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Top Five Romantic Restaurants

Shadowbrook
Loaded with rambling charm, this fabled multi-tiered dinner house oozes romance. Despite the serpentine floorplans, there are plenty of nooks and crannies for lovers to dine in intimate coziness. The Redwood Room, built around a living tree, sparks romantic conversation, as does the central fireplace room with its hideaway table for two. The walk down through waterfall-lined gardens has inspired many a flirtatious moment, and the ride back up the hill in the cable car offers opportunities for quality canoodling. Unobtrusive staffers make sure that romantic mood isn’t interrupted.

Gabriella Cafe
Oil paintings line the graceful rooms, white cloths and fresh flowers top the tables. Owner Paul Cocking greets guests, pours wine. Brad Briske’s team rocks the kitchen. And between a fine line-up of California wines and a nightly menu showcasing local specialty items, this is arguably the best dining in town.

Café Cruz
This epicurean gem is hidden in plain sight, in a banal commercial strip on 41st Avenue. When the front door closes behind you, blotting out the fluorescent glare and traffic, it's almost a shock to find a woody, casually elegant dining room. The bar in the back with its cozy fireplace is a hangout for locals in the know, and beyond that is a perfect patio for after-cocktail alfresco dining.

515 Kitchen & Cocktails
With plush velour couches, a sparkling fireplace and a romantic deck, 515 is noted for its sophisticated lineup of cocktails. The two-story early-20th century landmark at 515 Cedar Street is adorned with a charming pastiche of lounge seating and small dinner tables. Both floors have distinctive features, the downstairs with its front-and-center bar and the upstairs with its intimate semi-private front room next to the balcony dining area. The entire establishment features attractively priced dinners and appetizers

Oswald
Oswald offers a short, sweet menu of brasserie satisfaction. Joining the list of appetizers, entrees and desserts (half dozen of each of each), is an eclectic selection of wines, short on California but long on France, Italy and German Rieslings. Armed with sophisticated spirits, the chic full bar in the front room expands Oswald’s libation appeal. Bravura floral displays recall the old Oswald.