The Best Restaurants in San Jose, by the Record
-
Rank 82. Sekoya
Mediterranean
-
Rank 82. Sun of Wolf
Mexican
Driftwood sculptures, artisanal metalwork, and potted succulents give this California Avenue Mexican restaurant the feel of a funky antique shop that decided to serve food, which turns out to be a fine decision. The menu is cheerfully idiosyncratic: lasagna layered with roasted poblanos, empanadas wrapped in a pink chipotle-beet masa. On Sundays the farmers' market fills the street outside, and the kitchen leans into a Mexican-ish brunch that fits the whole slightly-offbeat vibe.
-
Rank 82. Tacos El Compa
Mexican
The chilaquiles burrito, stuffed with saucy corn chips, grilled panela, eggs, and pork en chile verde, is the reason to know this compact south San Jose taqueria. The walls are turquoise, the menu runs to genuinely oversized tortas and Flamin' Hot Cheetos tacos, and seating inside the narrow room fills fast. The San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the best restaurants in San Jose, which tracks with the line out front on any given morning.
-
Rank 82. Tamarine Restaurant
Modern Vietnamese
-
Rank 82. Telefèric Barcelona
Modern Spanish
Gazpacho arrives in a glass porrón, and the oysters come buried in a cloud of smoke, because a Barcelona group opening a tapas spot in a Palo Alto shopping center was never going to be subtle about it. The menu runs through pintxos, paella, and Catalonian standards, with a small shop stocking Spanish wines and tinned goods near the door for the ride home.
-
The servers here will happily explain the difference between cashew and almond-based cheeses without making you feel like you asked something embarrassing, which tells you a lot about how this plant-based Californian restaurant operates. The menu leans into umami to do the heavy lifting, and the mushroom-and-spinach burger with chipotle aioli is a reasonable gateway for the vegan-curious. A Stanford-area outpost of the Cow Hollow original.
-
Rank 82. Zona Rosa
Mexican
-
-
-
-
-