FAQ: Late Night Food in Silicon Valley

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Well, you've been debugging and you look up and it's 11 pm and you've haven't even had breakfast. Here's several places to get food late at night in Silicon Valley. My favorites are Man Bo Duck (now closed) and Fu Lam Mum, the two Chinese restaurants on Castro in Mountain View. No-nonsense good Chinese food. There's always people there, even at 1am. The Chinese restaurants are also open on most holidays, including Bunny Day, Turkey Day, and Christmas Tree Day.

I've tried most of these restaurants. Yes, Denny's isn't so great, but they're open 24 hours a day and it's eatable, mostly. Tip: Avoid their mixed drinks. Bleagh!

If you know of other places (or if a place changes their hours!) drop me a note. To qualify, they should serve full dinner at least till 11pm.

There's also the list of places for breakfast.

This list was updated June 2006 by Kennita Watson. Many thanks!

• Denny's. 1201 Broadway St., (650)364-4545. Hours: 24/7.
• International House Of Pancakes. 491 Veterans Blvd., (650)367-8849. Hours: Su-Th 6am-11pm; F-Sa 24 hrs.

• Chili's. 700 El Camino Real, (650)321-0330: till 11 F-Sa.
• Left Bank. 635 Santa Cruz Ave., (650)473-6543. French-American brasserie. A great place to go when you get back from SF. The French onion soup is very good. Last seating 11pm Tu-Sa.
• Oasis Beer Garden (burgers). 241 El Camino Real, about two blocks north of University Ave., (650)326-8896. Hours: past 1am 7 days. Very down to earth, and a great hangout place.
• Pizza Hut. 3415 Middlefield Rd., (650)368-8700. Hours: 11am-11pm 7 days.

• Evvia. 420 Emerson St., between University Avenue and Lytton avenues,(650)326-0983. Upscale Greek. Dinner seating till 11pm F-Sa.
• Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery. 640 Emerson St., (650)323-7723. Hours: Su-W till 11pm
• Gyros Gyros. 478 University Ave., (650)327-0107. Hours: till 11pm.
• Happy Donuts. 3916 El Camino Real, north of Charleston., (650)843-0658. Hours: 24/7.
• Mackie's Supper Club. 541 Ramona St., (650)326-1446. Closed for remodeling till August 2006; reopening as The Old Pro. Was full dinner till midnight Th-Sa, light appetizers till 1am -- now, who knows?
• Nola's. Family Restaurant, Casual $$; 535 Ramona St., (650)328-2722. Hours: M-Th 5:30-10pm, F-Sa 5:30-11pm, Su 5:30-9pm.
• Peninsula Fountain & Grill (nobody calls it that; it's "The Creamery); 566 Emerson St., (650)323-3131. Dinner till 10pm Su-Th, till midnight F-Sa. There's another one at the Stanford Mall, but they're open only to 10pm nightly.
• Pizza A GoGo. 220 University Ave., (650)322-8100. Dine-in and free delivery to Stanford, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park. 11AM-midnight 7 days.
• Pluto's. American, Casual $; 482 University Ave., (650)853-1556. Hours: Su-Th 11:30am-10pm; F-Sa 11:30am-11pm. A favorite for mega-turkey sandwiches. It's sorta like the morning after Thanksgiving, all year round. Not very clean. Keep an eye out for Chelsea.
• Safeway. San Antonio Shopping Center. Hours: 24/7.
• Stanford Grad Student Community Center. Escondido Road; Hours: till midnight Su-Th, till 1am F-Sa. Good food. See Stanford Grad Student Community Center.
• Taxi's Hamburgers. 403 University Ave., (650)322-8294. Hours: M-Th 11am-10pm, F-Sa 11am-11pm, Su 11am-10pm. Pretty good burgers, and call-in or online ordering for take-out. See www.taxishamburgers.com/locations.html

• Chili's. 2560 W. El Camino Real, (650)941-2227. Hours: 11am-11pm M-Th, 11am-11:30pm F-Sa, 11am-10pm Su.
• Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too. 939 W. El Camino Real, (650)967-5384. Homestyle Southern Italian with hand-tossed pizza. Hours: 11am-midnight M-Th, 11am-1am F, 11:30am-1am Sa, 11:30am-11pm Su.
• Fu Lam Mum Seafood. 246 Castro St., (650)967-1689. Small cafe with Hong Kong-style seafood and friendly waiters. Hours: till midnight daily (last call 11:45pm).
• Kirin. 485 Castro St., (650)965-1059. Simple cafe with fresh Hong Kong-style seafood. Hours: 11am-midnight daily.
• Man Bo Duck (now closed). Chinese restaurant with waiters who always seem amused. 360 Castro St., across from Printers Inc. Hours: till midnight daily.
• Pho Hoa. Vietnamese pho shop. 220 Castro (next to Sue's Indian), (650)969-5805. Pho is great stuff. It's a huge bowl of delicious Vietnamese broth. Many locations, incl. San Jose, Cupertino, Santa Clara, and more. For more, see phohoa.com. Hours: till midnight Su-Th, till 3am F-Sa.
• Pizza Hut. 1955 W. El Camino Real., (650)324-4500. Hours: Su-Th 11am-11pm; F-Sa 11am-midnight.

• The Boardwalk. 4940 El Camino Real, (650)964-7500. Hours: 9am-12:30am daily. Owned by the same folks as the Oasis in Menlo Park.

• Cabritos Mexican Bistro, 685 E. El Camino Real, (408)738-0517. Hours: till 10pm weekdays, till 11pm weekends.
• Cheers Bar & Grill. 685 E. El Camino Real, (408)749-1288. Hours: M-F 6:30pm-2am; Sa-Su 7pm-2am. Lively bar, casual $$.
• Denny's. 311 S Mathilda Ave., (408)245-7720. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 814 Ahwanee Ave., (408)747-1449. Hours: 24/7.
• Spoons. 25 S. Fair Oaks Ave., (408)720-0136. Hours: Su-Th 11am-11pm, F-Sa 11am-midnight. Family restaurant, casual $$.

• BJ's Restaurant. 10690 N De Anza Blvd., (408)865-6970. Opens 11am; dinner till 11pm Su-Th, till midnight F-Sa.
• Duke of Edinburgh. 10801 N. Wolfe Road, Cupertino, (408)446-3853. Beef Wellington, shepherd's pie, fish 'n' chips. Hours: Dinner till 11pm 7 days.
• Pho Hoa: Vietnamese pho shop. 1080 S. de Anza Blvd., (408)366-0544. For more, see phohoa.com. Hours: till midnight daily.
• Pizza Hut. 20770 Stevens Creek Blvd., (408)252-3324. Hours: 11am-11pm daily.
• TGIFriday's. 10343 N. Wolfe Road, (408)257-2050. Hours: 11am-1am Su-Th, 11am-2am F-Sa.
• Top Cafe. 1075 S De Anza Blvd. (408)996-7797. It's a chinese diner that serves until at least 2am every night, regular nights 3am and maybe Su till 2am.

• Carrows. 3180 El Camino Real, (408)246-6027. Hours: till 11pm.
• Denny's. 3715 El Camino Real, (408)296-1048. Hours: 24/7.
• Pho Hoa. Vietnamese pho shop. 3484 El Camino Real, (408)249-8598. For more, see phohoa.com. Hours: 9am-midnight daily.
• Pizza Hut. 2695 El Camino Real, (408)246-1466. Hours: Su-Th 11am-11pm, F-Sa 11am-midnight.

• Denny's. 442 W. Calaveras Blvd., (408)262-9090. Hours: 24/7.
• Milpitas Square. A bonanza for late night food is Milpitas Square, the Asian shopping center at 237 and Milpitas. Hop out from 237 onto McCarthy Ranch Road and get on the south side of 237. Go to the stoplight, turn left, and after two blocks, you're in Asia: Chinese, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Thai: everything is there. They're open nearly every day and very late. (Note: on the North side of 237, there is McCarthy Ranch Shopping Center. This is the "other" shopping center there.)
• China Palace Restaurant, 688 Barber Lane, (408)894-7060. Hours: till 3 am every night. Free delivery (on orders over $100) Whoa! This is a real Chinese restaurant, with Chinese food for Chinese people. Great menu. If you order, ask the Chinese engineers on your team to place the order. When it shows up, don't ask what it is. Just eat. It's delicious.
• Jujubi. 550 Barber Lane (Milpitas Square), (408)432-3395. Hours: till 1am Su-Th, till 3am F-Sa. Thai/Chinese/Fusion.

• Lee's Noodle House. 2569 S King Rd. (King and Tully), Ste C9 San Jose, CA, 95122. Tel. (408) 238-6888. Open til 3 am. Very popular for the post-club crowd.
• Agenda Restaurant, Bar and Lounge. 399 S. First St., San Jose, (408)287-3991. Kitchen stays open till midnight or so on summer weekends (F-Sa).
• Arcadia. Su-Th until 10PM. Bar & Bar menu til Midnight M-Su. Fs and Sas full dinner til 11PM service. 100 W. San Carlos, San Jose, CA 95113, T (408)278.4555.
• Asian Garden. 304 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, (408)279-8764. No-frills Vietnamese cafe with big-screen TV. Hours: till midnight Sus-Ths, till 3am Fs-Sas.
• Bay 101. 1801 Bering Drive (Brokaw Road at Highway 101), San Jose, (408)451-8888. Shuffles Deli has sandwiches, soups, salads, pizza in airport-style alcove. Sutter's Broiler ups the ante with extensive menu, from lemongrass chicken to steak sandwich, in sports bar off the casino. Both open till 2am nightly.
• Cardinal Coffee Shop & Lounge. 3197 Meridian Ave., San Jose, (408)269-7891. Specialties include chicken fried steak, steak and eggs, chile verde omelet. Open 24 hours daily.
• Carrows. 910 Saratoga Ave., (408)248-12238. Hours: 24/7.
• Carrows. 1696 Tully Rd., (408)238-3000. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 1490 N. 1st St., (408)453-1497. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 2077 N. 1st St., (408)436-8481. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 1390 S. 1st St., (408)292-6217. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 2484 Berryessa Rd., (408)923-8469. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 2401 Lanai Ave., (408)274-1922. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 1001 E. Capitol Expwy., (408)578-2549. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 1140 Hillsdale Ave., (408)266-6299. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 1015 Blossom Hill Rd., (408)448-6205. Hours: 24/7.
• Flame's Coffee Shop (Winchester.) 449 S Winchester Blvd (just South of Stevens Creek), San Jose. (408)246-8154. Su-Th: 6:00AM - 11:00PM, F-Sa: 6:00AM - midnight.
• Garden City Restaurant. 360 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, (408)244-4443. Take a sharp left before the card room and settle into a booth in Tahoe-like comfort. Steaks, lobster and Asian foods such as egg rolls and Mongolian chicken 24 hours a day.
• Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery. 33 E. San Fernando St., San Jose, (408)294-6785. Second location in Palo Alto. Late-night menu of burgers, pizzas and salads every night, about an hour before closing: Su-WSunda 11pm; Th midnight; F-Sa 1am
• The Grill on the Alley. Fairmont Hotel, 172 S. Market St., San Jose, (408)294-2244. Upscale steak house featuring prime steaks and chops, fresh fish and All-American favorites from shrimp cocktail to fruit cobbler. Dinner till 11pm Fs-Sas. Bar menu (crab cakes, hamburgers, salads) till midnight Fs-Sas. Bar menu till 11pm Ms-Ths.
• Los Diablitos. 855 N. 13th St., San Jose, (408)297-6651. Taqueria with covered patio. Menudo (beef tripe) and pozole (pork soup) on weekends. Hours: till midnight F-Sa.
• Mini Gourmet. 599 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose, (408)275-8973. Open 24 hours daily.
• My Burger Place, 76 E. Santa Clara St. between 2nd and 3rd, 408-286-6311. Hours: 6am-2am daily. Says BURGERS on the awning. They have pretty good burgers and since the lady that owns the restaurant is Korean (she runs it with her son) they have fares like teriyaki rice bowls as well so the choices can be healthier than burgers.
• Original Joe's. 301 S. First St., San Jose, (408)292-7030. Steaks at midnight! Very noisy. Open till 1am daily.
• Pho Hoa: Vietnamese pho shop. For more, see phohoa.com. Open til 2am every night.
• Picasso's Tapas. 62 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose, (408)298-4400. Tapas, paella, classical guitar till 11pm F-Sa.
• Tacos al Carbon. 1733 Story Road, San Jose, (408)272-3318. Carnitas, mariachi, like being in Michoacán. Till 2am daily.
• Tony Roma's. 4233 Moorpark, San Jose, (408)253-4900. Barbecue, salad, onion rings till 11pm M-Th, 2am F-Sa, 10pm Su.
• Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza. 20 S. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, (408)354-5566. Also 1072 Willow St., San Jose (408)971-7080, and in Westgate Shopping Center, 1554 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, (408)871-0400. California-style pizza, salads, sandwiches. Dinner till 11pm F-Sa.
• Yum Yum Donuts, 1090 Meridian St. (408)723-9713 Always open. yumyumdonuts.com
• Misc. places noted on misc. web sites: ... OJ's on First Street is open late, Pizza A Go Go on San Carlos Street. sometimes Muchos is open, right next door to My Burger Place, kick-ass rotiserrie chicken burritos. And who could forget about La Vic.... La Victoria with the Orange Sauce!!! All in downtown SJ.

• Carrows. 150 E. Hamilton Ave., (408)866-5377. Hours: 24/7.
• Denny's. 2060 S. Bascom Ave., (408)371-7454. Hours: 24/7.
• Effie's Coffee Shop & Fine Dining. 331 W. Hacienda Ave., (408)374-3400. Hours: dinner till 11pm F-Sa. Signature dish is filet mignon wrapped in pancetta, topped with blue cheese and chopped pecans.
• Restaurant Nevsky. 1712 Winchester Blvd., (408)379-1126. Hours: till 9pm M-F, till midnight Sa. Russian cafe and deli featuring blintzes, borscht and beyond.
• Rock Bottom Brewery. Pruneard Shopping Center, 1875 S. Bascom Ave., (408)377-0707. Hours: till 10pm M-Th, till 11pm F-Sa.

• Los Gatos Brewing Co. 130 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, (408)395-9929. Hours: 5pm-11pm F-Sa if crowds warrant. Salads from smoked trout to Caesar, wood-fired pizza, crab cakes.
• Ristorante Valeriano. 160 W. Main St., Los Gatos, (408)354-8108. Hours: till 10pm M-F, till 11pm Sa, till 9pm Su. Veal chop, halibut, roasted chicken.
• The Basin. 14572 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, (408)867-1906. Hours: till 10 or 11pm depending on the night and the crowd. Closed M.

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