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Forget San Francisco. We’ve noshed and sipped our way through the East and South Bay’s restaurants, from the swankiest of high-end restaurants to the most casual little spots. We’re ready to proclaim the Bay Area’s top 50 non-SF spots — a list that runs the gamut from hoity-toity to totally laidback.
This week, we’re rolling out our restaurant critics and food writers’ highly subjective top 50. We released the first batch — Nos. 41-50 — on Monday. Today, we’re diving into the next batch. So let’s get started — because when you’re yearning for pintxos, sangria or gougeres, who wants to dally?
Flea Street Cafe, Menlo Park: When you’d like a great farm-to-table meal
Long before organic was cool, Cool was organic. That’s chef-owner Jesse Ziff Cool, who for four decades has espoused a philosophy of seasonal, organic cooking at her flagship Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park. Meals here start with the restaurant’s legendary little buttermilk biscuits, giving you time to ponder the menu. Herbs and vegetables from her own garden as well as the restaurant’s star in the appetizers and entrees. Flea Street’s serene dining rooms, long a favorite of Peninsula natives, have been discovered by new Silicon Valley residents, so be sure to make reservations.
Order: Anything seasonal, plus the clever Which Came First, chicken topped with soft-poached egg raviolo
Details: 3607 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park; www.cooleatz.com; $$
Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe, Berkeley: When you want epic legend, but laid-back style
Alice Waters’ iconic Chez Panisse launched California’s slow food, farm-to-fork, seasonal food revolution nearly 50 years ago in what soon became known as Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. The downstairs dining room continues to turn out perfect prix-fixe feasts all these decades later, although what was cutting edge then is no longer uncommon. Seasonal, locavore fare is everywhere these days — which is why we actually prefer the more laidback, upstairs cafe, which combines both a prix-fixe option and the flexibility of a la carte. So you can have your almond cake (or fig galette) and eat it, too.
Order: Perfect chicken, glorious tarts and salads that have been elevated to an art form
Details: 1517 Shattuck Ave., www.chezpanisse.com; $$-$$$$
Luna Mexican Kitchen, San Jose: When what pairs best with your margarita is organic Mexican fare
When entrepreneurs Jo Lerma-Lopez and John Lopez decided to renovate a vintage building on The Alameda, they also reinvigorated the local Mexican dining scene with a healthful, organic menu and no preservatives. That means tortillas pressed by hand daily from organic, non-GMO corn (right there in the dining room). Entrees made with NorCal’s noted provider of organic, free-range chicken, Mary’s. And heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo, the Napa specialist. The concept is so popular that a second location will be opening at Campbell’s Pruneyard.
Order: Parrilladas grill with steak fajitas, Cochinita pibil, the achiote/citrus-marinated pork
Details: 1495 The Alameda, San Jose; www.lunamexicankitchen.com; $-$$
Teleferic Barcelona, Walnut Creek: When Walnut Creek is the Fastest Route to Barcelona
It’s been a long day. You want a rooftop bar, preferably with a dim sum cart serving skewered nibbles of Iberico jamon, manchego and meatballs. Oh, and you need a Catalan gin and tonic in your hand, the kind served in a huge wine glass stuffed with rosemary to highlight the spirit’s herbal notes. This is the closest thing you’ll get to that Spanish mirage. Barcelonian restaurateurs Soledad Urabayen and her son Xavi Padrosa opened their first U.S. restaurant in Walnut Creek three years ago with stellar sangrias, authentic paella and grilled Galician octopus. A Palo Alto restaurant is up next.
Order: Sangria Barceloneta, lobster paella, grilled octopus, Catalan gin y tonic
Details: 1500 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Walnut Creek; www.telefericbarcelona.com; $$
Chez Sovan, San Jose: When you want to brag about that little gem you discovered
Walk into this unassuming restaurant — can we just say hole-in-the-wall? — in North San Jose, and you’re likely to find both expats and locals eating. Chez Sovan draws fans from miles and miles for the exceptional Cambodian cuisine — marinated lemongrass beef skewers, paprika-tamarind noodles and especially the signature dish Amok, an aromatic catfish mousse steamed in banana leaf. Founder Sovan Boun Thuy started cooking Cambodian food at this location in 1987; her son Brian Nong now runs the busy weekday-lunch-only establishment.
Order: Kabob Skewers (Sach Ang), Amok, Stir-Fried Rice Noodles (Kew Tiew Cha)
Details: 923 Oakland Road, San Jose; http://chez-sovan.cafe-inspector.com; $
Sabio on Main, Pleasanton: When you want city glitz and truffle grilled cheese
The decor may be Spanish-inspired — and the Chef’s Gin and Tonic definitely is. But chef Francis X. Hogan’s menu is decidedly California-meets-global, from the Sunol tomato panzanella with burrata to the tempura squash blossoms. Brunch, with its short-rib hash, tasso ham benedict and Graceland banana french toast, is stellar. And the happy hour menu may be the happiest — and lengthiest — one around.
Order: Truffle grilled cheese with Seka Hills honey, Loco Moco with housemade spam at brunch
Details: 501 Main St., www.sabiopleasanton.com; $$
Orchard City Kitchen, Campbell: When you want to try every trendy little thing on the menu
Chef-owner Jeffrey Stout’s popular, boisterous place at the Pruneyard boasts the most eclectic menu in the South Bay — and it changes frequently, so you’ll never be bored. Bring friends to share a feast of seasonal riffs on global faves. The fun “they’re combining what?!” small plates recently included Torn Salmon with za’atar and watermelon; Street Corn with parmigiano fonduta, Fresno chiles and black garlic; and Tater Tot Poutine with Japanese curry and Muenster. Coming later this year: Stout’s opening a high-end steakhouse at this center.
Order: The irresistible Triple B (Biscuits, Bacon, Honey Butter), sweet-spicy KFC (Korean Fried Chicken)
Details: 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell; www.orchardcitykitchen.com; $
Reve Bistro, Lafayette: When you dream of Paris in the ‘burbs
All airy whimsy and sparkling chandeliers, Reve is a breath of fresh Parisian air, a taste of Saint-Germain-des-Près in a small suburban strip mall. But the French fantasy takes over as soon as the door closes behind you. Chef Paul Magu’s bistro is a French dream — a reve — from the crisp black-and-white checked linens to the escargot, rabbit rillettes and moules frites.
Order: Gougere, steak frites with bearnaise
Details: 960 Moraga Road, http://revebistro.com; $$-$$$
Sanraku, San Jose: When you’re at the mall and require omakase sushi to keep shopping
A tasting menu of the finest fish flown in fresh daily from Tokyo? Sure, maybe at Valley Fair, home to Versace and Louis Vuitton. But Westfield Oakridge doesn’t even have a Gap. What it lacks in clothing it makes up for in premium Japanese sushi at this spotless restaurant with latticed wooden walls, Japanese-trained chefs and impeccable service. The seven-course omakase ($48 lunch; $88 dinner) changes monthly and currently includes wafu, a Japanese-style sous vide steak. Just want sushi? Get the Tokujo chef’s choice of seven nigiri — including torched barracuda on our visit.
Order: Sushi tokujo, grilled squid, anything on the Osusume menu
Details: 925 Blossom Hill Road, near Lolli and Pops; www.sanraku.com; $$-$$$
Wood Tavern, Oakland: When you want hustle, bustle — and sublime soup
Rebekah and Rich Wood’s 12-year-old American brasserie is a vibrant, bustling affair, refined and rustic at the same time, with a seasonal menu by exec chef Yang Peng that just makes us happy. The Butcher Block showcases charcuterie and terrines. The immense grilled pork chops have a cult following. And we can remember every soup we’ve ever had here. Mmm, corn and poblano chile … with corn and jalapeno relish.
Order: Di Steffano burrata and tomato panzanella, fettucine with Italian sausage and Bellwether ricotta — and soup
Details: 6317 College Ave., http://woodtavern.net; $$
But wait, there’s more!
These are Nos. 31-40 on our best 50 list. Find the Best 50: Restaurants 1-10, Restaurants 11-20, Restaurants 21-30 and Restaurants 41-50 here.
