It took almost a decade for contemporary Mexican restaurant Acopio to rise from the ashes of a taqueria that burned to the ground in 2012. It was worth the wait. Acopio feels like a modern Mexico City or Guadalajara restaurant with a menu that makes the most of California’s excellent produce. Dishes like chile adobo duck confit with pipian verde and lemon-thyme masa and mushroom and hibiscus flower tacos are so delicious they haunt our dreams.

From the team behind San Jose’s recently closed fine dining juggernaut Adega, Petiscos’ Portuguese cuisine has earned the casual spot props rivaling those of its swanky predecessor. Crush some fried turnovers and croquettes or the decadent seafood rice dishes at this restaurant in downtown’s hip SoFA District. The massive menu revolves around shareable plates of fish, seafood, and traditional recipes like pig’s ear salad and linguiça with braised peas.

La Foret is located in a creekside boarding house that dates back to the mid-19th century quicksilver boom in the hills above New Almaden. Game is always on the French menu—it’s one of the few Bay Area restaurants serving dishes like elk and wild boar—along with decadent wine- and butter-based sauces. Make a reservation for dinner on the stone patio, just across from the 4,000-acre Almaden Quicksilver County Park—you can go à la carte, or pick from one of three tasting menus.

Le Papillon is a fancy French spot on the western edge of San Jose that's been around for 45 years. They still do classic white-tablecloth service and the decor is slightly old-fashioned decor, but the beautifully plated food is firmly of the modern era. Seasonal tasting menus feature dishes like prawn crudo with kumquat and caviar, and red deer loin with huckleberry and golden chanterelles.

Don’t be fooled by the unassuming Milpitas shopping center that houses Royal Thaali. The bright and cheery vegetarian restaurant is warm, welcoming, and always bustling. People come in droves for the unlimited thaali that’s overflowing with curries, dal, roti, poori, chat, and dessert. Dishes change daily and from Friday through Sunday, you can get the even larger royal thaali for $5 more. This spot is also good if you're in the mood for takeout—the menu is a few bucks cheaper.

Ox9 Lanzhou was the first restaurant in the Bay Area to specialize in noodles native to China’s northwestern Gansu Province, and two of its four outposts are located in the San Jose metro area (Cupertino and Milpitas). They've got six noodle styles you can slurp in complex broths, sauces, and pastes brimming with spice. The sichuan braised beef stew, which takes a full ten hours to slowly simmer, is a real standout—especially when paired with flat, broad noodles.

This is about as close as you can get to crispy, thin-crust, New York-style pizza in San Jose. The shop even looks the part, with a divey, compact spot on Stevens Creek Boulevard where seating consists of a handful of bar stools. In addition to fully-prepared pies (mostly meaty combos with a tangy tomato base) and a handful of classic Italian subs, calzones, and strombolis, the pizzeria pulls in lots of business with their ready-to-bake dough balls and extra-creamy New York cheesecake.

Most San Joseans will tell you that Zeni has the best Ethiopian food in town. We beg to differ. Yes, Zeni is fantastic, but Walia, a restaurant in a nondescript shopping center in West San Jose, has a wider-ranging menu of both classic and less-common dishes that are uniformly delicious. Dig into food loaded with flavor and spice in the dining room hung with floor-to-ceiling drapes and lined with portraits of legendary Ethiopians.

For more than 50 years, Falafel’s Drive-In has been a San Jose landmark. And while it’s neither a drive-in nor owned by a guy named Falafel, the mid-century fast-food joint is a local institution for a reason: falafel that is crispy on the outside, marbled with herbs and spices on the inside, and topped with a delicious housemade hot sauce. Better still, it all comes in a pita sandwich the size of your face for just $7. Grab a spot at a picnic table outside and don’t skip the fresh banana shake.

There are two contemporary Mexican restaurants on The Alameda, but Zona Rosa is the one we keep returning to again and again for creative dishes like tempura scallop and asparagus tacos, and chile relleno filled with carnitas and chorizo. They do reservation-only special menus for occasions like Dia de Los Muertos and Mother’s Day, and we’re especially fans of the weekday happy hour (when margaritas made with ingredients like prickly pear, hibiscus, and chili are just $8), and the daily brunch.