My Favorite SF Bay Area Restaurants and Cafes for Casual Meals
This is an on-going blog of eateries and restaurants in the Silicon Valley that Mr. Mystery Critic and his family like to get a casual lunch or dinner. Some of these are reviewed but most are not because they are not particular outstanding in any category, but they are decent for a quick bite. these places are good for lunch and dinner, see this article for great lunch spots.
NOTE: The smilies here don't mean the same as those in the SF Bay Area Restaurants section. They are just overall ratings based on the standards of enjoying a casual meal, i.e. lower standard on food and much lower standard on ambience and service.
American/European Asian (Non-Chinese) Chinese
- Bucca Di Beppo [Campbell and Many Locations]
- The food is not great but edible, but I like to bring guests - especially foreign visitors with kids - to this place because it's fun, alive and you can watch the cooks making food. - Chili's [Santa Clara and Many Locations] - Seriously, this place is not bad - at least it doesn't pretend to be offering some fancy cuisine, just fun food. Occasionally their ribeye steak beats out those found in real steakhouses.
- JC's BBQ [San Jose] - It's hard for a BBQ fan like me to live in the South Bay - but thank God there's JC's. It's a very small place that has great BBQ - maybe not as Southern as Uncle Frank's but it's delicious.
- Macaroni Grill [Milpitas and Many Locations] - WHAT, another chain?? Yes, this one is not bad - at least they are very generous with their portion
- Puccini & Panetti [San Francisco] - The food is ok, but we go there because it's the ONLY restaurant close to Union Square that has both decent food and a casual family-friendly setting. I mean, where else can you get Italian in a reasonably spacious setting AND get crayon for your kids within one block of Union Square?
- Red Robin [Santa Clara and Many Locations] - This is our children's favorite. A children-friendly place with big and juicy burgers and pleasant staff. The bottomless fries can be bad sometimes, but when they are good I'd have three servings.
- Willow Street Pizza [San Jose] - Very, very decent casual neighborhood bistro-style restaurant with solid food and reasonable price (for both lunch and dinner) - why eat Pasta Pomodoro when you/ve got this around? So good that it's worth a full review.
- Gombei [San Jose] - Country-style Japanese cuisine, it's like soul food for the Japanese living here (so I heard). Raw fish is not their best, must try broiled fish or stewed meat and vegetables.
- Jumak [Santa Clara] - Very nicely decorated restaurant - another effort by the Korean to move up the value chain. Ramen, BBQ meats and other small dishes are pretty decent, but the nicest is the ambience and service.
- Korean Beef Soup [Santa Clara] - We go there often but I don't know whether it has an English sign.... Will let you know.....
- Secret Garden [Santa Clara] - Traditional yet relatively better than many others on the same street. Grilled meats are too ordinary, but fish, soups and pancakes are excellent.
- Shalimar [SF, Fremont and Sunnyvale] - The most popular Pakistani / Northern Indian cooking in the Bay Area - very casual but it's so good I wrote a review for it. Simply great good.
- Sushi Maru [Sunnyvale] - Super popular sushi joint - expect a long line all the time. Traditional and creative, take your pick, best sushi boat I've had in the US, even beat some of those in Tokyo! They have moved to Milpitas but I've never been there.
- Sui Tofu 水豆腐煲燒烤 [Santa Clara] - For SERIOUS tofu lovers only! They make their own tofu - not the silky Japanese kind, but one that taste like a bad cheese that falls apart in your mouth. Everything in this little ethnic (very much so) shop is good, even the staff is quite friendly (remember, it's korean!!).
- Tomi Sushi [Mt. View and San Jose] - It's very tempting to write a real review because this is a very good sushi place - complete with Japanese old lady waitress. Sashimi and sushis are great and some of the dishes, like fried whole flounder, is phenomenal. It's very casual but the price is on the high side. They co-market with Maru Ichi and Sushi Maru but I'm not sure if they are owned by the same owner.
- Darda Seafood 清真一條龍 [Milpitas] - Order the lamb with sour cabbage soup and the thick scallion pancake - I promise the lamb smell won't follow you home.
- eNoodle [Milpitas] - Great place for noodles, potstickers, hot and sour soup and other small dishes - but it's BIG problems are terrible service and inconsistent quality. One day food can be great, the next day not edible. On the best day, the soup is super thick and tasty (spicy!), potstickers have really crispy bottoms, and all the small dishes are super delicious.
- Little Sheep Mongolia Hotpot [Fremont] - You know how I feel about hot pot restuarants - overpriced, dirty and chaotic. But I must recommend this place because they are reasonably clean and organized. Decorations and facilities are of decent quality and food is presented nicely. Soup base is really awesome. They are, just like rest of the hotpot restaurants, still overpriced though.
- Old Mandarin Islamic 清真老北京 [SF] - BEST authentic Beijing-style hotpot (lamb and other stuff, not spicy) east of Beijing, and don't forget to order the beef pancake. NOTE: Quality is going downhill recently, so do complain if the lamb is too little or beef pancake too greasy.
- South Legend [Milpitas] - Alright, it's not quite as good as Szechuan Trenz in SF (see below), but it's a lot closer than those living in San Jose. Try the typical Szechuan spicy noodles, beef in water (super hot!) and Zhong-Ching spicy chicken.
- Spices Girls [San Francisco] - Yes, some restaurants are actually worth driving an hour for. You will receive rigid training in tongue-burning hot food here. BTW, there are two locations most people like the II more than the Original because the II has more interesting dishes and quality is slightly better. Beware of the TERRIBLE sanitary condition though.
- The Porridge 小劉清粥 [Milpitas] - This is the ULTIMATE casual restaurant! You tell them how many people, line up to pick or order your dishes, and then sit down to have them delievered. Very basic Taiwanese's style porridge and small dishes that are cold or hot. Probably nothing spectacular for non-Taiwanese, but it does serve good basic food.
- Baja Fresh [Many Locations] - Be careful, not all Baja Freshes are created equal. I found the best one is in Rivermark, Santa Clara. We occasionally go to the ones in Sunnyvale and Cupertino and somehow they are just not that great - even the salsa didn't taste that fresh.... Chicken quesadilla and taco with carnitas are my favorites - the Baja specialty of fish taco is pretty bad here regardless of its name.
- Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits [Many Locations] - Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I eat fried chicken too.... But not KFC, only Popeyes. I don't like the sides or biscuit or those Cajun selections - just good old chicken.
- Taqueria Los Charros [Mountain View] - Want real Mexican tacos but don't want to visit a taco truck outside of a car wash, then this is your best bet! Being a half-Latino I love thier real Mexican treat including sopas de menudos (beef internal organs - slimmy!) and ceviche (marinated fish). Throw in a zanahoria + naranja (orange carrots juice) - RICO! Even
the burritos are good, but why would you get a burrito here.... - Los Charros Restaurant (NEW - no website) [Mountain View] - Yes there are that many charros running around in Mt. View.... This is says it's authentic but it's more like a Chevy's except better. From Margaritas to chicken rice and carnes asada, the place treats you right. Try the appetizer sampler and ceviche, and don't forget the flan (that comes with an ice cream - too americanized!!). Friday night mariachi band is a nice addition if you don't mind their loudness. This place is a culture treat for someone NOT from CA, TX or AZ.
