Best Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in Pinole

Always a pleasure and an impeccable experience at The Rotunda. From the drinks arriving before the meal (so many places get this incorrect), to the consommé, to the popovers with strawberry butter, to the large portions of entrees, everything about this place is perfect. My mom and I split the burger (as usual) and it was great. They’ve moved from it being a single thick burger to two smaller patties. The pickles are beyond delicious. I left being like, this is where I want to have every birthday for the rest of my life.

Acre never disappoints. This was no exception. There was a delay in the kitchen and food was taking longer than usual to come out. We barely noticed because we were with old friends catching up. But the manager came out and apologized and brought us a free appetizer and comped another round of drinks, so we were all good!

Amazing dining experience for my husband's birthday. Daria was our server and was excellent. We loved her suggestions on the menu as well. We enjoyed the octopus (best I've ever had), lamb meatballs, Gigantes, Smelt, and the goat stew to finish. We were absolutely stuffed and definitely slept like babies! Everything was stunning. I've heard such wonderful things before coming here, and they had exceeded my expectations.

We returned for a second visit this holiday season; it was wonderful. Got adventurous and had the creamed corn. I noticed my daughters snuck more than an initial half teaspoon taste. It was very, very good. Not watery creamy. This had a nice texture. Try it! The prime rib was exceptional. I had the smaller portion. One daughter had the thinner slices. One daughter had the regular cut. All were sumptuous! Had a baked potato instead of the mashed. It was yummy. We ordered an apple crisp to share between the three of us. It was delicious with a nice amount of apple slices hidden under the topping and surrounded by the usual warm spices. Our server was great! She was friendly, attentive but didn’t hover. Thank you all for a wonderful evening! I may not be back for a while. Palo Alto daughter is moving to Duarte. CA this summer. If she needs help moving, we’ll have to do a farewell visit at House of Prime Rib. Again, thank you!

We LOVED this restaurant. We sat inside so we couldn’t see the movie, but that wasn’t really an issue. The restaurant itself was stunning. Our server David was absolutely lovely. He really made our experience. The food was great, we got the smoked salmon, burrata with pears, sesame chicken, and pork chop. Everything was delicious. For dessert we got crème brûlée and a sort of chocolate mousse. Fantastic. It’s an expensive date but you pay for the food and the experience. Would go again!