Best Restaurants with a Vibrant Bar Scene in Mill Valley

Found good reviews while staying in SF so booked a reservation for four with out-of-state guests and gave it a go. This is a popular young, professional crowd 'tavern' which is bustling, loud and well heeled. Certainly has a fun, trendy vibe to it and the greeting and seating staff is definitely 'on it'. Our waiter was absolutely excellent and was attentive without being bothersome. The food. Freshly baked bread popovers - Absolutely in my top 5 breads ever. Served with generous portions of quality fresh butter. You could literally just eat this bread for an hour and go home stuffed. Outstanding. Clam Chowder - Well my guests just happened to be from New Hampshire and Clam Chowder is one of my favorite menu items. The menu describes them as 'manila clam bellies, smoked bacon-jalapeno hushpuppies'. The chowder is served sans sauce as the sauce is poured over the solid ingredients table side. Lovely presentation. The sauce was very well done and very finely creamed, the solids however were a bit crunchy (the smoked bacon bits and jalapeño bits) and it was pretty difficult to find those manila clam bellies as I imagine they are very small and hence there was very, very little if any actual clam flavor to the chowder. We all thought the cream was exceptional though certainly not traditional, but we couldn't find any 'clam chowder' in our bowl. California Fried Chicken - Now that was some beautifully fried chicken. The breading, perfect in texture for my palate, the fry, perfect. The problem, I wasn't getting any real seasoning except for the giant rosemary sprigs that were seemingly tossed onto it. The wing, leg, and thigh portions were flavorful and moist, the breast were pretty dry. Could have been so good. Burrata Whipped Potatoes - Hyped up, fell flat. These were just average, better restaurant mashed potatoes. Nothing stood out about them, texture, flavor or seasoning. We had a good meal, but it missed heights it was so close too.

Zuni is THE perfect San Francisco restaurant, hands-down.

The food, ambiance and service is amazing. I love this restaurant. It is very loud though, or energetic as Open Table calls it. Not a place to go where you actually want to have a conversation, especially with an older person. Fortunately, we are not quite there yet.

Exceptional. Food was fabulous. Outdoor and indoor seating options. Michelin rated for a reason. Service was very good. The location is one block from a marina, in a quiet neighborhood.

The food at all the Il Fornaio restaurants that I have been to has always been very good. I would feel comfortable eating at any of their restaurants.