Diners' Choice: Hot spot restaurants in Fresno / San Joaquin Valley

OpenTable

Updated October 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants that are the best hot spots in Fresno / San Joaquin Valley? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Camp 4 Wine Cafe

5.0

5 (765)

$30 and under

Wine Bar

Modesto

About the restaurant

We are a small, locally owned wine cafe striving to provide great service, and great food in a comfortable atmosphere. Serving affordable wines from all over the world as well as panini, charcuterie, cheeses, and salads. We source both locally and internationally providing an array of options that you are sure to enjoy. We can't wait to see you.

Top review

seasonvip

Dined on Oct 5, 2024

Love ❤️ it here! My favorite is the smoky whipped feta.

Max's Bistro & Bar

4.8

4.8 (1651)

$30 and under

Bistro

Fresno

About the restaurant

Max’s is regarded as one of the finest restaurants in the Central Valley. Our rustic California Cuisine and Gallery setting features local artist Tomas Panzarino. Max’s has welcomed Fresno visitors and our local neighbors for over 10 years. We are dedicated to using fresh local produce along with our house made artisan breads to insure a quality and healthy dining experience. The same quality and freshness is found in all the cocktails from our bar. Premium liquors, hand squeezed juices and muddled berries create our exceptional and award winning martini’s. We look forward to your visit!

Top review

Loch

Dined 7 days ago

Dinner was excellent. Service was amazing. One of our favorite places .

Campagnia

4.7

4.7 (780)

$30 and under

Californian

Fresno

About the restaurant

Campagnia Bistro is located in the heart of the upscale Woodward Park area in north Fresno at the corner of Champlain and Perrin. Campagnia Bistro offer eclectic California cuisine prepared by award winning Chef Floro Bugnosen. If this is your first visit to Campagnia we recommend the Alaskan Halibut (when in season) a neighborhood favorite, the succulent Rack of Lamb or Chef Floro’s signature Grilled Pork Chop. Campagnia features an extensive wine list and has been recognized by Wine Spectator Magazine with the “Award of Excellence”.

Top review

Ruben

Dined on Sep 28, 2024

You can always get an excellent meal and service is excellent.

Sonder

4.7

4.7 (199)

$30 and under

American

Bakersfield

About the restaurant

At Sonder we're all about coming together to create an experience that not only showcases great food and drinks, but also brings people together. Sonder offers an unique culture with a delicious menu, a complete bar program, so bring your friends and family and say hi to the Sonder Squad!

Top review

Justin

Dined 6 days ago

Dinner was excellent. Steak cooked perfect. Service was great.

Bistro 120

4.7

4.7 (55)

$30 and under

Bistro

Oakdale

About the restaurant

We take pride in the art of culinary craftsmanship and our entirely from-scratch menu. We embrace the vibrant flavors of California while giving them a worldly flare, creating a delicate balance that feels both familiar and exotic all at once.

Top review

Amy

Dined 2 days ago

We had a great date night! The food, drinks and service were perfect! We will definitely go back!

The Palms

4.6

4.6 (396)

$31 to $50

Steakhouse

Fresno

About the restaurant

The excellent service and succulent food is what makes us stand out as Central Valley’s finest steakhouse and seafood restaurant experience. Come experience a meal to remember in a luxurious, elegant atmosphere and you'll know what makes our restaurant so special.

Our cooking is based on upscale American fare inspired by and with a twist of various other cuisines. We keep our menu selection concise enable to consistently prepare your food with fresh and high quality ingredients.

The aesthetics of our architecture and designing is in a class of its own.
Enjoy a taste of quality and comfort in a restaurant that looks as beautiful as our food tastes.

Unwind or celebrate with some fine wine from our fully temperature controlled wine cellar. Our wine list features a curated assortment of varietals comprised of
over a hundred different wines to choose from.

Whether it's for personal or business purposes, we have fully private rooms to accommodate all event types.

Top review

Lucinda (Cindy)

Dined on Oct 7, 2024

Great! I love The Palms, it’s my favorite restaurant.

The Point Restaurant, Bar & Patio

4.6

4.6 (143)

$31 to $50

American

Fresno

About the restaurant

The Point Patio Bar and Bistro is a hot new restaurant featuring American cuisine with a full service, indoor and outdoor bar. The passion to bring a new feel to Fresno came with many trips around the country including Denver, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. With their collaborative experiences and a joint vision of bringing the "perfect" point home, the idea for the patio bistro was born. The unique outdoor oasis features fire, water and colored lighting effects. Along with the televisions strategically placed for subtle viewing, The Point sets the mood for an experience like no other. The indoor booth and table seating offers a more intimate dining experience for friends and family. The Point's highly qualified Chefs bring creative flavor and presentation to a diverse menu including tasty Bistro Starters, Gourmet Burgers and Handhelds, savory Mains and House Made desserts. A lighter lunch selection, a happy hour menu and Sunday Brunch is also available.

Top review

Alex

Dined 7 days ago

Caroline provided excellent service and personal attention to each at our table. Good, outgoing personality. Relates well with customers. Ample quantity of food in each meal. Salad greens could have been fresher. Outdoor seating was nice given good weather and the noise level was acceptable.

Agave Azul Kitchen & Tequila Bar

4.6

4.6 (105)

$30 and under

Mexican

Modesto

About the restaurant

With a passion for family and food the Lujan sisters came together to open Agave Azul Kitchen & Tequila Bar in 2012. Their goal was to bring together a gathering of authentic Mexican home cooking that stuck to their roots. Their family originated from Zacatecas, Mexico and then came to Hughson, California to begin farming. With this heritage came recipes passed down from generation to generation. Food was the center of their life and growing up on a local farm allowed their family to cook at home with food grown on their land. Sandra and Gabby originally had the thought of opening Taqueria El Agave, but it quickly transformed into a full kitchen serving some of their favorite dishes such as pollo con crema y rajas. The unique thing about Agave Azul is their attention and focus to the quality of each of the ingredients that goes into their recipes and their commitment to never sacrificing on quality home grown ingredients.

Top review

Liane

Dined on Oct 2, 2024

Making the reservation was the hardest because you couldn’t just call.

Braised Kitchen

4.4

4.4 (260)

$31 to $50

American

Tulare

About the restaurant

It's our mission to provide the community with clean, delicious food, from the soil all the way to your plate.

We fuse exquisite Latin American cuisine, classic French techniques, and California fresh cooking using locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Our commitment to quality and our passion for cooking allows us to deliver a bold, memorable dining experience.

We love what we do. The food we make reflects that.

Fresh dishes, great drinks, and a killer atmosphere. If that is what you are after, then our brick-and-mortar location is the place for you! We deliver the best fast-casual steak house experience around, and we can't wait to serve you.

Top review

Todd

Dined 2 days ago

Not much to say except for that the food was excellent, and the service was amazing. There aren’t any restaurants like this in this area, so if you’re Celebrating something we just need an Elevated night out, this is a good place to consider.

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Popular dish

Surf and Turf Skewers

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Fresno

3.4

3.4 (73)

$30 and under

American

Fresno

About the restaurant

Time counts at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. Since our humble beginnings back in 1978, we've continued to refine our brewhouse experience to make BJ's a place where you can make the most of any meal. We want BJ's to be a place where the moment you leave is the moment you plan on coming back. We pride ourselves in our craft and attention to detail. Our guests come here for our award-winning handcrafted beer. They come here for the Southern California twist we've put on the Chicago-style deep dish pizza. And they come here for our Pizookies®, our world-renowned dessert. But above all we know people come here to make their good times better. So in many ways we haven't just crafted a brand, but a mindset. And our guests are the reason for this. And it's because of them we're continually striving to make sure every moment they choose to spend with us counts. Welcome to BJ's, a restaurant with a Brewhouse soul.

Top review

Paula

Dined on Oct 6, 2024

Noise... just loud, hard to hear conversation across our table

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