Central Coast
Look forward to innovative pizzas – try the salumi one with jalapeno, lemon honey and red onion – and craft beers from San Jose's Hermitage Brewing…
Must-see restaurants in California
Coastal Orange County
Wet suit–clad crowds frequent this tiki-style breakfast and lunch place, which serves both OG breakfast sandwiches (lox and cream cheese) to new-style…
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Groveland Hotel’s newly opened Provisions stocks yogurt parfaits, artisan salads, fresh-made hummus, a wide selection of local wines and craft beers. A…
Berkeley
This stylish little cafe offers a very Berkeley take on diner comfort food, serving up rib-sticking favorites with slight (yummy) twists such as apple and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
The hero of the downtrodden and burrito deprived, Pancho Villa supplies tinfoil-wrapped burritos the girth of your forearm and lets you add ammunition at…
Gold Country
The Volcano Union Inn's pub has a superb menu of big burgers, a beloved fried chicken dish and steaks, as well as plenty of vegetarian and vegan options …
Sausalito
You can practically dangle your legs out over the water on the sunny back deck, which has spectacular bay views. It's a short dash from the ferry terminal…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Gott's keeps it simple with juicy hamburgers made from local, sustainably farmed Niman Ranch beef, plus tasty Cobb salads, mini corn dogs for kids, and…
Mammoth Lakes
Slocums has a classic pub-style bar and front room, and a large back dining room furnished more elegantly with red leatherette benches and a menu…
Laguna Beach
One of the only female sushi chefs in Orange County, Miki Izumisawa slices and rolls organic rice into Laguna’s best sushi, artfully presented. The place…
San Diego
There’s nothing urbane about this home-style Mexican joint, but it’s a local institution. Apart from the usual tacos and burritos, the carne asada fries …
South Bay Beaches
Finally a Greek restaurant for the 21st century, on a comfortably modern courtyard. There's a feta-encrusted rack of lamb, a smoky eggplant and walnut dip…
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Upscale yet casual Savoury’s is the best restaurant in town. Black-lacquered tables and contemporary art create tranquil window dressing for dishes like…
Excelsior
Hwaro is here to scratch your Korean fried chicken itch – it has three versions (original, sweet and spicy and honey garlic). If super crispy fried bird…
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
Location, location, location…is definitely not what lures people to this former shoeshine booth turned parking-lot snack shack. It’s the tacos! And the…
Lake Tahoe
Classic and innovative contemporary takes on steak and seafood – think porterhouse pork with cherry chutney or roasted chicken with braised fennel –…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Your posse is hungry, but one of you is vegan, another demands tacos with beer, and another craves Korean fried chicken. So what do you do? First:…
San Francisco
Life is always sweet at Genki, with packaged Japanese gummy candies nonsensically boasting pineapple flavor 'imposing as a southern island king,' ten…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Touted as the best fine-dining in the 'dena, this pink-and-green, art-deco dining room is elegant, yet not stiff, and the ingredients are organic wherever…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
This is one Greek restaurant where you'll want to lick your plate instead of break it, with starters like chargrilled octopus with a zing of lemon and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Toasted sesame, sloe gin, maple black pepper and salted mango are among the many savory, seasonal, miscellaneous flavors that make this ice creamery worth…
Coastal Orange County
Lunch in a yurt? In Orange County? Them’s the digs at this vegan spot serving organic salads, veggie burgers, Native Oklahoma Classic grilled 'cheese'…
San Diego
Watch the surf while enjoying ‘California coastal cuisine’, an ever-changing all-day menu of inventive dishes from the sea (crabcake sliders for lunch or…
Laguna Beach
Ground zero for Laguna’s see-and-be-seen vegetarians, this gourmet market has a hedge-enclosed patio where you can munch on tasty vegetarian and vegan…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
If you're partial to Japanese noodles, follow your nose to this funky Little Tokyo diner. You can smell the scallions and bubbling broth from the sidewalk…
Death Valley National Park
This charmer in the middle of nowhere has a limited menu but enough yummy choices to get you ready for a day in Death Valley. The coffee is strong, the…
San Francisco
Bright, fresh flavors and comforting Thai classics make Thai House a foggy-day staple, and attention is also paid to tasty $10 lunchtime rice plates – a…
Orange County
Come with your sweetie or a group to share plates like beef poutine with cheese curds and sous vide egg, Brussels sprouts with flash-fried prosciutto or…
North Beach & Chinatown
When you see shining faces around the table, that's the sign of a happy family – or Spicy King hot pot. Generous dishes are made to share, so you can…
Greater Palm Springs
From this humble mall base, Native Foods has helped pioneer America's vegan scene and now has branches all over the country. Its tempeh and seitan are…
Northern Mountains
This is the locals' favorite place to eat in the region hands down – even folks from Susanville drive the 32 miles to get here, with pleasure, for the…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Named for the intersection of 5th and Main, termed ‘the Nickel’ by nearby Skid Row residents who used to come to this corner for their daily meds, this…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Once the one-and-only tasty option for vegans, this famous kitchen from chef and cookbook author Ann Gentry still satisfies even devout carnivores with…
Healdsburg
This beloved tapas restaurant is part of the distinguished Stark restaurant chain and serves up Spanish cuisine, including the ever-popular paella, on…
The Peninsula
Though the no-holds-barred flavor combinations would make a traditional Japanese sushi chef faint, these burrito-style wraps with rice and Mexican-Asian…
Redding & Around
Organic, local, free range, line-caught, you name it, if the word is associated with sustainable food, you can use it to describe this place. Try the fish…
Westlake & Koreatown
My goodness, but Korea is good at fried chicken! The LA branch of this counter-service shop double-fries its famous wings and brushes them in soy garlic,…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Skip spa treatments and get that Pac Heights glow the natural way at Jane - home to improbably tasty Paleo chicken salads and dragonfruit smoothie bowls…
Northern Mountains
Simple decor belies the wonderful, homemade pasta and pizzas offered at Cuccia's, located on the outskirts of Graeagle. As well as delicious food …
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Consider yourself lucky if you wait outside less than half an hour and get hit up for change only once – but fresh-baked goods come to those who wait at…
