Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
| Restaurants | Price |
Ranking |
Notes/What to Order |
| Restaurant (style) |
$
< 10 $$$$$ > 75 |
Out
of 3 +'s |
+ If it's on the way ++ Deserves a detour +++ Deserves a special trip |
| Coming up... |
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| Aqua (California) |
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| Fleur de Lys (French) |
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| Lalime's (Cal Med) |
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| Limon (Peruvian) |
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| Bistro Jeanty (French) |
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| Slanted Door (Vietnamese) |
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| Oakland/Rockridge |
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| A Cote (French) | $$ |
French tapas, mussels are
good. French bistro like, very casual and fun. Fairly
pricey. |
|
| Bay Wolf (California) |
$$$$ |
Cal French |
|
| Cafe Fanny (French) |
$$ |
French cafe. |
|
| Citron
(French) |
$$$$ |
+ |
Sesonal. Menu changes monthly, chef's
tasting
menu is great. |
| Chez
Panisse (California) |
$$$$ |
+ |
Changes daily. This is where California
cuisine all started. A must visit for gourmands. Fruit
desserts are great. |
| Cesar (Spanish) |
$$ |
+ |
Spanish tapas, onion and potato
torta. Over on Piedmont ave but they also have a restaurant in
Berkeley near Chez Panisse. |
| Everett & Jones (Barbecue) | $ |
++ |
Collard greens, yams are excellent, order the combo meat, it's all good. A must visit place to eat in Oakland but always crowded. |
| JoJo's (French) Review |
$$$$ | + |
Favorite French restaurant in Oakland. Run by a couple who both worked at Olivetos and Chez Panisse. Very small restaurant, somewhat limited menu, w/ seasonal changes. |
| Oliveto's
(Italian) |
$$$$ |
Paul Bertoli from Chez Panisse. Italian
food. Changes often. |
|
| Soi4
(Thai) |
$$ |
+ | Upscale Thai food. Satays are good, Indian
bread tasty, and curry was good. Small place, very loud. |
| Lalime's (Cal Med) | |||
| Lotus Thai (Thai) |
$ |
+ | Tom Yung Gong soup, curries. A staple
restaurant for us. |
| Gingerbread House
(Cajun) |
$$$ |
Gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crab
stuffed snapper. Other stuff not so great. Call for reservations. |
|
| Le Cheval (French Vietnamese) |
$$ |
Anything in clay pot. Large place, always
busy. Call ahead for reservations. |
|
| Cactus
Taqueria (Mexican) |
$ |
chile relleno, burritos, uses niman ranch
meat for steak and pork. Great salsa. A staple
restaurant. |
|
| Dona Tomas
(Mexican) |
$$ |
Bougie Mexican food. Okay. |
|
| Yoshi's
(Japanese) |
$$ |
Go for the Jazz, food/sushi not great. |
|
| Koryo |
$$ |
kalbi, bul go gee, not as good
as Brother's. |
|
| Zachary's Chicago Deep Dish Pizza | $ | ++ | Get the spinach and mushroom, the special deep dish. Almost as good as Chicago pizza. Always packed! A good trick is to call in advance for pick-up or dining in because it takes forever to cook. |
| San Francisco |
|||
| Absinthe |
$$$ |
French Bistro in the Hayes
Valley. Place is ok. |
|
| Gary Danko (California) | $$$$$ |
+++ | Excellent. Food as good as French
Laundry, great wine selection and great service. Cheese course
was
impressive. Easily the Best restaurant in San Francisco. |
| Boulevard
(California) |
$$$$ |
+ |
Food is pretty good. Classic French style
but flavors from all over so very California cuisine like. |
| Cafe Tiramisu (California/French) |
$$$ |
||
| Le Colonial (Vietnmaese) |
$$$ |
Foo foo Vietnamese. Nice vibe. |
|
| Brother's (Korean) |
$$ |
+ |
kalbi and bulgo gi. Yum. Can't remember
which is best Brother's 1 or 2. Both are on the same steet just
block or two away. Great with a group of people. |
| House of Nan King (Szechuan) |
$ |
+ |
Just ask Peter the owner for what's good.
Can't go wrong with eggplant and seafood. |
| Yank Sing
(Dim Sum) |
$$ |
+ | Dim sum go for the crab and peking duck. |
| Other Bay Area |
|||
| French Laundry
(French) Yountville |
$$$$$ |
+++ | Seasonal. Thomas
Keller's amazing restaurant. 3 months advanced reservations only,
it's a dining event not just a dinner out. It's for serious
foodies and those w/ some serious cash money. If you want reservations, best time is Feb 28, and end of months like the 30th. |
| Bouchon
(French) Yountville |
$$$$ |
++ |
Absolute most favorite restaurant. French
Laundry dinner for 2 is like $500 at least. Bouchon is a lot more
reasonable, just as good, and classic French bistro dishes. Great
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, try it all. |
| Spectator Restaurant CIA (California) Napa |
$$$ |
+ | Seasonal. changes often. A must visit in
Napa. |
| Tra
Vigne (Italian) Napa |
$$$$ |
+ | Seasonal. changes often. Michael
Chiarello's restaurant. A tad overrated. |
| Emery Bay Food Court (Everything) Emeryville |
$ |
korean bbq, crepes, thai iced tea, vietnamese,
afghan,
samosas |
|
| Sushi
House
(Japanese) Alameda |
$$ |
+ | Alameda, A's, Raider's roll, Lion King, Rainbow
roll, Dynamite/Crunchy, Poki Roll. A staple restaurant. |
| Kirala (Japanese) | $$$ |
++ | Yummy, great quality fish! (and
a
real salad). Long wait. |
| Taqueria Ramiro & Sons (Mexican) Alameda |
$ |
burritos - carnitas, and quesadillas. a
must visit. |
|
| Chevy's (Tex-Mex)
Alameda |
$ |
chips & salsa, fajitas, strawberry margaritas |
|
| Guaymas
(Mexican) Tiburon |
$$ |
+ | duck in pippian sauce, awesome view of San
Francisco, take the ferry in or stop by mid-bike ride. |
| Bakeries/Other |
|||
| Acme Bread Company |
$ |
sweet baguettes and batards. | |
| La
Farine Bakery |
$ |
+ | Morning buns are awesome!
Croissants, buns, etc. very flaky. |
| Nabolom Bakery |
$ |
Yummy Danish |
|
| It's All Good Bakery (North Oakland) |
$ |
+ | all good...Sweet potato pie, german chocolate
cake |
| Great Harvest (Rockridge) |
$ |
Rockridge crunch, cinnamon rolls |
|
| Noe Valley Bread Company (San Francisco) |
$ |
sandwich bread |
|
| Semifreddi's (Oakland) |
$ |
sweet baguettes and batards. |
|
| Grace's Baking (Rockridge) |
$ |
pugliese bread, tarts |
|
| Peet's Coffee
(Piedmont) |
$ |
+ | Major Dickason's Blend ** (apparently a fav. of
Lance Armstrong among other Bay Area folks). Arabian Mocha-Java ***, Sumatra **, Guatemala, Sierra Dorado Blend 101, Top Blend, House Blend, Holiday Blend, New Guinea |
| Phoenix Pastificio (Berkeley) | $ |
+ | Don't miss olive bread, best macaroons.
Pasta is good. |
| Cheese
Board (Berkeley) |
$ |
+ | Huge selection o' cheese |
| Tucker's Ice Cream (Alameda) |
$ |
+ | mango ice cream, cakes (wedding
cakes too) by Henry! Henry is awesome! |
| Market Hall (Rockridge) |
$$ |
olive oil, cheese, lots of other
bougie food, etc. |
|
| Genova (Temescal) |
$ |
Italian deli. Great
sandwiches, go early to miss lunch crowd. Always busy. |