Name: Best Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, Summer 2022
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Best Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, Summer 2022

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This app works best with JavaScript enabled.In this latest edition of the Top 25, penned as the summer fog gulps the whole of San Francisco, it seems that the prix fixe menu has, in turn, engulfed the Bay Area’s restaurant scene. The times? Uncertain. But the menus don’t have to be.From a logistical standpoint, a set menu is a good way for a restaurant team to ride the waves of supply-chain woes — they’ll know exactly how many carrots and scallops they’ll need on a given night. From this Pollyanna-ish diner’s perspective, I admire when a restaurant says, “Trust us,” and I often lunge for the option to find out what it thinks it does best. The result tells you so much. Read MoreGrid ViewList ViewMap ViewTakeoutDeliveryOutdoor seatingIndoor seatingVegetarian optionsCopy wish list to clipboardEmail wish list37012 Towers Way, FremontA catering business that blossomed into a restaurant beloved in the Bay Area’s Afghan community.In a small restaurant in Fremont, the Arsala family, led by chef and matriarch Wazhma Arsala, produces Afghan culinary classics for diners from far-flung areas of the Bay Area seeking a taste of home. The restaurant, decked out in chandeliers and vibrant Afghan artwork, has the feel of someone’s classy living room, though the food is all about comfort. There are mantoo, deeply satisfying beef dumplings ($15.99) wrapped in delicate skins and draped in a thick meat ragu and garlicky yogurt sauce; and juicy chapli kebabs ($16.99), minced beef patties flavored with chiles, coriander and onion and paired with savory spiced rice. Wazhma Arsala also is a master of the country’s famous dimpled flatbreads, sold by the slab and perfect for sopping up stews.Credit cards accepted • Soft drinksPhone: 510-494-8043Afghan18976 Sonoma Hwy., SonomaThe cuisine is a little bit Basque, a little bit everything else at Sonoma’s buzzy new restaurant. Back in New York City, fine dining veterans Heidy He and Joshua Smookler were stars of the restaurant scene, thanks to their acclaimed but now-closed ramen shop in Queens. Animo, their new restaurant located in a former taqueria in Sonoma, serves Basque Txakolina wine alongside Korean soju, and tucks fatty hunks of pastrami from New York’s Katz’s Delicatessen into bowls of kimchi fried rice ($24). In the cozy dining room outfitted with mismatched chairs and wall shelves full of apples, the pair and their team deliver a flurry of singular dishes from the wood-fired oven: platters of crisp-skinned turbot ($145) flown in from Galicia, Spain, its spines charred and crunchy; and dry-aged Flannery Beef ribeye ($75), served with year-old black garlic puree, or “A1 on steroids,” as described by Smookler.Credit cards accepted • Wine and beerPhone: 707-721-1160 • Global1818 Tully Rd., San JoseA popular food court stall serves phenomenal lunch sets on sizzling platters.San Jose natives know that the mall food courts of Little Saigon are rife with excellent options, including beef specialist Bo Ne Phu Yen. The luxurious Franco-Vietnamese fusion dish that it’s known for is a far cry from your typical American diner’s steak and eggs: filet mignon ($20) is served on a hot cow-shape cast iron plate (complete with horns) with two sunny-side up eggs, a juicy pork meatball, pate and onions. A small loaf of crusty French bread and salad come on the side, along with a tiny cup of chile sauce. Build your perfect breakfast bites on the bread, then follow with gulps of hot jasmine tea in the food court’s shared seating area.Cash only • Soft drinksPhone: 408-528-8817Vietnamese1408 Clement St., San FranciscoCreative and nostalgic pastries by a team of former fine-dining chefs.You’ll find loaves of spongy, yet chewy milk bread, buns filled with coconut-pandan kaya cream and Korean cheesy cornbread stuffed with eggs at this bakery, a San Francisco take on Chinese and Filipino pastry traditions. Opened by Atelier Crenn alums Katherine Campecino-Wong, Clement Hsu and James Wong in 2018, Breadbelly is known for its indulgent seasonal Viennoiserie and Mt. Tam cheesecakes ($13), but the strong and seasonal savory menu, led by Wong, is nothing to scoff at, either. During blustery seasons, the bakery serves hot mushroom broth infused with the roasty flavors of barley and filled with noodle-like enoki mushrooms and bok choy. Another dreamy option is a sandwich made with creamy egg salad ($14.50) and a crisp tempura of shredded vegetables, stuffed into a squishy milk bread bun.Credit cards accepted • Soft drinksPhone: 415-349-0969Website: Support the restaurant: • Pan-Asian3180 El Camino Real, Santa ClaraThe definitive high-end Korean barbecue spot in Santa Clara. Chungdam is an outright gorgeous restaurant, full of artistic touches like geometric, cloud-like light fixtures and subtly designed decorative ceramics. Even the outdoor seating area, an enclosed section of the parking lot, is decked out with potted plants and billowing sunshades. The restaurant specializes in short ribs, or galbi, grilled at the table and served with a diverse array of side dishes, like marinated raw crab, acorn jelly and macaroni salad. Try the suwon galbi ($95), seasoned with brown sugar and a touch of salt, which has just the right balance of sweet and savory. And don’t miss the galbijjim ($77), a monster-size meal of spicy braised short ribs topped with blistered cheese. It’s tender, rich and big enough for several people to share.Credit cards accepted • Beer and winePhone: 669-306-4642Website: Korean2341 Folsom St., San FranciscoFind bubbling seafood molcajetes and micheladas crowned with shrimp at this Mission District cantina.The aguachile verde ($17.50) is a highlight of any dinner at Chuy's Fiestas, a seafood-rich Mexican restaurant and taqueria owned by brothers Luis, Raul and Jesus Licea. Raw shrimp is bathed in a blended mixture of lemon juice, serrano chiles and cilantro; the citric acid "cooks" the shrimp as the dish sits, lending the meat a supple, slightly snappy texture. It's rare to find a raw shrimp dish in the U.S., or even outside of coastal Mexico, so savor it. The aguachile is best eaten fresh, so try it in the restaurant's enclosed backyard patio. Other specialties include succulent birria ($14.75) and hot stone molcajetes, bubbling spectacles similar to Korean dolsots filled with seafood, salsa and avocado ($25.99).Credit cards accepted • BeerPhone: 415-872-9222Website: Mexican Find more of our critic’s recommendations for exceptional restaurants in the Bay Area.Follow our restaurant critic, Soleil Ho, as she dines around the Bay AreaBy subscribing, you agree to our and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our .Have feedback about this project? Want to suggest another guide?E-mail The Chronicle’s Food team at .Is your restaurant on the list and you have questions? Contact the marketing team: .ReportingSoleil HoEditingSerena DaiBernadette FayPhotographyAdahlia ColeAlexandria WashburnCarlos Avila GonzalezDana PlucinskiIsabel BaerJohn StoreyJosie NorrisKelsey McClellanKimberley HasselbrinkLea SuzukiLeah MillisNoah BergerPeter DaSilvaPollara PizzeriaRed ChilliesSantiago MejiaStephen LamYalonda M. JamesAudience engagementJenna FowlerJessica ShawDesign and DevelopmentDanielle Mollette-ParksKatlyn AloAudrey DeBruine

This app works best with JavaScript enabled.In this latest edition of the Top 25, penned as the summer fog gulps the whole of San Francisco, it seems that the prix fixe menu has, in turn, engulfed the Bay Area’s restaurant scene. The times? Uncertain. But the menus don’t have to be.From a logistical standpoint, a set menu is a good way for a restaurant team to ride the waves of supply-chain woes — they’ll know exactly how many carrots and scallops they’ll need on a given night. From this Pollyanna-ish diner’s perspective, I admire when a restaurant says, “Trust us,” and I often lunge for...

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Soleil Ho

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Best Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, Summer 2022

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