Editor’s Note: Updated with notable restaurants on May 12
California’s shelter in place order has temporarily transformed restaurants used to dine-in customers into hubs for takeout. In light of these challenging times, the following notable places are now available on DoorDash. Note that menus may be different from their dine-in counterparts, with family-style meal kits or a smaller, pared-down selection of delivery-only options. Hours are often scaled back. We’ll continue to update this story in real-time as additional restaurants of note become available on DoorDash.
Although there are five locations of this all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue spot in the South Bay, this location on Hostetter in San Jose is the most popular.
While you currently can’t get in on any of Gen’s all-you-can-eat action, the restaurant is offering a generously-portioned plate for only $10—less than half of what you’d pay for a normal AYCE dine-in experience.
The South Bay’s only Viennese restaurant has reopened its doors to serve takeaway versions of its Austrian plates.
Beef Goulash
Naschmarkt’s Hungarian Beef Goulash—braised beef shoulder served warm with buttery spätzle and cool sour cream—is a classic.
While there are plenty of fro-yo shops in the South Bay, you have to head to Rita’s if you want regional specialties like Italian ice and frozen custard.
Here Italian ice, which is finer than shaved ice but not as fine as sorbet, is made daily with fresh fruit.
A favorite in the Midwest, frozen custard is denser than traditional ice cream due to its higher egg volume.
Even a pandemic can’t stop special celebrations. Splurge on a three-course dinner featuring an 11-ounce filet mignon, North Atlantic lobster tail, a salad, and cake for dessert.
In addition to a variety of traditional Indian desserts like kulfi, Nirvanaah! also offers dozens of ice cream flavors.
Choose from a wide array of flavors, from Chocolate and Sugar-Free Pistachio to Blueberry Cheesecake and Alphonso Mango.
This longtime Hawaiian stalwart is now on DoorDash, available daily from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Perfect to eat on the go, on the beach, or at home, Spam Musubi—grilled Spam, sandwiched by two slabs of white rice and belted by a strip of nori—is a classic Hawaiian snack that highlights the island’s fusion cuisine.
The South Bay’s only Viennese restaurant has reopened its doors to serve takeaway versions of its Austrian plates.
Beef Goulash
Naschmarkt’s Hungarian Beef Goulash—braised beef shoulder served warm with buttery spätzle and cool sour cream—is a classic.
While there are plenty of fro-yo shops in the South Bay, you have to head to Rita’s if you want regional specialties like Italian ice and frozen custard.
Here Italian ice, which is finer than shaved ice but not as fine as sorbet, is made daily with fresh fruit.
A favorite in the Midwest, frozen custard is denser than traditional ice cream due to its higher egg volume.
Even a pandemic can’t stop special celebrations. Splurge on a three-course dinner featuring an 11-ounce filet mignon, North Atlantic lobster tail, a salad, and cake for dessert.
In addition to a variety of traditional Indian desserts like kulfi, Nirvanaah! also offers dozens of ice cream flavors.
Choose from a wide array of flavors, from Chocolate and Sugar-Free Pistachio to Blueberry Cheesecake and Alphonso Mango.
This longtime Hawaiian stalwart is now on DoorDash, available daily from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Perfect to eat on the go, on the beach, or at home, Spam Musubi—grilled Spam, sandwiched by two slabs of white rice and belted by a strip of nori—is a classic Hawaiian snack that highlights the island’s fusion cuisine.
With its traditional Hawaiian roots, Hukilau would be the ideal place to enjoy a plate of Hawaii’s ultimate comfort food.
This popular Willow Glen brunch spot on Bird Avenue is now available on DoorDash from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily.
Generously-sized, never soggy Chilaquiles (fried corn tortillas tossed in a red sauce and served with eggs) are a standout at Toast.
Nutella French Toast, topped with your fresh fruit choice of either strawberries or bananas, is the decadent brunch any chocolate lover needs.
Get your Cajun-Asian fusion hankerings satisfied from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m on weekdays and 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekends.
Feed your entire family with options for Dungeness crab, king crab legs, lobster, clams, crawfish, periwinkles, and shrimp. Cobs of corn and sausage included.
When it’s in season on the Gulf Coast (typically March through May), be sure to order the Fresh Crawfish, which is flown in fresh from Louisiana.
Look closely and you’ll find dishes on the menu, most notably Garlic Noodles, that are a hallmark of Houston’s Viet-Cajun cuisine.
This popular cafeteria-style Taiwanese eatery in Cupertino is now available on DoorDash from 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily.
Start with the Combo Special, which includes the restaurant’s signature porridge (with options for sweet potato porridge or rice), as well as options for one main dish, one vegetable dish, and two sides.
In Taiwan, additional sides, or xiao chi, are commonly eaten with porridge. Here, the Spiced Tofu is the most popular.
While Santana Row’s newest Mexican restaurant isn’t serving its extensive dine-in menu at the moment, Zazil is offering a range of tacos, nachos, and Mexican-inspired bowls for delivery and takeout from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. It’s also selling beer, wine, and cocktails (such as the bestselling Classic Margarita).
While it won’t be served tableside per usual, you can still order Zazil’s wildly popular guac to go.
Not in the mood to squeeze your own? Zazil’s Chile Mango Margarita comes in a 32-ounce sealed container designed to serve a party of four.
Located on West San Carlos in downtown San Jose, this Mexican-American fusion brunch spot is now available on DoorDash from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, and open until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The spicy Rojos (red sauce) version of Tostadas’ chilaquiles is arguably big enough to share.
Don’t miss the unique Esquites, a street food-inspired snack of corn, cheese, and spicy aioli.
Legendary Santa Clara ramen purveyor Orenchi Ramen is now on DoorDash, and South Bay Ramen fans have taken notice. While Orenchi is known for its patience-testing lines out the door (they can top two hours!), you can now have the signature ramen without the wait. Orenchi is available for delivery or pickup only for lunch from 10:45 a.m. until 1:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10:45 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
Orenchi is best known for its tonkotsu (pork bone) soup with shio (salt) pork belly, green onion, bamboo shoots, dried seaweed, sesame, kikurage mushrooms, and soft boiled egg.
Another favorite is the tori (chicken) soup with syoyu (soy sauce), pork belly, Tokyo negi (green onion), bamboo shoots, dried seaweed, fish cake, wakame (fresh seaweed), and spinach.
This Japanese-style fried chicken, which comes in three or six pieces, is a classic pairing with ramen.
This longtime Campbell Pruneyard mainstay usually entertains guests with chefs demonstrating their wizardry at a tableside grill. The live show is temporarily paused, but you can still support the staff by ordering pickup or delivery. Service begins at 2:30 p.m. daily and ends in the early evening between 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., depending on the day.
This order includes iron-griddled chicken and shrimp teppanyaki, a beef broth-based soup, a ginger-dressed salad, hibachi mushrooms, onions, and zucchini, a sautéed shrimp appetizer, and steamed rice.
If you’re feeling appreciative of those who are still showing up to essential jobs, you can send a tray of Kyoto Palace’s popular fried rice (which feeds 12) to healthcare workers, postal service workers, or anyone else working during shelter in place without having to deliver or pick it up yourself.
Many locals believe this longtime Sunnyvale eatery has the best Korean-style Chinese food in the South Bay.
This dish—noodles tossed in a dry black bean sauce with vegetables—is popular in both Korea (where it’s called jjajangmyeon) as well as Northern China (where it’s known as zhajiangmian).
On a chilly night, this fiery noodle soup packed with seafood can’t be beat.
These Santa Clara Japanese charcoal grill masters are serving daily from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. They specialize in yakitori bentos, or boxed meals featuring various kinds of grilled chicken skewers, but they also have a small set of pork, duck and beef skewers too.
One of the most popular yakitori offerings is the tender chicken thigh skewer, which comes with two skewers per order.
Order a combination of three skewers (chicken thigh, pork belly, and beef short rib) with poached egg rice. The combination comes with a salad and your choice of an appetizer (choose from fried chicken, tofu, grilled mackerel, and more).
If you’re not in the mood for chicken, try the Kalbi skewers, which are made with American wagyu short ribs and feature two skewers per order.
This Santa Clara Indian eatery, which specializes in authentic Maharashtrian street snacks, has been an instant hit from the moment it first appeared on DoorDash.
A Maharashtrian delicacy, puranpoli is a sweet flatbread stuffed with a jaggery and lentil filling.
This spicy bean curry comes with two wonderfully fluffy bread buns.
Deep fried spiced potato ball inside a bread bun served with chutney.
It may be brand new, but Sauced, a new barbecue joint off Olin Avenue near Santana Row, is already earning rave reviews.
Sweet, salty, and spicy all at the same time, this generously-portioned appetizer features your choice of brisket or pulled pork with queso, beans, roasted corn, cilantro, jalapeño, and barbecue sauce.
Sauce’s super-soft brisket is the star of this sandwich. Here, it’s tossed in sauce, then married with sharp cheddar, sautéed onion, and applewood bacon between two pieces of Texas toast.
