20 Best Restaurants in The Bay Area, California

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.

Beloved by the Bay since opening in 1922 (the creamery itself dates back to 1894) and featured in the Pixar film Up, this is the leading diner name locally for ice cream sundaes and good old-fashioned soda fountain fare. Kids of all ages adore the signature black-and-tan sundae with toasted almond and vanilla ice creams layered with caramel and chocolate sauces. Of course, there’s a cherry on top.

Unsurprisingly, fish—specifically, fresh, sustainably caught fish—is the focus at this gleaming dockside fish house a mile north of downtown. Order at the counter and then grab a seat by the floor-to-ceiling windows or at a picnic table on the pier, overlooking the yachts and fishing boats. There are too many signature dishes to count here, and even the fish sticks on the kids menu follow the general theme as breaded and fried seasonal fish with homemade tartar sauce.

Take a short trek north on Highway 1 to the gritty mecca of Bay Area oysters—the Hog Island Marshall Oyster Farm. Here, the Boat Oyster Bar is an informal outdoor café right on Tomales Bay that serves raw and grilled oysters, local snacks, and tasty beverages. Every afternoon it's open, the dining patio area feels like a carefree party with some of Northern California's greatest wines, oysters, and cheeses. Ninety-minute oyster farm tours ($48) are also available on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. For a more proper Hog Island oyster-centric lunch or dinner experience, visit their Tony's Seafood restaurant, just south of the Boat Oyster Bar.

In a region with several outstanding destinations for fresh baguettes and levain breads, the freshly baked loaves here deserve some of the highest praise. Everything in the display case and on the cooling racks is absolutely dialed in, from the kouign-amann (like a decadent glazed dessert version of a croissant) and cookies to slices of custardy quiche and simple avocado toast.

Though this place is popular for its 1950s beachfront snack bar, the adjoining café, coffee bar, marketplace, and bakery shouldn't be missed either. The full menu serves up fresh ingredients, local seafood, Niman Ranch beef burgers, and much more. Creeping vines on the sunny patio shelter diners from the wind, and heat lamps offer extra warmth on colder days; for a cozier ambience, eat by the fire in the dining room.

Rotisserie meats and veggies sourced from local farms steal the show at this former mid-20th-century truck stop and diner. It's a go-to for tri-tip and pork belly sandwiches or hearty heirloom bean cassoulet with bratwurst, best eaten with a host of sides, sips, and sweets, like crispy Parmesan brussels sprouts, New Orleans–style cold brew coffee, and butterscotch pudding. Colorful Isis Hockenos mural art adorns the café, which has countertop dining indoors and a welcoming patio and picnic table seating outdoors. For visitors in town on select weekday mornings, this is the best place to go for breakfast.

One of the Peninsula’s best-known restaurants is this funky, family-friendly brunch specialist in the heart of tiny downtown Woodside. The restaurant is a gathering spot for the tech company executives and venture capitalists who live nearby, but it’s ultimately a blend of a saloon and a diner, where many hungry locals come looking for omelets and tuna melts. You can also get decent beer and wine. It has an outrageously eclectic design full of knickknacks and odd curiosities, like license plates on the bar, planes and bikes hanging from the ceiling, old maps and artifacts of Bay Area history, taxidermy, and about a hundred other bizarre pieces of memorabilia that would never be brought together anywhere else but here.

Sunny patio seating, hand-tossed pizza, and organic local ingredients are the selling points of this laid-back café. The semi-industrial dining room, built around a brick oven, features glazed concrete floors, warm-painted walls, and a barnlike soaring ceiling. The outdoor patio's picnic tables are a wonderful choice for seating if the weather cooperates. 

On sunny weekend afternoons, the enormous tree-covered, creekside beer garden of this countryside dining icon feels like the epicenter of Silicon Valley. It’s a popular destination for professors and graduate students to enjoy brews and sandwiches, located just beyond campus in the pastoral town of Portola Valley. And over a century ago, it was a saloon that lasted through California's rapid growth in the late 1800s and then Prohibition. Nowadays, it's a gathering spot for local families, out-of-towners looking to eat in a quintessential Northern California setting, and the many cyclists who go on rides around the nearby rolling hills.

Bright and welcoming, this American bistro on Ark Row is known for its standout seafood starters (BBQ oysters, crab stacks, grilled salmon tostadas) and salads as well as shareable dishes and burgers, grilled steaks, and ribs. The cheerful, bistro-like setting makes it easy to linger in the evening and then consider returning for a breakfast of Dungeness crab and avocado Benedict or ricotta pancakes.

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.

High ceilings and red-leather booths add to the friendly, retro atmosphere of Saul's deli, a Berkeley institution that is well known for its house-made sodas and enormous sandwiches made with Acme bread. Locals swear by the pastrami Reubens, stuffed-cabbage rolls, and challah French toast. Don't overlook the glass deli case, where you can order food to go. 

Decked out in a nautical theme with surfboards and buoys, the Coast serves weekend brunch and dependably good American lunch and dinner fare, including local fresh fish, grass-fed steaks, and wonderfully fresh vegetarian and vegan dishes. Find patio seating in the front and back and live music during dinner on Thursday and Sunday.

Though it periodically catches the attention of the national press, this 19th-century family-run roadhouse—say DOO-arts—continues to serve simple American fare with a modest, hometown attitude. The restaurant's bar is a great place to sip a whiskey, but it's also the town's liquor store, which means some locals take their orders to go. The no-frills dining room offers a solid menu based on locally grown vegetables and fresh fish.

A colorful, quirky lounge loaded with Latino tchotchkes, chatty patrons, agave margaritas, and bottles of hot sauce, Joe's is a fun place to go for cheap Mexican eats and a dive-bar-meets-living-room feel. A sizable street-food-influenced menu includes tacos, burritos, Mexican pizzas, and selections for kids of all ages.

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.

A barnlike space full of cheerful Mexican tiles and folk-art masks, Picante is a find for anyone seeking good Cal-Mex food for a song. The masa is freshly ground for the tortillas and tamales, the salsas are complex, and the flavor combinations are inventive.

Haute comfort food and childhood favorites are the focus at this charming dining nook across from the Claremont hotel. Mac and cheese and free-range chicken potpie play second fiddle to brunches of cornmeal pancakes and gingerbread waffles, which are best enjoyed on the outdoor patio.

A renovated hay barn off the main drag houses this collection of upscale food shops, which showcase local organic fruits and vegetables, premium packaged foods, and an international selection of exquisite cheeses. Cowgirl Creamery cheese is made on-site. Grab some before you head to Cowgirl Cantina for creative sandwiches, salads, and soups you can enjoy inside the café or in the outdoor picnic area.