The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near The Ameswell Hotel
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Rank 1. The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse
Modern Seafood
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Rank 2. Little Blue Door
Cal-Indian
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Rank 3. Annachikadai
Chettinad-Style
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Rank 4. Zareen's
Indian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Zareen Khan
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Palo Alto Restaurants
- Eater The 17 Best Restaurants in Palo Alto
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Rank 5. 10 Butchers Korean BBQ
Korean Barbecue
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #74 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 6. Protégé
Contemporary New American
Chef Anthony Secviar, a French Laundry alum, pairs refined but unfussy cooking—think sablefish with sweet onion dashi, morel lasagna—with a sommelier's wine list in a relaxed modern room. The lounge's à la carte and trolley desserts balance the tasting menu's ambition without pretension.
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Rank 7. Aurum
Contemporary Indian
Aurum wraps diners in jewel tones and eclectic glass, a sleek Indian dining room where Chef Manish Tyagi resurrects forgotten regional recipes with precise, varied seasoning. Lamb skewers perfumed with roasted spices and tapioca kheer that transcends its humble origins mark a kitchen uninterested in the expected.
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Rank 8. Quattro Restaurant and Bar
Modern Italian
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Rank 9. INDO Restaurant & Lounge
Indonesian
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Rank 11. Ettan
Upscale Indian
Srijith Gopinathan's upscale Indian restaurant occupies an airy, skylit bi-level space in Palo Alto where indigo fabrics and floral wallpaper set a refined stage. Kulchas stuffed with seasonal peas and ricotta arrive alongside bright green kale chutney, while crisp branzino meets green garlic and chili—each plate built around local ingredients and a cook's genuine conviction.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Srijith Gopinathan
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 12. Mediterranean Wraps
Mediterranean
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Rank 13. Sun of Wolf
Mexican
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Rank 14. Naschmarkt
Austrian/German
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Rank 15. Terún
Neopolitan
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Rank 16. Sifu Wong Kitchen
Chinese
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Rank 17. Sekoya
Mediterranean
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A wood-fired hearth and copper vessels warm this central Palo Alto dining room, where grilled vegetables emerge smoky and tender, lamb souvlaki stays impossibly moist, and pumpkin cheesecake balances sweetness with poached fruit. The scene runs formal and prices follow accordingly, though lunch offers a lighter touch.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Palo Alto Restaurants
- Eater The 17 Best Restaurants in Palo Alto
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Rank 20. The Yellow Chilli
Indian
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Rank 21. Zola
French
Zola trades pure formality for the ease of a French bistro steeped in California light. Mussels swim in vermouth cream; a soft egg breaks over Parisian gnocchi thick with mushrooms; filet mignon arrives with pommes purées and sauce Périgueux. The room splits between intimate dining and a livelier bar where cocktails and a wine list balancing Bordeaux with Napa feel equally at home.
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Rank 22. Coconuts
Caribbean
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Rank 23. Ramen Nagi
Japanese Noodles
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Rank 24. Ethel's Fancy
Californian New American
Chef Scott Nishiyama trades fine dining for casual California cooking, crafting a small shared menu where swordfish katsu meets spiced kumquats with understated grace. Rustic-elegant rooms and desserts like hojicha tapioca pudding with rice cracker bark make this Palo Alto spot feel like a refined dinner at a friend's table.
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Rank 25. Rooh
Progressive Indian
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Rank 26. Bevri
Georgian Eastern European
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Rank 27. Telefèric Barcelona
Spanish
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Rank 28. Wildseed
Californian
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Rank 29. Alexander's Steakhouse
American/Japanese
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Rank 30. Eylan
Contemporary Indian
Chef Srijith Gopinathan's Menlo Park dining room marries regional Indian technique with California ingredients—a flatbread of Dungeness crab and fennel-poppy sauce announces the approach immediately. Wood-fired cooking lends char and smoke throughout, whether to gulf shrimp or whole sea bream, each plate balanced enough to stand alone.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #70 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 31. Saint Michael's Alley
Californian
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Rank 32. Meyhouse
Turkish
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Rank 34. Tamarine Restaurant
Modern Vietnamese
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Rank 35. President's Terrace
Californian
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Rank 37. Oklava
Turkish
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Rank 38. Macarena
Spanish
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Rank 40. Kunjip
Korean
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #67 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 41. Vina Enoteca
Italian
An Italian owner's passion project in an industrial-chic space with soaring ceilings and soft leather chairs. House-made pastas—particularly spinach tagliatelle wound with local pork and beef ragù—anchor a kitchen that sources heavily from Stanford Education Farm and crafts its own breads and pizzas. Friendly, efficient service whether you're at the bar or the table.
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #3 · U.S. Barista Championship · Jason Yeo
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
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Rank 44. Mrs Khan Uyghur Cuisine
Uyghur Middle Eastern
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #94 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 47. Madera
Contemporary
Madera's vaulted dining room overlooks the Santa Cruz Mountains while an almond wood-fired grill lends restrained smoke to ingredient-driven pastas and steaks. Silicon Valley's power brokers come here less for ostentation than for quietly confident cooking and the hotel's tranquil, mountain-lodge sophistication.
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Rank 48. MoDo
Hawaiian
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Rank 49. Yeobo, Darling
Korean Contemporary
In a Menlo Park storefront, Meichih and Michael Kim channel Korean and Taiwanese influences through small plates designed for sharing: a crisp potato jeon crowned with uni and prosciutto, lasagna layered with soy-braised pork, wagyu kalbi with house-made banchan. The cooking is precise and playful, comfort and technique in constant conversation, finishing with creamy soft serve and seasonal fruit.
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Rank 50. Camper
Californian New American
Corner windows flood this Menlo Park kitchen with light while it pursues Californian cooking with real depth—a ten-hour ragù, potato soup with green garlic pesto, buttermilk fried chicken. The caramelized milk jam pudding finishes what the buzzing room and open kitchen promise.
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Rank 51. Flea St. Cafe
Farm-to-table New American
A converted house in Menlo Park where chef Jesse Dunford Wales sources vegetables from nearby farms for unfussy, ingredient-driven cooking. The small rooms and eclectic artwork preserve the intimate feeling that has defined the place since 1980.
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Rank 52. The Village Pub
Contemporary New American
Behind a modest roadside name lies a polished dining room where the kitchen works with precision: a raviolo bursts with runny yolk and potato; duck breast arrives seared and austere. The wine list tilts toward serious French bottles, but the meal's true anchor is warmth—those Parker House rolls, buttered and golden, arriving at every table.
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Rank 53. Le Papillon
European
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Rank 54. Plumed Horse
Californian New American
An elegant room in a seventies-modern cottage on the peninsula, where Chef Peter Armellino builds his California cuisine around house-made pastas and the occasional flourish—a black pepper soufflé gilded with uni and crab, vegetables treated with the same conviction as beef cheek ragu. The wine program, visible through glass behind the bar, suggests a proprietor unafraid of depth.
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Rank 56. Selby's
Classic New American
A wood-paneled room where old Hollywood lingers: Selby's conducts its modern American menu with genuine ease, from a butter-poached Maine lobster crowned with golden gnocchi to steaks of austere perfection. The kitchen draws from its own ranch, and even the popovers arrive warm from the oven, as if hospitality were still the point of dining out.
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Rank 57. A Slice of New York
NY-Style
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Rank 58. Mingala Restaurant
Burmese/Malaysian
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #58 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top East Bay Restaurants
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- Sprudge The Sprudge Guide To Coffee In San Jose, California
- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
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Rank 61. Royal Thaali
Vegetarian Indian
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Rank 62. Mi Rinconcito Oaxaqueño
Oaxacan Mexican
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In San Jose
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Jose Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 63. Mazra
Jordanian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Jordan Makableh and Saif Makableh
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #81 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 66. LeYou Ethiopian
Ethiopian
The dining room at LeYou breathes with tall plants and coffee-bag tables under glass, a contemporary setting for chef Aida Taye's lighter take on Ethiopian cooking. Her tuna kifto and crisp, chili-dusted kategna suggest a kitchen intent on reimagining tradition rather than merely preserving it.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #46 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 67. Koi Palace
Cantonese Chinese
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Rank 69. Navio
Contemporary
Inside the Ritz-Carlton's clifftop perch, Chef Francisco Simón crafts polished coastal fare—Dungeness crab with apple and sourdough, duck with radicchio and pear—that balances classical precision with an unhurried sense of luxury. The room lives up to its setting: ocean views that flare gold at sunset, a dining experience that feels as much about ease as refinement.
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- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #87 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Jose Restaurants
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Rank 71. Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant
Ethiopian
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Rank 72. Duc Huong
Vietnamese
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In San Jose
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Rank 73. Petiscos
Portuguese Mediterranean
At a corner bar alive with the hum of Portuguese conversation, small plates arrive meant for sharing—broa, octopus salad, grilled sardines—each one a study in restraint and imported authenticity. The braised pig ears, dressed in citrus and herbs, taste like home cooking elevated just enough to matter.
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Rank 74. Fitoor
Modern Indian
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Rank 75. LUNA Mexican Kitchen
Mexican
The moon rises over San Jose in the form of a kitchen where owner Jo Lerma-Lopez sources Rancho Gordo beans and Mary's chicken, then presses fresh tortillas by hand for crisp fish tacos and sizzling parrilladas that taste of real conviction. The cantina hums with the ease of a place built on principle rather than trend.
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Rank 76. Bo Ne Phu Yen
Vietnamese
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #42 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 77. Jubba Restaurant
Somali
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Doughnuts in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle 2026 · #79 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 78. First Born Los Gatos
Fusion Vietnamese
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- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Jose Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 81. Wakuriya
Japanese
Katsuhiro Yamasaki commands the counter at this eight-seat temple of kaiseki, where each monthly menu threads classical technique with California's seasonal bounty—a silver spoon might cradle lobster in dashi gelée, soft-boiled egg, crisp kombu. The steamed black cod arrives flawless, the sashimi course assured, each plate a studied conversation between tradition and the chef's singular vision.
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Rank 82. Falafel's Drive-In
Middle Eastern
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Rank 83. Walia Ethiopian Cuisine
Ethiopian
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Rank 84. Kajiken
Japanese Noodles
A Nagoya import serving abura soba—noodles without broth, alive instead with housemade oil and sauce—where the springy strands taste compelling on their own, though nine topping varieties invite endless tweaking. Watch the noodles being pulled through the window while you adjust your bowl with house vinegars and hot sauces, the kind of small control that makes eating here feel like collaboration.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle 2025 · #35 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
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Rank 85. Orchard City Kitchen
International
A shopping-center outpost where Jeffrey Stout orchestrates a roving menu of global small plates meant for shared eating. Hamachi arrives with avocado-dill purée and sunomono's bright vinegar; shrimp-and-pork dumplings carry a dusting of peanuts and chili oil heat. The room—polished bar, sprawling patio—rewards the kind of crowd willing to order wide.
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Rank 86. La Viga Seafood & Cocina Mexicana
Seafood Mexican
A cheerful room wedged between industrial Redwood City and downtown serves seafood with the urgency of a market stall. Fried snapper tacos arrive with chipotle crema; tallarines con mariscos pile al dente noodles, pristine shellfish, and spicy tomato into something generous and cheap. The kitchen trades precision for volume and heat—a philosophy that works.
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Rank 87. El Paisa By Los Alegres
Mexican
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Rank 88. Zona Rosa
Mexican
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Rank 90. Sushi Shin
Omakase Sushi
Chef Jason Zhan works the counter at this understated Redwood City spot with the focused grace of someone who knows exactly what he's doing. His omakase unfolds through carefully sourced seasonal fish—tempura greeneye dusted with matcha, soy-marinated snail, pristine nigiri—each piece a small argument for restraint and precision over spectacle.
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Rank 91. Tai Zhan
Hong Kong-Style
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Rank 93. Lookout Coffee
Coffee
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Rank 94. The Bywater
New Orleans-inspired Cajun & Creole
The zinc bar gleams under pressed tin, and jazz spills from speakers as an open kitchen stacks bottles of hot sauce like trophies. David Kinch's New Orleans love letter serves andouille gumbo z'herbes, oyster po'boys with white chile sauce, and a chocolate-pecan chess pie that tastes like devotion. Locals arrive early; the spell holds.
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- San Francisco Chronicle The Best Coffee in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Top Bakeries of the Bay Area
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Rank 99. Mariscos Costa Alegre
Mexican
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Rank 100. Gombei
Japanese