Diners' Choice: Hot spot restaurants in East Bay

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants that are the best hot spots in East Bay? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Marina Bar and Grill

5.0

5 (43)

$30 and under

American

Discovery Bay

About the restaurant

Marina Bar and Grill is a trendy, casual restaurant and bar situated in Discovery Bay.
We take pride in serving community favorites with exceptional service and a friendly smile.
Our prime location at Discovery Bay Marina offers stunning waterfront views for you to enjoy along with your delicious meal and refreshing drink.
In addition to our extensive take-out menu, we also host parties, events, and all special occasions.
We invite you to come and enjoy an unforgettable time with us!

Top review

Monica

Dined 4 days ago

Always a great place to hang out with friends! Love Rich and Vanitha!

Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge

4.9

4.9 (414)

$30 and under

Cocktail Bar

Alameda

About the restaurant

About
Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge is a tropical vacation spot right in the middle of your hometown! Serving award-winning, world famous classic and exotic cocktails along with many original recipes, along with some tasty snacks, Forbidden Island is a retro-oasis in the desert of your busy modern day! Now open indoors (seated capacity only) as well as outdoors in our Tiki Garden/ Patio, 7 days a week.

* Please note that all reservations are limited to 90 minutes for groups of 1-3 and 2 hours for groups of 4-8.

Top review

MichaelVIP

Dined on Dec 22, 2024

Always great! Can be a little chaotic checking in so would recommend getting there early. Crew on last night were super friendly! Drinks are phenomenal- well crafted!

Speisekammer

4.7

4.7 (1644)

$30 and under

German

Alameda

About the restaurant

Traditional German cuisine- Pickup-take out & delivery through UberEats, Postmates & Grubhub- Limited outdoor dining.

Top review

Gaius C

Dined on Nov 22, 2024

Very nice dinner. Sauerbraten is good . They have many German sausages.

Yoshi's Oakland

4.7

4.7 (8309)

$30 and under

Japanese

Oakland

About the restaurant

Yoshi's has served Japan's best traditional dishes to Bay Area patrons since 1972. The menu highlights artfully arranged sushi, fresh grilled seafood, classic Japanese dishes, and vegetarian fare. Patrons can kick off their shoes in the traditional Japanese tatami seating or dine at tables. Expert sushi chefs create sushi and sashimi to order either in the restaurant or in the jazz house. Start the evening in the cocktail lounge before dinner or have a nightcap after taking in a show in the jazz house.

Top review

Marina

Dined 5 days ago

I've been visiting Yoshis for more than 20 years now, and there's never a dull moment! The food is absolutely delicious, and the service is always friendly. I do wish they had some specials since the prices can be a bit on the higher side, but honestly, it's worth it. The shows are always a blast, and I keep coming back for more!

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Sauced BBQ & Spirits - Livermore

4.7

4.7 (863)

$30 and under

Barbecue

Livermore

About the restaurant

We are so excited to have the opportunity to bring authentic BBQ to Northern California. Our goal at Sauced is to provide excellent food with unmatched southern charm and ambiance. Crafted cocktails, 25 plus beers on tap, 200 whiskeys, bourbons, scotches or ryes and of course our award winning bbq will surely get you Sauced.

Top review

AnthonyVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Sauced is becoming a local vibrant restaurant in Livermore. The barbecue brisket, burnt ends, ribs, pulled pork are amazing. The brussel sprouts, wings are all time favorites. Wide selection of beers. To top it all, they have happy hours.

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Popular dish

Sauced Sundae

La Finestra Ristorante

4.7

4.7 (459)

$30 and under

Italian

Moraga

About the restaurant

La Finestra Ristorante is Family Owned and Operated Sicilian, Italian Restaurant. La Finestra first opened it's doors to the community of Lamorinda on December 1999 in Lafayette, California, then moved to Moraga, California on October 2018.
La Finestra offers an authentic Sicilian dishes with seafoods, pastas, poultry and meat.
We Serve Lunch and Dinner daily, except on Mondays.
Come and join us for live Piano played by Bob Athayde and his friends. Full Bar, Indoor and Outdoor seating, Private Banquet Room .......

Top review

NatalieVIP

Dined on Dec 25, 2024

Every time is 10/10. We always enjoy the service and food!

Blue Sakana - Blackhawk (Formerly Blue Gingko - Blackhawk)

4.7

4.7 (143)

$30 and under

Japanese

San Ramon

About the restaurant

Come to unwind, stay for the unexpected

Blue Sakana is an Izakaya style restaurant with share plates where friends can go to have a drink and unwind after a long day. Chef and owner, JD prepares Japanese influenced dishes from around the world consisting of an eclectic mix of local and seasonal meat, noodle, sashimi, and traditional sushi specialties, with an emphasis on a unique variety of fresh seafood.

The staff welcomes you into their house and offers up comfort, hospitality and fun. Blue Sakana Blackhawk features an outdoor patio and a full bar, stocked with an extensive selection of sake, where our team happily introduce diners to the world of sake.

Top review

MutluVIP

Dined on Dec 7, 2024

The food was very fresh, well prepared and very presentable. The service was excellent with very frequent visits from waitstaff. The indoors was a bit noisy as it was full. Overall, a great place to have Japanese food, especially sushi! Highly recommended.

MUA

4.4

4.4 (1379)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Oakland

About the restaurant

MUA is known for its open atmosphere, eclectic décor, art events and, of course, its delicious food. Ideal for large parties or intimate gatherings, the spacious dining room creates a relaxed, casual vibe for guests to enjoy their meals. A large selection of wines, cocktails and beers make MUA a great spot for an evening out with friends.

Family owned and run Mua was one of the first restaurants to open in what was then Auto Row in Oakland, in 2008. After their first 2 restaurants, Pastoral in Berkeley (first opened in 1982 while still students, 37 in the architecture program at Cal and San-Ju painting at SFAI) then later Soizic (Jack London Square, 1996), they wanted to shift gears from heavily curated menus to more comfort-based fare catering more to the eclectic and artistic community in Oakland. Today you’ll find people of all ages and backgrounds, from Too Short to Jerry Brown.

Top review

RobinVIP

Dined on Dec 19, 2024

Mua was a compmete surprise! Suggested by Open Table, the space is captivating, lively and great food. We had softshell crab, chicken milanese, burrata with grilled veggies in a very good sweet balsamic. Champagne then tea and two excelkent desserts, chocolate pecan pie with ice cream and breadpudding with cremey anglese.Very good value smart food with interesting people.

Bistro 880

4.3

4.3 (184)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Newark

About the restaurant

Bistro 880 offers a Modern American Cuisine with hints of the Pacific Rim. Bistro 880 has been awarded the Diner's Choice Award 3 years in a row in 2022, 2023, and 2024. We feature signature cocktails to refresh your palate. Thursday is Half-Off Wine Night. Bring all your friends or a loved one and enjoy an evening out. All bottles of wine are half off of the menu price with the purchase of a dinner entree.
Breakfast is served Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 10:00am. On Saturday and Sunday, Breakfast is open from 6:30am to 11:00am.
Dinner is served from 4:00pm to 10:00pm Monday to Thursday.
On Friday & Saturday, Bistro 880 is open for dinner from 5:00pm to 11:00pm. Prime Rib dinner specials are available on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Nights. Dinner is served from 5:00pm to 9:00pm on Sunday.
Happy Hour is from 4:00pm to 6:00pm Monday through Friday.
Live Music on Friday and Saturday from 9:00pm to 1:00am. No one under 21 years of age allowed in the lounge area or dance floor.

Top review

David

Dined on Nov 24, 2024

The new menu has improved the food choices, and the service was the best in years of going. Too bad the band, Cisum, was terrible.

Elevation LVK

4.0

4 (423)

$31 to $50

Californian

Livermore

About the restaurant

Open for In-door & Patio Dining! Lunch/Small Plates/Dinner Wed-Fri, Brunch Sat/Sun, DJ Thurs at 6 pm, Live music Fri/Sat 6-9 pm, and Sun 11-2 pm.

Elevation LVK is a full service restaurant at the Livermore Airport in the terminal building overlooking the jet runway.

Every aspect of our service is geared towards fine dining and the most unique experience in a relaxing and inspirational setting while seasonal recipes provide the finest quality of food from California Farmers and Foragers, prepared with love and care.

We strive to make your experience a memorable one, while we change our menu by the season, we will always have your favorites.

Our wine list features the finest local wines.

The dining experience includes calming views of the rolling hills of Livermore Valley in the backdrop to the Airport setting with airplanes and helicopters in the foreground.

The year around aviation events add a novelty to the experience at Elevation LVK.

Top review

Kay

Dined on Dec 15, 2024

So enjoyed the fabulous music by Deborah and Paul, known as Hipster Cocktail Party, while eating a delicious dinner!

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