Top 25 Restaurants

In a small restaurant in Fremont, the Arsala family, led by chef and matriarch Wazhma Arsala, produces Afghan culinary classics for diners from far-flung areas of the Bay Area seeking a taste of home. The restaurant, decked out in chandeliers and vibrant Afghan artwork, has the feel of someone’s classy living room, though the food is all about comfort. There are mantoo, deeply satisfying beef dumplings ($15.99) wrapped in delicate skins and draped in a thick meat ragu and garlicky yogurt sauce; and juicy chapli kebabs ($16.99), minced beef patties flavored with chiles, coriander and onion and paired with savory spiced rice. Wazhma Arsala also is a master of the country’s famous dimpled flatbreads, sold by the slab and perfect for sopping up stews.

Just around the corner from restaurant siblings the Progress and State Bird Provisions is Anchovy Bar, where the anchovies of the world get ample time onstage. And during our local anchovy season, which runs roughly from April to October each year, the restaurant brings in the fresh catch, devoting hours of labor to cleaning each anchovy. Whether local or imported from Spain, each preparation highlights the individuality of a fish so often used as a seasoning in bigger dishes. They might be pickled and curled over coconut sambal, tucked into nests of fried onion and quail eggs ($22), or perched atop the ultimate deviled egg ($9).

Back in New York City, fine dining veterans Heidy He and Joshua Smookler were stars of the restaurant scene, thanks to their acclaimed but now-closed ramen shop in Queens. Animo, their new restaurant located in a former taqueria in Sonoma, serves Basque Txakolina wine alongside Korean soju, and tucks fatty hunks of pastrami from New York’s Katz’s Delicatessen into bowls of kimchi fried rice ($24). In the cozy dining room outfitted with mismatched chairs and wall shelves full of apples, the pair and their team deliver a flurry of singular dishes from the wood-fired oven: platters of crisp-skinned turbot ($145) flown in from Galicia, Spain, its spines charred and crunchy; and dry-aged Flannery Beef ribeye ($75), served with year-old black garlic puree, or “A1 on steroids,” as described by Smookler.

Also featured on the Top Splurge Restaurants list.

San Jose natives know that the mall food courts of Little Saigon are rife with excellent options, including beef specialist Bo Ne Phu Yen. The luxurious Franco-Vietnamese fusion dish that it’s known for is a far cry from your typical American diner’s steak and eggs: filet mignon ($20) is served on a hot cow-shape cast iron plate (complete with horns) with two sunny-side up eggs, a juicy pork meatball, pate and onions. A small loaf of crusty French bread and salad come on the side, along with a tiny cup of chile sauce. Build your perfect breakfast bites on the bread, then follow with gulps of hot jasmine tea in the food court’s shared seating area.

Also featured on the Top San Jose Restaurants list.

You’ll find loaves of spongy, yet chewy milk bread, buns filled with coconut-pandan kaya cream and Korean cheesy cornbread stuffed with eggs at this bakery, a San Francisco take on Chinese and Filipino pastry traditions. Opened by Atelier Crenn alums Katherine Campecino-Wong, Clement Hsu and James Wong in 2018, Breadbelly is known for its indulgent seasonal Viennoiserie and Mt. Tam cheesecakes ($13), but the strong and seasonal savory menu, led by Wong, is nothing to scoff at, either. During blustery seasons, the bakery serves hot mushroom broth infused with the roasty flavors of barley and filled with noodle-like enoki mushrooms and bok choy. Another dreamy option is a sandwich made with creamy egg salad ($14.50) and a crisp tempura of shredded vegetables, stuffed into a squishy milk bread bun.

Also featured on the Top Bakeries list.

The Che Fico team spins farmers’ market produce into gorgeous renditions of rustic Italian and Roman-Jewish cuisine. The menu of antipasti, including house-cured bresaola ($24) and gooey figs ($24) matched with 15-year balsamic vinegar and gorgonzola dolce, is especially appealing. Also try the startlingly original pizzas ($30), their edges so puffed they look like giant Werther’s caramels. The space is a visual feast as well. The converted body shop looks peacefully post-apocalyptic, with lush green vines trailing over the wooden beams of the ceiling. Since the pandemic, the restaurant has adopted a more equitable business model to ensure a better working environment for its staff, and the vibe in the dining room is palpably lighter. The food has become much stronger as well.

This is Oakland's premier tasting-menu ($225) restaurant, where diners can dig into more than a dozen technically refined dishes in a sleek dining room with an open kitchen. Executive chef and owner James Syhabout has allowed the fine dining restaurant to evolve over its lifetime, going from intricate, classically European-style cuisine to a menu with subtle Southeast Asian touches. The menu takes some fascinating turns: A raw oyster shimmering with vivid green pea-leaf ice might be followed by silky brown rice congee enriched with duck fat. The walk-in bar has a separate menu that’s just as thrilling, including Syhabout’s famous slow-poached egg yolk ($13) with smoked dates, alliums and malt, and bar-only originals like a petite Korean-style savory pancake with sweet Oregon pink shrimp and summer corn.

Also featured on the Top Splurge Restaurants list.

After Lindsay and Michael Tusk earned three Michelin stars with their Jackson Square fine dining restaurant, Quince, they opened Cotogna next door. The restaurant’s stately brick walls and blazing wood-fired oven give the impression of an old-style tavern, though the cuisine is anything but old school. Handmade pasta, decked out with seasonal produce from the restaurant group’s own farm, is a must for every visit. Corn triangoli ($26) are stuffed with freshly made cheese and decorated with delicate chive blossoms, and the showstopping raviolo ($28), filled with still-oozing egg yolks, is a technical marvel. Its outdoor parklet, flanked by potted olive trees and enhanced by piped-in Abba ballads, is one of the city’s best.

Also featured on the Top Outdoor Restaurants list.

The shop’s fermented products and phenomenal donabe-steamed rice and pickle bowls ($15) are one of the best-kept secrets of Berkeley’s food scene. Each bowl is a symphony of seasonal flavors and fermentation techniques, from coriander carrot pickles to cherry tomatoes marinated in koji. Asking owners Alex Hozven and Kevin Farley what's what is the funnest part of these events, and you can do that either outdoors at their new picnic tables or while eating inside the shop’s production room. Pro tip: Always get the $3 cured egg, which soaks up the flavors of hojicha, sake lees and soy sauce overnight.

Also feastured on the Top East Bay Restaurants list.

Since it opened in Temescal in 2021, bottle shop-restaurant Daytrip has remained a neighborhood hot spot. Its interior is decked out like an indie art gallery, with iridescent materials and trippy wall art, and the menu is all about pairing pickled and aged ingredients and naturally fermented wine. Serving food with heady zero-zero wines and robust ciders is a challenge, but chef and co-owner Finn Stern and his team counter those strong flavors with an arsenal of misos, infused vinegars and pickles. The restaurant’s powerfully pungent take on garlic noodles ($26) is a case in point: It includes sourdough fermented for three days, wild foraged leek miso and lacto-fermented green garlic.

Also featured in Top East Bay Restaurants .

Since 2009, Jubba has been introducing San Jose residents of all stripes to the pleasures of Somali food cooked under the watchful eye of owner Amina Sur. The blue flag of Somalia is prominently displayed in the casual dining room, where you’ll likely see families sharing triangular, meat-filled sambusas ($1.75) and humongous Sports Plates ($37.98) heaped with spaghetti and stir-fried onions, peppers and meat. The star of the menu, though, is the roasted goat cutlet ($18.99), featuring tender and fatty pieces of goat meat served on the bone with garlicky basmati rice.

Also featured on Top San Jose Restaurants .

An ambitious project by San Francisco culinary incubator and nonprofit La Cocina, this 7,000-square-foot marketplace is ceaselessly delightful. With seven vendors assembled in this space to sell pupusas, specialty coffee, gumbo and more, the bright and cheery food hall is a showcase of local culinary talent. Try the jerk chicken tacos ($4.50) at Boug Cali; a Senegalese spaghetti sandwich ($14) drizzled with pungent chermoula at Teranga; or any of the crisp, build-your-own tostadas ($16) at Los Cilantros. The space is open for dine-in lunch every weekday, and you can order for curbside pickup or delivery as well.

The highest caliber of mariscos in the Bay Area comes from a small blue truck in East San Jose called Mariscos El Charco. The seafood truck delivers on the flavors of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, which is known for the chiltepin chile. The pepper’s heat is quick to incinerate and adds incredible flavor. That blaze is best seen in the shrimp ($12) and scallop ($12) aguachile tostadas — ask for them spicy — which feature raw, marinated-to-order seafood with sliced onions, crushed peppers, lime juice and cracked pepper. The scallops are bouncy and tender while the uncooked shrimp have a melty quality. All of the seafood is sourced directly from Mazatlan, where mariscos are treated with a religious dogma. Dive into the larger aquatic plates like the Mazatlan botana ($24), full of raw and cooked shrimp, scallops and plump octopus. Or try a half order of chewy, slick blood clams (half dozen for $13) for an infusion of hemoglobin. Next to the lonchera are a few tables decorated with a basket of hot sauces and a bag of tostadas, in case you need them.

In 2020, the family that owned Green Valley Market, a Mediterranean grocery store in San Bruno, turned the space into a vibrant restaurant. It was a bold move during the pandemic, but over time the restaurant blossomed into the joyful gathering place that it is today. Neon signs, Arab pop art and faux floral installations proliferate in the wide-open space. The menu is a mixture of wood-fired Levantine street food and new-wave dishes, including my favorite, a whole head of tender and crisp purple cauliflower ($11) draped in an earthy tahini sauce. Large-format dishes, like spit-roasted garlic chicken ($18) are excellent to share and are available as family-size packs complete with side dishes.

With an extensive background in contemporary French cuisine, chef Kosuke Tada has brought a new-school perspective to San Francisco’s dining scene. Mijoté, co-owned by Tada and his wife, Grace Mitchell Tada, hosts nightly exercises in a light and seasonal style of cooking that feels right at home in California. The four-course prix fixe menus ($82) change every week, showcasing ingredients like maitake mushrooms, bigeye tuna and wok-cooked Swiss chard in simple but potent combinations. Also of note is the sauce work — concoctions of citrusy beurre blanc and herbal salsa verde unite seemingly disparate elements on the plate. The restaurant focuses on natural wines, with rotating by-the-glass selections noted on a chalkboard.

In a corner space in San Francisco’s Richmond District, married couple Yoko and Clint Tan have worked tirelessly to bring their dream of top-quality ramen into reality. The noodles are the centerpiece of a fascinating tasting menu experience ($175) that walks the diner through the flavors of modern Japanese cuisine. You’ll find the noodles served in different forms depending on the type of soup (or lack thereof): as ebi shio, in a translucent salt-seasoned broth paired with spot prawns and meaty New Caledonian blue shrimp; or tossed with rich Wagyu beef fat in an indulgent take on abura soba. It’s been a long journey for the self-taught chefs, who made a name for themselves by hosting pop-ups on Feastly and even competing in a global ramen competition. This restaurant is a culmination of all that effort, and the Tans’ enthusiasm is palpable in every course.

Oculto is found on the second-floor mezzanine of a suburban food hall in Castro Valley. Chef Mikey Ochoa’s fascination with vegetables always shines through the seasonal menu, which might offer a smoky eggplant tostada ($14) slathered with tangy romesco and topped with crunchy summer beans. But it’s the chicken ($39) that’s the showstopper with a thin, crisp skin that glistens with salsa macha. Just like the lauded roasted chicken from San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe, it takes a while to make, so put in the order early. Of course, there are plenty of comfort dishes to explore, too, like a mollete ($13), a slice of brioche topped with well-spiced, creamy black beans, heirloom tomatoes and queso fresco, or crisp papas bravas ($18) finished with gooey cheese and onion aioli.

Also featured on Top Fries in the Bay Area .

Can a bakery create systemic change in the restaurant world? Reem’s is banking on that possibility. A former community organizer-turned-baker, Reem Assil has used her bakery as the launch site for big ideas: a training program for future restaurant world leaders and a model of worker-ownership, all while creating superb Palestinian-Californian cuisine. The brightly colored San Francisco location serves an array of wholesome Arab pastries, mezze dishes and flatbreads in its dining room and parklet, and food is also available for bicycle delivery. Hearty pastries, like the triangular, spinach-filled fatayer sabanikh ($4.50), make an ideal breakfast with a cup of mint tea. But it's the mana'eesh ($6-$15), flatbreads cooked on a dome-shape grill called a saj, that are the highlight of the menu. Thin, crisp and snackable, they're topped with ingredients like za'atar spices, creamy labneh and yogurt-fermented bulgur. Plus: $10 pay-it-forward meals allow diners to help subsidize the business' work feeding neighbors in need.

Also featured on Top Middle Eastern Restaurants .

Berkeley’s Rose Pizzeria excels in thin, crisp pies and sunny vibes. Like the name suggests, the restaurant’s patio is surrounded by roses, creating a lovely atmosphere, especially when the sun is out. Starting with a plate of anchovies or baked feta is always a good idea, but you shouldn’t skip salad: Rose makes a bangin’ Caesar ($12) flecked with bread crumbs and miso from Shared Cultures. The main attraction, though, is the pizza. Try the Reed Sauce ($19), which has smoked mozzarella and pickled jalapeños, or the Old Faithful ($22), an homage to Chicago red sauce pies with sausage and red peppers. Even classics like pepperoni ($22) and the Hawaiian-style Beach Club ($22) get an upgrade by way of high-quality meats like Ezzo pepperoni for the former and mortadella instead of ham for the latter. Rose is less concerned with regional specificity than texture and flavor, and most of the ’za gets a sprinkle of sheep’s milk pecorino for extra punch. The small pizzeria focuses most of its energy on the dine-in experience, but you can order pizza to-go. If it's busy, though, takeout can take some time.

Also featured on Top East Bay Pizza .

In the open kitchen of San Francisco’s Saison, bundles of herbs hang from ceiling-mounted racks and sparks fly as the cooks stoke the grand wood-fired grill. Around the dining room, mounted antelope and deer heads, seemingly frozen mid-bleat, preside over the scene. Saison’s hunting lodge-chic aesthetic and its pursuit of a more combustive take on California cuisine immediately distinguished it in cosmopolitan San Francisco when it opened in 2008, and the menu continues to impress under the leadership of chef de cuisine Richard Lee. The food here is showy, but just-so: caviar is unwrapped tableside from a pouch of kelp; tea is steeped with floral bouquets fit for a fairy’s wedding; and smoke-kissed duck hearts are theatrically skewered on twigs of pine. The full tasting menu is $328, while the abridged version is $228.

Also featured on Top Splurge Restaurants .

Launched as a pandemic takeout operation, San Ho Won opened in the Mission District in November. Ferried by the promise of high-end grilled meats as well as the reputation of its owner, the chef behind Michelin-starred Benu, the restaurant has been one of the region’s tougher reservations to snag. Juicy beef tongue ($48), thick slabs of short rib galbi ($46) and whole Cornish hens ($36) are grilled over odorless lychee wood charcoal and served with best-in-class banchan and dipping sauces. A “house menu” ($94) of family-style dishes comes with a flurry of meats and smaller dishes, like a wobbly egg soufflé (gyeranjjim), which gets an oceanic overtone with seaweed sauce and anchovy broth.

Also featured on Top Korean Restaurants .

Born of a desire to model a more sustainable way to enjoy sushi, this Mission District izakaya is a showcase of all the ways one can manipulate a vegetable. Chef team Kin Lui and Ray Wang ferment, pickle, sear and simmer produce to create a diverse menu of plant-based items to satisfy your sushi cravings. Here, nigiri is topped with pristine slices of poached tomato ($8) flavored with ginger and soy; ramen ($16) is topped with chewy and savory bean curd chashu; and California rolls ($9) get their heft from crab-like shredded tofu. Reservations are required for dining in, though takeout is available.

Also featured on Top Vegetarian Restaurants .

Deep inside Petaluma’s 100-year-old Lan Mart building is Street Social, a year-old restaurant by married couple Marjorie Pier and Jevon Martin. The former is the face you’ll most often see in the dining room, while the latter is the brain behind the restaurant’s surprising and lively weekly menu. You might see a prawn cocktail cooled by a funky absinthe granita, pan-seared gnocchi in a Cheddar sauce with potato chips on top, and crispy pig ears. Martin’s crisp, fast food-like Kurobuta pork nuggets ($8) are a knockout; paired with a refreshing watermelon hot sauce, the dish completely captures the tastes of a classic Southern picnic.

After a series of fried chicken pop-ups and a residency at Wishbone, Table Culture Provisions has finally found a permanent home in an intimate and welcoming space in central Petaluma. Chef-owners Stéphane Saint Louis and Steven Vargas are continuing to refine their vision of Californian haute cuisine in a five- or seven-course tasting menu format ($80/$95). A welcome basket of house-made potato chips signals that the vibe won’t be too serious, though. Inspirations are seasonal and global, reflected in courses like local halibut cured in Peruvian leche de tigre and Liberty duck rillettes paired with a thick and earthy kohlrabi velouté.

With a menu by Marin County native Scott Whitman, formerly the executive chef of Sushi Ran in Sausalito, Village Sake neatly balances informal appeal and gorgeous presentation. Corn tempura ($11) surrounds sweet kernels in a light batter that suggests fragile soap bubbles, and county fair-appropriate doughnuts ($11) are paired with miso caramel. Slow-cooked pork belly skewers ($12) are delightfully fatty and get a sprinkle of citrus-forward sansho pepper to lighten the palate. Pair your meals with something from the diverse sake list by sake sommelier Hiromi Higuchi.

Also featured on Top Japanese Restaurants .