Best Breakfast/Brunch
Hobee's Restaurant

Founded in Mountain View in 1974, Hobee's continues its reign as the area's favorite breakfast and brunch spot with its famous blueberry coffee cake and variety of healthy menu items. The casual restaurant chain serves breakfast and lunch at its Mountain View location seven days a week. What's new:

Best Chinese Restaurant
Chef Chu's

Since opening in 1970, Chef Chu's specialty dishes, including its homemade pot stickers and Beijing duck cooked in a cast-iron Chinese oven, have attracted a who's who list of diners from near and far, including Serena Williams, Steve Young, Justin Bieber and JFK Jr. The restaurant has expanded its services to include drive-thru and no-contact delivery.
1067 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos; chefchu.com; 650-948-2696

Best Coffee House (Independent)
Red Rock Coffee

Red Rock Coffee has been a downtown institution for years, serving the community with far more than just coffee. The shop has been the nexus for community meetings, live performances, recreational activities and art exhibits, and is frequently touted as a great place for networking. Its well-loved weekly open mic nights have returned in person on the second floor after going virtual for 19 months after the start of the pandemic. What's new: "In partnership with the Mountain View Chamber, we're hosting monthly Artists Mountain View meetups, where entrepreneurial artists can learn from each other how to pursue a career or passion in the arts. Red Rock also will be a stop on the Fall Taste of Mountain View event."
201 Castro St., Mountain View; redrockcoffee.com; 650-967-4473

Best Fine Dining Restaurant
La Fontaine

Since opening its doors in Mountain View in 2013, La Fontaine has captured multiple Best Of awards nearly every year. The European fusion restaurant serves French and Italian cuisine with special attention to herbs, sauces and garnishes used in old-world cooking for its dishes, including its cordon bleu, pistachio crusted lamb chops and steak frites.
186 Castro St., Mountain View; lafontainerestaurant.com; 650-968-2300

Best Fusion Restaurant
Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas

Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas serves an extensive menu of a la carte items meant to be shared, just like in traditional Japanese izakaya, or drinking establishments that serve food. Its specialties include everything from grilled and pan-sauteed meats, salads, cold and hot udon, clay pot rice dishes, sashimi and desserts to fusion pizza. There also are two additional menus: vegetarian and gluten-free.
1943 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View; gochifusiontapas.com; 650-965-8301

Best Indian Restaurant
Amber India

A Bay Area institution for nearly 25 years, Amber India in Los Altos serves Indian street food, traditional fare and contemporary takes on classic dishes. The butter chicken and lamb kofta kabob are perennially popular. The menu is prepared fresh daily from ingredients selected with an eye toward sustainability. The restaurant also offers lunch meal boxes and a weekend bottomless brunch buffet.
4926 El Camino Real, Los Altos; amber-india.com; 650-968-7511

Best Italian Restaurant
La Fontaine

See Best Fine Dining Restaurant

Best Mediterranean Restaurant
Mediterranean Grill House

Mediterranean Grill House is a family-owned and operated business that serves classic shawarmas, kebabs and wraps using only all-natural beef, lamb and chicken raised without hormones or antibiotics.
650 Castro St., Mountain View; mediterraneangrillhouse.com; 650-625-9990

Best Mexican Restaurant
Fiesta Del Mar Too

With an executive chef who blends traditional Mexican flavors with a health-conscious Californian style of cooking, Fiesta Del Mar Too offers one-of-a-kind Mexican menu items, including its famed camarones (shrimp) dishes and specialty margaritas.
735 Villa St., Mountain View; fiestadelmar.com; 650-967-3525

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant
Oren's Hummus

Famous for its fresh, direct-from-Israel hummus, flavorful meat skewers and stuffed-to-the-gill pita sandwiches, the menu at Oren's Hummus is full of Israeli staples. Oren's bakes the pita and cuts produce for dishes onsite every morning.
126 Castro St, Mountain View; orenshummus.com; 650-938-6736

Best New Restaurant
Ludwig's German Table

The Mountain View Ludwig's opened in March 2021 with 16 German and local beers on tap. Draft beers are available in 0.2 liter, half liter, liter or 2-liter "das boot" sizes. The food menu is a German culinary celebration, including pretzels with obazda (a Bavarian dish made from brie, cream cheese, butter, paprika and onion); wiener schnitzel (diners can choose veal, pork or chicken) served with lingonberry jam, potato salad and cucumber dill salad; sausages, including a vegan Beyond Meat currywurst.
383 Castro St., Mountain View; ludwigsmv.com; 650-260-3833

Best Patio/Outdoor Dining
La Fontaine

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Best Place for a Business Lunch
La Fontaine

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Best Seafood
Pacific Catch

This isn't the first time readers have selected Pacific Catch as the Best Seafood Restaurant. This restaurant offers a full bar, patio dining, takeout, catering and happy hour Monday through Friday. Hawaiian poke, sushi rolls and tacos are among the many meals that bring customers back for more. The restaurant also is committed to sustainability, including sourcing seafood from environmentally responsible sources as defined by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, using compostable eating utensils and straws, recycling fryer oil into biofuel and composting food waste. The restaurant is planning a remodel this fall. Staying power during pandemic: "Easy-to-use online ordering and mobile app, takeout friendly-food (like bowls and tacos),large outdoor patio spaces."
545 San Antonio Road, Suite 34, Mountain View; pacificcatch.com; 650-941-1810

Best Sushi/Japanese Restaurant
Sushi Tomi

Popular for its sushi and sashimi, Sushi Tomi offers authentic and unique Japanese menu items with vegan and vegetarian options. The restaurant offers takeout and indoor dining Wednesday through Sunday.
635 W. Dana St., Mountain View; tomisushi.us; 650-968-3227

Best Thai Restaurant
Amarin Thai

Winner of Best Thai Restaurant in Mountain View every year since 1999, Amarin Thai features authentic Thai cuisine, including a plethora of curry dishes varying from green curry to golden curry with cauliflower. The restaurant also offers more than 20 vegetarian dishes.
174 Castro St., Mountain View; amarinthaicuisine.com; 650-988-9323

Best Vegetarian Cuisine
Garden Fresh

Vegans and vegetarians alike have plenty to choose from at Garden Fresh, which specializes in Chinese vegan cuisine prepared with no animal products, MSG, trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. In addition to an abundance of vegetable-based recipes like the stuffed Chinese cabbage deluxe, packed with shiitake mushroom, carrot and water chestnuts, the menu includes soy-based meat alternatives including tofu, yuba and soy protein. The restaurant is a Humane Planet-certified business,which means all food comes from farms that follow standards for the humane treatment of animals.
1245 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View; gardenfresh.us; 650-254-1688

Best Vietnamese Restaurant
Pho To Chau

Pho To Chau serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine in an unpretentious setting. The restaurant's appetizers, soups and entrees can be ordered for pickup or delivery. Ordering to-go also has gotten a lot easier. The restaurant now has an app that streamlines the ordering process so food will be delivered at the time of your choice.
853 Villa St., Mountain View; photochau999.com; 650-961-8069