Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar

The food is really amazing. The ordering is via a QR code so the service inevitably suffers a bit, we waited 35mins for our entrees from the time we placed the order, everyone around us was seated after us but received their entrees before. Had they taken our order personally instead of a QR code, the staff would have noticed that our order had been forgotten or whatever the hold up was. We ended up asking them to check, and it seemed they only fired our food after we asked. All this could be alleviated by having full service wait staff.

I will stress again though, the food is really really good, and I will come back for those savory grits with the mushrooms. And I will come back for the Bahn Mi for lunch 👍

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Grilled Oysters with Harissa Butter, Grits

Highly recommend. Food, drinks, service and atmosphere all incredible. Love this gem. We recently went for Valentine’s and was overwhelmed by the special experience of unique menu and attention to detail. You have to check it out.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

If you haven’t yet made the pilgrimage to Top Hatters in San Leandro, cancel your dinner reservations in the city and get yourself to this unassuming neighborhood gem immediately. What we experienced here was nothing short of a religious culinary experience, the kind that makes you question why you ever settled for anything less.

We started with the savory bacon donuts, and let me be clear: these are not your average sweet breakfast pastry. These are, without hyperbole, the most delicious savory bacon donuts ever made for human consumption. Perfectly crisp exterior, impossibly light interior, with smoky, salty bacon woven into every bite. I would wait in line in the rain for these alone.

Next came the mushroom and hemp seed pâté—earthy, umami-rich, and impossibly smooth. Then the marinated beet salad with olive oil whipped ricotta. Heaven on earth. The ricotta was so light and luscious, so unabashedly French in its sensibility, that I closed my eyes after the first bite. Every element on the plate had a purpose, and together they sang.

The mussels in green coconut curry arrived in a delicate, sweet broth that begged to be sopped up with bread. Each mussel was plump, perfectly cooked, and bathed in that fragrant, gently spiced curry. Delicate yet deeply satisfying.

And then, dessert. The Labneh mousse was a masterclass in restraint—light as air, barely sweet, with just enough brightness to reset the palate and send us floating out the door, already dreaming of our next visit.

We were there for lunch, and the dining room was quiet, almost meditative. The staff was helpful and warm, but it was the kitchen that truly commanded attention. Every dish that emerged was plated with extreme care and passion, the kind of intention you can taste. This isn’t just cooking; it’s artistry.

What makes Top Hatters so remarkable is the setting. It feels like a local spot, the kind of place you’d pop into on a Tuesday. But the food? The food belongs in the finest dining rooms of San Francisco. The presentation, the creativity, the quality—it’s world-class, full stop.

The dining room itself is modern, clean, and comfortable. No pretension, just a beautiful stage for the food.

Five stars, no question. Top Hatters, you have our hearts. And our appetites. We’ll be back very, very soon.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Super Gem in San Leandro. Please go and support the business. They are awesome and the food is amazing!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Surprisingly great new restaurant right near the Oakland Zoo directly on MacArthur Boulevard. Very good service, very good food, sophisticated, overall excellent experience. You must place your own orders using a bar code system and your phone but the nice wait staff will help you do it. You also pay on your own using your phone. It can be cold inside during the winter because of the door opening so I recommend an extra wrap. I plan on returning during a daytime visit to the zoo and doing a long lunch here to try that menu. They also have beautiful cocktails but we did not try these.

We love Top Hatters for their commitment for thei skilled execution of creative dishes. Not every attempt is perfect but that's to be expected. Still, great! I find the dining areas awkward. Can be chilly. Outside is a no go for me because it's on a street that's next to the freeway. The chanterells were outstanding. Wonderful bar with good special cocktails. My Manhattan was delicious. Limited but excellent creative desserts.

Diverse and unique menu. Fun to explore vaious cuisines and share small plates among 4 friends. Gracious and friendly wait staff.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Grilled Oysters with Harissa Butter

Best service we have had in years. Do not appreciate the QR codes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Top Hatters has received a Michelin star 5 years in a row. Definitely well earned in my opinion. I had eaten dinner there with a friend and it was such an enjoyable outing that I promised I would take my wife back on another day. Yesterday was that opportunity and the food was as good as I remembered; my wife was suitably impressed as well. The only downside was that their lunch menu is somewhat truncated, not quite as extensive as their dinner menu. The ambience was very nice, clean and well designed. On my earlier visit I dined in their courtyard are, this time inside due to the cool afternoon. Overall a great experience, looking forward to a return visit.

It was a chilly night and the atmosphere inside was cozy (but some people were eating outside under the heat lamps in the lovely, twinkle lighted and plant-filled patio). We made reservations for two and winced when we saw the tiny table by the door, but before we could ask for another table the host offered us the choice of sitting at the bar to eat. Generally, we love this but the seating was particularly enticing with the friendly faces behind the bar happily shaking delicious looking cocktails and chatting with patrons. This, with the warm glow and plants hanging from above was irresistable. Instantly we felt like we were part of the community, welcomed and included. We started with the Top Hatter versions of a vietnamese coffee martini and an Pimm's Cup. Both delicious and interesting. Peeking at what our peers around the restaurant were eating, we struggled to decide what to order - everyone seemed to be enjoying their food and it all looked so good. The man next to me jolted back with a punctuated "Mmm" when he took his first taste of oxtail with grits. The bartender who had made the recommendation smiled broadly and I leaned over to my husband and said, "maybe oxtail..." We ended up ordering the mussels in curry, the honey brioche, and lettuce wraps. Thus was too much food, but we loved the variety and everything went together well. The brioche sounded good, but tasted even better - your mouth gets a ping of clamansi lime with sweet honey and rangy salt all in balance and wonderfully satisfying with the chewy lightly toasted bread that adds just enough crisp to the soft bite. I dipped it into the coconut green curry with the mussels. My husband thought I was making a mistake, but the creaminess of the sauce just added to the satisfying complexity. Try it and see what you think! We ordered all three meats for the lettuce wraps, which were each delicious in their own right. I am out of space so will end with a simple 5 out of 5. A new favorite spot!

Overall good hut nothing extraordinary

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

We really enjoy Top Hatters ... Had dinner for my wife's BD and some friends.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

This was my 4th (maybe 5th?) visit but my first lunch here. So I'll summarize both my lunch with a dash of previous experience thrown in. FOOD: The food was pretty delicious with some standouts - good and not so good. The mushroom pate and curry mussels were delicious (would absolutely order those again), the bacon scallion donuts were good but a bit clunky (served with tasty sauces), and the lemongrass chicken was dry and unpleasant (would not order that again). We skipped dessert as the portions are pretty large. STAFF/SERVICE: Lovely humans work here, all very friendly and helpful with big smiles. One thing to note at this restaurant - you order by scanning a QR code on the table and placing your order on your smartphone so service is really limited to delivery and removal of plates. AMBIANCE: The room is nicely but simply decorated with hard chairs and benches and no curtains so there are no soft surfaces to absorb sound, making it a bit loud. You can still hold a conversation, even when the place is full, but it is a bit "clangy" with all the echoing of voices etc. They also have a nice-sized patio area with heat lamps for eating on the frontside of the restaurant. PRICE: This is a fairly expensive restaurant so be prepared. While you *could* theoretically have a simple lunch w/o alcohol or appetizers etc. and get out of there for $15-20 that is a less-than-likely scenario. Lunch for 2 of us which included an appetizer (bacon donuts) plus shared plates of mussels, mushroom pate and chicken cost us appx. $70 or so. Three glasses of wine cranked that up to $120ish. Restaurants are expensive to run, food costs are crazy, and the Bay Area isn't a place to expect cheap eats whenever you go out, but do know you're likely to spend a bit to eat here. Was it worth it? I would hesitate to return for such an expensive lunch and these days it would be a special treat restaurant for us, but Tophatters is serving generally delicious food and is certainly worth a visit.

Just solid food all around! A pleasant surprise in San Leandro. The food is phenomenally curated. To me it's sort of wine bar-ish food with Asian inspired ingredients but with western technique. We ordered the tissue bread, halibut tartare, oxtail, mushroom course, beets and rice cakes. The rice cakes were my favorite. Service was great. Savan was really helpful. Indoor outdoor space with nice bar seating. Would most definitely come back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Wow, wow, wow! This place is amazing! We had 6 dishes and every one of them were superb. The seasonings were perfect, the ingredients combinations were creative and the plating was picture perfect. The service is top notch. The ambience is warm, eclectic, modern and inviting. Seating options both inside and out. Definitely worth a drive. You won’t be disappointed!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5