San Francisco
Pastries come with pedigree at Thoroughbread – they're creations of Michelin-starred Michel Suas, founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute. If you're…
Must-see restaurants in California
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Who says sustainable, organic food has to be expensive or French? Grass-fed meats and organic veggies and beans are packed into organic tortillas, all…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Alluring on the plate and positively obscene on the tongue, Ichi Sushi is a sharp cut above other seafood joints. Chef Tim Archuleta slices silky,…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
One of the first market cafes in the LA area, Joan’s on Third is still one of the best. The coffee and pastries are absurdly good, and the deli churns out…
Coastal Highway 1
Follow the boardwalk lit with fairy lights to this cozy and casual northern Italian restaurant where the bread and pastas are homemade, portions are…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Amid the modeling agencies and couture boutiques, and with a long history of celebrity power lunches, this flower-festooned and cushioned cottage is where…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
With more than 100 years under its belt, this wildly popular soda fountain is the Mission's oldest ice-cream parlor and diner. The milkshakes and American…
North Coast & Redwoods
Pies are the mainstays here, ranging from chicken pot pie to Mexican chocolate pecan pie. Savory empanadas also shine and include everything from vegan…
North Coast & Redwoods
Housed in a wonderful early-20th-century mansion, try and grab the table on the front porch if you can. Inside, two cavernous rooms with sage walls, local…
South Bay Beaches
The most refined joint in Hermosa, this upscale Mexican kitchen does mole scallops, braised lamb nachos and chorizo-stuffed dates, and has a full raw bar,…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
'Girl' is what the name means – as in, 'Oooh, girl, did you try the wild-nettle pizza?!' Artisan salumi is the star of many Ragazza pizzas, from the…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Westside outpost of the DTLA hipster foodie favorite. This cozy, post-industrial storefront's best seller is the Fairfax sandwich (a lovably gooey mess of…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
On a sunny day the line snakes around the block for San Francisco's most iconic ice-cream shop. Big sellers include organic salted-caramel ice cream with…
Terrapin Creek Cafe & Restaurant
Coastal Highway 1
This upscale restaurant is run by a husband-wife team who espouse the slow-food movement and serve local dishes sourced from the surrounding area. Comfort…
Coastal Highway 1
The cutest patisserie on this stretch of coast is run by Franny and her mother, Barbara (a veteran of Chez Panisse in Berkeley). The fresh berry tarts and…
San Diego
Here since the '70s, this neighborhood joint is decorated with bric-a-brac, progressive bumper stickers, homages to The Beatles and pictures of Whoopi…
Napa
Wildly popular Torc plays off the seasons with dynamic combinations of farm-fresh ingredients such as pork belly with satsuma-imo potato and choy raab, or…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Slurp the bounty of the North Bay with East Bay views at this local, sustainable oyster bar. Get them raw, grilled with chipotle-bourbon butter, or…
Gold Country
A local institution near Hwy 88 that dates back to 1956: there's a takeout window but it's not meant for quick stops. Take a seat on the bottle-green…
North Beach & Chinatown
The terror of top chefs is the classic French soufflé – but since 1979, Chef Jacqueline has been turning out perfectly puffy creations that float across…
Disneyland Resort
Surrounded by the ‘bayou’ inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, this is the top choice for sit-down dining in Disneyland Park and is famous for…
Coastal Highway 1
Sit on the veranda or fireside for a romantic dinner of all-organic game, fish or risotto primavera. Chef Alan Kantor makes everything from scratch and…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
A lovely antidote to the seafood and burger shacks that dominate piers up and down California's coast, this suite of whitewashed dining rooms is beachy…
North Coast & Redwoods
At the tip of the South Harbor pier, this joint is renowned far and wide for its fish and chips: batter-caked golden beauties that deliver on their…
Huntington Beach
Every beach town needs its favorite go-to Italian kitchen. Alessa wins hearts and stomachs with classics like Neapolitan lasagna, butternut-squash ravioli…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Even before A16 won a James Beard Award, it was hard to book, but persevere: the house-made mozzarella burrata, blister-crusted pizzas from the wood…
Berkeley
A rustic country-French bistro downtown, La Note serves excellent breakfasts. Wake up to a big bowl of café au lait, paired with brioche pain perdu or…
Newport Beach
It looks like a beach shack, and you can eat with your toes in the sand, but this is no ordinary beach experience. Chef Brian Huskey, a Top Chef alumnus…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Behind the rotunda facade, this SGV dim-sum institution seats 388 at a time. At peak hours (roughly 10am to 1pm on weekends) all seats are full, with a…
Napa Valley
Details at celeb-chef Thomas Keller’s French brasserie are so impeccable – zinc bar to white-aproned waiters – you’d swear you were in Paris. Only the…
Orange County
This casual restaurant dishes up a variety of sandwiches, noodle rice and vegetable dishes, but the star is pho, noodles in hearty broth made from beef,…
Coastal Highway 1
A packed hole-in-the-wall that serves the best Mexican on the coast. Chips are homemade, the guacamole is chunky and the dishes, from the fresh fish tacos…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
A casual offshoot of the famous Slanted Door, home cooking gets an upgrade: brunch brings silken scrambled eggs with five-spice pork belly and cinnamony…
Newport Beach
This hip new beachfront storefront does hot and cold sandwiches like the Rubinstein, Lifeguard Club and the steak-filled Rocky Balboa, plus fresh-caught…
Napa
Stalwart Angèle serves reliable provincial-French cooking – French onion soup, Nicoise salads and croques monsieur (gourmet toasted ham-and-cheese…
La Jolla
This classic 1960 coffee shop has a posse of regulars from blue-haired socialites to sports celebs. The food is American at its best – pancakes, tuna…
Excelsior
You didn't just read some cute hipster name for a precocious restaurant – this is a true, old-school, wood-paneled and worn-carpeted social club, a relic…
Gold Country
Huge quantities of delicious mango red curry, steamed mussels and spring rolls in the region's best and most popular Thai restaurant. The rugged red-brick…
Napa Valley
Before the advent of fancy-food stores, this ramshackle market introduced Napa to Italian delicacies: real prosciutto and salami, meaty olives, fresh…
Russian River Area
Special-occasion worthy, Michelin-starred Farmhouse changes its seasonal Euro-Cal menu daily, using locally raised, organic ingredients such as Sonoma…
