Restaurants

1552 Locust St, Walnut Creek

Eagerly anticipated since beginning of the year, the Japanese restaurant Izakaya Jun in downtown Walnut Creek is set for a soft opening this weekend. Check out photos of the inside below. The wood paneling throughout looks great. The menu will feature traditional izakaya fare including appetizers such as shiokara (salted fresh squid), dashi maki tamago (Japanese style sweet egg omelet), yaki onoigiri (grilled rice balls), and gyoza. There will also be a selection of sashimi, grilled and pan-fried dishes such as yakitori, ika-yaki (grilled squid). Deep fried dishes will include tori nankotsu no kara-age (deep fried chicken cartlidge), various tempura and more.

There will also be a large selection of Japanese sake and Asahi draft beer on tap. This is going to be a great addition to downtown, can’t wait to check it out!

Bar area with sake selection:

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1686 Locust St, Walnut Creek

The bakery and pizzeria 54 Mint Il Forno, which opened last May in downtown Walnut Creek, is expanding their pizza offerings to accompany their new dinner service times and is having a grand opening celebration this Wednesday, May 20th from 5-8pm. Check out this month’s menu here.

“Please join us and bring a friend or two, if you like to RSVP please send an email to Daniele @ 54mint.com”

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7001 Sunne Ln, Walnut Creek

Last year we learned that a new Peruvian restaurant, Parada would be opening near the Pleasant Hill BART station in Walnut Creek. Check out the rendering from the press release followed by more info below:

Chef Carlos Altamirano, owner of Mochica, Piqueos, Sanguchon food trucks, and two-time Michelin Star winner La Costanera, will open Parada, a casual, welcoming restaurant and rotisseria showcasing vibrant and creative Peruvian flavors, in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek in late June 2015.

Parada is the first East Bay venture for veteran

Chef Carlos Altamirano, who currently owns and operates San Francisco restaurants Mochica in Potrero Hill and Piqueos in Bernal Heights, the Michelin-starred La Costanera just north of Half Moon Bay in Montara, Calif., and Sanguchon food trucks that serve the Bay Area. Known for flavorful and contemporary interpretations of traditional Peruvian fare, Chef Altamirano brings the vibrant flavors of the traditional market in Lima, Peru to downtown Walnut Creek. Taking its name and inspiration from the Peruvian outdoor produce market, Parada will serve dishes such as fresh fish cebiches, organic salads, grilled anticuchos and flavorful tapas and entrees such as Pollo a la Brasa, traditional Peruvian rotisserie chicken. With both a la carte and family style meals available for dine-in or take out, the restaurant is a welcome addition to downtown Walnut Creek, and is the only full service restaurant within two blocks of the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART station.

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1590 Botelho Dr, Walnut Creek

The build-your-own-pizza fast casual restaurant Project Pie opens today in downtown Walnut Creek. I dropped by over the weekend for their soft opening and was able to get plenty of photos (see below) and try their pizza. The inside looks great and feels spacious with tall ceilings and tables liberally spaced throughout.

I wasn’t sure how quick it would be to order and get the pizza but it was surprisingly fast. Once I got to the front of the line, it took a couple of minutes to order and not more than 5 minutes to get the pie. There is actually a machine that takes the dough and smushes into a perfect pie shape in a few seconds! The crust was crunchy and tasted delicious. During the ordering process you can select from several options (see menu here), or order a custom pie. I ordered a #2 and requested extra red sauce, plus red onions and mushrooms. Amazingly there is no charge for extra toppings. All pizzas are $8.50 except for a plain cheese pie at $6. They also offer a banana and Nutella pie for $4.50 which sounds tempting… One other interesting thing I noticed was instead of Coca-Cola etc. they offer fountain drinks from Boylan Bottling, made with real cane sugar in “small batches”.

Look for a full bar with flat screen tvs and adult milkshakes coming within the next few months…

Plenty more photos of the inside, the pizza and patio after the jump…

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