The surging, post-pandemic wave turning Menlo Park into one of the Bay Area’s most coveted food neighborhoods is spilling over into Mountain View, the Silicon Valley city on Palo Alto’s southern side.
Big-named chefs and restaurant groups are already hearing the suburban city’s siren call, from Craftsman and Wolves to the team behind Doppio Zero—and it’s no surprise that Alamo Drafthouse chose Mountain View as a location for its new Silicon Valley theater-bars.
For now, Mountain View’s restaurants and bars are primarily concentrated in two areas: the pedestrian-only corridor around Castro Street which is doing its best European impression with huge patios and open-to-all lawn games (and conveniently has its own CalTrain stop); and the open-air shopping plaza at The Village at San Antonio Center (which also has its own CalTrain stop). But there’s more to Mountain View than what falls within their boundaries, including one of the Bay’s best Persian restaurants and the trendy Shashi Hotel, the perfect spot to lay your head after a night at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
Allow us to introduce you to Silicon Valley’s newest up-and-comer. Mark our words: this curated list of what’s hot—the tastiest, most elegant, and most lively spots in town—is just the start of good things to come.
The Best Restaurants in Mountain View
Johnny & Sanny's is the Doppio Zero team's homage to Italian-American cuisine.
(Courtesy of Johnny & Sanny's)
Any Day's a Good Day
Italian-American restaurant Johnny & Sanny’s (110 Castro St.) feels a little like a scene from a Fellini film reimagined for the 21st century. From the team behind pizza stars Doppio Zero (which, incidentally, also has a location for its crispy Neapolitan-style pies just down the street; 160 Castro St.), the menu here is a roll call of favorites like traditional meat lasagna, ravioli stuffed with porcini and ricotta and topped with truffle fondue, and chicken Milanese—each executed with quality ingredients. There are pizzas here, too—Roman-style beauties with a light, airy crust—some unexpected dishes (octopus carpaccio?!), and plenty of cocktails to go around. It’s the kind of place that will please a crowd, whatever their level of food snobbery (or not). // Halal Street Xinjiang Cuisine & BBQ (174 Castro St.) opened its doors earlier this year for Northern Chinese and Uyghur cuisine and hospitality. The cavernous space, made cozy with tatami-style booths, features a variety of traditional dishes like hand-pulled laghman noodles and crispy lamb shank. But the restaurant is especially making waves with its whole fish dishes, including the sea bass in green peppercorn broth SF Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez recently called “one of the greatest fish soups I’ve ever tried.” // Broma (1625 N. Shoreline Blvd., Ste. 1) is ostensibly a Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired restaurant tucked inside the buzzy Shashi Hotel. It draws inspiration from those Iberian climes, then recontextualizes its dishes globally: a rich and creamy asparagus cassoulet with lemon parmesan butter beans, a smoky chicken tinga sandwich with Chili Doritos-crusted pasilla pepper, tangy beef tartare with kimchi and leek emulsion. Helmed by Michelin-starred chef Jarad Gallagher and executive chef Aubree Arndt, the modern restaurant is warm (see: fireplace) and lively with an excellent wine list and cocktails from the hotel’s The Emerald Hour bar that are real labors of love (more on that below). // For bibimbap and other tasty Korean dishes, join the waitlist at Kunjip Tofu (1962 W. El Camino Real). They prepare their specialty—silky tofu soup—six different ways with covetable inclusions like A5 Japanese wagyu and Alaskan snow crab. // If you want a little more flexibility with your Japanese food, the excellent Sushi Jin (580 N. Rengstorff Ave., Ste. J) does both omakase and a la carte sushi of the shiromi, hikarimono, and akami varieties—plus hot and cold dishes like gindara saikyo yaki (miso-cured black cod) and kani chawanmushi (steamed egg custard with Hokkaido snow crab). // Widely considered some of the best Persian dining in the Bay, Caspian Restaurant (1910 W. El Camino Real) isn’t messing around with a baghali polo (lamb shank) so tender it falls off the bone; flavor-punching koobideh (beef kabobs), and crispy tahdig rice.
For Special Occasions
French restaurant Chez TJ (938 Villa St.) may have just ended its 19-year Michelin star run, but the intimate restaurant inside a historic Victorian home still remains Mountain View’s most beloved fine dining experience, with seven- and four-course contemporary tasting menus packed with imaginative, seasonally inspired offerings like blueberry gazpacho with sea urchin, wagyu with eggplant and shishito peppers, and halibut with squash and its blossoms. // At the postage stamp-sized Katsu (859 Villa St.), chef-owner Katsu Maruyama prepares bespoke, elegant, and ever-changing Edomae-style omakase for just eight people at a time using classic Japanese techniques and ingredients straight from the archipelago. //
The Best Sweets, Treats + Coffee in Mountain View
Pastries ready for the morning rush at Craftsman and Wolves
(Courtesy of Craftsman and Wolves)
It’s been just a couple of weeks since Craftsman and Wolves (400 San Antonio Rd.) chose Mountain View as the site of its second location, posting up in an airy, minimalist space on the north side of town. Look for the beloved bakery’s seasonal pastries, muffins, croissant puddings, cookies, and crusty loaves of gluttony goodness—plus excellent coffee—before it gets too late in the day, when they are, predictably, frequently selling out of favorites. // Robu Coffee (1980 W. El Camino Real, Ste. A) does craft blends with Asian-inspired flavors (think lattes in black sesame, coconut pandan, and cherry blossom), traditional eye-opening Vietnamese coffee, and freshly whisked matchas—along with a selection of sweet and savory pastries like Korean garlic buns filled with sweet cream cheese. // Yemeni-style coffee and tea is brewing at Sana’a Cafe (787 Castro St.), spiced with the likes of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and pistachio. Don’t skip the pastries, which include options like beef fatayer, rose milk cake, and Turkish delight. // The Midwife and the Baker (846 Independence Ave.) crafts organic, sustainably sourced grains (which they mill in house on stone and sell in bags) into soft country-style loaves, brioche rolls, and ryes, along with traditional pastries like croissants, sticky buns, and scones. // Dig into cigar-shaped rolls of ice cream and fresh-baked cookie sandwiches filled with mint chip and cookies ‘n’ cream at cheerful Kween’s (292 Castro St.)
The Best Bars + Lounges in Mountain View
The Emerald Hour
(Courtesy of Shashi Hotel)
The Emerald Hour (1625 N. Shoreline Blvd.), a hip indoor-outdoor bar that spills onto the pool deck of the Shashi Hotel, takes the craft of cocktails seriously. Mixologists here draw inspiration from high-end clear spirits and farmers market ingredients, creating signatures like Tequila y Mezcal con Mole (made with guajillo pepper, cinnamon, and cocoa nibs) and Make It Snap Pea, an earthy martini made with purple sugar snap peas, amaro, and grapefruit bitters. You’ll find the classics here, too—your negronis, your old fashioneds, your sidecars—along with fun zero-proof options, wines from California and Spain, and a battalion of local beers. // Ludwig’s Biergarten (383 Castro St.) isn’t strictly for beer—they make mean soft pretzels, German schnitzels, and more—but it’s a good spot for a pint all the same. In true Northern European form, they’ve got a massive patio stocked with communal tables for toasting with local and global beer, as well as radlers, cocktails, and wine. // Roger Bar in the Ameswell Hotel (800 Moffett Blvd.), a wood-wrapped present with a colorfully lit glass bar, has a selection of interesting cocktails (think seaweed-infused single malt scotch with aquavit, fennel, seaweed, and salt) to go with low-waste, hyperseasonal bites and a solid happy hour. // Of the two (yes, two!) Alamo Drafthouses opened in Silicon Valley last month, Mountain View welcomed the robotics-themed version, with an interior design paying homage to the region’s tech economy. Their bar, Dumbots (2575 California St., Ste. 99)—inspired by the less intelligent robots of cinema history—is a fun stop before heading into the theater (or not), with themed cocktails like the Rusty Smash (bourbon, strawberry purée, lemon, ginger beer, and mint), 24 rotating taps of local beer, and handheld eats like cauliflower bites and chicken tenders.
