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Price Guide: $ = less than $15, $$ = $15 - $35, $$$ = $36-$50, $$$$ = over $50
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Basil Leaf Café is as much about the outside world as the inside, with two levels of attractive patio seating along Hartz Avenue. The owners have given this vintage building an airy, open feeling, and no matter where you sit, you'll have a wide choice of pasta dishes--many with basil--as well as grilled fish or rosemary chicken.--Diablo
Bette's wasn't the first eatery on the long block of Fourth Street that is Berkeley's version of a shopping mall (that role fell to the long-gone Fourth Street Grill). But this ever-packed and cozy diner is like home to its regulars, and a slice of motley Berkeley life for out-of-towners. The wait can be long, the service crisp, but you won't leave hungry or unsatisfied, especially after tearing into huevos rancheros, soufflé pancakes, or a wedge of pie à la mode.--Diablo
The menu here is a food lover's dream: classic and classy bistro fare dictated by the seasons and served in a casual setting by some of the best waitpeople in Sonoma County. Don't miss the Local Stash, a secondary wine list of older vintages from nearby Dry Creek and Alexander Valley vintners.
Blackhawk Grille--the culinary anchor of Blackhawk Plaza--feels distinctly modern from the moment you step inside. There's a sheen and scale that are distinctly urban, and lots of room for whatever dining frame of mind you're in, from burgers and pizzas to elegant entrées such as salmon or tenderloin of lamb. Warm evenings beckon you to sit on the patio.--Diablo
Movie buffs know it from Mrs. Doubtfire; foodies know it for its refined, sophisticated California-style cuisine with a pronounced Asian bent. The simple yet elegant dining room owes much to Japanese architectural stylings and is an ideal setting for sampling dishes such as stir-fried sea scallops and prawns with shiitake mushrooms. Pastry chef Michael Kean's desserts are wickedly sinful.
After discovering this small, colorful café just off glittering upper Fillmore, our reviewers came back again and again--and again--along with a growing throng of our readers, for chef-owner Kirk Webber's East-West cuisine with an occasional Latino touch. A sure winner: crispy duck confit with polenta and wild mushrooms.
This big box of a dining room opened early in the California cuisine era, and the kitchen has yet to lose the 1980s enthusiasm for combining cuisines and ingredients in infinite permutations. The extensive menu changes daily, and if it presents any problems it's in offering simply too many choices. Stay with the seasonal and the simple and you're likely to dine well.--Diablo
Chez Panisse remains a temple to world-class gastronomy, and founder Alice Waters its high priestess. The restaurant's philosophy too remains unchanged: Use only the finest ingredients on the market, prepare them with impeccabel grace and skill, and serve them with a minimum of artifice. Don't expect stylized "art food" and architectural presentations; food this good doesn't need bells, whistles and dancing bears. A few notes: The menu changes daily and is posted each Saturday for the coming week. Menus feature such items as risotto, spring lamb, and organically grown vegetables. You'll need to make reservations well in advance. A 15 percent gratuity is added to your bill in the European manner.
This younger sibling of the restaurant downstairs continues to offer a brief but intriguing menu of á la carte dishes that reflect the season. Some say that the "California pizza" was born in the rustic brick oven here, as was crusty baked goat cheese served with garden salad. Those classics share menu space with pastas, grilled fish, and meats, as well as desserts devised by Alice Waters's partner and pastry chef, Lindsey Shere. Take some time with the excellent wine list.--Diablo
A comfortable, reliable restaurant for power lunching or a romantic dinner, The Duck Club breaks no new culinary ground. It does, however, deliver a good selection of carefully executed dishes in the "California cuisine" vein, as well as attentive service and a relaxed ambience. Taking a cue from the restaurant's name, anything with duck is a good bet, whether a hearty duck salad or fine roasted duck with wild-rice risotto. Fish and pasta are done well, though some dishes could be lighter. Desserts, previously a weakness, are much improved.--Diablo
A favorite on the Peninsula, chef/owner Tooraj Sharif's jewel-like Ecco features an elegant dining room and a menu that offers something for almost every whim. Examples include Dungeness crab cakes with tomato-mango relish, sautéed fresh duck foie gras over brioche, and polenta with ragoût of wild mushrooms.
This stylish example of contemporary California brewpub design is a real winner. The beer is good, especially the India Pale Ale, a stout, clean, and refreshing wheat brew. But the food is even better, so much so that Faultline may be better known as a destination for dining than for drinking. Check out the artfully presented ahi tuna tempura, rolled sushi with an attitude and three caviars. If you don't like beer, there are plenty of good wines to choose from.--Diablo
A refuge from architectural food and sleek interiors, this endearing restaurant near Stanford offers hearty portions and a serene environment. With its standing commitment to organics, the simplest dishes are best. Try a raspberry-vinaigrette-dressed salad of baby greens or the blood orange-mint sorbet. The more ambitious courses, like the portobello mushroom with hazelnut stuffing and smoked mozzarella, lack distinction of flavor. The café gets kudos for one of the all-around friendliest staffs I've ever encountered. (Penny)
Marco Polo would have loved Fuzio. This chic, popular, narrow one-room restaurant offers "universal pastas² that deftly join East to West. Habanero heat marries ginger-braised pork in the firecracker pork fusilli, and the primavera sings with smoky eggplant, ripe tomatoes, and sweet corn. The concise menu offers salads and focaccia sandwiches in addition to "fusion² pasta dishes. Fuzio serves ample portions for a song without skimping on quality. (Edina)
If it's true that noodles have become a basic food group, this is the place where half of us seem to be getting our supplies. What makes it unique is that these folks will cook up just about anything for you if they have it on hand--and they do: all kinds of noodles, more than a dozen sauces, bread, salads, and desserts. At the end of the workday there's a crowd loading up on supplies to go for an instant dinner at home.--Diablo
This is undoubtedly America's best-known vegetarian restaurant, and for good reason. The setting, overlooking San Francisco Bay, is unparalleled, and the kitchen serves meatless dishes that are guaranteed to satisfy even hardcore carnivores.
Regulars return for the fresh fish, the fine salads and appetizers, and the unequaled French fries. The crème brûlée is outstanding. Reservations are a must for pre-performance seating during the symphony, opera, and ballet seasons.
To call a restaurant casually elegant doesn't mean much these days, with dress codes out the window. But in the case of Massimo the phrase often rings true. The rooms are spare and open, the noise minimal, the diners busy murmuring over their pizzas, pastas, grilled sea bass, or porterhouse. The only hint of haste comes from those dashing out the door to catch the show at the Center for the Arts just across Locust.--Diablo
Grow locally, cook globally: The seasonal "borderless cuisine² at this smart Mission newcomer avoids the mindless goofiness that swamps so much high-concept fusion. Using produce from her partner's farm in Calistoga, chef Jan Gardner creates stylish, eclectic dishes like shrimp-chipotle corncakes, cold beef and mango spring rolls, and pork chops with plum salsa. Only the wobbly service and uneven desserts could use improvement. (Brooks)
Mudd's--a rambling country cottage of a restaurant--sprouted on the west side of I-680 back when "organic" was the chemistry class you hated in school. Today the well-tended organic garden supplies much of the restaurant's produce, and provides near-pastoral surroundings unmatched in the area for weddings and special occasions. Vegetarians will find plenty of choices, and all the menu items reflect a keen California sensibility: fresh, local, and simply prepared.
This small, unassuming restaurant is one of the little-known treasures of Contra Costa's dining scene. Proprietor Ric Figueiredo and chef Josh Silvers have created a warm, cozy, casual neighborhood eatery with surprisingly sophisticated food. Though the Caesar salad suffers from a too-bland dressing, other dishes are delights. Of particular note is Silvers's kazu-marinated salmon, stacked in a tower with sushi rice, crisp-fried wonton skins, and pea sprouts tossed with a pungent wasabi vinaigrette. Save room for dessert, which Silvers also prepares, especially the delightful poached pear stuffed with mascarpone cheese.--Diablo
This extravagant, flamboyantly decorated supper club offers some of the most innovative cooking in Silicon Valley, thanks to executive chef Joey Altman, formerly of San Francisco's Miss Pearl's Jam House. Highlights include "Thai sticks": spring rolls of rock shrimp and pork with chili-mint dipping sauce.
Fusion cooking--the combination of Asian ingredients with European-American components--has been largely overworked and mishandled as the culinary world strives for invention. Owner/chef Patrick David Schoolcraft, however, manages to seamlessly fuse disparate techniques and ingredients into successful dishes. The kitchen works wonders with starters and fish, and the small but airy dining room is as pleasant for a workday lunch as it is during a leisurely dinner. L Mon-Sat, D daily, B Sun.--Diablo
Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal share the title of executive chef with Wolfgang Puck in Puck's elegant eatery. Regulars crave the Chinese roast duck with mango sauce, delicate ravioli topped with grilled quail, thin, crisp pizzas in the bar--but Postrio's got some delicious surprises, too.
The small menu focuses on California meats, poultry, and fish prepared with seasonal produce and herbs, many of which chef David Kinch grows in his own garden. Excellent food served in a cheerful environment makes this a stellar addition to the South Bay dining scene.
Chef/proprietor Wendy Brucker has cooked in some of the finest kitchens in the Bay Area, and the experience shows in every facet of this tiny, colorful Berkeley restaurant. Her California-eclectic menu takes diners on a culinary world tour, touching down in France, Italy, Mexico, India, and points between. Whatever its inspiration, Brucker's cooking is marked by big flavors and straightforward presentation, homey with sophisticated touches that make your palate sit up and take notice. Service is very good, too, and the warm, cheerful ambience makes dining here a joy.
Chef Scott Newman presides over the kitchen at this clubby restaurant where the food takes center stage. The small, appealing menu incorporates fresh ideas, with impeccable fish, lamb, and house-cured salmon among the winners. Save room for delicious desserts like crème brûlée and house-made ice creams.
Perhaps the archetypal California bar and grill, this stylish Berkeley restaurant is an integral part of Bay Area restaurant lore. Then-proprietor Jeremiah Tower made it famous in the '80s, and though Tower is long gone, the caliber of the food is still high. Best bets are anything from the mesquite-fired grill or oven; favorites include the thin-crusted "designer" pizzas and delectable smoked Petaluma duck with pomegranate sauce. Pastas are worthy choices too. Desserts have been hit and miss, but the crème brûlée is great. And in ticket-happy Berkeley, there's plenty of free on-site parking.--Diablo
The loft-like interior at this artsy spot radiates warmth and vitality, and the food is good, too. Plump shrimp cakes with aïoli, a roasted bell pepper with fennel soup, and thinly sliced duck confit are among the winners. Save room for a creamy, light ginger custard or excellent house-made sorbet.
This airy, inviting café is situated on an unlikely semi-industrial Mission District street. Breakfasts include roasted-on-the-premises coffee and housemade granola, and lunches and dinner feature lightly dressed salads, terrific pizzas, plus heartier fare.
Vineyards isn't a name that was just picked out of the blue--it actually makes sense here at the edge of one of California's earliest wine-producing regions. This accessible, affordable restaurant offers about 30 wines by the glass (all kept fresh in a Cruvinet), with an emphasis on the wines of the ever-more-popular Livermore Valley. The location at the old Pleasanton train station allows you to linger over a meal and wonder whether you're really hearing that train whistle.--Diablo
The owners of the Wine Sellars wine shop just down the block have carved out a charming bistro on this Hartz Avenue corner of the Danville Hotel shops. Chef Kenneth Fredsted prepares seasonal specialties in a bistro style with a California twist. The wine list, too, is intriguing and comprehensive.--Diablo
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