Restaurants in Davis

At Dk's Place, staff members fill a family-friendly arcade environment with engaging, age-appropriate activities for children as well as adults. In addition to air-hockey tables and skee-ball machines, video games challenge patrons to test their dancing, driving, or zombie-chasing skills, occasionally rewarding them with tickets. Although many of the prize counter's gifts and novelties can be purchased with a single ticket, guests can also opt to save up for premium awards, including lava lamps and plush animals stuffed with dodo feathers.

As guests perfect their hand-eye coordination in the arcade, chef Gregorio Oviedo tosses and bakes pizzas back in the kitchen. Layering crusts with salami, artichoke hearts, and 16 other toppings, he creates signature pies such as the barbecue chicken and the hawaiian, or allows diners to design their own.

Malabar owner John Cook has teamed up with executive chef Jose Luis Garcia to add a contemporary flair to time-honored American staples. The menu, which amalgamates influence from Asian, Latin American, and Italian traditions, and spares no expense in terms of ingredients. In order to make his culinary fusions work, chef Garcia relies on USDA Choice beef, hand-cut veggies, and made-from-scratch marinades and sauces.

Large plate-glass windows and modern hanging lights cast a buttery glow across Malabar's elegant dining room, illuminating plates filled with Louisiana-style wings, hickory-smoked pork, and rib-eye steaks cured over a wood fire. While perusing the restaurant's separate gluten-free and vegetarian menus, diners can quiz the bartender about the wine and beer selection.

It is not just the pastas, sandwiches, and pizzas that keep guests coming back to Pete's Restaurant and Brewhouse—the hand-crafted beers also play a major role, quenching thirsts with flavors ranging from the Uptown blonde’s light layers of honey to the highly hoppy profile of the Skinner’s Horse IPA. Pete’s team keeps meals in balance by offering food-and-beer-paring suggestions, assuring diners that the Midtown ale harmonizes with fish tacos and that the Old Town red—a malty, medium-bodied amber ale—improves coordination for slam-dunking meatballs.

The Pilothouse Restaurant plates up breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner aboard the Delta King—a completely restored riverboat that was christened in 1927 alongside its beloved bayou sister, the Delta Queen. Long before the restaurant was appeasing the appetites of hungry diners, the Delta King was busy plying American waters. It was drafted as a troop transport during World War II, and in 1982, the boat sank in San Francisco Bay—where it sat idle, playing ironic games of Go Fish with actual fish for 18 months.

Efforts to restore the Delta King began in 1984, and today, the vessel is honored with its own dock on the National Register of Historic Places. Onboard, The Pilothouse Restaurant is joined by Delta Bar and Grill, a hotel, and an assortment of entertainment options—all backdropped by the Delta King's cherry-red paddle wheel and the sparkling tides of the Sacramento River.

Patrons of Chillers Grub & Brew express their culinary preferences as they build custom burgers. To begin, they select a meat, fish, or veggie patty and couch it within a bun or lettuce bowl. From there, diners mix and match cheese, sautéed veggies, and premium toppings such as onion rings, bacon, and avocado until they have constructed the sandwich that best represents their mouth height. Patrons also can order preconceived signature burgers, including the Hawaiian BBQ or chipotle spicy chicken, and complement entrees with their choice of more 100 beers.