Diners' Choice: Best Ambience restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area

OpenTable

Updated 05 February 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best ambience in San Francisco Bay Area? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyses nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favourite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you book, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Vino Locale - Palo Alto

4.9

4.9 (106)

$31 to $50

Wine Bar

Palo Alto

About the restaurant

Welcome to Vino Locale serving downtown Palo Alto since 2005!
The only Wine Garden & Kitchen in downtown Palo Alto with Nightly Live Music in the back garden!

Check music schedule on our website www.vinolocale.org
Join us for Dinner, Wine and live music in the Vino Garden!
Dog Friendly Patio

Happy Hour (Tue-Sat) 3:00-5:30
Great wines from California and around the world
Wine flights with cheese pairings
Craft beers on tap & beer flights
Nuts and olive flights
Cheese & Charcuterie boards
Extensive Tapas Menu
Dinner Menu

Top review

CarolVIP

Dined on 25 Jan 2025

Cozy with delicious food. The people who work there are extremely nice and accommodating.

Hashiri Bettei Kaiseki Aoki

4.9

4.9 (24)

$50 and over

Japanese

Saratoga

About the restaurant

We, Hashiri Bettei Kaiseki Aoki, deliver the experience of “kaiseki ryori,” a type of Japanese fine dining which historically developed to be served in the Japanese tea room. The tea room, as a space, symbolizes the home of the Japanese tea ceremony, a simple yet transformative experience offering a pause in time to appreciate the seemingly small experience of sharing tea. As such, we’ve designed both the architecture and the experience, to condense an infinite expanse into an extremely small space.

The space is designed sans distracting elements. Lighting will be subtle and architectural details are clean yet warm. Designed to allow dishes to remain the focal point of the experience, our space represents the endless potential for an intimate dining experience that continues to linger on pallet and in mind well after the end.

Top review

VeronicaVIP

Dined on 18 Jan 2025

my second time at Hashiri Bettei is excellent as expected. A real jam in South Bay area, strongly recommend this restaurant. A great experience if someone didin't have Japanese Kaiseki ryori.

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Experience

Chef's Tasting Kaiseki Experience

Experience

Valentine's Day Special Evenings

Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge

4.9

4.9 (423)

$30 and under

Cocktail Bar

Alameda

About the restaurant

About
Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge is a tropical vacation spot right in the middle of your hometown! Serving award-winning, world famous classic and exotic cocktails along with many original recipes, along with some tasty snacks, Forbidden Island is a retro-oasis in the desert of your busy modern day! Now open indoors (seated capacity only) as well as outdoors in our Tiki Garden/ Patio, 7 days a week.

* Please note that all reservations are limited to 90 minutes for groups of 1-3 and 2 hours for groups of 4-8.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined 5 days ago

We love Tiki Bars and proper Tiki cocktails and this place is a proper Tiki bar and has proper drinks. Fantastic energy and service. The cocktails are fantastic. They have fruity sweet cocktails of you prefer that but most importantly, they have true classic savory tiki drinks. With lots of herbal and spice notes available. Their classic Trader Vic’s Mai Tai was just about perfect. The jet pilot was also spot on. I love that they keep it cocktail focused, and it’s not a restaurant with cocktails. But it would be nice if the food selection was a little bit cleaner. The guacamole and chips was fantastic. However, it would be nice if they had something other than the guac or hummus on the menu that wasn’t deep-fried. But I understand that they don’t want it to be a food spot. Fantastic overall 95/100. Will be back there again next week.

Velvet 48 Wine Bar

5.0

5 (79)

$31 to $50

Wine Bar

Burlingame

About the restaurant

Velvet 48 is a premium wine bar in downtown Burlingame started by 20-year wine industry veteran, Jason Cooper. We offer over 40 wines by the glass, 1100 wines by the bottle, a cultivated beer selection, and a variety of delicious savory and sweet small plates.

We have wines across every price point so there is something for everyone, from the casual wine drinker to the wine aficionado, who will be impressed by a wine collection that houses some of the finest wines in the world. We aim to cultivate an experience for our guests that starts with a complimentary splash of our house label, Velvet 48 Sparkling wine, followed by outstanding service from our Wine Specialists to guide you through our expansive list. We offer a discount of 25% off bottles purchased TO GO.

Due to the nature of our alcoholic license, we are unable to allow anyone under 21 on the premises, including infants.

Thank your for your understanding.

Top review

Emma

Dined 5 days ago

Went to Velvet 48 for the Super Bowl & it was a great experience

Noka Ramen

4.8

4.8 (168)

$30 and under

Ramen

Oakland

About the restaurant

Hello Gorgeous,
At NōKA Ramen, our mission is to introduce Bay Area with our “Hakata” Tonkotsu style — creamy and rich pork broth; pairing with HOMEMADE artisan noodles — smooth, firm and bouncy texture; using Japanese techniques to deliver our guests the golden experience.

Come for noods, stay for cocktails!

Top review

AnnaVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Delicious ramen! Recommend the crabby ramen. We were there on Pokémon night, the waiters were all dressed as Pokémon characters. Our daughter was delighted!

Commis Bar

4.9

4.9 (37)

$50 and over

Californian

Oakland

About the restaurant

With only 10 bar height chairs at the cocktail bar, the COMMIS BAR experience offers a fixed 4-course menu highlighting some the best seasonal Northern California ingredients through modern and classic cooking techniques.

Diners at the bar are invited for 1.5 to 2 hours over the entire course of the meal with the shorter fixed menu compared to our full length DINING ROOM menu experience.

Top review

MarcVIP

Dined on 19 Dec 2024

Incredible food and wine pairing experience. All that in a great and friendly atmosphere. Probably the best in the Bay Area

Shadowbrook Winery

4.8

4.8 (564)

$50 and over

Winery

Walnut Creek

About the restaurant

Shadowbrook Winery has become the East Bay’s most decorated winery with over 75 medals. Shadowbrook is a small production family-owned winery located in the foothills of Mt. Diablo. We offer a diverse selection of exceptional red wines, along with some fantastic white wine options. Whether you're looking for a wine tasting experience, a glass or bottle to enjoy, or even a variety of local beers on draft, we’ve got something for everyone. Pair it all with our excellent food menu for the perfect experience.
We offer various seating options all with beautiful views of Mt. Diablo and our vineyards. There truly isn't a bad seat in the house! Most seating is outdoors to enjoy the scenery, with covered patios, shade, and umbrellas for warm days, plus heaters, a fireplace, and fire pits for cooler weather. We also offer indoor seating, though it does not have the same views. All seating is first-come, first-served. Please note we are reservation-only, so plan ahead!

Top review

Terry

Dined 6 days ago

John was great and attentive ! The scenery outside was peaceful and pretty

RH Restaurant at RH Yountville

4.8

4.8 (5029)

$31 to $50

American

Yountville

About the restaurant

The RH Restaurant is part of the five-building RH Yountville compound located in the heart of Napa Valley. An integration of food, wine, art and design, the restaurant features an ingredient-driven menu that reflects the region’s relaxed refinement, accompanied by a curated selection of artisanal wines and craft beers. Guests dine in the indoor/outdoor space amidst trickling fountains, heritage olive trees and glimmering chandeliers.

For group dining inquiries, please email: yountvillehospitality@rh.com

Top review

LouVIP

Dined 3 days ago

This is one of our favorite restaurant when we come to Yountville. It is upscale, the ambiance we love, the service is exceptional and the food is delicious! This is the second time I celebrated my birthday here.

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Orchestria Palm Court

4.6

4.6 (465)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

San Jose

About the restaurant

Our player pianos make us unique! But our food makes us special. We feature rich European-influenced American dishes using things like:
- Eggs from vegetarian-fed free-range chickens, high in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids
- White whole wheat flour, a variety naturally high in fiber yet light enough for pastry
- Vegetables from local farms that are certified organic growers
- Butter, milk, and ice cream from grass-fed cattle, another Omega 3 source.

Our food is not low-fat or low-calorie, but its ingredients are healthful. The meal will leave you feeling reinvigorated, not weighed down!

Top review

Michael

Dined 6 days ago

A unique San Jose gem. It’s located in what was previously a car repair shop. Inside you’ll find an eclectic collection of player pianos and jukeboxes which randomly play. You order at the counter. Menu is Italian and European influenced. We sampled gnocchi and scampi, both prepared with a light hand, cooked perfectly. The gnocchi was delicious. Tried the shrimp puttanesca that had a fresh tomato sauce with shrimp, olives, potatoes and artichokes. Their house petit sirah accompanied nicely. The atmosphere here is casual and fun. They have a soda fountain with milkshakes and other fountain favorites. They’re only open on Friday and Saturday. So make your reservations for some tasty food in a fun ambiance.

Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club

4.8

4.8 (890)

$30 and under

Cocktail Bar

Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

About the restaurant

***Best Jazz Club in the City, by San Francisco Magazine***
Mr. Tipple’s is a craft cocktail bar featuring live jazz.
-
Reservations have a 90min time limit from reservation time.
There is a $20/guest min for table service
Mr. Tipple’s heralds back to a 1950s NYC basement. Cozy. Dark. Boozy. The intimate setting features local jazz artists up close and personal. It’s a joint where you come as you are, hear great music, tap your toes, and sip a properly chilled cocktail.
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My name is Mr. Tipple. Just a simple and laughable bloke hailing from London. I run a recording studio. My friends joke that you’ll oft find me spinning cocktails, not reeling tape. After a few too many, I usually just sit back and enjoy the music, having forgotten to hit record. Regardless, the band is always jiving, the whiskey is always cold, and we’re having a smashing good time.

Top review

robertVIP

Dined 1 day ago

Awesome jazz music with Mae Powell…best I have seen in three visits!

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Popular dish

Sui Gao Dumplings

Experience

Music Focused Preferred Seats

Experience

- Music Focused Preferred Seats - Center Section

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