The Best Restaurants in Los Altos, by the Record
The best restaurants in Los Altos, by the professional record: Michelin Guide, San Francisco Chronicle, and James Beard Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Aurum comes out on top.
Little Blue Door and Sumika hold the next two places. San Francisco Chronicle shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with James Beard Awards next.
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Rank 1. Aurum
Contemporary Indian
A fried potato spiral dressed in tamarind and sweet yogurt sets the tone: this is contemporary Indian fine dining, but the chef would clearly rather you laughed than genuflected. The room in downtown Los Altos runs to bright walls and leather seats, and the menu pulls from forgotten regional recipes while sneaking in a dish literally called "I'm Not Pasta." Selected by the Michelin Guide, and a San Francisco Chronicle pick for South Asian dining in the Bay Area.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Indian, Pakistani, and South Asian restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 2. Little Blue Door
Californian Indian Coffee Shop
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Rank 3. Sumika
Japanese
A glass-encased grill loaded with imported binchotan charcoal sits at the center of the room, which tells you more about this izakaya than any menu description could. Sumika is the kind of skewer-and-small-plates spot where the smoke does the seasoning, from pork-wrapped enoki to grilled chicken finished with sour plum sauce. The oyakodon, smoky chicken over rice with a barely-set egg, is quietly the thing to order.
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