Oakland
Homestead has an ever-shifting menu of farm to table goodness ranging from grilled ribeye and sweet potatoes to summer squash risotto – honestly, the menu…
Must-see restaurants in California
Along Highway 101
Shoulder your way through the locals to get Ukiah’s best sushi, noodle bowls and oco (a delicious combo of seaweed, grilled cabbage, egg and noodles). The…
Oakland
This simple spot is famed throughout the East Bay for its carnitas (pork braised in its own fat). Folks will line up for this stuff, which is served in…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Open since 1929, this classic Italian deli is an ideal spot to assemble picnics for Marina Green. Besides perfect prosciutto and salami, nutty cheeses and…
San Diego
This tiny, streamlined modern diner (1928) serves all-American classics from omelets and burgers to chicken-fried steak with country gravy, or steak and…
Coastal Highway 1
In the classic tradition of dockside crab shacks, Spud Point serves salty-sweet crab sandwiches and real clam chowder (that consistently wins local…
Berkeley
When vegan foodies and passionate farm-to-table types dine out together, they often end up here. Inside a salvaged-wood interior punctuated by green vines…
San Diego
There are often lines out the door for Filippi’s old-school Italian cooking (pizza, spaghetti and ravioli) served on red-and-white-checked tablecloths in…
Newport Beach
The atmospheric Beachcomber Café lets you soak up the vintage 1950s beach vibe as you tuck into macadamia-nut pancakes, roasted turkey club sandwiches or…
North Coast & Redwoods
Part of the excellent Carter House Inns, romantic, sophisticated 301 serves a contemporary Californian menu, using produce from its organic gardens (tours…
Disneyland Resort
If you can’t quite swing the Napa Rose or Carthay Circle, this sunny Cal-Italian terrace restaurant is a fine backup. Fork into Italian pastas, salads or…
Coastal Highway 1
One of Mendocino’s few fine dinner spots also serves lovely alfresco lunches on its ocean-view deck surrounded by roses. Try the Thai burrito or the …
San Fernando Valley
Stuck in a cramped and otherwise nondescript, split-level mini-mall that's easy to miss is one of the best-kept secrets among LA’s sushi aficionados. Kazu…
Gold Country
House-baked breads and organic meats, with a sophisticated menu and Japanese and Mexican influences in the cooking. The four-course prix fixe for $35 is a…
Along Highway 101
Foodies flock to excellent Patrona for earthy, flavor-packed, seasonal and regional organic cooking in super stylish surrounds. The unfussy menu includes…
Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium
Gold Country
This sweet shop gets downright enchanting when town icon Stevens Price takes to the 1919 Milton piano and plays ragtime. The former proprietor still stops…
Sacramento & the Central Valley
Five generations of Shuberts have produced delicious homemade ice cream, chocolates and confections for more than 75 years at this beloved pastel-colored…
Calistoga
We like the Spartan ag-chic look of this Michelin-starred resort restaurant. The menu maximizes seasonal produce in elegant dishes, playfully composed,…
Napa Valley
Locals crowd this tiny storefront bistro, beloved for its earthy Cal-Italian cooking: homemade pasta and risotto, crispy sole and soft polenta. Expect a…
North Coast & Redwoods
Head here for the best breakfast in these parts, ranging from a hearty bowl of organic black beans with avocado and poached egg to moist and delicious…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Bring your sweet tooth to Hookers, named in honor of generations of sweet and salty Tenderloin sex workers. Get lemon blueberry bread pudding and an…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
From the salt-roasted branzino, to the porcini-crusted hangar steak, to the burger and the quail, it's all very good here. The pastas are especially good …
The Deserts
In the saddle since 1950, this Western-themed spot, ringed around an atrium and a full bar, is a fave with locals and Route 66 travelers. Surrender to…
North Coast & Redwoods
Creamy and wonderful flavors inspired by organic seasonal ingredients. Try the vanilla almond rose. Check out the carousel-style rocking 'rabbit' and…
Gold Country
A lovely deli-style place dishing up well-cooked farm-fresh food with a Mediterranean feel, alongside homespun fare such as duck confit raviolo. It…
Russian River Area
Underwood draws accolades for Mediterranean-style small plates and Californian bistro cooking, and bon vivants fill the hoppin' bar. This is a great place…
San Joaquin Valley
The bright, crisply designed on-site restaurant of Wine & Roses draws on locally sourced ingredients in an elegant preparation. There's often live jazz in…
La Jolla
For beautiful ocean views and a laid-back atmosphere, this rooftop-dining space is heated during winter months, and gets booked up quick in the summer…
Napa
Housemade salumi (cured meat) and pastas, and wood-fired Naples-style pizzas are the stars at always-busy Oenotri, which draws crowds for daily-changing,…
Napa Valley
An enormous open-truss barn with big leather booths and rocking-chair porch, Farmstead draws an all-ages crowd and farms many of its own ingredients –…
Oakland
This impeccably hip spot does steaming bowls of ramen – ranging from green garlic beef shoyu broth to a vegetarian bowl – as well as rice dishes, served…
Katy’s Smokehouse & Fishmarket
North Coast & Redwoods
Makes its own chemical-free and amazingly delicious smoked and canned fish, using line-caught, sushi-grade seafood; the tuna has been voted number one in…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Long-standing mom-and-pop deli where the service couldn't be sweeter and the sandwiches still cost under $7. It's perfect for picnic supplies, and the…
San Diego
For strictly vegetarian groceries and fabulous prepared meals and salads north of central Ocean Beach, this organic cooperative does bulk foods, and…
Russian River Area
At Santa Rosa's culinary vanguard, this casual market-driven restaurant makes its own bagels, cheese and charcuterie meats. The diverse tapas-like small…
Santa Monica
The best seafood market in Southern California offers a tasty oyster bar and market cafe, where you can sample delicious chowder, salmon burgers, albacore…
Napa
This long-running favorite roadhouse serves modern-Italian pastas, crispy pizzas and wood-roasted meats. Weekends get packed – and loud. Request a…
San Francisco
Buttery, flaky Argentine empanadas (pastry pockets) with decadent, savory fillings. To find where your empanada is right now, follow El Sur's vintage 1970…
Napa Valley
Celeb-chef Richard Reddington's casual Italian trattoria serves outstanding homemade pastas, salumi and tender-to-the-tooth pizzas from a wood-fired oven.
Coastal Highway 1
Part of the Sacred Rock Resort, sweet, little Bridget Dolan’s serves straight-forward cookin’ like pot pies, grilled cheese melts and bangers and mash.
