When I go on travelling, one of the things I most look forward to about my trip is the FOOD. I love the variety of cuisines that are on offer in different countries and the excitement of stumbling across great little restaurants or bakery shops that aren’t super mainstream! Being on a bit of a budget for our trip we didn’t eat out every night of our Californian adventure, but boy when we did was the food good!
I’ve put this post together in a ‘come dine with me’ style and have rated the highlights out of ten for various categories; food, presentation, service and price. Obviously, the closer to ten the scores are, the better! Here goes my guide to the best food in California (as eaten by me)!
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Mamma’s, San Francisco
1701 Stockton St, San Francisco
When searching for the best brunch spots in San Francisco prior to our trip, Mamma’s on Washington Square kept repeatedly cropping up. It seemed like this was the place to go and despite the threat of queues to get in, we decided to pop along on our penultimate morning in the city. After a pretty long wait we eventually made it in to the cosy Italian and sat down for brunch. I enjoyed the French Toast Sampler which was served with fresh fruit and maple syrup, whereas Jack went for a savoury option, the Norwegian Eggs Benedict which came with smoked salmon and grilled potatoes. Both dishes were absolutely delicious, although I think my French toast had the edge!
Food: 9/10
Presentation: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Buon Appetito, San Diego
1609 India St, San Diego
Just a short walk from our San Diego hotel and we were in Little Italy, spoilt for choice when it came to picking somewhere to eat dinner. We eventually settled for the cosy and evidently popular trattoria, Buon Appetito. After studying the extensive menu we decided to order a portion of the Calamari d’Orati to share, and then we both opted for pasta dishes. I went for Penne Pasticciate, a slow simmered Bolognese, and Jack decided upon Capellini alla Checca, which featured fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and struggled to finish the generous portions.
Food: 10/10
Presentation: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Price: 8/10
Café Amici, Los Angeles
(in Hotel Beverley Terrace) 469 N Doheny Dr, Beverly Hills, LA
www.hotelbeverlyterrace.com/cafe-amici
We didn’t have to go very far to find this lovely little restaurant as it happened to be run by our Los Angeles hotel. Given the vast distances and terrible traffic in LA, we decided to stay close to home and eat in Café Amici, which turned out to be a great idea. After the complimentary bread and delicious dips, we shared Calamari al Gusto (our favourite) and then I chose a pasta dish, Linguine pollo affumicato e caprino, with smoked chicken and sundried tomatoes in a marinara sauce, whilst Jack ordered a freshly baked Pizza margherita.
Food: 8/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Gracias Madre, Los Angeles
8905 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, LA
A short walk away from our hotel and we arrived on Melrose Avenue and stumbled across vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre. It was pretty packed but we managed to get a table and were excited to try our very first Mexican food whilst in California! Obviously we ordered tortilla chips with fresh guacamole which we nibbled on whilst waiting for our main courses to arrive. As we had been unable to chose between dishes, Jack and I ordered the Fluatas de Camote, rolled tacos filled with sweet potato and other yummy things, and the Chimichanga between us.
Food: 8/10
Presentation: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 6/10
Scalas, San Francisco
432 Powell St, San Francisco
Trying to find somewhere to eat on Easter Sunday in San Francisco without a reservation, walking too far or queuing for hours turned out to be pretty difficult but it did result in us finding a lovely Italian, Scalas, just off Union Square. We weren’t intending to have a big dinner so stuck to a main course each which was just the right amount – my pesto and ricotta filled Ravioli served in a lemon-cream sauce were delicious but rather rich, so I definitely wouldn’t have been able to manage a bigger portion, and whilst Jack’s pizza wasn’t huge, it was equally as tasty!
Food: 7/10
Presentation: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 6/10
Souvla, San Francisco
460 Grove St, San Francisco
On our final evening in San Francisco, we met up with a childhood friend of mine and local to the Bay area. She suggested a little Greek restaurant in Hayes Valley and we were eager to try it out. After a somewhat long walk we finally arrived and were lucky to get a table before the mad evening dinner rush began. Souvla’s menu is not mega extensive but offers a choice between pork, lamb, chicken or veg sandwiches or salads. Between the three of us we covered the lamb sandwich, the veg sandwich and salad, with a side of greek fries.
Food: 8/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 9/10
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The Winner is…
Buon Appetito with a total of 36 points out of 40!
We absolutely loved our dinner here – the food was delicious from the complimentary bread and marinara sauce to our pasta dishes, the atmosphere of Little Italy lovely, and of course the overall price was a pleasant surprise after treating ourselves to two courses and drinks. I would 100% recommend Buon Appetito to anyone looking for somewhere great to eat in San Diego!
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As you can see we had a wonderful time eating our way around California and truly gorged ourselves on all sorts of delicious meals and sweet treats. I’ll be posting individual restaurant reviews for the places I mentioned in this post in the coming weeks, so stayed tuned for those! Have you been to any great restaurants in California which Jack and I missed on our travels? If so, please let me know in the comments below – I’d love to include your suggestions in future city guides. Love V x
