The Chronicle revealed its complete new Top 100 Restaurants last week, celebrating the best in the Bay Area’s dining world. Naturally, many readers who did not see their favorite spots ask: Why is this restaurant not on the list?
To assemble the Top 100, restaurant critics MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez spent a year eating at hundreds of restaurants throughout the Bay Area. Inevitably, some were cut from the list, while many more, including some truly excellent restaurants, were left off — 100 sounds like a lot until you consider the vastness of the region’s dining scene. So we once again asked readers what restaurants they think should have made the 2026 list.
Three of the top five reader mentions last year — Dalida, ranked No. 49; Ernest, ranked No. 89; and Lazy Bear, ranked No. 100 — appeared on the 2026 list following our critics’ latest visits…