Restaurants in San Rafael

The neighborhood eatery offers a fresh menu of authentic Italian fare for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Start with an order of oregano-, lemon-, and olive-oil-marinated olives ($6), savoring the flavor-infused spheres while a herbivorous tablemate noshes on the grilled polenta cakes with Manchego cheese, mushrooms, and red-wine sauce ($8). Personal pizzas, such as the prosciutto pie with gorgonzola cheese and balsamic reduction ($12), please orbital eaters, while plate-bound diners can feast upon house-made pastas, such as the butternut-squash ravioli with brown butter, sage, and mascarpone ($14). Other entrees include a decadent pork osso bucco ($18) with potato puree and aromatic vegetables under a port red-wine sauce and a filet of sole with veggies and mustard-seed and caper-berry aioli ($18).

Dunya melds Mediterranean-inspired meals from fresh, local ingredients to give San Francisco stomachs an ever-changing selection of delicious eats. A recent dinner menu from Dunya demonstrates the organic slant of its offerings, with starters such as Capay Farms organic greens caked with creamy goat cheese, white balsamic vinaigrette, and gold beets ($5), and crispy ahi tuna tartare paired with avocado salsa and goat cheese sauce ($9). For a main course, Captain Nemos may opt for the pan-roasted fresh scallops, embedded on fresh fettuccini with salmon, organic veggies, and tomato sauce ($16), while meat-meisters can feast on the grilled pomegranate barbecue Kobe sirloin with prosciutto, roasted potatoes and veggies, and dashed with pink salt ($17). Dunya also serves brunch and lunch, with items such as a free-range chicken omelette ($8), Kobe hamburgers with onion marmalade and prosciutto ($8), and seafood pasta ($11), which brings together contentious sea-siblings salmon and prawns in harmonious edibility.

Led by executive chef Shawn Bayless, the culinary savants at at Michelin--recommended and _Zagat-praised Paul K modernize Mediterranean dishes in a warmly elegant setting. Servers whisk complimentary black-and-white hummus and cucumber-infused water to white-draped tables as guests scan the dinner menu. A diverse selection of small plates—ideal for sharing or sating a single Lilliputian—includes potato gnocchi, house fries with harissa ketchup, and pomegranate-braised lamb riblets with garlic yogurt. Entrees weave together Greek, Middle Eastern, and European flavors, as well as Armenian touches from owner Paul Kavoksorian's heritage. Meats are pan-seared, grilled, and wine-braised, and mezza platters feature the traditional tastes of kebabs and baba gannouj, as well as unique flourishes such as carrot-mint yogurt. Selections from an import-heavy wine list—with descriptive headings such as "Bottles Full of Bubbles" and "Rich, White Wines Showing Appropriate Restraint"—fill glasses as diners linger, admiring abstract artwork against a slate gray wall in a dining room with red and yellow accents.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, the brunch menu proffers sophisticated takes on breakfast dishes—in the form of orange pancakes topped with toasted walnuts and a hash of confit duck and onion salsa— as well as lunch sandwiches, soups, and greens. Sipping a mimosa or maple-bacon-infused bloody mary awakens taste buds, and downing a latte made with espresso or green tea gives diners a morning jolt akin to mistaking the muzzle of a pet tiger for an alarm clock.

Broken Drum Brewery & Wood Grill's brew masters whip up froth-topped beers, served in-house or to-go in growlers and kegs, to provide a counterbalance to its hefty selection of Southwestern-inspired pub grub. Home brewers channel German brewing tradition to craft obsidian batches of malty bock beers as well as the Terrifico, which fills pint glasses with crisp mexican lager. The grill's platters include chicken mole, which arrives snuggled beneath a blanket of robust mole sauce and melted jack and cheddar cheeses, and grilled mahi-mahi tostadas topped with mango salsa, black beans, and coleslaw. Broken Drum's patio provides a location for sipping libations, and ample opportunities for tossing table scraps to fire hydrants.

On a charming corner in Noe Valley, the black awning of neighborhood favorite Basso's Restaurant draws guests inside, where they watch chefs pull the crackling crusts of Napolitana-style pizzas from ovens in an open-concept kitchen. Whole-milk mozzarella bubbles on each pie before diners decorate it with toscana salami, organic green-apple slices, or festive tinsel. House-made meatballs, which use beef from the humane farm Niman Ranch, sit inside toasted sandwiches, stand next to forkfuls of spaghetti, or arrive à la carte as sides.

Tub Tim Thai Restaurant serves up classic Thai dishes with spice levels both subtle and robust. Yellow, red, and green curries swaddle pieces of tofu, prawns, and various meats, and sweet chili sauce gives barbecued chicken and pork a piquant kick. Chefs expertly serve up dishes such as pad thai and fried rice in classical proportions determined by Aristotle's renowned rules for splitting dinner.