Update: Zorba’s is now closed.
Atmosphere: 3/5 ♦ Service: 3/5 ♦ Food Quality: 3/5 ♦ Value: 3/5 Times Visited: A few ♦ Will I Return?: Yes, I like it here. ___________
Zorba’s is a Greek place that’s been around for a long while. They have two locations: Amador Street in Hayward and wayyyy down Mission Boulevard in Fremont. I’ve been to both but I didn’t have my camera at the Fremont one, so I’ve waited until now to post. Cool story, I know….
How many times have I passed Jay’s? Well, it’s on Foothill Boulevard in Hayward just off Highway 238, so I’ll say probably about, oh, 900 times in the past few months. The building that Jay’s occupies is just next to the Walgreen’s at the corner of Grove Way and used to be a variety of other restaurants over the years, as Hayward establishments are wont to do. Notably, I remember a Chinese restaurant; my mom says it was an all-you-can-eat buffet*, though I have no recollection of eating there. No matter, Jay’s is now the big cheese and I was pleasantly surprised by what we found inside….
Buon Appetito has been one of the classiest Hayward restaurants for some time now. Amidst all the good things I’ve head over the past many years, this was my first visit. My conclusion? It was great. In short, the menu had many delicious meat-less choices, the decor was exquisite, and the food was very good. The only problem? The damn place is on A Street in Hayward.
Let’s talk for a moment about how I love Hayward. I’m from Hayward, born and raised. It seems to me that it does a person no good to walk around all day squawking about how horrible his or her hometown is, especially when he or she currently is residing in said hometown. …
Pakwan has been sitting at the bottom of the hill for some time now. By the “bottom of the hill” I refer to the Hayward hills, housing Cal State East Bay (formerly, and better known as Cal State Hayward), and, incidentally, my house. We refer to pretty much everything in Hayward as being “down the hill”, mostly because just about everything is. The Hayward location of Pakwan is just near the base of Carlos Bee on Mission Boulevard (other locations in SF and Fremont), and that facility used to house a variety of mediocre Chinese restaurants over the years….
When I first had a good look at Tomodachi, located between Sizzler and the random Chinese restaurant on the corner of Middle on Hesperian, I could have sworn it was not there. I’ve lived in Hayward for many years and have never seen Tomodachi. My sister, in response to the suggestion of having dinner there, insisted that we were thinking of the Sizzler, just as I did. I’m not sure why it blends into that long-lived Toys R Us shopping center, but it sort of just gets lost in the mess to me.
Which is why I need to post about it. This place should not be overlooked. It should be bursting with business on every night. In my opinion, Hayward has a deficiency in the way of good Japanese restaurants. I do not claim to have patronized them all (if you know a good one, tell me!), but the ones I have attended were less than impressive (save Naked Fish, which was decent). Tomodachi has taken the lead by a mile so far….
Update: Banchero’s closed in 2012.
Atmosphere: 2/5 ♦ Service: 3/5 ♦ Food Quality: 3/5 ♦ Value: 3/5 Times Visited: A million ♦ Will I Return?: Anything for Family ___________
You know how every town has that restaurant that’s been around since the beginning of time? Banchero’s is that restaurant in Hayward (one of them, at least). The painted exterior boasts that this place was established in 1948, and I will not contest them on that. I’m also fairly certain that the façade, the tables and chairs, along with every fixture and most of the gracious and wise employees are from right around then as well. And, let’s face it, they’re all hanging in there….
This seemingly tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant is just near the corner of Mission and Industrial in Hayward, not 200 feet from the Burger King that’s been on the north-west side of that corner for a very long time. It used to be a plethora of other restaurants that apparently haven’t made it to 2010 for one reason or another. I surmise that one reason is likely location – it’s just in a bad place. There aren’t hardly any businesses around (especially since the cherished Holiday Bowl across the street closed its doors a few years ago), and it’s not really a “take a walk around the block” sort of residential area. Hence there are few folks in that area looking for food that doesn’t have a drive thru….
La Piñata opened its first restaurant in Hayward in 1983 and has since expanded to five other Bay Area locations. Apparently they are doing quite well. We patronized the original Hayward location the other day, and were a bit surprised by what we found.
This restaurant is tiny. Like, the size of my mom’s living room tiny. I counted 14 tables in the whole joint, and that’s with very little walking room in between. When we arrived it was packed. Note to readers, 6.30pm on a Friday is actually quite busy for La Piñata. Tons of people already seemed to have gotten the message and were traipsing in and out procuring take-away. Good call. But we were committed to a dine-in dinner, so we stood in wait for a table….
Chef’s Experience China Bistro is one of Hayward’s newest chic restaurants stationed bravely on Foothill Boulevard near A Street. They’ve cleverly revamped this rather large space to accommodate a stunningly modern design, with elegant and tasteful decor that is a complete surprise when entering from the dingy parking lot behind the run-down shopping center where CE is located.
Let’s face it, downtown Hayward needs a face lift. It’s gotten better over the past few decades – B Street can actually gather a crowd (that isn’t necessarily gang related) on a Saturday night – but overall, the decrepit storefronts that line Foothill, Main, and Mission and many of the cross streets aren’t terribly desirable destinations for most folks, especially the younger crowd. And while many businesses have tried to change this, only few have succeeded like Chef’s Experience has….
Update: Mimi’s is now closed.
This is just a teeny quick note about Mimi’s because I thought it was such a good deal that I should share it with the internet.
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Mimi’s is a total chain restaurant, no buts about it. There’s just as much crap pasted to the walls and artificial pep in the hostess’ smile as at Applebee’s, Marie Calendar’s or TGI Friday’s. But at Mimi’s Cafe they offer a free breakfast deal if you join their online club. I know, I hate online clubs too. I don’t want junk mail or a thousand emails a day, and I don’t want to be sold to a bunch of other spam lists. I can’t attest to the last of the three, but I’ve only gotten 2 emails from them in the past few weeks, and I didn’t even give them my mailing address….