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East Bay Livin

Food & drink

Eat before you house-hunt

A town with nowhere to walk for dinner will not be saved by a renovation. Start with the kitchens.

Where people go

Restaurants

Popular rooms across Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Concord, Lafayette, Danville, Berkeley, and Oakland. A score shows only when it was read on Yelp. Every card opens that restaurant's reviews.

The square, not the freeway

On the plazas

Concord first. Crepe La Fontaine and Puesto are at The Veranda. Skipolini’s, The Hop Grenade, and La Piñata sit on the streets around Todos Santos. The same idea shows up on Hartz in Danville, Crescent Drive in Pleasant Hill, Rivertown in Antioch, and Railroad Avenue in Pittsburg.

Concord · Crepes · 3.6

Crepe La Fontaine

Crepes and coffee at The Veranda, facing the fountain. The Concord stop before a movie or a walk around the shops.

Open

Concord · Tacos

Puesto

Tacos on The Veranda patio. The outdoor meal when the plaza is the plan, not a drive-through.

Open

Concord · Pizza

Skipolini's Pizza

Pizza on Salvio Street, a block off Todos Santos Plaza and across from the theater.

Open

Concord · Beer

The Hop Grenade

A taproom on Salvio, on the same downtown block as the plaza. The pint after Music & Market.

Open

Concord · Mexican

La Piñata

Willow Pass at the edge of downtown. Tacos, a tequila bar, and the night the square lets out.

Open

Reviewers keep these quiet

Hidden gems

Not the obvious reservation. The counter, the car-wash tacos, the room you hear about from someone who already went.

Pleasant Hill · Sushi

Nobuya

Sushi boxes and a late kitchen on Contra Costa Boulevard. The room people post before they tell you the address.

See the reviews

Pleasant Hill · Tacos

Tacos El Patron

Behind the car wash on Chilpancingo. The taco stop locals treat like a secret.

See the reviews

Walnut Creek · Japanese

Tanoshi

The lunch counter on Oak Grove. Readers keep sending each other here for the sushi, not the view.

See the reviews

Berkeley · Izakaya

Kiraku

No reservation, easy to walk past. Berkeley's sit-at-the-counter room.

See the reviews

Berkeley · Thai

Tanzie's

The Thai brunch room people trade tips about, not the one on the main drag.

See the reviews

Oakland · Thai

Payakk

Up in the hills. A listening room with a Thai kitchen, the kind of night you drive for.

See the reviews

Oakland · Laotian

Champa Garden

The neighborhood table Oakland already knew about. Laotian food, a full room, no speech required.

See the reviews

Oakland · Hamburg steak

Twinflame

One main: a charcoal hamburg steak with rice and an egg. The Oakland room people are posting about.

See the reviews

Oakland · Noodles

Shan Dong

Hand-pulled noodles in Chinatown. The bowl that keeps showing up in people's feeds.

See the reviews

Oakland · Bagels

Beauty's Bagel Shop

Wood-fired bagels in Temescal. The morning line is the review.

See the reviews

Oakland · Burgers

Arthur Mac's

A tap and snack room on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Burgers, a patio, and a local following.

See the reviews

Oakland · Filipino

FOB Kitchen

Filipino breakfast and garlic rice in Temescal. The plate people tell their group chat about.

See the reviews

Oakland · Counter

Daytrip

A Temescal counter for a glass and a small plate. Easy to miss, hard to forget.

See the reviews

Oakland · Wine bar

Snail Bar

The Temescal room on Shattuck. Small plates, natural wine, and the table people text each other about.

See the reviews

Oakland · Latin

Cholita Linda

Fish tacos and a cubano on Telegraph. The Temescal stop that keeps showing up on people's cameras.

See the reviews

Oakland · Ethiopian

Cafe Colucci

The platter on San Pablo. Injera, a shared table, and a room Oakland already knew about.

See the reviews

Berkeley · French

La Note

Berkeley's French breakfast on Shattuck. A patio, a line, and the morning people still plan around.

See the reviews

Concord · Korean barbecue

Ohgane

Tabletop barbecue on Willow Pass. Concord's room for a long dinner and a full grill.

See the reviews

Pittsburg · Mexican

New Mecca Cafe

The Railroad Avenue plate Pittsburg has been ordering for years. A true old-town stop.

See the reviews

Antioch · Seafood

Smith's Landing

Seafood on the marina, with the San Joaquin right off the deck. Antioch's waterfront meal.

See the reviews

Lafayette · Italian

Locanda Positano

Amalfi pasta and a patio on Brown Avenue. The Lafayette reservation people plan the week around.

See the reviews

Danville · Californian

Bridges

Church Street, a full bar, and the Danville dinner that Alamo drives down the road for.

See the reviews

Castro Valley · Japanese

Tancho

Omakase on Redwood Road. Castro Valley's quiet reservation, not a chain sushi counter.

See the reviews

Castro Valley · Sushi

iSushi

A small sushi bar on Rustic Drive. The Castro Valley table people call ahead for.

See the reviews

Pleasant Hill · Japanese

Kobe Japan

Teppanyaki and sushi on Oak Park Boulevard. A Pleasant Hill night that feels like an occasion.

See the reviews

Concord · Lao

Spicy Joi

Lao street food on Willow Pass. Sausage, nam khao, and the papaya salad people drive across the county for.

See the reviews

Pleasant Hill · Thai

Saneh Bangkok

Bangkok flavors on Pleasant Hill Road. Lunch, then dinner, in a room the neighborhood already treats as its own.

See the reviews

Concord · Thai

Little Thai House

Stir-fries and curries on Meadow Lane. A small Concord kitchen with a short menu and a regular lunch crowd.

See the reviews

Antioch · American

Mac's Old House

Family-style prime rib and pasta on East 18th. Closed in 2025, back open in August 2026.

See the reviews

Berkeley · Mexican

Juan's Place

Combination plates in West Berkeley since 1972. Chips, two salsas, and a parking lot full of regulars.

See the reviews

Oakland · Filipino

Señor Sisig

Filipino sisig in Uptown. The truck that grew a dining room, still with a line.

See the reviews

Oakland · Ice cream

Fentons Creamery

The creamery on Piedmont Avenue, ice cream made in the building since 1894. The Black & Tan is the sundae people drive for.

See the reviews

Oakland · Eritrean

Asmara Restaurant

Eritrean and Ethiopian platters on Telegraph in Temescal. Injera, a shared table, lunch and dinner.

See the reviews

Oakland · Indigenous

Wahpepah's Kitchen

Crystal Wahpepah's Indigenous kitchen in Fruitvale. Lunch only, and worth planning the day around.

See the reviews

Oakland · Chinese

Huangcheng Noodle House

Chongqing noodles in Chinatown. A red bowl, a cold plate, and a Saturday that starts here.

See the reviews

Emeryville · Bakery

Arizmendi Bakery

Worker-owned bakery on San Pablo. Sourdough in the morning, and one pizza that sells out.

See the reviews

Berkeley · Cajun

Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen

Gumbo, jambalaya, and beignets on Shattuck. Downtown Berkeley's New Orleans room.

See the reviews

Berkeley · Japanese

Ippuku

An izakaya on Center Street. Yakitori, soba, and a reservation worth making.

See the reviews

Coffee

Cafes with a score we could read

Beer

Breweries

Guides

Eat

Food lovers

The East Bay is a restaurant region that happens to have a bridge attached.

Open

Late morning

Brunch

Where Saturday morning has a table, a line, and somewhere to walk it off.

Open

A daily cup

Coffee lovers

Cafes are infrastructure here. The best ones are in walking neighborhoods, not in malls.

Open

Evening

Date night

Dinner and something afterward, without crossing the bridge unless you want to.

Open

After dark

Nightlife

Uptown, Telegraph, downtown Walnut Creek, and a clear-eyed note about everywhere else.

Open

Errands and browsing

Shopping

Main streets, one famous plaza, and the malls that are not a substitute for them.

Open

Tables and streets

waterfront

Jack London Square

Oakland’s ferry landing, working waterfront, and weekend boardwalk.

Open

downtown

Point Richmond

A village downtown on a point, with the ferry and the hills close by.

Open

downtown

Todos Santos Plaza

Concord’s central square: the market, the Thursday music, and the restaurants on the block.

Open

downtown

Downtown Livermore

Tasting rooms, restaurants, and a main street that grew up.

Open

downtown

Downtown Pleasanton

A finished small downtown: Main Street, side streets, and a Saturday crowd.

Open

shopping

Fourth Street

Berkeley’s designed shopping street, west of campus and east of the water.

Open

shopping

Broadway Plaza

The open-air center at the middle of downtown Walnut Creek.

Open

shopping

Stoneridge Shopping Center

Pleasanton’s regional mall, separate from the downtown.

Open

shopping

Sunvalley Shopping Center

Concord’s big mall, a regional habit more than a downtown.

Open

shopping

The Veranda

Concord’s outdoor plaza on Diamond: crepes, tacos, a cinema, and a fountain.

Open

downtown

Downtown Pleasant Hill

Crescent Drive: the restaurant row Pleasant Hill treats as its plaza.

Open

downtown

Downtown Danville

Hartz Avenue, the walk Danville uses as a town square.

Open

downtown

Rivertown

Antioch’s old downtown on the river, with a Sunday market in season.

Open

downtown

Old Town Pittsburg

Railroad Avenue: New Mecca, the Saturday market, and the walk to the marina.

Open