San Francisco might still be getting its groove back after the pandemic, but Oakland’s restaurant scene is booming and ready to welcome foodies with an excellent lineup of world-class dining options. Oakland stays true to honoring its community’s diverse roots and its food reflects the traditions and experiences from chefs from all regions of the world.

Because Oakland’s best restaurants not only feed your stomach. But the creativity and care that each chef and restaurant owner put into nurturing their community feeds your soul as well. Here are our favorite restaurants that you can’t miss whenever you find yourself in the most soulful city in the Bay Area.

It’s impossible not to fall in love with Chef Horn’s mouthwatering “West Coast Barbecue.” As the most popular meat choice, the brisket melts in your mouth, especially with a splattering of Horn’s tangy, sweet BBQ sauce. And in a genius move, the kitchen decided to start making smashburgers made with ground brisket trimming, which just thinking about it should make you salivate. The spare ribs also fall off the bone, the pulled pork is soft and fatty and the smoked chicken is just as juicy as the red meat. The jalapeño cheddar and traditional hot links are made in-house with ground brisket trim, and are some of the most flavorful links you’ll get to try.

The sides deserve accolades all on their own. We couldn’t get enough of the Granny Potatoes, made up of roasted potatoes, lots of sour cream, green onion and cheddar cheese, which was the perfect complement to every bite. No BBQ would be complete without some baked beans, and Horn’s pit beans come real saucy with tender chunks of brisket. There are also the usual suspects you always want accompanying the meats including mac n cheese, crunchy slaw and corn bread with brown butter and honey.

You can get a taste of Central Texas-style barbeque right in West Oakland. Horn Barbecue saves you a trip to the South, as long as you’re willing to do the line; and you already know that the BBQ is well worth the wait for Matt Horn’s critically acclaimed “West Coast Barbecue.”

Palmetto has an iconic location inside the Oakland Floral Depot building in front of the Fox Theater. And Palmetto wears its center-stage location well, as it just might be the prettiest, most darling restaurant in town. It’s impossible not to love Palmetto’s retro Tropicana atmosphere, with classic diner décor, powder pink walls and lush tropical foliage. Chris, one of the restaurant’s uber-friendly owners, recounts that the initial plan was to turn Palmetto into a steakhouse, until they started painting everything pink.

What was once destined to be a classic steakhouse is now a fabulous experimental hub of multicultural New-American fare. Working through Palmetto’s menu is a delight, as each menu item is extra flavorful and unique in a way that you truly won’t find anywhere else. We could not get enough of the king trumpet mushrooms, which pack a serious kick with a teriyaki-like charred jalapeno BBQ sauce and crispy shallots for extra texture. We also adore the escargot that explodes with unexpected Latin flavors like avocado, cotija cheese and lime. Palmetto also puts a twist on regular steak tartare by adding extra tang with chimichurri aioli and capers, accompanied by a salty piece of smoked cheddar cheese crisp.

Belotti is synonymous with the only stop for authentic fresh pasta in Oakland. This mighty little trattoria in Rockridge opened in 2016, then was named as one of the “Top Italian Restaurants of the World” by Gambero Rosso in 2017 and has been an East Bay institution ever since.

Belotti may be an award-winning Italian restaurant, but it maintains the vibe of a homey local eatery, and a very low-key East Bay one at that. The intimate, no-frills restaurant buzzes with patrons, who are clearly very frequent regulars, chatting it up with gregarious staff members and bonding with other diners about the deliciousness of the pasta. Everybody on Bellotti’s team, especially the lovely Davide from Venice, is congenial and outgoing, and takes care of everyone in the restaurant like family.

The pasta truly lives up to the hype and will easily be the most delicious fresh pasta most Americans will get to try. Belotti’s most popular pasta dish is the Agnolotti, which are beautifully folded, fluffy little pillows stuffed with beef shank, flat iron, pork loin, sausage and escarole that float in a velvety beef reduction. The Casconcelli is also a star, which is another stuffed pasta (shaped like a shoe according to Davide), with flavorful pork shoulder, prosciutto and smoked pancetta tossed in rich sage butter. The consistency of Belotti’s pasta has the perfect fluffiness to bite into and you’ll want to chew on the soft yet al dente texture all day every day.

Other star dishes include the Lattuga salad, which is a gorgeous layering of living baby lettuce that covers an entire plate with a heavy sprinkling of gGrana Padano, pine nuts, plus the lightest touch of lemon dressing. We also loved the Bigoli al Sugo d’Anatra, aka thick chewy pasta noodles with uber-tender duck and its meaty juices sprinked with orange zest. Every bite is a chewy, meaty fever dream.

We’re definitely not the first, nor the last, to preach the gospel of Belotti’s pasta. But seriously, anyone who loves and happens to be in East Bay needs to pop into Belotti to worship at the plate of the best fresh pasta in the Bay Area.

Now, everybody is obviously there for the chicken—and Aburaya’s famous Japanese fried chicken does not disappoint. The chicken is fried karaage-style with no breading nor milk nor flour; just potato starch, which is what makes the fried chicken softer and gluten-free. The most popular dish at Aburaya is the signature four-piece chicken bowl with garlic miso, which is the most popular marinade (although the sweet and savory teriyaki is also very good). Having grown up in Hawaii, I personally greatly appreciate the Loco Moco with ground chicken and a light, teriyaki gravy on rice with a poached egg on top. You can order the chicken in various forms like in a Sando, Burrito or Oyakodon with your choice from many homemade gluten-free seasonings like habanero miso, karashi honey and shichimi (a blend of spicy chili pepper, nori and orange zest.)

There’s quite a bit of science that goes into each dish. Like the Nixtamalized Yams and Maitake mushrooms: calcium hydroxide forms a heat stable gel which allows the yams to be cooked in butter for four hours without burning or losing its form. Then, those rich, almost-gelatinous yams are served on a bed of goat cheese cream and basil oil.

The Foraged Mushroom and Sesame Egg Tart made with locally grown cul-de-sac mushrooms is reminiscent of earthy traditional Chinese flavors from the egg custard made with green garlic, peanuts, porcini broth and chili puree. We also thoroughly enjoyed the Asparagus and Dungeness crab with the light but flavorful beurre blanc with lime juice, zest, essential oils and a homemade red curry sauce.

To start off, everyone needs to try the Crunchy Catfish Salad, which is a heavenly mix of crunchy and tangy textures and flavors. The salad is served with lettuce wraps to be eaten like laarb, and the flavor combination tastes similar to a papaya salad but with extra crunch. Then there are the Coconut Cakes: little bite-sized cups made of tom kha scallops and shrimp crudo topped with big pearly trout roe. The scallops and crudo form a gelatinous texture that’s savory plus sweet and coconutty at the same time.

For mains, you can get Pad Thai with lobster or soft-shell crab that comes with a mountain of garnishes including peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic chives, sweet radishes, tofu and eggs. There are daily specials like the enormous Pineapple Fried Rice that was there when we went. The fried rice came in an entire half of a pineapple that was overflowing with big chunks of shrimp, cashews, raisins and of course, pineapples, with a side of sweet and spicy nam prik sauce to pour over everything.

The restaurant itself is cute and laidback. It feels like a modern, minimalist bistro with a pretty bar where you can sit and have drinks on the right-hand side. The bar has an excellent cocktail list full of colorful signature drinks. The must-try is the Phuket Fizz which has a gorgeous purple color from butterfly peas, mixed with vodka, mezcal and coconut condensed milk which is the dominant flavor. Paying Homage is a smokier, drier number with whiskey, guava, grapefruit and red wine, and we always love a red wine cocktail that gets it right! And then for more adventurous imbibers, Stiff Curry is the go-to made with gin, mezcal, coconut, turmeric and a dollop of red curry paste.

As the most original Thai restaurant to come about in years, Jo’s Modern Thai is an obligatory stop for all foodies in the area.