The 49 Best Places to Eat in Riverside
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The best places to eat in Riverside, according to the experts: USA Today, Vogue, and Eater have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Rooster And The Pig comes out on top, and the good stuff runs deepest in Palm Springs.
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The Pines Modern Steakhouse and The Steakhouse hold the next two places. Eater shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Vogue next.
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Rank 1. Rooster And The Pig
Vietnamese
The awards
- USA Today Restaurants of the Year
- Vogue The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Eater The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
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Rank 2. The Pines Modern Steakhouse
Modern Steakhouse
The awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide: Forbes Four Star
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
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Rank 2. The Steakhouse
Steakhouse
The awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide: Forbes Four Star
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
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Rank 4. Lola Rose
Eastern Mediterranean
The awards
- Sunset Top Tables · Where to Eat and Drink
- Vogue The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Eater The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
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Rank 5. Alice B.
Modern Californian
Candlelit stone tables and cushioned banquettes set the mood at this modern California-Mediterranean restaurant inside Palm Springs' Living Out community. Sue Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken run the kitchen, turning out wood-roasted seafood and hand-rolled pastas with the kind of ease that makes it look unfair. The Michelin Guide has it selected, and the Los Angeles Times put it on their 101 best in California list for 2025.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times: The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater Eater: The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
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Rank 5. Le Vallauris
Californian French
The awards
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- USA Today USA Today: Restaurants of the Year
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Rank 7. El Mexicali Cafe II
Mexican
The awards
- USA Today USA Today: Restaurants of the Year
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Rank 9. Bar Cecil
American
Walls hung with Calder and Warhol set the tone at this American restaurant and bar, where the design hovers somewhere between garish and glamorous and reservations disappear weeks out. If you didn't plan ahead, arrive before doors open and angle for a bar seat. A precisely made martini is the move, and the burger has earned its reputation as a signature. The Michelin Guide has it listed, and the crowd dresses accordingly.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Vogue Vogue: The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Vogue The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
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The surprise here is that "farm-to-table in the desert" is less a marketing line than a geography lesson: the Coachella Valley is one of the country's most productive agricultural corridors, and this modernist New American restaurant sources accordingly, down to a dedicated garden in Rancho Mirage. The space itself is a polished-concrete interior tucked inside an old Spanish-style building, with a mist-cooled courtyard out back. The bar program runs to house-made ginger beer.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Vogue Vogue: The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
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Rank 13. Cheeky's
American
The bacon flight, five strips in rotating flavors, is reason enough to brave the wait at this daytime-only brunch spot in Palm Springs. Text-ahead seating lands you on a covered patio full of sunglasses and no particular hurry. The weekly-changing menu leans on local produce and runs from breakfast quesadillas to proper coffee cake, with housemade pastries at the counter for anyone too impatient to sit down.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Eater Eater: The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
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Rank 13. Cielo
Steakhouse
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- The New York Times The New York Times: 2019 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
- Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times: The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The New York Times 2019 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 19. Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen
Modern Mexican
The awards
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Rank 20. 4 Saints
Southern
On the seventh floor of the Rowan Hotel, this fine dining room has the highest rooftop in downtown Palm Springs, with the San Jacinto Mountains spread out in every direction. The chef riffs on Southern cooking, grilled steaks and seasonal produce with a warm-weather looseness that fits the setting. Date-infused Old Fashioneds arrive while the light goes gold. Prices float as high as the altitude, but so does everything worth watching in Palm Springs.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 20. Boozehounds
Cocktail Bar
The patio has its own doggy door, and the dogs get their own menu. Boozehounds is a cocktail bar in Palm Springs where the drinks list runs deep and the bar food swings wider than you'd expect, from truffled parmesan fries to tuna tataki to Korean rice cakes. The indoor room is humans only, sleek and air-conditioned, while the enclosed patio handles the four-legged clientele with its own bowls and treats.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 20. Tac/Quila
Modern Mexican
Hacienda arches and in-house tortillas set the tone at this modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Palm Springs, where business lunchers and sunburned tourists in cover-ups share the room without anyone noticing the difference. The menu runs from street tacos to lobster, and the quesabirria short rib tacos come with a side of consommé for dipping. The tequila list is long enough that the margarita flights feel almost restrained.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Moroccan-style tilework and wallpaper set the mood at this hotel restaurant inside Colony Palms, where the turquoise pool has been catching afternoon light since Clark Gable was a regular. The menu keeps things loose, running from snacks and hummus to grilled pork chop and chicken pot pie. Dress is poolside-adjacent, the vibe is old Palm Springs glamour, and someone at the next table may have just driven up from L.A. for the weekend.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 26. Mel's Drive-In
American
The awards
- AAA AAA: Approved
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Rank 27. Del Rey at Villa Royale
Spanish
The awards
- Vogue The Best Restaurants in Palm Springs
- Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
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The mahogany L-shaped bar gives away what Paul Bar/Food is before you've ordered anything: a serious cocktail bar that happens to feed you well. It sits next to a strip-mall dispensary, which keeps the tourists guessing and the locals comfortable. Classic drinks get quiet tweaks, a frozen Sidecar here, a black Manhattan there, alongside a short food menu of wings, burgers, and steak frites that nobody's complaining about.
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Rank 36. Birba
Modern Italian
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A molcajete that arrives looking like a stone-bowl still life, heaped with grilled meats, nopales, and queso fresco, sets the tone at this relaxed Mexican restaurant in Desert Hot Springs. The menu moves comfortably from huevos divorciados at breakfast through mole enchiladas and carne asada platters at dinner, the kind of cooking that takes its time. The margaritas and mezcal flights give you a reason to as well.
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Rank 36. Low Desert Modern Mexican
Modern Mexican
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Rank 36. Peninsula Pastries
French Bakery
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Rank 36. Sherman's Deli & Bakery
NY-Style Bakery
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The red leather booths survived the renovation intact, and the 1970s diner vibe is so well-preserved you half-expect a harvest-gold appliance somewhere in the back. The Heyday is a casual burger shop on North Palm Canyon serving smash burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, and wings alongside strong classic cocktails and a retro playlist that earns its keep. The kind of place that makes Palm Springs feel less like a wellness retreat and more like a road trip stop.
The awards
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Rank 36. Townie Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
The kitchen crew is up at 3 a.m. so you don't have to be, which is the kind of arrangement that makes a bagel shop worth its reputation. Townie is a no-frills NY-style operation in Palm Springs turning out hand-rolled bagels, including a sourdough version and a daily gluten-free batch, plus black-and-white cookies and brownies. Call ahead, because the line in the desert sun is a real thing and a hat will only get you so far.
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