Top San Jose Restaurants

In this land of arugula-topped pizzas and elaborately sauced square pies, it may seem odd to stick to the plain slice ($4.50) at this New York-style pizzeria, as its co-founder, Kirk Vartan suggests. But it’s the best way to appreciate what this shop does right: its crust’s crisp bottom, its well-balanced tomato sauce, and its just-right layer of mozzarella on top. There are many pretenders to the New York-style pizza throne in the Bay Area, but this spot is the real deal. Besides pizza, the shop nails every aspect, from cheesecakes ($4) imported from New York’s Wyandanch, Long Island, to chewy and crusty garlic knots ($6).

Maritime motifs and worn farming tools round out the idiosyncratic decor at this Portuguese restaurant, which recently became the first San Jose restaurant to earn a coveted Michelin star. Chefs David Costa and Jessica Carreira collaborate on a seven-course tasting menu ($229) that plays with classic Portuguese flavors: bacalhau (salted cod), custardy pastel de nata (the blueprint of Cantonese egg tarts) and blood sausage among them. The restaurant’s wine collection, numbering more than 200 vintages, opens myriad possibilities for oft-surprising pairings.

Similar to Cantonese cheong fun, Vietnamese banh cuon are steamed rice rolls beloved for their warmth and plushness. At Banh Cuon Tay Ho, the popular street food dish comes with a variety of toppings (including some vegetarian variations) made to contrast with the soft rolls. The most popular version, the eponymous banh cuon Tay Ho dac biet ($11.95), includes the rolls, stuffed with peppery ground pork and powdered dried shrimp, a crisp fried spring roll, spongy ham, fermented pork, pakora-like yam fritters and a fried prawn cake. Season the whole plate liberally with fish sauce, provided at each table in a jumbo-size jug.

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.

San Jose’s Danbi is a sweet, family-run spot with a lengthy menu of soups and stews served incredibly hot. There’s the budae-jigae ($19.95), the “Army” stew filled with tofu, Spam, American cheese, squeaky enoki mushrooms and ramen noodles; and spicy shredded beef soup ($18.95) with slippery udon noodles. The restaurant is also known for its meat jun ($19.95), a Hawaiian-Korean dish made of crisp pieces of thin-cut, soy sauce-marinated beef cooked in an egg batter. Moist and tender, it’s a popular option for folks who aren’t so into spicy food. One of the highlights of eating inside is the overwhelmingly cute wall of kids’ drawings in the back of the dining room — a good sign that this place knows how to handle antsy little ones.

It’s hard to imagine Japantown without Gombei, which is among the oldest restaurants in the historic neighborhood. Opened in the 1980s by immigrant Shiro Kubota, the restaurant is a magnet for those who crave a taste of Japanese comfort food: broiled mackerel ($15) with blistered skin; oyako don ($14), a rice bowl topped with a shimmering mixture of egg, dashi, onion and chicken; and generous bowls of udon topped with fried shrimp. Accordingly, its nostalgic diner-style counter seating is prime real estate for Japantown old-timers. Sidewalk seating and takeout are also available.

In order to try the breakfast sandwiches from pop-up Hash N Dash, you’re going to have to get up early . Most pop-ups begin at 8 a.m. sharp and sell out within a few hours, usually around 11 a.m. Hash’s claim to fame is the formidable 408 Smash ($10). It’s modeled after the sausage egg McMuffin but made in the style of a smashburger, flattening ground pork on a ripping-hot flat top for rich, crispy edged results. Built on a toasted English muffin, the sandwich is layered with gooey American cheese, spiced mayo, maple syrup, grilled onions and (optional, but recommended) sliced jalapeños (50 cents). The pop-ups generally occur over the weekend at San Jose specialty coffee shops like Academic Coffee and Chromatic Coffee. Check Instagram for exact details.

Every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday, couple and business partners DuyAn and Hieu Le command a San Jose street corner with their pop-up, Hết Sẩy. The home cooks-turned-entrepreneurs offer sweet-and-salty air-dried sausages ($25) made with homemade wine; fermented fish sauces; and chile oils ($9) made from scratch, serving the ingredients in their take on southern Vietnamese cuisine. The menu changes, but the food is always personal. One week, Hieu served a version of his mother's Vietnamese-style spaghetti, the sauce seasoned with fish sauce and red vinegar. In December, DuyAn featured her take on her hometown's chicken-centered hu tieu, mixed with chicken skin, creamy liver and rice noodles. Regardless of what's on the menu, you'll likely learn something new every time about what Vietnamese food can be.

In 2018, Texas-born Jackie Jackson opened her restaurant in San Jose’s Japantown, luring customers with the tantalizing aromas of fried fish, smoked brisket and peach cobbler. In 2020, Johnson was confronted by the pandemic, as well as a fire that consumed her restaurant. Thankfully, she was able to reopen Jackie’s Place, and even increase its capacity, in a former steak house and banquet hall on North First Street. If you want chicken here, you can get it smothered in white, peppery gravy or as juicy fried wings ($9). And if you’ve accepted that you’re on earth for a good time and not a long time, the restaurant’s fried chicken skin chips ($7) are exceptional.

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 ($3) and humongous Sports Plates ($36.99) 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.

For a classic fine dining experience, try Le Papillon, which has entranced San Jose diners with its haute cuisine since 1977. The dining room is on the quieter side but the staff is congenial and kind, making this an excellent option for special occasions and fancy dates. You can try one of two dining styles here: the six-course tasting ($165), which tends to start with seafood before moving to interesting meat courses like pheasant breast and deer loin with huckleberry sauce; or the three- or four-course prix fixe ($105/$125), which you can customize from a seasonal menu.

At Luna (an acronym for Local, Unrefined, Natural, Authentic), chef, owner and San Jose native Jo Lerma-Lopez and her team really do it all. They nixtamalize corn in-house every day before transforming it into masa for fresh tortillas. They make the salsas, chorizo and cashew crema from scratch. This Californian-Mexican restaurant is also accommodating to all diets, which makes it popular among vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free folks. Although it sounds like mostly health food, the menu does have a wild side: Check out the deluxe mixed grill ($108-$329), a smoky and extravagant tower of lobster tails, ribs, carnitas, sausage and much more, made for sharing and accompanied by numerous side dishes. Luna is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner at both of its South Bay locations.

The tri-colored shrimp aguachiles ($20) from Mariscos Costa Alegre is a rainbow of pepper spice. Each color corresponds to the type of chiles used to marinate the shrimp: The green from serranos, the red from earthy chile de arbol and the black from charred peppers. One way to make it through the spice is to double down with a frosty, chamoy-lined mug of michelada ($9.50). The mariscos operation has three locations around San Jose; at each, every customer is given a free small cup of seafood broth. The smoky-spicy, umami-packed cup is but a small taste of the Zombie soup ($17) — consisting of veggies, shrimp and jaiba (imitation crab) — and is a great hangover cure.

Mariscos El Charco sells incredible seafood from a turquoise lonchera parked in a strip-mall lot. The secret is the chiles: The truck exclusively uses chiltepin, adding a pin-point precise blaze of pepper heat that sucks you in. For solo diners, tostadas are a great way to sample multiple aguachiles like shrimp ($12), which are raw and marinated-to-order, as are the springy, tender scallops ($12). Or maybe you’re in need of a hemoglobin infusion, for that, go with the half dozen of blood clams ($13). But mariscos are often a communal experience, so El Charco also has larger plates of mixed seafood like the Mazatlan botana ($24) or cocteles like the campechana ($20). If you can stomach the heat, definitely order everything spicy; otherwise each table has a crate of bottled hot sauces to customize from.

The team behind Left Bank Brasserie, longtime La Folie chef Roland Passot’s mini-empire of French restaurants, opened this pan-Mediterranean restaurant in 2019. Surrounded by luxury shops and restaurants in Santana Row, Meso still stands out with bold food and equally splashy decor: Think large indoor trees and a lit, stringy waterfall fountain. Deceptively simple dishes like turmeric-hued roasted cauliflower stun with its use of bright citrus, honey-spiked yogurt and crisp quinoa. For something with more punch, the beef shish kebab ($18) with tangy harissa is smoky and tender, if small for the price. More substantial, meaty dishes include a seared branzino ($44) primed for sharing over tangy yogurt and herby zhoug.

Oaxacan food in the Bay Area is sparse to say the least, but this lonchera parked at a gas station is a kind of haven. At Mi Rinconcito Oaxaqueño you can find many delicacies from Oaxaca like memelas ($5.50), enmoladas ($15.50) and tlayudas ($24). The latter is quite large and starts with thin, crisp tlayudas — saucer-sized tortillas imported from Oaxaca — which are slathered with asiento (lard), avocado leaf-flavored black bean puree, stringy quesillo, shredded cabbage and three types of meat (chorizo, adobo-slathered pork and cecina). It’s enough to feed several and is best consumed at picnic tables on-site while still crisp; if you elect to do takeout, it’s packed into a pizza box. The memelas made with a thick corn disk, roughly the size of a large taco, are brushed with asiento and topped with the aforementioned licorice-heavy black beans and stringy cheese, to which you should add chorizo for more heft.

Wife-and-husband team Elizabeth and Juan Ballona of Nano’s Chicharrones are true fried pork savants. Every week their home restaurant announces sale dates, where you can pre-order chicharron by the pound ($18). The chicharrones aren’t your typical garden variety: These are made using thick pork belly and fried until deep brown. The skin crackles like glass; flavor is intensified by phenomenal red and green salsas, which are among the spiciest in the Bay Area and can be purchased in six-ounce increments ($5). Occasionally, Nano’s also has other dishes available for pre-order, like massive Tijuana-style tacos on flour tortillas ($8) or silky chicharron simmered in salsa verde, which is available by the plate ($15) or pound ($12).

Founded by the team behind San Jose’s Danbi, Omogari is another excellent addition to the South Bay city’s nascent Korean food scene. The interior is modest, with muted decor, though the food adds plenty of character to the experience. If you’ve got a taste for over-the-top spectacles — and broiled cheese — Omogari’s got you covered. Check out the Flamin’ Fondue Chicken ($26.95), which combines the gooey sweetness of Korean corn cheese with mildly spicy, gochujang-flavored chicken stir-fry. While the dish is 70% cheese pull, the tender chicken is a delight, especially when paired with bites of the restaurant’s sharp and well-fermented kimchi.

Free-range chicken is the modus operandi of this lively family-owned restaurant, which the Tran family has been operating in Vietnam Town since 2014. The best dish to start with is the chicken rice plate, or cơm gà rô ti ($14.25). A quarter of crisp-skinned and moist rotisserie chicken is served alongside a heap of tomato-flavored rice, a bubbly sunny-side up egg, salad and a chile sauce for dipping. A single bite of silky egg yolk, roasted chicken skin and rice is packed with complementary textures and flavor notes. Although just the plate is enough to fill your belly, you'll also receive a small side of chicken soup with a refreshing garnish of cilantro and green onion.

Previously operating out of a nightclub , Slice of Homage is now slinging hot ’za out of San Pedro Social, an arcade and bowling alley in downtown San Jose. This jack-of-all-trades pizzeria specializes in three styles: Detroit, New York and Sicilian. All benefit from the use of quality ingredients like buttery toma cheese and tangy Stanislaus tomatoes. The square, pepperoni-adorned Red Head Detroit-style pizza (mini for $27) will never fail you with its salty, crispy edges. The margherita ($16-29), meanwhile, dazzles with simple ingredients and marvelous execution. For a veritable feast, the Sicilian-style Pizza Guy ($46), with pepperoni, sausage ricotta cheese and a crunchy crust, can feed a small town. Currently, the pizzeria is only selling pizza by the pie, but soon will offer slices too. Slice of Homage partnered with San Pedro Social, operating out of a space directly next door. You can enjoy your pie at tables inside San Pedro Social or take it to go.

Since 2018, the Scratch Cookery food truck has been making the rounds at San Jose’s breweries. What’s not to like about craft beer and fried chicken? The Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich ($15.50) comes in spice increments of 1-7, with 7 being the hottest, and one you’ll probably need to write up a will for. You can neutralize some of that heat by getting the truck’s grilled cheese sandwich ($17.50), which stuffs the chicken between two slices of Texas toast lined with griddled shredded cheese. Halal chicken is also an option. Owner Conner Vu posts his weekly schedule on Instagram, so check there to see where he’ll be when the truck opens on Thursdays through Sundays.

Run by the Huang family, Sogo has been making small-batch, organic artisan tofu and soy products in San Jose for decades. Great Taiwanese food is hard to find in the Bay Area, but Sogo’s selection of vegetarian and vegan specialties is a reliable source. Highlights include ultra-soft bao filled with spinach, hearty fan tuan (sticky rice wraps, $3.99-$5.49) filled with fried crullers and vegan “pork” floss, and a variety of steam-table dishes that you can buy as a bento set ($12). There is no seating here, but nearby Hoover Park has plenty of grassy space ready for a picnic blanket.

This lonchera only sells one kind of taco ($3.50), but it’s among the very best in the great Bay Area’s present golde n age of tacos , recreating the famed dish from Acaponeta, Nayarit, of roasted pig with a crackly plank of lechon. Before service, the young couple who run the business roast a whole pig in a contraption called a Caja China, which uses charcoal heat to create a snappy skin. That juicy pork is chopped down and used for tacos, which are topped with a piquant mustard-based tomato salsa that adds a well-balanced bitter dimension.

Opened in 2006 by the Quan family, Thiên Long is a true mom-and-pop shop that is a favorite of many Vietnamese families in San Jose. As you sit, you’re always hearing the snap and sizzle of turmeric-stained fish dancing on tabletop grills all around you. Chả cá lã vọng ($32.95), the restaurant's standout turmeric and dill fish feast, comes with everything you need to set up a summer roll factory at your table: rice paper, fresh shiso and lettuce, bouncy rice vermicelli noodles and fermented shrimp sauce. Thiên Long also serves a few dishes that are rarities in Bay Area Vietnamese restaurants, like the bánh bột chiên trứng ($11.25), a grid of rice cakes seared until crunchy and fluffy on the inside, and then encased in a sheet of fried egg.

Duck salad might sound precious, but at Vịt Đồng Quê, a duck-centric restaurant in Little Saigon, it’s anything but. The dish ($14.95) is a veritable mountain of slices of moist poached duck, shredded green and red cabbage, banana blossom, fried shallots and fresh herbs, which you drizzle with a punchy, ginger-spiked fish sauce vinaigrette. A generous helping of musky rau răm (also known as laksa leaf or Vietnamese coriander) adds depth to the salad. Round out your meal with creamy rice porridge with giblets and duck meat ($13.25) and banana leaf-wrapped rice cakes with pork and shrimp ($6.25). There are a few tables outside, but most take their orders to-go.

Few foods are as beautiful — and nutritious — as the Ethiopian restaurant’s vegetarian combo. At San Jose’s Zeni, named after owner Zeni Gebremariam, the dish ($16) is an eye-catching mixture of colors: berbere-flavored red lentils, yellow split peas simmered in turmeric, a root vegetable medley, stewed collard greens, and a fresh green salad served on injera. Try it with a sip of the restaurant’s honey wine served in intricately painted bottles. Much of the restaurant is decorated with the same eye for detail, including the charming thatched-roof hut in the dining room and the sumptuous, vividly colored paintings of Ethiopian figures on the walls.