Eating out is such a private expertise. Some individuals keep on with counter-service, whereas others want prix fixe. A few of us are prepared to cross the county – heck, the area – for the promise of the perfect vegan sandwich, whereas others discover themselves returning to that trusted neighborhood trattoria.
Fortunate for us, the East and South Bays supply innumerable eating experiences that aren't solely great however characterize almost each international delicacies, from Japanese izakayas to taquerias, chaat homes and extra.
So how did we even start to construct this checklist of fifty Finest Eating places? First, we took San Francisco out of the equation. That bastion of gastronomy will get sufficient ink, and our readers dwell right here. (And, as a result of that is all about pleasant discoveries, we gave these starry Michelin eating places everyone knows about their very own checklist.) Subsequent, we spent months visiting and revisiting eating places – and consuming kale in between – to provide a listing that provides one thing for everybody and (whats up!) each worth level.
Take into account these sensational bistros, cafes, swanky fine-dining and tiny holes-in-the-wall not a lot a rating as a scrumptious information for all events and cravings, whether or not that yen is for wildly artistic twists on seasonal fare or classics, like handmade pastas, biscuits or XLB dumplings.
A information to the abbreviations:
$: A typical entree is $15 or much less
$$: $16-$50
$$$: $51-$100
$$$$: Greater than $100
Daytrip, Oakland: Once you crave the brilliantly surprising
Let’s be clear: Months in the past, earlier than Bon Appetit named Oakland’s Daytrip among the finest new eating places in America, the trend-setting pure wine bar had already shot to the highest of our checklist. Finn Stern and Stella Dennig’s Temescal neighborhood bistro is a revelation, a spot the place you'll expertise funky, palate-opening wines alongside dishes so full of life and delicious, they make normal high quality eating fare (we’re speaking about you, roast hen) an absolute bore.
The key is govt chef Stern’s razor-focused pursuit of fermentation, which brightens every little thing from salad to pasta. Sonnets could possibly be written about Daytrip’s now-famous celery salad, the best way the feathery Sardinian sheep’s cheese balances perky habanero and lemon verbena chlorophyll. Or how it could be against the law to toss handmade sourdough basil pasta in marinara, when it clearly belongs with Sugar Kiss melon vinegar, goat’s milk brunet and Shared Cultures’ small-batch miso.
As if Daytrip may get any higher, the environment is enjoyable and unpretentious, the service assured, and nothing on the menu, which adjustments typically, is greater than $28. Another gush: They checklist the names of each Daytrip worker on the menu in alphabetical order, with Dennig and Stern tucked within the center, not on the high. Right here’s to beginning extra traits like that.
Don’t miss: The ever-changing menu sometimes presents a dozen dishes, together with desserts, however the pastas, mussels, sizzling focaccia and salads all the time shine.
Particulars: 4316 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; www.thisisdaytrip.com; $$
Ettan, Palo Alto: Once you need Michelin-quality Indian in a enjoyable, photo-worthy setting
The primary indication you’re in for a particular meal at Ettan is the house itself – a digital palace of beautiful tilework and chandeliers that results in a patio of lush greenery and upside-down umbrellas. When you’re completed gawking, you may sit and benefit from the Cal-Indian cooking of Srijith Gopinathan, who hails from Kerala and snagged two Michelin stars at San Francisco’s Taj Campton Place.
Gopinathan’s dishes are suave and bursting with texture and brightness, a chief instance being the sesame leaves with “chaat flavors.” Crispy, fried leaves are piled with juicy mango, chickpea crumble, candied sesame and cilantro – like essentially the most attention-grabbing loaded Pringle ever; you gained’t have the ability to eat only one. Buttered monkey bread in sizzling forged iron makes an ideal car for assertive kale and eggplant chutneys. The pea kulcha with ricotta sings of springtime (there’s an earthier model with a bathe of black truffle), and hen wings with fermented chiles are astonishingly juicy.
Maybe it’s the chef’s roots close to the Malabar Coast, however something seafood-related is a assured hit, from the velvetiest scallops with tamarind to shallot-crusted black cod in a shrimp curry whose complicated flavors unfold seemingly perpetually.
Don’t miss: Every thing talked about above, plus the wild mushroom “one pot” with potato korma and idiyappam, black cod in shallot crust with coconut rice and the Travancore shrimp curry.
Particulars: 518 Bryant St., Palo Alto; ettanrestaurant.com, $$$
Acopio, San Jose: Once you need what the taqueria trailblazers are cooking
Taqueria Lorena held down an East San Jose nook for many years, till a fireplace shuttered the household enterprise based by Jose and Carmen Vidrios. That’s when daughter Lorena, the namesake, began placing a second-generation plan into movement with brother Carlos: They'd open a contemporary, evolutionary Mexican restaurant, the form of place that Lorena mentioned San Jose hadn’t seen earlier than. The plan by the siblings, each cooks, got here to fruition earlier this 12 months with Acopio — the title means a reunion or gathering — on the East Aspect.
With govt chef Marshall Reid, they’ve created a up to date menu with Outdated World touches. The tender, supple tortillas, for instance, are handmade from blue corn nixtamalized onsite. A Lebanese-spiced grilled pork taco pays homage to the Arabic affect that led to Mexico’s well-known spit-roasted al pastor.
The Mole de Pato, a chile adobo confit duck leg served with pistachio mole and seared, spiced masa cake and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, shortly grew to become Acopio’s signature dish. It’s a stunner, superbly cooked and composed, texturally attention-grabbing and Instagram-gorgeous. The preparation varies — this fall it’s Pipian Verde con Pato, with a inexperienced mole and lemon-thyme masa cake — however the pistachio model will return come pomegranate season this winter.
Don’t miss: Begin with the Tortillas de Casa appetizer, served with frijoles puercos, queso fresco, chiltomate salsa and salsa verde cruda, or the spicy corn ribs, Costiillas de Elote, earlier than tucking into the duck entree or the Carne de Res with grilled chayote.
Particulars: 399 S. twenty fourth St., San Jose; www.acopiosj.com; $$
Belotti Ristorante, Oakland: When solely essentially the most delicate stuffed pastas will do
Take that first chunk of Michele (mee-ke-le) Belotti’s meals, and you may virtually hear the dramatic symphonic music that opens Netflix’s “Chef’s Desk,” the place the Italian chef flicks flour on the chopping board. Belotti, who grew up close to Milan, may be part of their ranks. His eponymous Rockridge restaurant, conceived and run along with his spouse, Joyce, strips connoisseur Italian meals to its essence: easy, minimal components mixed in ways in which print recollections on the palate. The handmade pastas are headline-worthy: casoncelli filled with beef and pork shoulder, bigoli tangled in duck sugo and orange zest, tagliatelle topped with grappa-marinated wild boar and Tuscan pecorino.
Belotti Ristorante is that uncommon neighborhood bistro that hits each mark. It presents an inexpensive worth level, distinctive wine checklist, lengthy and handy hours and assured servers who make spot-on suggestions, as they breeze by with samples of world-class Brunello. Even the best of desserts, a conventional panna cotta, just isn't the standard jiggly mildew however a pot of silky, raspberry-topped cream custard that cues the music once more.
Don’t miss: The Casoncelli Bergamaschi (Bergamo-style stuffed pasta with beef, pork shoulder, prosciutto, Grana Padano, sage, butter and smoked pancetta) is a crowd-pleaser. Additionally great: the tortellini tradizionali in brodo (tiny tortellini briefly rib-chicken-oxtail bone broth) and Agnolotti di Lidia (stuffed pasta with beef shank, flat iron, pork loin, sausage, escarole and spinach).
Particulars: 5403 School Ave., Oakland, with a take-out and pasta store at 4001B Piedmont Ave., additionally in Oakland; https://belottirb.com; $$
Black Sheep Brasserie, San Jose: Once you wish to fake you’re in Paris
For those who consider Willow Glen’s see-and-be-seen road as Rue Lincoln, then Black Sheep is the stylish brasserie everybody calls their favourite. For good motive.
This up to date French-California kitchen, which has its roots in restaurateur Don Durante’s long-ago Le Mouton Noir, places excellent meal after excellent meal on the desk, and diners have come to count on that stage of high quality.
Many swear by the 38 North Duck Breast, with seasonal accompaniments. Others wouldn’t consider beginning their meal with out the Duck Liver Mousse appetizer. The “Burnt” French Onion Soup, topped with Comté cheese, is the richest round. (You’ll additionally discover Comté, France’s meltiest, atop the burger right here.) Craving scallops? Black Sheep Brasserie brings in solely the coveted candy Hokkaido ones, they usually’re cooked to perfection, with simply the correct quantity of sear.
And don’t be stunned to listen to a foodie at a close-by desk rhapsodize concerning the evolving gnocchi preparation, which this season is a roasted – and smoked! – pumpkin model with sage cream and walnuts.
For those who’ve left room for dessert, the promise of Maple-Calvados Caramel with the Buttermilk Beignets ought to make that call simple.
Don’t miss: The Steamed Mussels, served with saffron cream, aioli and a pile of pommes frites.
Particulars: 1202 Lincoln Ave., San Jose; https://bsbwillowglen.com; $$
Orchard Metropolis Kitchen, Campbell: When your style buds want a wake-up name
For those who’ve been consuming off too many predictable menus, re-energize your palate with a visit to Orchard Metropolis Kitchen. You’ll wish to seize a number of mates, as a result of the attraction right here is wildly creative, hyper-seasonal small plates, and chef/proprietor Jeff Stout and his staff provide you with some outrageous mixtures that work. (The general-wearing chef with Michelin cred additionally owns and operates the upscale and inventive Be.Steak.A, positioned close by.)
To get the complete OCK expertise, you must share loads of dishes. A preferred starter is the BBB (biscuits, bacon, honey butter). However earlier this fall, the kitchen was making a Hungarian fry bread referred to as Langos and serving it with chimichurri-cultured butter and aged cheddar. That’s exhausting to go up. Transferring on, a Bitter Tropical Salad of radicchio, cabbage, coconut, peanut and nuoc cham makes for a refreshing palate cleanser, after which there’s a Tamarind Pork Stomach served with Jimmy Nardello peppers, piloncillo and marcona almonds. (Even severe foodies spend loads of time right here googling components.)
The Bone Marrow Orecchiette is accompanied by water chestnuts, dates, crispy shallots and blue cheese. And Sauerkraut Fritters change into German-Italian fusion when served with ricotta, basil aioli and pink onions. Who desires up these things?!
Simply order and revel in. As a result of in your subsequent go to, there might be a complete new assortment of small plates.
Don’t miss: For those who’d really feel extra snug with a few menu standbys, you may’t go improper with the aforementioned BBB, the Korean Fried Rooster or the seasonal vegetable dishes.
Particulars: 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell; www.orchardcitykitchen.com; $-$$
Lion Dance Cafe, Oakland: Once you desire a street trip-worthy sandwich and a lot extra
One of the thrilling eating places in Oakland is vegan, doesn’t have indoor seating and is probably most well-known for a sandwich that’s solely served on Saturdays. Oh, however what a sandwich: The shaobing is a triumph of spice and funk, with a latest model that includes velvety slabs of Asian eggplant, potato and smoked-tofu fritter, pickled Thai chile mayo and recent herbs and lime leaf. It’s squished between chewy bread baked with sesame oil within the dough and encrusted in sesame seeds – one may eat the bread alone and be joyful, it’s that good.
Order from the quick-moving line, then have a seat on the festive parklet amongst children a lot cooler than you to take pleasure in extra Singapore-inspired cooking from C-Y Chia and Shane Stanbridge. An enormous clump of maitake mushrooms, seemingly ripped complete from the forest ground, is completely battered and zippy with Fresno-chilei sambal. The sesame-peanut noodles are a textural feast with chewy strips of seared yuba and crunchy veggies, plus an encore of mala numbing spice.
For dessert, don’t miss the A.S.S. Cookie (take your thoughts out of the gutter, it’s almonds, sesame and shallots). You’ll by no means be bored at Lion Dance, and also you’ll by no means miss meat or dairy. In reality, the brined-tofu nuggets, which have been lately on hiatus (however might come again!) attributable to their intensive week-long preparation, may really make you swear off Mickey D’s.
Don’t miss: That shaobing sandwich #72, the mushroom goreng with sambal, sesame L.G.M. Noodles with stir-fried market veg and, in case you can rating them, these tofu nuggs with sambal mayo.
Particulars: 380 seventeenth St., Oakland; liondancecafe.com, $-$$
, and at 2505 Sand Creek Highway, #112, in Brentwood
Flea Road Cafe, Menlo Park: Once you need an exquisite style of the season
The 2 lists that book-end the Flea Road Cafe menu inform you all you must learn about pioneering chef Jesse Cool’s priorities.
One is an appreciation of the numerous purveyors — from Harley Farm to Soiled Woman Produce to Webb Ranch and 25 others — whose devotion to “sustainable, natural and pasture-raised merchandise” fuels this iconic Peninsula restaurant. The opposite is a “Coronary heart of the Home” tribute naming the staff who share the eagerness of Cool and chef/GM Bryan Thuerk.
Service in these serene eating rooms is pleasant and really attentive. As for the fare, the summer season menu showcased Brentwood corn in a soup garnished with avocado, salsa verde and smoked chile mud and Central Valley stone fruit in a homey dessert referred to as the Masumoto Household Farm Nectarine Galette. Making the transition to the winter menu would be the luxurious Sluggish Braised, Grass-Fed Quick Ribs, a buyer favourite with an evolving forged of supporting characters. On a latest night, it was smoked shiitake mushrooms starring with horseradish spaetzle and blistered padron peppers to make a superlative entree. All meals include a bread basket that features the restaurant’s legendary little buttermilk biscuits.
Don’t miss: The intelligent “Which Got here First?” entree is a variation on the theme. This summer season, Thuerk reimagined the query as a Cobb salad with buttermilk fried hen and pickled hen egg. One other time it was hen topped with soft-poached egg raviolo.
Particulars: 3607 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park; www.cooleatz.com; $$$
Fish & Fowl Sousaku Izakaya, Berkeley: Once you wish to strive the evolution of Japanese bar meals
“Sousaku” refers to artistic reimagining, and sousaku is everywhere in the previous B-Dama crew’s Fish & Fowl, from the fashionable house with its soundtrack of The Pogues and Professor Longhair to izakaya plates executed with trendy aptitude. From the bar, one may take pleasure in an Espadin mezcal with pink yuzu kosho, then transfer on to one thing from the charcoal grill that elevates every little thing it touches: native cod marinated in Oakland sake lees, say, or marbled steak with bracing anchovy ponzu. One of many restaurant’s most sought-out meals is a platter-for-two of recent seafood and A5 wagyu, which diners prepare dinner themselves over tabletop charcoal burners.
The negitoro minidon is a small however ridiculously luxurious bowl of glistening fatty-tuna cubes, nestled on tender pads of dashi omelet. A corn and sea-bean fritter mixes recent kernels and the asparaguslike crops grown in salt marshes, then tempura-fries them right into a matcha-dusted hen’s nest for the right sweet-salty indulgence.
Don’t miss: The entire above, plus the A5 wagyu yakiniku and seafood for 2. End with that Basque cheesecake.
Particulars: 2451 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; fishbirdizakaya.com, $$-$$$
Dumpling Hours, Walnut Creek and Brentwood: Once you wish to one-up Din Tai Fung
In a city the place the high quality eating eating places can typically blur, Walnut Creek’s Dumpling Hours supplies an impeccably scrumptious, one-of-a-kind expertise. Made-to-order dumplings — boiled, pan-fried or soup — are the celebs at this in-the-know favourite, with dough so delicate and deftly pinched, you may see the spicy pork and black truffle by means of every elegant sachet.
Dumpling Hours doesn’t take reservations, however wait occasions are cheap, as a result of the employees runs a decent operation with a clipboard wait checklist that retains issues shifting and repair that's reliably swift. Salads, noodles and sides are executed with as a lot focus because the dim sum. Along with altar-worthy xiao lengthy bao, search for Mandarin dishes in any other case lacking in downtown Walnut Creek, like crispy pig ears and cucumbers in a nose-clearing spicy sauce and snappy wooden and silver ear mushrooms in home dressing.
Don’t miss: The recent and spicy pork xiao lengthy bao, after all, but additionally the ginger and scallion noodles, shrimp and pork pot stickers, Brussels sprouts with truffle and the brilliant inexperienced vegetable dumplings adorned to appear to be fall leaves.
Particulars: 1389 N. Fundamental St. in Walnut Creek, and at 2505 Sand Creek Highway, #112, in Brentwood; www.dumplinghours.com; $
However wait, there’s extra!
These are the highest 10 on our 50 greatest checklist for 2022. The highest 11 to twenty, 21 to 30, 31 to 40 and 41 to 50 might be revealed in coming days, together with the whole checklist. (As they publish, we’ll add these articles to our pre-pandemic checklist on this Finest 50 Bay Space Eating places web page.)