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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.)
If there’s such a genre as refined camping fare, then that is what chef Greg Kuzia-Carmel offers guests at his warm, bustling restaurant. Local fish, meats, and produce are highlighted, with dishes that beautifully blend pastoral with contemporary. Pastas are a particular strength, as are cocktails from the fun bar. It’s a big city–feeling restaurant where it’s possible to have an ambitious meal of charcoal-stained spaghetti with Dungeness crab, but it’s also a relaxed spot for a casual date night or to come solo for a quick cheeseburger (with an incredible “secret sauce”).
Alice Waters's legendary eatery, the birthplace of California cuisine, first opened its doors in 1971. It's still known for a passionate dedication to locally sourced heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, heritage breeds, and ethically farmed or foraged ingredients. The restaurant offers formal prix-fixe menus and personal service, while its upstairs café serves simpler fare in a more casual setting. Both menus change daily, and legions of loyal fans insist that Chez Panisse lives up to its reputation. Reservations are practically essential.
A pair of French Laundry alums—protégés of some of the culinary world’s greatest chefs—are the driving forces of this fine-dining standout near the train station on California Avenue. The restaurant is split into two parts: the main formal restaurant with an elaborate tasting menu at a high price point; and the sleek lounge area where the menu is à la carte. Co-owner/master sommelier Dennis Kelly is one of the country’s brilliant wine minds, and his restaurant undoubtedly has one of the Bay Area’s truly magnificent wine programs. Co-owner/chef Anthony Secviar spearheads the excellent haute French-seasonal Californian cooking.
This Woodside institution actually is a Michelin-starred fine dining destination; the only similarity with an actual pub is that the bar has its own casual menu (the main dining room is prix-fixe with multiple choices per each course) and is frequently a gathering place for well-heeled regulars. The suave dining room with red velvet chairs and booths is a beautiful backdrop for intricate dishes that often feature produce from the nearby organic SMIP Ranch. It's the flagship restaurant for a local group that includes the acclaimed Spruce in San Francisco,
It’s a little strange for a chic, contemporary-minded restaurant to be best known for an avocado dish. However, that’s the case at chef Robbie Wilson’s suave downtown restaurant where the delicately grilled avocado has its own devoted following. The avocado has gentle grill grate marks and a ponzu sauce in the center. When a diner gets a forkful of the components, it’s a symphonic duet of creamy texture and umami-packed flavor. The bar is a popular spot for after-hours networking, while the dining room is a little more buttoned-up.
An open, well-lit space with booths and countertop seating from which diners can watch the cooks in action sets the scene at this lively eatery, which serves contemporary California cuisine and inventive cocktails. The menu focuses on locally sourced veggies and seafood. Diners can enjoy meals in the enclosed patio, alive with hanging plants and a crackling fireplace, or take their drinks and apps outdoors among the palms and firepits.
Tiburon's low-key, mostly casual dining scene received a jolt of energy when celebrity chef Michael Mina and partner Brent Bolthouse opened this hip restaurant right next to the ferry dock in 2021. It's certainly a scene and a place to dress up, yet it's also a compelling destination for terrific eats that don't adhere to many rules or cuisines other than high-quality ingredients. There's jalapeño shrimp toast and sweet potato pancakes topped with gravlax, and then there's also Mina's signature lobster potpie and a cacio e pepe pasta with shaved truffles. It's a restaurant that's hard not to love and have fun at.
A "fermentation-driven" restaurant sounds a bit odd, but you'll find a thrilling, umami-packed experience at this compact Temescal spot. With a disco ball overhead, you expect somebody to get up and dance with how groovy the vibe is. But the food and fresh, low-intervention wines are so great that nobody wants to shift their attention away from them.
Restaurants in Berkeley and San Francisco tend to get most of the credit for launching the local ingredient–focused farm-to-table California cuisine movement in the 1970s and 1980s. However, chef Jesse Cool played an enormous role in that as well when she opened this venerable restaurant in 1980. It’s a formal restaurant that also manages to be relaxed, where the menu changes frequently and always mentions many acclaimed Bay Area farms, ranches, and gardens. Pastas are a big strength for the restaurant, but the most excitement tends to come in the first course section, which includes vegetable preparations and a few compelling local seafood creations. Make sure to save room for the always satisfying, unfussy desserts.
All things local, organic, seasonal, and sustainable harmonize at Gather. This haven for vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores alike serves up market and grain salads, shareable grilled local vegetables or cheese plates, roast chicken, and more in a vibrant, well-lit space that boasts funky light fixtures, shiny wood furnishings, and banquettes made of recycled leather belts.
In a cozy setting down a quiet alley with a beautiful brick-walled courtyard, peak seasonal produce and Northern California farms and artisans are highlighted on chef Brandon Breazeale. Start with one of the beautifully fresh salads before continuing on to a rustic yet refined main like duck breast with yellow mole and squash blossom tamale.
Plumed Horse is a venerable institution for outstanding luxury mixed with the brightness and freshness of local ingredients. The posh, shimmering space is highlighted by a giant glass wine storage area. Chef-owner Peter Armellino offers an elaborate tasting menu or full à la carte menu for guests. As formal as the restaurant can seem, it’s also a place where locals come to celebrate and have fun.
Many restaurants have direct relationships between nearby farms and the kitchen, but very few are truly co-owned. Here, with chef Alan Hsu at the helm in the kitchen, top-tier local produce is showcased in excellent contemporary Californian dishes. One of the co-owners also is part of the family that owns the renowned K&J Orchards, a supplier of top-tier produce to some of the Bay Area's greatest restaurants.
It’s a trip back in time at this elegant retro sibling to the Village Pub. Dishes are grand and elaborate, often with luxurious flourishes, yet deeply rooted in the seasonal focus that is the hallmark of California cuisine. It’s a delicious tie between the sensational black label truffle burger and the honey-lacquered duck breast for what is considered the signature dish here. The main dining room serves a three-course menu with several choices in each category; the bar menu is à la carte. The handsome mid-century modern design is worth a trip alone with impeccable details like perfectly smooth white tablecloths, miniature lamps on tables, a roaring fireplace, and a dramatic arched bar backdrop in the lounge.
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