It’s all the time enjoyable to return over the previous 12 months to revisit our favourite new additions to the East Bay’s eating scene. It appears that evidently this yr, greater than ever, the eating places that stood out not solely ship nice meals—that’s a should—but in addition nice hospitality. Whether or not by way of completely satisfied hours, weekend brunch, dedicated service, bar areas, or kid- and dog-friendly patios, all eight winners (listed in no explicit order) go above and past to supply a beneficiant setting for the communities they serve. Right here’s to that pattern persevering with within the subsequent yr.
Camino Bar
Walnut Creek
The Horchatalada, Bar Camino’s horchata–piña colada mash-up, is as enjoyable to drink as it’s to pronounce, which matches a good distance towards explaining the restaurant’s success. The Walnut Creek sizzling spot leans unapologetically into its festive Mexican theme. The cheerful decor is peppered with colourful murals and neon signage (feed me tacos and inform me I’m fairly), whereas the hopping bar space retains the rum and tequila flowing with beneficiant early and late-night completely satisfied hour specials. The kitchen, in the meantime, neatly balances an egalitarian vary of dishes. A pristinely executed conventional inexperienced posole soup shares menu area with gooey three-cheese queso fundido dip; an overstuffed moist burrito is contrasted with an ingenious entrée of spicy grilled Gulf shrimp atop a mattress of poblano-hominy grits. Bar Camino additionally advantages from a terrific again deck overlooking an idyllic part of the creek. Horchatalada-riffic.
THREE TO TRY
> GREEN POSOLE SOUP
> DIABLO SHRIMP AND GRITS
> CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Montesacro
Walnut Creek
With its intimate inside, easy service, pristine cocktails, and sharply executed menu of regionally distinct Italian fare, Montesacro offers the form of straightforward eating sophistication sometimes unique to San Francisco. Rome native Gianluca Legrottaglie—who runs two sister eating places in San Francisco and one in Brooklyn—delivers a chic ode to his hometown with specialties like risotto croquettes, cheese and black pepper and pasta carbonara, and a porchetta starter consisting of thinly sliced roasted pork drizzled with salt and olive oil. Anchoring the menu is cousin, an oval-shaped flatbread made with fermented dough that serves as an ethereal, crispy base for a spread of pleasant toppings. Dinner costs are on the excessive facet—Montesacro actually suits the invoice as a special-occasion vacation spot—however the restaurant affords inexpensive factors of entry by way of lunch and brunch menus and a each day completely satisfied hour. Or get a glass of wine, share a cousin, and soak within the vibe.
THREE TO TRY
> PORK
> PINSA MARANELLA
> PANNA COTTA
Left Financial institution Brasserie
Oakland
Who doesn’t love a basic Parisian-style brasserie? That’s what Vine Hospitality group was relying on once they made the considerably shocking resolution to deliver a fourth Left Financial institution location to the hipster-oriented Oakland market. Up to now, so good, because the restaurant has settled seamlessly into the high-profile former Bocanova and Belcampo area in Jack London Sq.. Left Financial institution nails the classics, together with spot-on renditions of steak tartare, escargot, French onion soup, duck confit, and steak frites. Simply as importantly, it doesn’t depend on sentimentality. The menu is à la minute with chef’s specials and produce that rotate with the seasons, and it accommodates its family-oriented waterfront locale with burgers, fried rooster, and seafood. All this whereas providing weekend brunch, personal eating, a phenomenal central bar, and one of many East Bay’s greatest patios.
THREE TO TRY
> ESCARGOT
> STEAK TARTARE
> DUCK CONFIT
Elia
Walnut Creek
What do you get while you cross Las Vegas with the Greek islands? Elia is an effective guess. The Walnut Creek stunner delivers some Vegas aptitude—flaming cheese appetizers, cloudy neon cocktails, reside DJs—balanced by upscale interpretations of unpolluted, healthful Mediterranean delicacies. You possibly can simply craft your meal fully from the strong meze starter part of the menu. The saganaki—a block of feta-like cheese drizzled with brandy and lit aflame desk facet—makes for a enjoyable, satisfying opening. The fried smelts are like french fries for seafood lovers, whereas the sautéed prawns come bathed in a zesty white wine–lemon sauce spiked with feta, capers, olives, and tomatoes that calls for to be mopped up with bread. The entrées are nice too. You may spring, Vegas-style, for big-ticket gadgets like seafood paella with lobster, even because the rooster souvlaki and grilled Mediterranean sea bass lavraki are much less flashy however totally rewarding standouts.
THREE TO TRY
> SAGANAKI
> CHICKEN SOUVLAKI
> LAVRAKI SEA BASS
Acre
Oakland
If you’d like one purpose for the success of Acre, look no additional than its Varsity Hour. The Varsity Cocktail Lounge, an previous membership that operated in the identical Rockridge location nearly 100 years in the past, was recognized for its Varsity martini—so the bar added its personal model obtainable for simply $5 from 3 p.m. till shut on weekdays within the downstairs café. It’s one of many many considerate touches that has endeared the restaurant to a neighborhood left culinarily untethered after the closure of iconic mainstay Oliveto. Acre’s homeowners launched some welcome enhancements, equivalent to lightening and modernizing the inside to make it extra accessible and family-friendly, whereas respecting the restaurant’s unique footprint. The café stays an informal oasis on a bustling nook of School Avenue, benefiting from the fireside oven to fireplace up among the greatest pizza within the metropolis. Within the extra formal restaurant up the steps, co-owner and government chef Dirk Tolsma offers tasty California-Mediterranean dishes, plus mouthwatering and crowd-pleasing pastas.
THREE TO TRY
> HEARTH OVEN PIZZAS
> GARLIC SHRIMP WITH TOAST
> LAMB messenger
Zaya Thai Pantry
Danville
With a full bar, a phenomenal inside, and much more stunning plating, Zaya is an ideal instance of the evolution Thai eating places have just lately undergone within the East Bay. Thankfully, the downtown Danville vacation spot doesn’t sacrifice substance for model. Whereas the menu is a bit toned-down spice-wise, the restaurant compensates with high-quality substances. Thai requirements like tom kha soup and inexperienced curry layer parts equivalent to coconut, lemongrass, and galangal to go together with garden-fresh veggies. Showstoppers embody melt-in-your-mouth samosa-like curry puffs; a marinated Crying Tiger rib eye steak with addictively tart dipping sauce; and crave soi coconut curry bedecked with noodles and oversize bone-in brief rib. Don’t depart with out sampling a dessert: The intricate thai or coconut crepe desserts—served with ice cream and sauce—are artistic endeavors that may fulfill any candy tooth.
THREE TO TRY
> CURRY PUFFS
> GREEN CURRY
> SHORT RIB KHAO SOI
SanDai
Walnut Creek
SanDai proved well worth the wait as soon as it lastly launched this spring, injecting a novel, high-profile eating vacation spot into the center of Walnut Creek. Chef Nora Haron delivers on the calling playing cards that made her a foodie favourite in Oakland: a menu that leans into her “Nusantaran” roots—Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia—fused with a recent Bay Space sensibility that features parts of Mexican delicacies. Her bakwan Indonesian-style vegetable fritters are made with Mexican corn candy corn, spiced with Malaysian Sarawak pepper, and sprinkled with cotija cheese. Southeast Asian flavors are on the coronary heart of most dishes, equivalent to the meat rendang, a basic Indonesian coconut milk-simmered stew that includes lemongrass, coriander, cumin, fennel, chilies, makrut lime, cloves, and cinnamon. Don’t miss Haron’s Kopi Bar, serving up Asian-tinged pastries, espresso, and different drinks.
THREE TO TRY
> STUFFED CHICKEN WINGS
> NASI GORENG SALTED FISH
> BEEF RENDANG
5 Tacos & Beers
Walnut Creek
Initially, sure—the latest location of East Bay restaurateur Lito Saldaña’s rising empire delivers on its namesake promise. The craft beer record is ample and nicely represented by native favorites, whereas its signature curved tacos fulfill, bursting with high-quality flavorful meats equivalent to decadent carnitas and tender grilled flank steak. And the showstopping quesabirria is among the many greatest I’ve come throughout on this current taco craze. But it surely’s the additional perks that push 5 Tacos into must-visit eating territory: the killer entrance patio, an ethereal inside with a colourful tequila-stacked full bar, reside music, weekend brunch, pleasant service, and an ever-changing menu with loads of meatless choices. It’s a versatile, user-friendly expertise. Snack on house-made chips and salsa whereas watching the sport inside, take within the downtown Walnut Creek scene exterior with a cocktail, nosh evenly on ceviche, or splurge with churros and ice cream. Or simply have some tacos and a beer.
THREE TO TRY
> SHRIMP CEVICHE
> QUESABIRRIA TACOS
> CHURROS WITH ICE CREAM
