2026 Restaurant of the Year: Ember & Oak
Los Altos' ember-fueled culinary jewel captures our top honor for 2026 with unmatched wood-fired finesse and approachable luxury.
Editor & Restaurant Critic
Priya Raghunathan
Founded Silicon Valley Foodie in 2021 after a decade of cooking professionally in Oakland and Chennai. Eats anonymously, pays every bill, and visits at least twice before writing a word.
6 stories
2026 Best New Opening: Filo Pasta Bar
Downtown San Jose's 22-seat handmade pasta counter took the Valley by storm with zero pretension and sublime agnolotti.
The 6 Best Ramen Shops in San Jose
Ranked after four months, thirty-one bowls, and one genuinely regrettable Tuesday. Updated July 2026.
At Ember & Oak, the Tasting Menu Finally Learns to Relax
Twelve courses in Los Altos that never once ask you to be impressed. After three visits, that restraint is the most radical thing on the peninsula.
Prompt & Circumstance Is a Gimmick That Happens to Cook Well
A Mountain View pop-up lets a language model write the menu each morning. The concept is exhausting. The cooking, inconveniently, is not.
Kaiseki Nishimura Is the Quietest Great Meal in San Jose
Fourteen seats, one seating a night, and a chef who has been refining the same twenty dishes for nineteen years. Book six weeks out.