California restaurants are currently closed for onsite dining in compliance with the statewide stay-at-home order, but that hasn’t kept these establishments from serving their loyal customers in mouthwatering new ways. Rather than suspending their operations completely, dozens of restaurants across the state are now offering special menus for takeout and delivery to satisfy those shelter-in-place cravings. With so much deliciousness to choose from, you might just want to keep #CATakeoutTuesday going all week long.
Google has made it easy to find takeout treasures throughout the state with an update to its Maps app. Shortcuts on the home screen highlight restaurants offering takeout and delivery during the pandemic, and a quick tap will show you nearby options. You can even order food from some locations directly through the app.
Read on for more tips on where to find some of California’s most delectable takeout offerings.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Get the lowdown on the latest takeout and delivery offerings from Sonoma County Tourism, Visit Napa Valley, Visit Berkeley, Visit Oakland, the San Francisco Travel Association, and Visit Tri-Valley.
Best Bets: Healdsburg’s Brass Rabbit and sister restaurant Chalkboard are dishing up a daily three-course takeout meal for $39 per person that includes such delights as house-made pastas and crispy pork belly. No need to order ahead for the lunchtime “drive-thru menu” at Press steakhouse in the Napa Valley—just pull up, honk, and grab a fried chicken sandwich or pork loin cubano to go.
Hit up Agrodolce in Berkeley for Sicilian porcini ravioli, linguini with clams, and porchetta at 20 percent off, plus half off wines by the bottle. If you’ve dreamed of trying the $345 tasting menu at three-Michelin-star Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, now’s your chance to score a multi-course “Crenn Kit” for just $38–55 per person. Along with incredible Thai cuisine, Nari and sister restaurant Kin Khao are packing up curry sauces, stocks, and Dirty Girl produce boxes to go.
GOLD COUNTRY
Find updated food-to-go and delivery listings via Visit Sacramento and Visit Placer.
Best Bets: Sacramento’s South has the fried-chicken goodness you seek, including a “Build-a-Bucket” deal with sides for $28–$48. Localis takes its elegant tasting menu on the road with three-course meals to go ($50 per person) that just might include West Coast halibut, Llano Seco pork, and Mexican coffee panna cotta. Menus change every two weeks. Takeout bonus: Most wines by the bottle are half off.
In El Dorado Hills, Milestone Restaurant is offering a wide-ranging menu that includes everything from Happy Hour Grab Bags to dinner-only entrees like Seared Salmon and Prawn Gumbo and “Bad-Ass Meatloaf.” Even more impressive, this local hotspot has transformed its bar area into a community market of sorts, selling products from neighboring businesses—including puzzles from Face in a Book and teas from Tea Xotics.
CENTRAL COAST
For restaurant updates throughout the region, check out See Monterey, Travel Paso, Visit Santa Barbara, these resources from Visit Santa Maria Valley and Visit Santa Ynez Valley, and Visit Ventura.
Best Bets: Oaxaca-inspired Cultura in Carmel-by-the-Sea is serving up street tacos and take-and-bake enchiladas, plus a weekly “Cultura Cares” subscription box for home delivery that includes dinner for two, two rolls of toilet paper, and a half-dozen eggs. Phil’s Fish Market in Moss Landing has sustainable seafood to go, from steamed mussels to family-size “Cioppino-in-a-Bucket.”
The to-go menu at Hatch in Paso Robles highlights comfort food with options like pimento mac-and-cheese, meatloaf with poached egg, and shrimp with Geechie Boy Mill grits. Got a hankering for Santa Maria barbecue? Hitching Post II in Buellton is slow oak-grilling an array of meats and tri-tip sandwiches to go, plus “DIY Home Meal Kits” to reheat and devour at home. Via Santa Barbara sister operation Lucky Penny, The Lark is serving family meals to go with a choice of entrees and sides, along with those famous Lucky Penny pizzas.
INLAND EMPIRE
Visit Temecula Valley lists takeout and delivery options for dozens of area restaurants, providing locals with all of the information they need to arrange a hearty meal.
Best Bets: The fine folks at E.A.T. Marketplace have a smart approach, reminding diners that “socially distancing doesn’t mean you have to eat junk food at home.” Instead, consider a Yam Tahini Burger or perhaps a Plant Chorizo Pizza made with cashew cheese and roasted eggplant.
GREATER PALM SPRINGS
Find takeout and delivery options via the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau and Visit Palm Springs
Best Bets: In Palm Springs, Workshop Kitchen + Bar has a daily takeout menu for lunch and dinner, starring hearty fare like house-made rabbit bratwurst, chicken schnitzel, and duck fat fries. With locations in Palm Desert and Palm Springs, Evzin is preparing fresh and flavorful Mediterranean eats, from shawarma pitas and plates to za’atar roasted chicken.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
For comprehensive lists of eateries offering takeout and delivery, see Discover Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, and Visit Pasadena.
Best Bets: In Los Angeles, Auburn has a weekly curbside menu of family-style meals (white bean Sonoma duck stew or braised oxtail anyone?) for $39 per person. No need to wait in line for Koreatown’s best hand-cut noodles at Hangari Kalguksu when you can swing by for pickup or have them delivered right to your doorstep. And at Guerrilla Tacos, the “Emergency Taco Kit” will feed the whole family with five pounds each of roasted chicken and carne asada, plus salsa, tortillas, and—why not?—a roll of toilet paper and 30 eggs.
Get your Vietnamese garlic noodle fix from Crustacean in Beverly Hills, or have the restaurant create customized weekly menus just for you. “Pasta Fresca Kits” from Felix in Venice offer a choice of pastas and sauces, from simple rigatoni pomodoro to bigoli with duck ragu. SoCal institution Norms is putting together $35 care packages, including the Bigger Better Breakfast and the T-Bone—filled with all the fixings for a family meal.
ORANGE COUNTY
See the latest takeout and delivery updates at Visit Anaheim, Travel Costa Mesa, Visit Newport Beach, Visit Laguna Beach, and Destination Irvine.
Best Bets: Order curbside pickup at Social in Costa Mesa and relish the mile-high Wagyu beef burger, house-made pasta Bolognese, and double-strength “Anti-Social Cocktails” to go. Malibu Farm Lido in Newport Beach features organic “Quarantine Survival Boxes” that feed 2–4 people for five days, plus a special to-go menu. Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill in Laguna Beach is offering a daily menu of wood-grilled meats and seafood, served with grilled veggies and sides. You can also get empanadas by the dozen or half-dozen, and half-priced bottled wines and canned beers.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Peruse takeout and delivery options via SanDiegoVille and Visit Oceanside.
Best Bets: Et Voilà in San Diego is whipping up satisfying French bistro fare from its à la carte menu, plus three-course meals for $30 per person that you can pick up hot and ready to eat, or chilled and vacuum sealed with easy reheating instructions. Juniper and Ivy’s weekly to-go menu puts a creative spin on comforting classics like mac-and-cheese and pot pies.
Want to help feed hospital workers? Add a “Sandwiches for Superheroes” lunch pack to your takeout order from beloved La Jolla bakery-café Sugar and Scribe and they’ll deliver it to a local hero.
