Restaurants in Los Altos

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.

Steaming bowls of soup rest atop the tables at Lunch with Tony, inviting diners to dunk corners of sandwiches into their seasoned depths. It’s a perfect illustration of what the eponymous chef calls "approachable" gourmet food. These made-from-scratch soups teem with tempting ingredients, such as the morsels of corn and chicken in the southwest chowder, or the certified Angus beef and genuine sass in the chili. Bowlfuls find flavorful soulmates in hot and cold sandwiches, laden with Italian meats or pan-fried eggplant pressed between focaccia. The eatery also serves breakfast sandwiches and provides catering, recognizing that hunger can strike in any location at any time.

Cuban herbs and citrus juices marinate the slow-roasted pork in the lechon a la cubana entree, one of the many traditional Cuban dishes found on the menu at the award-winning Habana Cuba. The cooks also fry omelets filled with plantains or potatoes, stuff avocados with marinated shrimp, and craft gluten-free items such as thin rib eye topped with onions. Along with main courses, they delicately prepare nine homemade desserts, including cream-cheese-topped guava shells submerged in a sweet sauce. Bartenders complement meals with specialty cocktails, wines from all over the world, and imported coconut sodas made from the soda coconuts naturally produce when set next to a bowl of buttered movie-theater popcorn. Feasts unfold on Habana Cuba’s dog-friendly outdoor patio or within its two-level restaurant, which hosts private sit-down dinners for up to 70 guests, as well as occasional wine tastings and live music performances.

A musician strums a ukulele onstage as hips sway around him in a hula dance. Laughing heartily with his friends at a nearby table, one man pinches seaweed-wrapped squares of sushi rice—authentic Hawaiian musubi—from shared plates as he talks up his latest adventures. At another table, the diners sing along with the ukulele player, eyes twinkling as the melody calls up memories of home.

This feeling of camaraderie, the spirit of aloha, is what owner Peter Be and his wife, Rena, wanted to capture when they opened Da Kine Cafe in 2010. When Rena, who was born in the Kalihi Valley on the island of Oahu, craved true Hawaiian eats, her choices were limited to lackluster mainland-style interpretations, such as lau lau wrapped in a tortilla instead of taro leaves. She put together a menu of authentic Hawaiian cuisine, with 10 variations of the hot noodle soup called saimin and 10 types of poke, which the head chef of the mainland's most famous Hawaiian restaurant dubbed the best in town. Classics such as the gravy-soaked beef patty of the loco moco fill the menu, waiting to be washed down with fresh-fruit smoothies and on-tap ales from the islands or local microbreweries. Gluten-free options are also available.

The décor reproduces the laid-back Hawaiian feel that Rena and Peter remember, so that even the restaurant’s stage wears a grass skirt. On Ohana Saturdays, visiting musicians take the stage, many of them winners of the Hawaiian islands' most prestigious music accolades, the Na Hoku Hanohano awards. Performers include slack-key-guitar player LT Smooth as well as the singer Mailani, accompanied by esteemed ukulele player Dr. Trey. Starting in the springtime, weekly festivals celebrate Hawaii's music, its dance styles, and its excessive number of festivals.

The Van's has earned the admiration of diners and drinkers since 1947, though its historic teahouse structure dates even farther back—to 1915 when constructed to house a portion of the Japanese Exhibition at the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Perched atop a picturesque hillock, the restaurant's second-story dining room offers panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay and close-ups of crisp white linens, complemented by rich, Italian-inspired eats and select wines. The restaurant's bar area boasts the original wallpaper from 1915, as well as historic photographs in which the Peninsula's water incidentally looks the same.