The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Masa's
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Rank 1. Masa's
Sushi
Chef Takatoshi Toshi works the counter at this spare sushi shop in downtown Novato, breaking down whole fish while chatting with neighbors across the worn wood. Lunch brings affordable chirashi bowls and nigiri sets; the evening omakase reveals nigiri tastings, albacore rolls, and kinmedai smoked over cherry wood. A neighborhood place that feels like one, unhurried and unpretentious.
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- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #60 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Marin County Restaurants
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Rank 4. Village Sake
Japanese
Village Sake brings Tokyo's cramped-table energy to Fairfax with takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and silky hamachi tataki that taste like they were made to be eaten standing up. The live-edge counter and Japanese staff set the scene; the shima aji nigiri seals the argument.
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Rank 5. Madcap
Contemporary
Chef Ron Siegel's upscale dining room in San Anselmo trades pretension for precision across a prix fixe of small, carefully composed plates. A quenelle of tuna tartare yields to crisp rice; charred octopus sits over fermented pimentos; trout arrives skin-on with a tableside dashi pour. The cooking is restrained and Japanese-inflected, where each element earns its place.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #36 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Marin County Restaurants
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Rank 7. Pupuseria Blankita
Salvadoran
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Rank 10. Table Culture Provisions
French-inflected New American
Chef-owners Saint Louis and Vargas run a ten-table tasting room where seasonally minded Californian cooking meets French technique, as in a flaky squab pithivier. Warm service and composed desserts like chestnut Mont Blanc complete the picture of understated, approachable elegance.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #75 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Sonoma County Restaurants
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Rank 12. Insalata's
Mediterranean
Lemon-yellow walls and paintings of abundance frame a Marin restaurant honoring its namesake founder through Mediterranean-inflected cooking. Watercress potato-leek soup arrives velvety and vivid; grilled lamb skewers rest on crisp salads with cumin yogurt. A casual kitchen turns out boxed lunches and house-baked bread with the same care as its dining room.
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Rank 13. Enclos
Contemporary New American
Inside a Victorian mansion near Sonoma Plaza, chef Brian Limoges charts a restless course through global flavors and local ingredients, turning a spiny lobster tartare into a crisp croustade or folding chowder's essence into clam chawanmushi. The grilling is assured, the sauces shimmer with intent, and the staff glides through each course with genuine warmth—a tasting menu that refuses to settle.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #84 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 15. Santé
French
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Rank 17. Atelier Crenn
Contemporary French
Crenn's white-walled atelier channels a painter's precision, each seafood course glazed in silken sauces that speak to her Breton roots and California present. A grandmother's brioche and vegetables from Sonoma orchards anchor the pescatarian tasting menu in something tactile and real, even as desserts from Juan Contreras push toward pure invention.
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Rank 19. Valley
Wine Bar
A come-as-you-are wine bar on Sonoma Plaza where organic and biodynamic bottles share equal billing with a tiny, seasonal menu that moves without pretense. Albacore crudo with blood orange, cauliflower in black bean sauce, olive oil cake with citrus marmalade—each plate suggests a kitchen that finds plenty of flavor in restraint.
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 20. The French Laundry
French
Thomas Keller's Yountville kitchen applies classical French precision to impeccable ingredients in a dining room engineered down to the counter height. A progression might unfold from salmon tartare in a delicate cornet through butter-poached lobster and herb-roasted lamb to a chocolate gâteau finale. This is restaurant craft at its most exacting.
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- Sprudgie Awards 2025 · Honoree · Sustainable Cafe or Coffee Roaster
- Sprudgie Awards 2025 · Honoree · Sustainable Cafe or Coffee Roaster
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Rank 23. Gary Danko
Contemporary French
The dining room glows with the formality of another era: dark-suited servers, a towering cheese trolley, an wine list of serious depth. Chef Danko's prix-fixe menu lets you build your own path through French-inflected cooking with global detours—or surrender to his tasting menu. Since 1999, the place has remained a steady draw for occasions that call for ceremony and restraint.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- Wine Enthusiast The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame
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Rank 25. El Molino Central
Regional Mexican
A cramped counter-service setup feeds into a kitchen you walk through to reach the patio, where strangers become co-conspirators debating the day's specials. Red mole tamales, pozole verde, and beer-battered fish tacos arrive with the seasonal precision of someone who understands their ingredients. The noise, the color, the shuffle—it's all part of the ritual.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #93 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 26. Layla
Mediterranean
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Rank 27. Stockhome
Scandinavian
A husband-and-wife team transplants Stockholm's flavors to Petaluma with quietly confident cooking: pickled herring, substantial meatballs, house-made sodas. The menu honors both Swedish tradition and local ingredients—dill shrimp salad brightened with avocado, giant pancakes crowned in farm berries—while making room for the Middle Eastern dishes that shaped the city they left behind.
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Rank 28. Quince
Contemporary
In a refreshed early 1900s room in Jackson Square, Chef Michael Tusk builds menus from his partner farm's seasonal bounty with surgical precision: silky broth married to guanciale and clam, agnolotti tender with white asparagus, lamb from the fireplace scattered with favas and edible flowers. The cooking is restrained and confident, letting each ingredient declare itself.
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Rank 30. Benu
Asian
Chef Corey Lee's tasting menu unfolds with technical precision, each course a miniature study in restraint and refinement. A roasted quail, glazed tableside with maple and soy, epitomizes his gift for marrying tradition with invention.
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Rank 32. Pig in a Pickle
Barbecue
Damon Stainbrook's suburban barbecue counter takes sourcing seriously—each humanely raised cut traced on a chalkboard—and executes with equal conviction: pulled pork that dissolves on the tongue, brisket after eighteen hours of smoke, ribs with a precise dry rub. Even the mac-and-cheese arrives tended rather than tossed aside, its richness balanced by bite. Worth the drive.
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Rank 33. Glen Ellen Star
Californian New American
A cottage kitchen built around a wood-burning oven turns out inventive Californian cooking that belies its quaint appearance. Chef Ari Weiswasser builds a lean menu around biodynamic produce from nearby farms—charred vegetables with truffle-chili cashew crunch, whole roasted branzino, brick chicken—and finishes with house-made ice creams in unexpected flavors. Serious food, casually presented.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Ari Weiswasser
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Sonoma County Restaurants
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Rank 34. Pearl
Eastern Mediterranean
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Rank 35. The Bagel Mill
NY-Style
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Rank 36. Los Moles
Mexican
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Rank 37. Sol Food
Puerto Rican
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- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Marin County Restaurants
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Rank 39. Street Social
Comfort Food
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Rank 40. Acquerello
Italian
Suzette Gresham's A-frame dining room has sheltered ambitious Italian cooking since 1989, where handmade pastas and pristine seafood arrive with equal finesse and daring. The mignardises cart alone—stacked with housemade chocolates and caramels—suggests a kitchen that understands generosity as a form of rigor.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Italian Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 41. Guesthouse
Contemporary New American
Chef Jared Rogers brings polished Marin sensibilities to his Kentfield neighborhood spot, where grilled king salmon and flourless chocolate cake arrive in a barn-turned-luxury-lodge setting. Soft leather booths, jewel-toned wallpaper, and tropical cocktails complete the cavernous, convivial retreat.
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Rank 42. Sushi Ran
Sushi
In a cottage tucked into Sausalito's quieter streets, Sushi Ran's counter glows with the understated confidence of a place that has earned its regulars. Fresh hamachi and toro arrive without fuss, their flavors speaking plainly; a thoughtful sake list and steady hand on technique sustain the meal without spectacle. This is sushi that knows what it is—dependable, unadorned, honest.
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Rank 43. La Toque
Contemporary
Ken Frank's kitchen in the Westin shows off technically precise seasonal cooking—roasted lamb with aligot potatoes, dry-aged duck with za'atar cherry—in an elegant dining room with an open kitchen view. The tasting menu is pricey and portions modest, but the wine list and celebratory atmosphere justify the splurge.
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Rank 44. Saison
Californian New American
A warehouse devoted to the hearth, where Chef Richard Lee orchestrates playful, earnest cooking—tuna tartlette, rabbit with morels, antelope with blueberries—for San Francisco's elite. The wine program is exceptionally deep, the crowd studiously cool, the setting rustically refined.
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Rank 45. Playa
Mexican
Playa transports Mill Valley diners to a Baja state of mind with margaritas and mezcal served beneath blown-glass lights and colorful tile. The al pastor tacos—layered with caramelized pineapple and charred meat—and crispy chorizo empanadas confirm the kitchen takes its Mexican cooking seriously.
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Rank 47. The Marshall Store
Coastal Californian
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Marin County Restaurants
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 48. Michael Warring
Contemporary
A narrow counter in Vallejo where Chef Warring, trained in Napa's fine dining, works seasonal ingredients with precision and restraint. Ocean trout crudo sits beside seared ribeye—each plate a small argument for technique as clarity rather than flourish.
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Rank 49. Kenzo
Kaiseki Japanese
A serene 25-seat counter in downtown Napa where chef Kenzo Tsujimoto composes kaiseki with seasonal precision—steamed scallop dumplings in aged dashi, seared A5 Wagyu with burdock root miso—each course unhurried and deliberate. The room, spare and minimal, invites you to watch the kitchen work while Napa wines and sake arrive in measured pours.
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Rank 51. Picco
Italian
A hilltop dining room with exposed brick and soaring ceilings sets the stage for Bruce Hill's Italian cooking rooted in Marin's produce: duck tortelli studded with fresh turnips, risotto made to order, kale salad brightened with Meyer lemon yogurt. The service moves with practiced grace, the atmosphere warm without pretense, a place where locals and visitors alike feel equally at home.
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Rank 53. Spruce
Modern New American
Spruce pairs California's seasonal bounty with refined technique, as in roasted duck breast crusted with coriander and pistachio. Dinner elevates the experience with careful balance; lunch keeps things approachable, anchored by impeccable ingredients.
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Rank 54. Burmatown
Burmese
A bright-orange bungalow in Corte Madera serves authentic Burmese cooking that sidesteps fusion platitudes. Tea leaf salad arrives nutty and crunchy; potato samosas and egg noodles with barbecued pork and fried garlic sustain across seasons. Local families pack the tables nightly, tended by warm staff—the laid-back charm rewards a pilgrimage north.
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Rank 56. Cafe Reyes
Wood-Fired Pizza
Two wood-fired ovens turn out crusty pies named for local landmarks—the Farallon arrives layered with roasted garlic, crisp pepperoni, and melted mozzarella—in a barn-like room stacked high with seasoning wood. This Point Reyes Station fixture suits day-trippers and groups equally, its rusticity offering no pretense, only honest cooking.
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Rank 57. Mister Jiu's
Modern Chinese
Brandon Jew's Cantonese cooking at Waverly Place marries Bay Area seasonality with classical technique—scallion milk bread that dissolves on the tongue, silken tofu studded with maitake and Sichuan pepper. His Peking duck arrives with whipped liver mousse, a flourish that captures his gift for taking tradition seriously without pretending it needs apology.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Chinese Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 58. State Bird Provisions
Californian New American
At State Bird Provisions, carts wheel through a packed dining room while diners pluck small plates in real time—dumplings, liver mousse, savory pancakes—assembling their own sequence of California cooking. The choreography of choice matters as much as the thoughtful, shifting menu itself.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
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Rank 59. The Progress
Nordic-Californian New American
Sunlit and wood-lined near the Fillmore Theater, The Progress marries California ingredients with Nordic sensibility in boldly seasoned, share-friendly dishes. Burrata arrives with fried butter beans and strawberries; seaweed noodles swim in brown butter and dashi. The Liberty Farms duck, crowned with crispy peanut fried rice, is a showstopper designed to turn heads.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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- 50 Best 2026 · #41 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Kevin Diedrich
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Rank 61. Spread Kitchen
Lebanese-Inspired
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Rank 62. Dalida
Eastern Mediterranean
In the Presidio's leafy quiet, Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz have built something unmissable: a restaurant where Istanbul's flavors—borek, short rib kebabs with sweetbreads, a rolling spread of olives and pickles—arrive at tables meant for sharing. The pita, baked to order in the hearth, arrives pillowy and toasty, a small daily miracle that sets the tone for everything that follows.
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Laura Ozyilmaz and Sayat Ozyilmaz
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 63. House of Prime Rib
Steakhouse
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- Esquire 2025 · Martini · The Best Martinis in America
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Rank 64. Tony's Pizza Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #3 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- Sunset 2025 · Inspired Italian · Where to Eat and Drink
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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Rank 65. Angler
Seafood
A hunter's lodge aesthetic frames the view along the Embarcadero, where an open fire drives the menu—embered oysters with smoked chili butter, a radicchio salad that demands a knife, aged black cod with seaweed-buttered rolls. The kitchen's restraint and deliberation show in every char and sauce, building toward soft-serve sundae in warm salted caramel and cocoa nibs.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Soft Serve Sundae · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
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Rank 66. Izzy's
Steakhouse
A San Francisco steakhouse that has preserved its original warmth while refining itself for a new era, with dry-aged beef cooked over open flame and a bar that anchors the neighborhood's social life. The dining room balances timber and brass against understated polish, though service can waver.
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Rank 68. Carnitas Poblanas El Canelo
Puebla-Style
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Rank 69. Tony's Seafood
Seafood
Tomales Bay spreads out beyond the windows of this sun-soaked oyster bar, where Hog Island's daily catch—briny shells, steamed mussels in spicy tomato, a silken clam chowder—arrives still tasting of local water. Grilled oysters wear barbecue char or garlic butter with equal grace. The setting does half the work; the seafood does the rest.
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Rank 70. Avatar's Restaurant
California-Indian
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski - Atomic Workshop
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 75. Verjus
French
Michael Tusk's wine bar near the Pyramid trades in seasonal French bistro cooking that pivots around impeccable seafood and produce—razor clams with celery and Meyer lemon, a pâté studded with pistachios. The crowd at the bar and counter suggests the kitchen's skill runs deeper than the menu's apparent simplicity.
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 76. Juanita & Maude
Seasonal New American
Scott Eastman's debut in downtown Albany mixes sculptural charm and craft cocktails with a deliberately unfussy communal spirit, the room itself as welcoming as the seasonal cooking. Veal Bolognese carries the weight of his Corso years, while summer squash and halibut sing without pretension, trailing into creamy banana custard that tastes like restraint finally rewarded.
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Rank 77. Le Garage
French
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- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #50 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #13 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Berkeley Restaurants
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Rank 79. Noodle in a Haystack
Ramen Noodles
A narrow counter in the Richmond seats eight across from the open kitchen, where the chef builds each bowl as a composed tasting. The ramen here—broth calibrated across hours, noodles cut to order—arrives as something between comfort and ceremony.
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 80. Abacá
Filipino
Chef Francis Ang channels Filipino tradition through a prism of California produce and playful technique—pork belly adobo with pineapple, lumpia with pear ketchup—in a sunlit dining room that feels less important than what arrives on the plate. The kitchen's confident hand, honed through years of pop-up work, suggests that restraint is not part of the vocabulary here.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Vince Bugtong
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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Rank 81. New Dumpling
Chinese
Dumplings arrive from an open kitchen at this cheerful shop where the chalkboard menu pivots between traditional fillings and offbeat pairs—sweet corn and chicken, scrambled egg and tomato—each parcel a complete meal. The peanut salad crackles with celery and carrots, but it is the dumplings themselves, bursting and abundant, that justify the trip and spare your wallet.
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Rank 82. Tanzie's
Thai
- The New York Times 2025 · Khanom Krok · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Eater Restaurant Where We'd Want to Be Regulars
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 83. Vik's Chaat
Indian
A spare Berkeley canteen where chaat and tandoori chicken share counter space with a grocery market, each bite carrying authentic char and spice. Lunch specials offer serious value; the kitchen closes early, so arrive hungry and on time.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #62 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Berkeley Restaurants
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Rank 85. 7 Adams
Californian New American
Serena and David Fisher cook with unhurried confidence in this railway-style room, where a seasonal menu balances technique with restraint. Handmade pasta and carefully calibrated broths reveal a distinctly Californian sensibility, one that favors support over spectacle.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 86. Le Comptoir
Pescatarian French
At a marble counter beside Atelier Crenn, a handful of diners watch the kitchen plate delicate courses that weave French technique through California seafood and vegetables. The meal builds toward moments of studied refinement—caviar on buckwheat, brown butter on agnolotti—where restraint and precision feel like the entire point.
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- Sprudgie Awards 2024 · Finalist · Best New Cafe
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops In SF
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Rank 88. Kitchen Istanbul
Turkish
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #55 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 89. Copra
Kerala Indian
Chef Srijith Gopinathan channels Kerala's coastal traditions in a lush Fillmore Street dining room designed for lingering. A shell-on Konkan crab curry glistens with tamarind and dried chiles; fried chicken carries the perfume of street-food memory. The food wears its nostalgia unselfconsciously, indifferent to the room's contemporary gloss.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 90. Prelude
American
The Jay Hotel's ground-floor cocktail bar trades the Financial District's noise for moody elegance, where drinks arrive with the precision and restraint of a well-edited film—nothing wasted, every element earning its place on the glass.
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Bars
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 91. Hilda and Jesse
Modern New American
A modernist diner where brunch becomes an argument between restraint and excess, Hilda and Jesse serves a surprise tasting menu that pivots on bold flavor and fine technique. The cooking is brash and unmanicured—a riot of stellar ingredients in unexpected combinations—while the room maintains a disarming warmth that matches the hospitality.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kristina Liedags Compton
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #92 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
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Rank 93. Naysayers Coffee Roasters
Coffee Shop
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Rank 94. Nari
Contemporary Thai
A dramatic room inside Hotel Kabuki sets the stage for Chef Pim Techamuanvivit's refined take on Thai cooking, where California ingredients meet intense aromatics and a deft hand with heat. A brick-red bumbai curry arrives with crispy fried eggplant and ethereal roti; grilled squid shares the plate with sticky-sweet pork jowl and chili-lime dressing. Family-style dining elevated.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Dreaming of Lod Chong · The San Francisco Dessert Bucket List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 95. Mandalay
Burmese
A narrow dining room on California Street fills nightly with the particular warmth of a place that has earned its regulars over four decades. Mandalay's kitchen moves through Burmese cuisine with the confidence of long practice, each plate arriving as proof of that steadiness.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · America's Classics: California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation #4 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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Rank 96. Tiya
Modern Indian
Tiya fuses seasonal California produce with contemporary Indian technique, turning squash blossoms and ramps into something genuinely unfamiliar. The elegant dining room and neighborhood-named cocktails elevate what could be gimmick into genuine sophistication.
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Rank 97. Breadbelly
Bakery
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #8 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The Best Matcha Lattes In San Francisco
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Rank 98. The Cultured Pickle Shop
Asian-Inspired
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #59 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top East Bay Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Berkeley Restaurants
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Rank 99. Kusakabe
Sushi
At Kusakabe, a serene counter lined in live-edge elm sets the stage for an omakase that moves with theatrical precision yet lands every note. Bluefin arrives with yuzu and sesame; softshell crab swims in sweet corn broth; sea urchin crowns scallop and snapper with cured yolk. The kitchen's command of technique serves a singular purpose: making you remember what you ate.
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Rank 100. Californios
Mexican
In a cavernous room alive with color and music, Chef Val M. Cantú channels Mexico's culinary depths through meticulous technique and daring reinvention. Tortillas—whether sourdough crisped with mezcal-battered cod or corn kissed with sesame—become the vehicle for a vision of Mexican cooking that feels both rooted and urgent.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- 50 Best 2025 · #14 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Val M. Cantú