Taqueria San Bruno is a worthy pitstop located near the San Francisco Airport. The neon green taqueria is hard to miss, and though the building itself may be tiny, the burritos and tacos are quite the opposite: hefty and loaded. The burritos, which are packed with generous heaps of seasoned meat, rice, and beans, often draw big crowds of patrons who are eager to swarm the self-serve salsa bar. Protein options run the gamut, but some of the most beloved choices include grilled shrimp, blackened fish, carne asada, tripas, and spicy chorizo. Fruity agua frescas are a refreshing pairing to the meal. 

At the Sea Breeze Motel in Pacifica lies Nick’s Rockaway, a historic casual seafood spot with grand views of the Pacific Ocean. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, the restaurant’s menu is noticeably expansive, offering a large variety of seafood entrees, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pasta. The prawn cocktails and fried prawns are popular choices among the appetizers, while many customers visit just for the famous grilled crab sandwich, which features Dungeness crab with tomato on grilled Wedemeyer sourdough. The atmosphere is especially lively on Fridays and Saturdays when live music and dancing take over the bar and lounge area. 

New England Lobster Market & Eatery brings the East Coast seafood dining experience to the Bay Area. Though the shop opened as a wholesale shellfish distributor in 1987, it’s since expanded to a restaurant location in Burlingame, which serves an extensive menu of seafood platters, salads, and other fare. All the fish served at the restaurant was caught no more than two days prior. Even with the impressive array of seafood offerings, lobster reigns supreme — the lobster roll, lobster corn chowder soup, and lobster tail platters are the most frequently ordered dishes. 

Sushi Yoshizumi is one of the most coveted reservations in the Bay Area and for good reason. Chef Akira Yoshizumi specializes in the centuries-old Edomae style of sushi from Japan, which refers to a style of food preservation that doesn’t rely on refrigeration. This subsequently affects how cuts of fish are specially cured and how rice is prepared with akazu, an aged red vinegar. Yoshizumi’s intimate omakase experience embodies an unexpected simplicity that lets the fish speak for itself. Though the courses feel more down-to-earth than most other high-end sushi spots, that’s not to say there is a lack of intricacy in Yoshizumi’s work. He hand-selects all of the fish and crafts each course based on seasonal ingredients. 

For those looking for a unique variety of pizza and pasta, Pausa has you covered. The restaurant relies on local, organic ingredients while staying true to the Italian craft of pizza making. All of the pasta, bread, and pizza dough are made in-house with flour imported from Italy, in a dedicated “dough room” that guests can peer into. Pausa is also the third restaurant in California that’s licensed to produce its own cured meats, so don’t skip out on the Butcher’s Board, a selection of various salumi cuts. The menu changes seasonally, but some of the consistent favorites are the Margherita pizza and pork sausage ragu.

As the originator of the Japanese dipping noodle dish known as tsukemen, Taishoken is the real deal. Though the restaurant was founded in 1951 in Japan, this location in San Mateo is the first in the U.S. In demonstrating a commitment to the craft, the noodles at the San Mateo location are made fresh every day in a designated temperature and humidity-controlled room that houses machines imported from Japan. The Tokusei tsukemen is the signature menu item — fresh, cold, thick noodles are served with a rich dipping broth and topped with two cuts of sous vide Berkshire pork and a soft-boiled egg.

For tasty vegetarian street food, Falafelle is well worth a visit. Though the shop may appear snug and unassuming, this no-frills pick-up counter is known for fluffy pita pockets and falafel balls made from a signature blend of minced garbanzo and fava beans. The top-selling pita pocket comes with five falafel, zesty cabbage, sauerkraut, roasted red peppers, house salad, pickled vegetables, and sumac onions — resulting in a veggie flavor bomb. Another vegan fan-favorite is the Heaven’s Pita Pocket,” stuffed with eggplant, cauliflower, fried potato spheres, hummus, walnut pesto, and sun-dried tomato sauce. The ultra-smooth and creamy hummus is made from dry garbanzo beans that are soaked and slow-cooked each day.  

Town serves a breadth of classic American staples in a homey, woody setting. With locally sourced wood-fired rotisserie chicken, hand-cut steaks, and fresh seafood, the protein-forward entrees take center stage. In fact, the restaurant’s sister company, Rancho Alena Cattle Co., raises purebred Black Angus cattle. This, in turn, results in premium quality steaks and chops — including filet mignon, wagyu flank steak, and bone-in rib eye – which are all seared at 1400 degrees. Weekend brunch is a busy time for Town, during which classic dishes like French toast, egg scrambles, chilaquiles, and chicken and waffles are popular choices.

Sam’s Chowder House is the spot for those in search of homey, New England-style seafood and stunning views. Every seat at Sam’s offers a view of the Pacific Ocean and offers a family-friendly fish house experience. When the restaurant was founded in 2006, it was one of the first to bring lobster rolls to the west coast. Today, the rolls remain the forte, as they’re served with a generous portion of fresh lobster on a soft, brioche bun. The New England clam chowder is also a hit for its light, creamy, and flavorful broth, and the daily fish specials are made with sustainable, locally sourced seafood and seasonal ingredients.

Northern California native Wyatt Fields opened Breakwater Barbecue in his seaside hometown just outside Half Moon Bay in 2020. Three years later, the restaurant has become nationally known for its menu of Texas-style barbecue including slow-smoked brisket with onyx-colored bark and snappy house-made sausages. In 2023, the restaurant earned a nod in the Michelin Guide, which praised dishes including the smoky-spicy chili and sides of potato salad and beans. For a non-barbecue option, try the burger, which sports a “semi-smashed” patty of ground brisket. 

Meat lovers, look no further. As an East Coast-style gastropub, The Refuge specializes in hand-carved navel pastrami, Philly-style cheesesteaks, house-ground burgers, and Belgian beer. Since the husband and wife team first opened in San Carlos in 2008, the restaurant has garnered notoriety for its boldly flavored, ultra-tender pastrami, which is the star in the popular Reuben sandwich, the pastrami chopped salad, and the “Toasted Slaw #19” — a special take on coleslaw. Out of their infamous cheesesteaks, the Champ Cheesesteak reigns supreme for its flavorful additions of mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers, and provolone.

With over 20 years of experience specializing in sushi, chef Jason Zhan opened Sushi Shin in early 2020 as a quaint spot serving premium ocean delicacies. The restaurant, which has since navigated a pandemic and earned a Michelin star, houses just nine seats for an omakase menu, with only two seatings per night. The dining experience is notably intimate but refined, as Zhan prepares and slices an array of fresh fish, shellfish, and seafood in front of guests. With the utmost attention to quality, he sources the fish and crafts the menu each night based on what is prime in the market. 

In a train caboose on Highway 1, Dad’s Luncheonette serves reinvented American roadside classics, made with ingredients that showcase the best of coastal farms in the area. Chef Scott Clark, who comes from the world of fine dining, founded the joint after he felt compelled to craft more simplistic but still delicious bites and move closer to the coast. Aligned with the minimalism of serving fare from a railroad car, there are only two entrees on the menu: a hamburger sandwich and a vegetarian mushroom sandwich. Both come with a soft fried egg, housemade pickled red onions, locally grown lettuce, and a layer of “Dad’s sauce.” The potato chips, which are hand sliced every day, make a worthy side. 

Since opening its doors in downtown Palo Alto eight years ago, Bird Dog has remained committed to striking a balance between comfort and adventure — evident through chef Robbie Wilson’s inventive takes on simple, humble ingredients. Many of the restaurant’s dishes, infused with Asian influences, offer a welcome departure from what diners might expect from California cuisine. The wood-grilled avocado with yuzu ponzu brings forth a burst of sweetness, umami, and charred flavor, while the maitake mushroom offers an amalgam of textural elements with its flaky, crispy exterior and a rich, accompanying rosé Béarnaise. The wagyu fillet hits the mark on meat quality, and the chicken thighs encapsulate an elevated take on popcorn chicken. Sophisticated decor and thoughtfully crafted cocktails complete the experience. 

Chef Srijith Gopinathan has been regarded as one of the Bay Area’s top Indian chefs for years and his Palo Alto restaurant Ettan makes it easy to see why. The airy bi-level space makes a stunning backdrop for a menu that exemplifies the best of California Indian cuisine made using seasonal ingredients such as peas, kale, and pear. At the Michelin Guide-listed restaurant, you can order caviar service and local oysters as well as Kerala fried chicken, paneer makhani, and edamame vada. Cocktails also incorporate Southeast Asian flavors such as cardamom and marigold. 

Entrepreneur-turned-restaurateur Omer Artun, who was born in Turkey, brought Meyhouse restaurant to Silicon Valley in mid-2023. The restaurant draws inspiration from Turkish meyhanes and serves a lengthy menu of small plates meant to be enjoyed alongside a glass of wine. It’s a seafood-heavy list and many dishes spend time on the restaurant’s wood-fried grill. Don’t miss the lakerda, a salt-cured bonito dish, and the Turkmen mantisi, a plate of tender dumplings served over tangy garlic yogurt drizzled with paprika butter.

Located in the hub of downtown Palo Alto, Zareen’s is a casual spot with eclectic, contemporary decor and a menu of classic Pakistani-Indian dishes. Though founder Zareen Khan first started her business with cooking classes and catered lunches, her restaurants now have locations up the Peninsula. Zareen’s is most notorious for its chicken tikka masala, speciality grilled items like the chicken boti sizzler and the beef chapli kabab sizzlers, and the chicken samosas, which are made from a family recipe. All entrees pair well with a side of hot-out-of-the-oven naan, which come in garlic, sesame and jalapeño-cheese renditions. The creamy mango lassi serves as a refreshing, sweet accompaniment.

Terún was born 10 years ago from a mission to make the best Neopolitan pizza in California. Though the name of the restaurant insinuates a more pejorative term toward people of Southern Italy, the founders wanted to redefine that word — paying homage to their hometown with a classic Italian menu of pasta, steak, fish, cocktails, and a great selection of wines. The wood-fired pizzas are the stars of the show, as they feature imported salsiccia, mozzarella, and tomato sauce, along with the high-quality Farina Petra flour. Customers also frequently order the gnocchi in taleggio cheese sauce, brussel sprouts, rigatoni bolognese, and short rib ravioli. 

Located in a cabin among Redwoods trees, Alice’s Restaurant frequently plays host to motorcyclists, hikers, tourists, and locals. It was first constructed in the 1900s as Four Corners, a general store for logging supplies. Decades later, it was transformed into a restaurant named after both the famous Arlo Guthrie song and a previous owner named Alice. Today, the rustic restaurant remains family-owned and operated. Breakfast and lunch on the weekends get quite busy, with customers who rave about the egg scrambles, sandwiches, specialty burgers, and Texas-style BBQ.