Restaurants in Los Altos

A haven of eco-friendly hospitality, Vegetarian House stocks its menu of international vegan treats with organic ingredients and powers its cuisine machines with rooftop solar panels. Quinoa sushi tiptoes to the table with avocado, mushroom, pickle, and cream sauce wrapped in seaweed like a mermaid Special Ops agent ($9.95). The spicy cha cha showcases yam flour crescents crumbled and seasoned with spices, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and chili ($12.95), and the seared soy protein of the Pesto Divine lounges in walnut and cilantro on a french baguette ($10.95). Meat-free fiends can savor the Jolly burger, a breaded soy patty with mushrooms, tomato, and pickles attended by seasoned potato wedges ($10.95) or let their tongues play tourist with a Playskool-brand passport and a bowl of singapore curry mi fun, thin rice noodles stir-fried with fried tofu, bean sprouts, and napa cabbage in madras curry ($8.95).

The chefs at Bijan Restaurant draw in flavors from the Mediterranean’s coasts and stir them together to produce their eclectic menu. Their core menu focuses on Persian cuisine, including classic charbroiled kebabs and lamb shank, but they expand the borders of their culinary ventures to include greek salads, italian pastas, and pesto-bedecked pizzas.

In the separate bar and lounge, the very air tastes of distant lands, each table topped with an ornate, delicate glass hookah. Staffers fill the vessels with flavorful liquids as guests relax on plush couches or absorb the technicolor rays of flat-screen TVs. Colorfully painted walls provide a backdrop for details of intricate patterns, from polka-dot tile patterns to a portrait of a zebra donning its traditional jailhouse garb.

Layang Layang pleases palates with its slate of Malaysian cuisine, peppered with Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, and Indian flavors. Sashay into Layang Layang's menu of more than 100 dishes with starters such as the paper-thin pancakes of roti canai ($2.95) or the skewer-speared satay chicken ($6.95). Entree-wise, Layang Layang offers a wealth of seafood and vegetarian dishes, as well as options for land-meat lovers. Liberate delicacies of the deep from a nest of fried taro with the popular sarang seafood ($12.95), or wine and dine the crowned heads of Europe with the princess tofu ($9.95), featuring house-made fried tofu, shrimp, squid, mushrooms, and vegetables served in a savory oyster sauce. Dessert options include the fried ice cream with banana ($5.95) and the fresh coconut pudding ($7.95), diabolically served in the hollowed shell of its own existence. Wash it all down with a Malaysian iced coffee, mango juice, or jus laici (lychee drink).

Hoagie Steak Out's front windows hypnotize passersby with towering images of diners biting into gargantuan cheesesteak hoagies. Inside, bacon, steak, and veggies are stacked within fresh bread in sandwiches named for popular movies such as Scarface and The Godfather. While waiting on a plate of steaming chili fries to cool, diners can study Hoagie Steak Out's vintage wall posters, which depict Rocky Balboa in his trademark black hat and Shirley Temple demolishing a cinder block with her bare hand.

Firmly anchored by the tranquil waters of Shoreline Lake, Lakeside Café offers refreshing café fare to refuel fatigued beachgoers after a rousing sail or lake-monster search. Breakfast offerings such as three-egg omelettes (starting at $7.75) and eggs benedict ($8.50) are served with roasted new potatoes and toast, while pancakes ($7.75) and bagels ($2.25) keep things classic and classy. For lunch, ravenous aquanauts can fork into crisp bistro salads or hot and cold sandwiches, which are served with potato salad or fries. Leafy plates such as the Mediterranean spinach salad with feta, kalamata olives, red onions, cucumbers, and mint vinaigrette ($7.95) comfortably coexist alsongside sandwiches, like the fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil on herb focaccia ($7.95), and classic fish and chips ($8.95).