19 Best Restaurants in The Bay Area, California

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. Pasta, gnocchi and risotto (when they're on the menu) 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. 

After a terrific tenure as the chef at San Francisco's True Laurel, Geoff Davis crossed the bay and opened his debut restaurant in the Temescal neighborhood in 2023. The result is clear: Burdell isn't just one of the greatest soul food restaurants in the Bay Area—it's one of the most enjoyable dining experiences in any corner of the region. Everything on the nicely organized menu is excellent, from boiled peanuts and magnificent stone-milled yellow-corn corn bread, to the compelling salads and heartier entrées. The chicken liver mousse with a crispy cornmeal waffle is already one of the East Bay's hall of fame dishes.

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 Baja kampachi crudo then English pea agnolotti, 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”). 

Friendly, informative staff serve terrific homemade pastas, filet mignon meatballs, rock crab bisque, and much more at this lively, traditional-meets-contemporary Italian restaurant just a stone's throw from the ferry. Enjoy views on the expansive heated patio overlooking the bay, or cozy up with friends on one of the high-sided wave-evoking booths near the bar. Weekend brunch and lunch menus feature paninis, burgers, and organic omelets. The impressive wine list is almost exactly half Italian and half Californian, and there's an interesting selection of a half dozen sparkling cocktails. Save room for the excellent homemade desserts.

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 (and half the price for a full meal). 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 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.

House-smoked meats, wood-grilled steaks, classic salads, and decadent desserts bring locals and visitors back again and again to this 1937 lodge–style roadhouse. Enjoy a Roadhouse martini at the cozy bar or sip local wine beside the river-rock fireplace. Outdoor dining now extends to a heated garden patio. The Buckeye Joe coffee kiosk offers drive-by java and pastries on weekday mornings.

A open, well-lit space inside with plant-printed wallpaper and a comforting fireplace sets the scene at this lively eatery. The menu features flavor inspirations from all across the globe, from shrimp and grits, to barramundi (a fish) in miso broth. Diners enjoy their meals in the sleek modern-meets-retro dining room with tufted leather booths or the covered outside patio.

There is no more glamorous and lively dining setting in San Jose than this downtown sibling to the acclaimed bar Paper Plane—and it isn't even close. With dramatic lighting, loud music, plants throughout the space and gallery-worthy chic design across two levels, this is the energetic (but not clubby) and sleek destination for cocktails and contemporary Mediterranean cuisine that the city needed and didn't have until 2024. Don't miss the loukoumades (like beignets) for dessert.

The Sausalito waterfront isn't exactly going to remind anyone of the French Riviera's beaches, but everyone enjoys the traditional bistro fare at this longtime bayside classic in a relaxed setting that feels like a sidewalk café merged with an artist's garage studio. The restaurant is both charming and petite, so make reservations or arrive early. While the concise menu might not be trailblazing, there's no better place for miles to enjoy such perfect tried-and-true standards like escargots and duck confit.

This classic Italian meets Californian menu is a stellar value where the nightly menu clocks in at a shocking (by Bay Area standards) $39.95 for three courses (the optional supplements are worth adding on). The quality is sky-high, with no corners cut. It's an energetic, fun place with guests of all ages coming to enjoy exciting pastas preceded by a soup or salad. Each course has two options to choose from.

In a cozy setting down a quiet alley with a beautiful brick-walled courtyard, peak seasonal ingredients are highlighted on the concise, well-composed menu that balances between being comforting and ambitious. Start with one of the beautifully fresh salads or local halibut ceviche before continuing on to a rustic yet refined main like duck breast with sweet potato hash and blackberry gastrique.

Many restaurants have direct relationships between nearby farms and the kitchen, but very few are truly co-owned. Here, this Oakland restaurant's owner, Aomboon Deasy, is also 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. This is literally farm directly to table when the winter puntarelle salad features that orchard's Satsuma oranges at their seasonal peak. And many other farms, orchards and ranches are given headliner status on the menu, which features a strong ensemble of contemporary Californian starters, medium-sized plates, and main courses.

Originally a terrific pop-up during the COVID-19 pandemic, chef-owner Anthony Salguero's Salvadoran-Californian restaurant quickly became a Bay Area-wide hit at its permanent Old Oakland home. Lighter-style, minimal-intervention wines pair wonderfully with the squid ceviche or the unique chicken wings with homemade hot sauce. Green walls and expansive windows add a cheerful vibe to the already energetic crowd enjoying the signature creative pupusas and excellent cocktails like a Martini Colada that is exactly as it sounds (a coconut and pineapple-flavored martini), except somehow is meticulously pulled off.

Oysters shucked moments after they're taken out of Tomales Bay and a tightly curated list of excellent wines are the keystones of this charming oyster bar. With indoor and outdoor patio seating and a concise, creative menu, this spot makes for a welcome post-hike or post-beach indulgence. True to the spirit of the region, it's dedicated to sustainable farming, foraging, and fishing. Locals swear the oysters here are as fresh as it gets. Note that it's cash and Venmo only.

A unique blend of African culinary influences along with flavors from various Latin American countries are the draw at chef Nelson German's restaurant. Each tapa is compelling (there are no main courses, though there are more than enough tempting dishes to satisfy a group) and nicely ties together the two geographic regions. This is a perfect example of a bar with excellent food or a restaurant with standout cocktails—it toes the line perfectly between the two. The decor is sleek with a gentle island theme as if it's a hip supper club in Miami. Every night feels like a party.

Spanish-inspired small plates and craft cocktails are served late at César, Berkeley's premier tapas spot. Couples spill out from street-level windows on warm nights, or rub shoulders at the polished bar and communal table. Founded by a trio of former Chez Panisse chefs, César is like a first cousin to the stalwart eatery next door.

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.

Inside a charming flower-covered house, this restaurant serves dishes that reflect the entire Mediterranean region. The menu, constantly changing and unfailingly great, depends on the availability of fresh seasonal ingredients, and the two-level dining room is cheerful and light. Excellent and long-lived but not flashy, the restaurant has a legion of dedicated fans.