a mean bowl of chowder, whole steamed crab (in season), traditional lobster-clambake with all the fixins, and a knockout lobster roll – to find better, fly to Maine. There’s a full bar and great ocean views.
reviewed