Restaurants: San Francisco South Bay

Reviewed exclusively by me!

San Francisco South Bay

With Music

Sam's BBQ on Bascom near Kelly Moore just south of 280. Big bbq. On Wednesday night, maybe others, they have live blue grass music.

Gordon Biersch brewery in downtown San Jose has jazz in the summer evenings and outdoor seating.

A Perfect Finish for Jazz, dessert, and fine wines. Downtown San Jose

Garden City on Saratoga, north of 280.  Jazz trio most nights. Good food but you have to walk past the smoky card room to get there.

Oddities

Global Village Cafe at 209 Castro, Mt. View. (650) 965-4821  Internet connection and California Cuisine.

Russian Cafe on Winchester, South of Hamilton. Authentic meals at a few small tables over the wall from the deli. Lunch and Dinner. Tell Rema, "vkusno".
(408) 379-6680

Aloha Family Restaurant on Milpitas blvd in Milpitas Town Center serves a luau every single day. Superb Kailua pig - don't eat too much! Call at 888-ALOOOHA and they cater. Take Calaveras Blvd off ramp.

Gaesung House of Tofu 2089 El Camino in Santa Clara. 408 248-8638 is simply mad about tofu. Nice selection of kim chee and a wonderful assortment of tofu dishes like you've never seen before.

Mexican

Fiesta del Mar on Moffet, South of 101. Have the chicken enjococado! (Grandma's secret)

Victor's Taqueria on Winchester, South of 280. Simply excellent food in a simple setting. (408) 249-6822

Italian

Mio Vicino in Campbell or downtown Santa Clara (408) 378-0335

Meat

The Outback. Mediocre food, but lots of it. Let me tell you... bacon cheese fries: serves 4 - 4500 calories each, 3800 from fat. Yikes!

Cajun

Poor House Bistro near the San Jose Pavilion. Casual atmosphere in an old house.  Live blues on Friday and Saturday; we were told that on those days the outdoor tables are filled by 6:15. The absolute best meal here is the BBQ Shrimp. My God, just tremendous. 408.292.5837

Breakfasts

The Original Pancake House on Sunnyvale-Saratoga south of 85. Have the 49er flap jacks! or a Dutch baby. 408 255-7373

Donuts

Stan's on Homestead near Lawrence, across from the swim center.  This is absolutely the best. Try the glazed (everyone gets two), or a cinnamon roll if you dare.  Krispy Kreams are nothing compared to this.

Cuban

Habana Cuba at 238 Race St, San Jose. 408.998-cuba  Janet found it and we had excellent food. Lechon a la Cubana was very good. Too much food though, be careful! The guava dessert was good, the shredded coconut was even better.

 

Interesting Places

The Loft bar bistro in San Jose has a cool outdoor roof top seating area. We went there once and had a very good time.

With Beer

Gordon Biersch in downtown San Jose has jazz in the evenings

Fault Line Brewery off Oakmead Parkway in Sunnyvale. Quite a place on Friday evenings.  Excellent trendy food.

Stoddards in downtown Sunnyvale pours a nice ale and has nice, trendy food.

Sushi

Trendy

7 in San Jose. They wish it had a New York club atmosphere. A nice ambiance and great food. The steak is just fantastic. The chocolate mousse is more of a liquid cake. 754 The Alameda.
(408) 280-1644

BBQ

Sam's BBQ on Bascom near Kelly Moore just south of 280. Big bbq, ribs and chicken and sausage. On Wednesday night, maybe others, they have live blue grass music in their canvass enclosed outdoor seating area.

Austin's on El Camino in Mt. View. I stopped by one lonely night and had a plate full of delicious BBQ ribs. Nice, heavy decor.
650 969-9191

Armadillo Willy's We eat at one for lunch every week. The rib lunch is just the right size. Carolina Pork Salad is an interesting twist. Some locations have fish tacos that are delicious.

Chinese

Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Harbor - 1135 N. Lawrence Expressway, Sunnyvale. You'll think you're back in Hong Kong. We had six fantastic dishes. My friends say the dim sum is also excellent.
408.734.2828

Canton Delights  in the old Sizzler near Marina market to the right of Target on Steven's creek in Cupertino. Have the fresh prawns. 408 777-9888

Joy Luck Place, to the left of Ranch 99 Market at Homestead and Wolfe.  Excellent fresh seafood and fantastic dim sum. 408 255-6988

Jumbos on North First in San Jose.  No atmosphere, but excellent fresh seafood dishes.

Spice Islands Cafe, ok this is really Singaporean - Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine. 210 Hope in Mt View. Excellent. 650.961.0628

Eastern

Pasand Indian at Lawrence and El Camino (408) 241-5150

Paradise Persian on Phyliss, just off Grant, South of El Camino. Have the pomegranate and walnut chicken!

Royal Taj on Camden East of Hwy17

Dasaprakash - 2636 East Homestead, Santa Clara. A vegetarian place that has incredible food. The best dosa I've ever had. And the wait staff is very, very nice. Interior is done with a splash - gold, yellow, purple. 408.246.8292

Seafood

Race Street Seafood - 253 Race Street, San Jose. Loud, big, cramped. They grill fresh fish to order. The place is packed with people.
408.294.4857