I’m fond of, in no particular order:

Bangkok Bay at the corner of Broadway and El Camino for dinner / dinner meetings / romance;

Venus Cafe next door to that for good cheap breakfasts with welcoming owners who are great bakers;

Le Boulanger at 2525 Broadway at Hamilton for the free wifi and “office away” cameraderie of the regulars;

Una Mas! lunch or dinner for fast food that is actually Food. Fresh, good stuff, even tho’ it’s a chain.

El Grillense, any number of these, individually franchised places around town: again, fast food that’s Food; cheap and filling.

New Kapadokia, Turkish / middle eastern foods, again, good for a night out on the town, romance, biz lunch, good food very well presented. If you’re a purist for honey in your baklava, don’t get theirs, the appetizers and small savory dishes are where they excel. Great choices for the veg*ns in your crowd.

Takeaway from Whole Foods at Jefferson and El Camino—across the street West from the Sequoia Station (Safeway) shopping center.

There’s a sushi place on Broadway near Walnut, about a block away from the metal “Climate Best” arch, that’s a sleeper: they don’t look like anything much in their storefront with the big fishtank in front, but the food! Exquisite. Worth exploring.

For sheer corny old world carvery goodness, Harry’s Hofbrau fills the spot. On El Camino at Main, just N of Woodside.

There’s a good Chinese restaurant in town, and they deliver! Some nice lamb dishes on the menu at Sichuan Delight. They sport a lovely looking dine-in restaurant as well, with unfortunate windows for blaring sunset light; go for lunch or after sundown.

How ‘bout you? Where do you like to go?
Please to differentiate between quick eats, hangouts, family fare, and “a night out with one’s sweetie” places, and/or others.

Amelia’s on Broadway – Salvadorean – awesome platanos con crema y frijoles, great pupusas, nice atmosphere, and Amelia herself is a TRIP

Tarboosh, on Jefferson, has superb Lebanese food. Their baba ganoush is especially nice – with pine nuts -

Main Street Cafe / Coffee Roasting at Elm and Main. Awesome breakfasts and lunches, open till 2 on weekdays. Good strong coffee. Omelettes, pancakes, strawberry-rhubarb crisp, pie, pastries. I am a huge fan of their spicy tuna casserole (on Wednesdays!) And everyone who works there is super nice and they make a huge effort to know their customers; it’s really a small town/community place where everyone knows everyone else and their business.

Those are the 3 best places in town if you are a serious foodie.

Other great and under-acknowledged places:

- Aguililla Market on Middlefield. Oh, yum! and variety. and it is another cool community hub. great food, aesthetically pleasing restaurant, comfy hangout. Aguililla is Redwood City’s unofficial “sister city” with many many immigrants from that town moving here over the last 40 years or maybe even longer.

- La Sirena (GREAT CEVICHE!) on Middlefield. A bit of a dive with the former-auto-body-shop decor but i find that homey and nice. Usually a huge TV with soccer playing. A pool table. And oh the food. Good seafood and great enchiladas too. Everything nice and fresh. Minimal english spoken here.

- the fish taco place on Jefferson up near Alameda de las Pulgas, with cuban black bean soup