Romantic Restaurants We Love

We’ve complied a few local restaurants that make for the ideal romantic rendezvous to spend precious time with your love. These local Peninsula hot spots are sure to impress your special someone:

Vespucci Ristorante Italiano is your little corner of Italy here in San Mateo. The raw ingredients used are always fresh and our Italian traditional products are proudly imported from Italy. Try the traditional Italian baked lasagna, layers of homemade pasta sheets with fresh imported Italian mozzarella cheese, béchamel, ground beef, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce and basil.

Divino Ristorante serves delicious, authentic regional Italian cuisine, in a casually elegant and comfortable setting in Belmont. The pasta, bread and desserts are all made fresh daily in-house. Try the homemade potato gnocchi with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil.

Wakuriya San Mateo presents a new style of Japanese cuisine that maintains its deep roots in authentic Japanese culture and tradition, yet breathes new life into a deliciously innovative cuisine. You’ll find a classic Japanese style space with a long and open kitchen counter where you can observe Chef Katsuhiro’s culinary skills at work. Try the pre-fixed dinner with a nine-course extravaganza showcasing a large spectrum of Japanese cuisine.

Delizie in San Carlos maintains a cozy, relaxed, yet elegant feel that invites others to join in the ambience that comes to life when the simplest things are brought to the table: good food, wine and people. Try the Tortelloni con Asparagi. This homemade pasta is filled with ricotta cheese and asparagus, sautéed with fresh asparagus in a tomato cream sauce.

Amour Amour. The name says it all! This quaint San Mateo restaurant with a friendly staff prepares dishes with the freshest ingredients, including the best quality meats and locally sourced vegetables. Pair your favorite dish with the perfect wine in the ambiance of Amour Amour, all of your senses will come alive. Start with the Proscuitto wrapped goat cheese, fig jam and almond Sachets! Order the Caille Roti or Kaffir Lime Beef, seasoned with cabernet sauvignon marinade, chimichurri and saffron.

Trapeze is a quaint Italian restaurant ready to tantalize you with a fine dining experience in the heart of Burlingame. Romantic ambience, impeccable service, and scintillating international cuisine make every dining experience memorable in itself. Try Mary’s Pan-Seared Free Range Air Chicken, stuffed with prosciutto and fontina cheese served with vegetables and potatoes with a sage white wine sauce.

Espetus Brazilian Steakhouse offers an elegant ambiance and a welcoming atmosphere in our hometown of San Mateo. You will be transported to Brazil with a true Churrascaria experience of 14 signature cuts of meat roasted over a mesquite grill. Try the Filet Mignon, referred to as the “king of steaks”, its exquisite texture will bring you back for seconds.

image credit: Amour Amour, San Mateo

Featuring best-in-class retailers such as Tin Pot Creamery and Blue Bottle Coffee, Bay Meadows’ Town Square is shaping up to be the ideal gathering place with more groundfloor retail, outdoor dining and pop-ups to come. Soon home to a stunning new sculpture from internationally-renowned artist Jeppe Hein, the Town Square will be the dynamic core of our urban village. With Caltrain electrification to start in 2017, the platform will be elevated and grade separations will be installed on 31st and 28th Avenues, making the Town Square the perfect place to relax outside for a glass of wine or an ice cream after a day of shopping and entertainment at Hillsdale Center. Join the Bay Meadows email list to stay on top of the latest.