The Yummiest Venues & Event Spaces in San Jose

Cafe Pro Bono

★★★★☆ 3.9 (873) • $$$

"Café Pro Bono - A Classic Italian Spot with a Loyal FollowingCafé Pro Bono is an older, classic Italian restaurant with a clear sense of community. The clientele seems well-established--by the time we were leaving, regulars were chatting with the owner, asking about his family as if it were a weekly tradition. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other, which gives it a warm, familiar charm.When we asked for recommendations, we got the classic "it's all good" response. And while everything was good, nothing stood out as great.We tried Susan's Downfall, a delicious ravioli dish topped with a rich Gorgonzola-based cream sauce--easily the highlight of the meal. The Tagliatelle with Smoked Chicken was also excellent, with perfectly cooked pasta and well-balanced flavors. For dessert, we had Bertucci's Favorite, a simple but satisfying vanilla gelato with a boozy berry compote that was just the right way to end the meal. Although- we were brought a delicious port after dessert. What a kind classic touch!Overall, Café Pro Bono is a solid, classic Italian joint that delivers good food in a welcoming setting. However, to stay relevant long-term, I'd love to see them modernize the experience a bit or develop a signature dish that truly sets them apart. Every great restaurant should have at least one thing it's famous for--right now, they do a lot of things well, but nothing exceptionally."

Chaplin’s Sports Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.1 (688) • $$

"I can't believe I've never written a review for Chaplin's before. I went on a Friday night just to grab some drinks with friends. They had a DJ to my surprise and really gave the place a good vibe. We got lucky and were seated in a booth right as we walked in. They have ample parking, but also have street parking available. I got a Moscow mule which was good and some Cajun fries. The Cajun fries had a kick to them if dipped in the chipotle mayo. The service was great with the team checking in every 10 mins to see if we need another drink or food item. I would highly recommend you check it out.Just wanted to add that I went and they had the Formula 1 Australian GP Practice 2 playing so I think they play the Formula 1 GP's here. Great to know I found a spot where I can go watch and have a drink!"

Rise Pizzeria - Burlingame

★★★★☆ 4 (663) • $$

"Went here for dinner with my friends recently and all the pizzas were so yummy! They were pretty busy on a Thursday night as well but the food came out pretty fast. There was a bunch of options to choose from but we ordered the burrata, Ccalabrese + honey, and funghi pizzas. Definitely devoured those slices of pizza. I recommend coming here if you're craving some wood fired oven pizza with a good ambiance."

Campo Di Bocce of Los Gatos

★★★★☆ 4 (618) • $$

"Never knew this place existed. So thankful to family friends for hosting an event here and allowing us to join in on the fun. Such a cool spot for family and friends to play bocce ball, eat yummy Italian foods, chat at the long tables, and order drinks at their bar. Love how the interior was decorated! There are 4 big lanes inside to play with. Such an easy sport to pick up and enjoy with others. Good service when creating our drinks and helping bus our areas! Hope to come back one day to try other cocktails, play some more and check out their outdoor patio."

Wine Cellar Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.7 (704) • $$$

"I love the Wine Cellar Restaurant! I love the outdoor patio seating, with umbrella tables, little lights at night, and fresh air, even though you are basically in the parking lot. Indoors, there is a very quaint ambience that feels a bit like Tuscany. There is a raised area with some tables, and a lower floor, as well as a few tucked into corners. And, for those with mobility issues, we found out there is a little freight elevator that can be used to get you down the stairs if eating indoors. One of the highlights is the cheese fondue. We had that in Switzerland for the first time many years back, and this was one of the few restaurants that served it in our area. It is delicious, although, there is not enough cheese to cover the variety of things on the platter--usually bread cubes, red apples, green apples, broccoli, & cauliflower. I wish they would give you more cheese so that you could finish off your platter. Instead, you end up wasting food. But just having this, with a glass of wine, with a friend, and you have a nice appetizer! The Old Town Harvest Salad is very good, as is the Seared Ahi Salad. I was recently here with people who tried the Chicken Marsala, the Grilled Artichoke, and the French Onion Soup, which were also said to be good. They also have a nice selection to drink: we recently tried their Old Fashions, which took me back in time. It was tasty, and came with a fresh cherry (vs. a Maraschino), and their wine selection is also nice. It just has an enjoyable atmosphere to have a meal. I would give it 5 stars, but had an incident one time with one of the waiters who has been there a long time, where some people had left from another table that we didn't know, and he hadn't charged them for part of their order, so he put it on our tab. When we pointed it out, he said, "Well, those people have already left..." That does not ever mean that you should charge someone else for their meal. So very unacceptable. Since he is still there, I would always check your tab. I also had some issues in the past in trying to get them to cook my ahi tuna to medium rare, rather than just seared, and then having them way overcook it, so that it was inedible, so there have been a few issues, but overall, it is one of my favorite local restaurants to enjoy a meal."

West Park Bistro

★★★★☆ 4 (482) • $$$

"Great for family parties or friend get-togethers. Staff is friendly. Dedicated area to hang your coats/jackets helps too and makes it nice and organized. I always enjoy the food here. Salmon was cooked perfectly and the staff was accommodating to our dietary needs. Consistently delicious which is why we keep coming back. Highlights:- bread & butter - wine selection - calamari - cocktails Thank you for always creating a welcoming atmosphere."

Big Al’s

★★★☆☆ 3 (716) • $$

"One of our go-to places to bring our girls to enjoy a family night out. They have games and good food which is a recipe for a great time!We usually goto Shabuya for dinner but ever since we tried the food here, we've been making it a one stop shop the last few visits. We usually get here early evening time and we've never had an issue getting a seat immediately. They usually have a host standing in front but it's self seating so you can find a table of your liking. They have a great setup of big TVs that are playing all the major sporting events. Below it is a huge bar if you're looking to get drinks.As far as food goes, I went with the Big Als signature burger, my wife ordered the Kicking Cali Sandiwich and my girls ordered the kids Mac and Cheese with a side of tangerines.My burger was delicious. I went with the triple patty since I was hungry. Toasted brioche with three quarter pound patty's loaded with American cheese and lettuce and tomatoes. Overall a very solid burger. From a proportion standpoint, I think the double is the better choice as this one was a tad bit too much ground beef. This time around, the patty could have been slightly seasoned more but other than that, I really enjoyed it. The Kickin Cali Sandwich had the opposite, it was too much bread and not enough chicken. The flavors were on point, just needed more protein. The kids always enjoy the Kraft mac and cheese and more importantly, they give you a $5 kids play card with each kids meal ordered!I have yet to try to go bowling as it's always booked but I hope to try it sometime. The game options are fantastic and it's guaranteed a great time for your kids. Highly recommend checking out big Al's with the family!Pro tip - they have 1/2 off games on Wednesdays!"

The Refuge

★★★★☆ 4 (363) • $$

"I give the Reuben by the Refuge establishment (whether San Mateo, San Carlos, or the former Mountain View location) a solid 5 out of 5 stars, every time. The flavor profile compliments the pastrami so well, I will always order it over any other food item on the menu. (My family lived off of mouth-watering pastrami sandwiches from NYC delis in the 80s, and this is honestly the closest and the best of what we can get in the Bay! The Pastrami sando on its own somehow doesn't do it for me.) I'm picky about my fries so I skip the fried items here. Besides, I enjoy every morsel of the Reuben I can't think about or fit anything else!I got the Half Soup/Half Reuben and the Coleslaw to share, which I love. The Hibiscus Punch was refreshing and not too sweet ;) I devoured them and was happily full to the brim. Service was courteous and prompt. This Hillsdale location is spacious, gets great natural light, has a lot of indoor and outdoor seating. Convenient to access from the parking structure nearby. There are booths and tables that accommodate smaller and larger parties. I'd definitely come again when I'm in the area."

Lost and Found

★★★★☆ 4.3 (264) • $$

"Lost and Found is our new favorite Happy Hour spot to hang out at. Considering I don't like to go to places in SF in my free time or on weekends, Lost and Found was the perfect fun exception. They have really good Happy Hour deals and a lot to choose from which I appreciated. I am used to Happy Hour deals only offering 3-6 items. Menu: https://www.lostandfoundbarsf.com/menu.html Overview: Food: 9/10Service: 8/10Ambiance: 10/10Alcohol: 8/10Parking: 7/10What we ordered: Garlic Noodles - 10/10Birria Tacos - 8/10Lost & Found (LF) Wings - 10/10Ocean Beach Mule - 7/10FOOD: 9/10THE FOOD!!! SO. GOOD. Respectfully, I was not expecting much. Man, was I wrong? The portion was hearty. The food was so flavorful. The Garlic Noodles were my absolute favorite and had the perfect savory garlic taste. The LF wings were perfectly sweet, savory, and sticky. Another favorite! SERVICE: 8/10 Service was standard, nothing above and beyond, but the guy at the bar was chill. Every time we needed something, he was chill about it and attentive. There is water on the tap for self-serve along with utensils and napkins. AMBIANCE: 10/10 The ambiance was absolutely e v e r y t h i n g. What a vibe! The wall art was very cute. You can tell it's stuck on wallpaper but who cares? There were teddy bear candles on each table which sounded tacky but honestly, it was not. On each corner and wall, there are different TV stations turned on. The bar has sports while they have a projector projecting a movie. There is music in the background as well while all the TV/Movie viewings are silent and just for visuals. There is bar stool seating and a small amount of couch seating.ALCOHOL: 8/10Their alcohol is strong even for cocktails. I respect that because I know for the most part, you are paying money for the alcohol haha. But, if you are not a strong drinker, then just a heads up to consider. PARKING: 7/10Located on Taraval Street, depending on the time of day can be hit or miss. We stopped by on a Sunday evening so parking was found right up front and no need to pay for parking meters past 6 pm."

Fitoor

★★★★☆ 3.7 (281)

"Bf and I came here for lunch during an afternoon in Santana Row. The ambiance was upscale and calm, the service was quick, and it was easy to get a reservationHere's what we ordered:- chicken kulcha -- this kinda reminded me of the really good puffy bread from Elephante with some seasoned, ground chicken added in. It was delicious - paratha quesadillas -- this was a super creative concept and my favorite thing we ordered! - paneer / spinach ravioli with saag -- my bf loves saag so we ordered this but we didn't enjoy it too much. It felt like something was missing from the saag and the ravioli was alright, but still a cool concept I've never seen on a menu- butter chicken -- delicious, the chicken was so tender and flavorful, it was cooked well- raita -- good as well, was on the sweeter side - masala chaa -- delicious We're happy to have discovered an Indian restaurant with a great ambiance and food, and we will be back for sure!"

Drying Shed

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (434) • $$

"Came here to celebrate my husband birthday.First time here.Definitely a hidden gem.100% recommend.Made reservations but felt like we didn't need to since it wasn't busy. The customer service was great, our server was really nice. The food was really good. Everyone enjoyed their food. Great big portion. I would definitely be back."

Bowlero Valley Fair

★★★★☆ 3.8 (152)

"Bowlero is one of the big chains in the area as most of the other bowling places did not survive during COVID. We usually go to the one in Milpitas as that one is the closest to us but finally got to check out the one inside Valley Fair as we had some free time this Memorial Day.Here are some of my thoughts:[[ Pro's ]]1.) New Bowling PlaceSince this place is about a year-old, everything is new. You have newer shoes, newer arcade games, newer bowling balls (the balls have two different hole sizes per ball so people with bigger hands can use them). It's a nice feeling going to a new establishment compared to the older ones in the area.2.) ServiceAlthough sometimes service can be slow, I thought the staff at least was super nice and checked in frequently to make sure we are okay. [[ Con's ]]1.) Check-In ProcessI think the Check-In process needs work. We reserved and paid for our lane online and thought they would have an expedited line for us to go through since we just needed to pick up shoes. Nope....We waited in line with everyone else which can be painfully slow depending on how big the party size, people thinking about what they want to do, and even slower if people are signing up for the Summer Pass. Our allotted time was 12:00pm to 1:30pm and we eventually got to our lane at 12:20pm. They didn't short us on time which I appreciate though.The other weird thing is that you can't go to the lane yourself. You have to wait for someone to walk you to your lane which also slows down the process. I like the older establishments where they tell you which lane you were on and you walked there yourself to start the game.2.) 18% Service FeeI usually tip well but I always get a bad feeling when I see a mandatory service fee added at establishments. Just keep in mind if you order anything on the menu, this is added at the cart automatically. It can get pricey if you ordering a lot for your party.3.) Small LanesCompared to other Bowling Alleys, I thought the lanes were super cramped here. I think this Bowling Alley has 22 lanes but it felt so small. For example, if someone is bowling, you have to bend over in your seat to see how they bowled since it is blocked if you sit straight up."

Ghostwood Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.3 (104) • $$

"I've now been here more than five times.And I wanna make sure everyone knows that they have an absolutely insane Smashburger !This burger is fantastic . Do I need to explain it? no, but if you like a good crispy smash burger with a great potato bun this is it.Since they brew their own beer, there's plenty of choices and I know you will like the one that you find that suits you.They've expanded because of demand so enjoy when you can."

Fairchilds Public House

★★★★☆ 3.6 (107) • $$

"Date: Friday, May 26th, 2023Time: around 6:15pmParty of: 6-7 I believeWhat: Happy Hour / Before Dinner Drinks*Moffett Mule ($15)*Whiskey & Ginger Smash ($14)*Gilroy Garlic Fries ($9)*Cabernet Canyon ($10 happy hour) x2*Bulleit Bourbon Rye Manhattan ($15)*Smoked Maple Old Fashioned ($16) x2My group was meeting up for dinner but wanted to grab some drinks beforehand. A few in our party showed up first and grabbed a table outside on the patio. I joined with another friend a little later.One of my gfs is a wine drinker, so she grabbed a few HH cabs. I believe they were canyon road. Not a bad deal. I got a Manhattan. If memory serves, it was fine. Nicely balanced and not too sweet since I requested rye.I'm not sure if they were understaffed, but it was hard flagging down a server. They didn't really check up on us, so we had to keep following up on orders and such. And even the bill. We had a dinner rez, so we were trying to close. I believe I went inside to get the cc processed.I like sitting outside and enjoying a drink or two. But if you're coming here, make sure you're not in a hurry. It may take a while.REVIEW #3534"

Fuze

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (129) • $$

"We had our reception at FUZE after our LGBTQIA+ Wedding at the SJ Rosegarden. We initiated contact with Jenny after posting to a forum site looking for vendors who would work with us with our very tight budget as we were planning for ourselves. We were permitted to use outside vendors for food because of my partners severe nut allergy we had to ask for special handling and in most venues it is required to use their food with no guarantee of this. This is also a woman owned/run business, which was important to us. On the night of we arrived and Jenny was doing Bar service for our guests until he bartender arrived and she continued to bring us drinks to keep our merriment going. The Patio was softly lit, Jenny helps us put out paper lanterns and grab bags for our guests, and she gave us chips to hand out for the two rounds of drinks we were providing. She coordinated with our caterer for delivery and pick up. She even placed a security guard after a patron outside our party crashed out dancing line - every wedding has a crasher right? Our guests had ample seating and appeared to relax, and we danced to the DJ she booked for us, he contacted us for our music preferences and took playlists we made and created a hell of a dance party!We left feeling lighter than air and our guests all had so much fun, they even cried best wedding ever!"

The Fremont Clubhouse

★★★★★ 4.5 (61)

"Nice, friendly service. We had the chicken strips and fries. Good environment and plenty of seating."

W XYZ Bar

★★★★☆ 4.1 (33) • $$

"Sorry to say, this place had gone way downhill on my last visit. Since Marriott took over, the W XYZ branding is gone and it's just "Aloft." The soggy fries were more like any other restaurant, and the soda was noticeably watered down. The steak cut has been downgraded to ribeye.I'm glad I was able to enjoy it when Starwood was striving to bring a premium experience to budget-conscious consumers. Now the budget part is more painfully obvious, and where I had gone out of my way to visit before, it now feels like an overpriced Denny's. Bye, Felicia."

Sundance The Steakhouse

★★★★☆ 3.9 • $$$

"Came here for NYE dinner with a friend. We both ordered the prime rib. I let the waitress know that I also wanted to order something to-go, but that I would tell her later in the evening. She insisted I tell her now and she'd take care of it, and so I did. We were quickly served bread, and our food followed shortly after. The bread comes with a side of butter and balsamic+oil. The prime rib and the accompanying side dishes were perfectly cooked. The prime rib paired with the au jus was *chef's kiss*. For dessert, I ordered the famous mud pie, while my friend ordered the crème brûlée. The mud pie was okay. I was disappointed there wasn't a thicker crust. It was essentially a large plate of ice cream with whipped cream and fudge. The creme brûlée was also okay. It was made with white chocolate and would've been more well-balanced if it came with more fruit.Now here is the kicker. We get the bill and notice the to-go order was not on it. I tell our waitress and she goes to get it fixed. Well, it turns out she completely forgot to place the order and by then, the kitchen had already closed down. This is why I initially said i would personally let her know about my to-go item later, but she insisted I tell her at the beginning. Aside from a simple apology, there was no other attempt at service recovery. That food was meant to be a NYE meal for someone who now had to ring in the new year on an empty stomach. Not to mention, by that hour, it was impossible for me to find an appropriate alternative elsewhere.The food is good, but the service leaves a lot to be desired. I will not be coming back a second time."

Kalesa

★★★★☆ 3.6 • $$

"Service was excellent. Gigi was very personable and attentive to our needs making sure our drinks were always toped off!! Ambiance was nice. Tables were not too close to each other and noise level was tolerable.Food:1) Crispy Dinuguan - very tasty and pork was not fatty. 5 of 52) Pancit Miki Bihon - flavor was slightly bland 3 of 5. Seemed like it was missing something but could not figure it out3) Pinakbet - kind of soupy and we liked as it was not too salty. 4 of 54) Chicken Inasal - flavor was spot on so 5 of 55) Crispy pata - excellent 5 of 56) lumpia shanghai was slightly over cooked 3 of 57) calamari was also spot on so 5 of 5We know what to order at the next visit and we look forward to having Gigi service us. She is great and we really enjoyed interacting with her!!"

The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse

★★★★☆ 4.1 • $$$$

"Service was attentive and top notched. Our waters were always full. When my pregnancy was made known, I was greatly impressed by the thoughtfulness of our servers. While my table were toasting with their wines, it wasn't left out and given a glass of some sparkling pineapple juice. Our server was patient and explained the menu and made wonderful recommendations.Food was phenomenal and presentation was stunning. My table had ordered one of each of their desserts and no crumbs were left behind"