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The Bay Area is home to popular, innovative restaurants such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Commis in Oakland—for which reservations must be made well in advance. Expect an emphasis on locally grown produce, hormone-free meats, and California wines. Many Marin cafés don't serve dinner, and dinner service ends on the early side. (No 10 pm reservations in that neck of the woods.)
Talk about a career pivot—after years of cooking at San Francisco fine-dining standouts Saison and Benu, chef-owner Scott Clark traded in formal kitchens for a revamped caboose along the Half Moon Bay coast. Here, he opens for limited hours and serves a concise menu of outstanding hamburgers and mushroom sandwiches that are a perfect example of wholesome comfort food done with the careful technique and ingredient sourcing of a chef from a gastronomic background. There is no seating inside the caboose, so diners either sit at one of the few outdoor tables or hustle their burgers to the beach for a particularly special picnic.
This East Coast–style waterfront seafood joint may not be textbook Cape Cod, but that's okay—dine here, and you'll get the best of both coasts: fresh West Coast seafood prepared with traditional East Coast recipes. Indoor seats are in several long dining rooms; cozy outdoor seats are warmed by gas fire pits and heaters on chilly days; and every seat in the house looks out to the water.
The Peninsula’s leading barbecue has only been grilling and smoking at its El Granada home since 2020, but it’s already a favorite choice for Bay Area residents looking for an excellent hearty lunch on a coastal road trip day. All of the beef and pork is of very high quality and the sausage links are made in-house. Weekends often have intriguing specials like chicken legs and cider and herb-brined turkey breast. Unlike many fellow barbecue destinations, the menu goes well beyond the normal fare with local cod tacos, fresh salads, and a burger made of house-ground brisket.
The coast at its most dressed up, Cetrella is all polished wood and pressed tablecloths, and it hits every mark: adventurous wine list, live jazz on Friday and Saturday night, and a creative menu that pairs regional produce and fish with choice imported ingredients. The resulting dishes are sophisticated but not stuffy. The bar has a smaller and cheaper but no less delectable menu, and Sunday brunch is popular.
A coastal dining stop between San Francisco and Monterey, this casual upscale restaurant serves farm-to-table Italian dishes in a spacious setting complete with a full bar and lounge. It's a great spot for family dinners and date nights, but the dining room can get noisy on evenings when musicians play live music in the bar.
Kim Levin’s ode to rustic Italian cuisine in a lofty, natural light–filled space continues to thrill fervent regulars each week. Around 10 pastas are offered each evening, making it very difficult for diners to decide from the many tempting options. Classic preparations like tagliatelle Bolognese and spaghetti puttanesca are given unique touches, like adding pancetta to the former and day-boat scallops to the latter. The adjacent lounge shakes and stirs Half Moon Bay’s best cocktails.
It’s a little backwards to enjoy Maine lobster while gazing out at the Pacific, but when the crustacean meat is as wonderful as it is at this coastal icon, nobody cares what ocean is in the distance. Chowder may be in the name, but Sam’s is all about that glorious lobster roll, served “naked” (warm with butter) or "dressed" (chilled with lemon aioli). There’s an enormous menu beyond the lobster roll, but most tables don’t get very far beyond the central staple dish. The restaurant can be a hectic scene on weekends, so it definitely pays off to come at non-peak hours or to reserve a table ahead of time.
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