Restaurants in San Rafael

Cafe Flore serves a distinctive combination of Hawaiian, French, and Spanish influences for both brunch and dinner. Earlyish birds leave the worm alone, opting instead for the kalua pork hash with two eggs, parmesan, pico de gallo, shallots, garlic fried potatoes, and toast ($10.50), or salmon benedict ($11.75) with a side of chicken apple sausage ($3.95). Begin an evening meal with a shrimp cocktail appetizer ($8.95), or get an order of three cheeseburger sliders ($8.95) with onion rings ($4.50). Cafe Flore's chef, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, specializes in scouring local farmers' markets for the freshest fruits, vegetables, and nuts shaped like iguanodons. Take advantage of fresh ingredients with an avocado salad ($8.95, add $3.95 for grilled chicken breast) or dodge the green bullet with grilled NY steak frites in a mushroom ragout ($13.95).

Hanging lampshades and flat-screen televisions cast a warm glow on Knuckles at the Wharf's chic interior, a snazzy setting scattered throughout with svelte wooden tables and padded purple chairs. Lively lunch and dinner menus of bar fare, seafood, and sandwiches go hand in hand with sports games, and a long list of craft brews and cocktails helps patrons toast to the memories of groundbreaking food fights past. Every morning, a breakfast buffet greets the sun as it rises over Fisherman's Wharf with classics that include bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes with blueberry syrup.

Antipasti selections include inventive small, sociable plates such as a Tuscan take on hummus, with white beans and crispy, dippable hunks of rosemary focaccia bread ($11.95), and caprese di bufala con pomodori rossi arrostiti ($14.95), with imported buffalo mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, and basil-flavored extra-virgin olive oil. A wide variety of properly prepared pizza pies please palates like a well-formed tongue twister, including a Mediterranean-inspired pie with caramelized onions, feta, tomatoes, black olives, olive oil, and garlic ($14.95). Meatier fare includes wood-oven-roasted, organic, free-range Cornish hen ($22.95) and grilled New York steak served Tuscan style with roasted potatoes and garlic spinach ($26.95). Reunite your meal with its long-lost pair with a selection from Credo's wine and cocktail menu.

The Starlight Room evokes an ideal atmosphere for the glitz and glam of a drag show. Windows present a 360-degree view of San Francisco's numerous landmarks, and warm tones, velvet booths, glittering chandeliers, and silk drapes crank up the opulence to critical majesty. The weekly Sunday drag show, now in its fifth year, takes this 1930s mystique and races with it in a saucy nod to the variety shows of yesteryear. Hosted by blond bombshell Donna Sachet, the 45-minute shows provide visitors a chance to kick back and enjoy a variety of stand-up routines, female-impersonation acts, and lip-sync performances.

Beneath the yellow tablecloths that brighten Judy’s Café, tables groan under the weight of homestyle breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes loaded with organic ingredients. The menu of recipes devised by owner Charles Bain’s mother has satisfied the stomachs of San Franciscans, tourists, and celebrities who gaze down from photographs and cryogenic capsules. Breakfast poses a choice of overstuffed three-egg omelets and cut-to-order fruit, while lunch presents appetites with sandwiches of Dutch Crunch bread and nine-grain wheat toast enclosing Cajun, Italian, and American cargo. House-made salsa graces the contents of Mexican wraps before heading off to make an appearance at a high-profile fiesta.

When the time came to name his restaurant, Regalito Rosticeria's owner and chef, Thomas Peña, thought back to days spent sitting at the kitchen counter, watching his mother and grandmother carefully prepare family meals. The memory of that little gift, or regalito, fueled his passion as he traveled Mexico researching cooking techniques and perfected his pastry skills at the California Culinary Academy. Today, Thomas gifts his guests with free-range rotisserie chicken, Niman Ranch meats, and authentic Mexican dishes made with as many local, organic, and sustainable ingredients as possible. Every Tuesday, the staff slow-roasts half a free-range hog—humanely raised with plenty of space and free WiFi—for its Pigalito menu, which features tacos de carnitas and other street-food-inspired fare.

The restaurant's open kitchen recalls Thomas's memories of watching his family cook, as well as the makeshift kitchens in Mexico City's markets. A wooden diner counter is all that separates the chefs and their guests as they stir mole sauces, stuff chili relleno with mexican squash, and chop up salsa fresca. Vibrant artwork accents the eatery's yellow-and-chocolate walls, and lemons and limes piled atop the counter's glass divider add extra bursts of color.