Nomadic Kitchen (Turkish), Varam (Indian) and Cravingz (ice cream) all debuted last summer. Cardamomo arrived in November, on a stretch of Broadway that is closed to cars.
French Laundry and Foreign Cinema alums chose the Peninsula city to start their restaurant dreams.
Last month, just six weeks after opening Pizzeria Cardamomo in downtown Redwood City, husband-and-wife owners Momo Farouq and Sarika Batra found themselves in an unexpected predicament. “We ran out of cloth napkins!” said a surprised Batra, who borrowed some from nearby Donato Enoteca.
Business at Cardamomo was so good — twice as busy as projected, given that it was still in soft-opening mode — Farouq and Batra turned away dozens of diners that Friday night. The couple is already contemplating a second pizza oven to meet potential demand once online ordering and delivery commence.
Cardamomo is part of a recent restaurant boom that has suddenly made the city, population 80,000, the most exciting food town on the Peninsula. Longtime downtown Redwood City favorites like Gourmet Haus Staudt, which turns 50 this year, and Milagros, the Avenir Restaurant Group’s Latin American establishment that debuted in 2001, have been joined by myriad newcomers, drawn to the suburb for reasons personal (proximity to home) and practical (tenable overhead).
Morocco native Farouq moved to Italy as a teen, and, in 1999, he opened a restaurant in Como, also called Pizzeria Cardamomo. He and Batra — who grew up in Cupertino and co-created “Meet the Drapers,” the reality show where entrepreneurs pitch Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper — met in Milan in 2018 and wed three years later.
Farouq and Batra lived in Como until last spring, when he shuttered the original Cardamomo and they secured the Redwood City space. Lease rates in other Peninsula cities they considered — including Burlingame, Menlo Park and Palo Alto — were higher, she said, but the real appeal of Redwood City was the site itself.
“Momo’s vision was to have something that felt like his place in Italy,” Batra elaborated, pointing to the open kitchen and alfresco possibilities.
The menus in Farouq’s former and current eateries are similar. “His cooking is simple and clean,” Batra said. “There might only be a few ingredients in a dish, but you taste all of those individual ingredients.”
Adjustments have been made for local dining habits, such as an expanded appetizers section well suited for sharing. Repeated requests for pepperoni pizza prompted its addition to the menu. (Be sure to try the house-made chili oil made with habaneros.)
When I moved to Redwood City in 2005, I rarely ventured downtown. And this might be why: Data from the city’s Economic Development Office shows a meager 12 restaurants downtown and 87 citywide back then. Fast-forward to the end of 2024: Downtown alone had 87 restaurants, and there were 306 citywide.
Indeed, this once-sleepy suburb has awakened. Hungry close to midnight? Head to Zareen’s or Pasha’s. Plus, Blacksmith and Nighthawk bars shut at 2 a.m. on weekends.
Redwood City was a port town during the Gold Rush and became San Mateo County’s first incorporated city in 1867. In the early 1900s, downtown was a civic and commerce hub but began declining in the 1960s.
While efforts to bring more buzz to the area were underway by the aughts, the game-changer was the Downtown Precise Plan adopted by the City Council in 2011. According to Redwood City economic development manager Amanda Anthony, “It said, ‘Hey, we want more development downtown. This is the place that we see is going to be our future.’”
Buildings as high as eight stories are allowed, which has enticed developers. Restaurants and bars don’t need conditional use permits, which shortens the time to opening.
Anthony also credits the Redwood City Improvement Association, established in 2015, with being instrumental in downtown’s revitalization. In addition to undertaking social media campaigns and beautification projects, the nonprofit is responsible for the Art Kiosk, a rotating exhibition on Courthouse Square.
Courthouse Square’s redevelopment and event programming have been a boon. As Anthony put it: “When you have thousands of people coming for music or movies on the square, restaurants are like, ‘There are 3,000 people downtown? Yeah, I’ll open a business.’”
When Jenna Johnson and Brian Clarke were searching for a space for The Baker Next Door, they were keen to fill a void in their community and focused on Redwood City. “There wasn’t a bakery where things were being made there [onsite], with great ingredients — a place you could go every day, not just as a special treat,” she said.
Johnson is an industry veteran, having held varying roles at San Francisco restaurants Boulevard, Prospect and Foreign Cinema. In 2014, she was a manager at the latter when she and her husband moved to Redwood City. Their house is two doors from where Clarke’s family has lived since 2004.
Clarke began dabbling in breadmaking in the mid-’90s, during his law school days at UC Berkeley. In 2017, he was working as an attorney and baking out of his garage. He sold his bread at the Portola Valley Farmers’ Market and gave some to neighbors, including Johnson. An alliance soon formed.
After nearly a year of pop-ups, The Baker Next Door opened on downtown’s Main Street in August 2024. A standout of the bread offerings is the boule studded with green olives, asiago chunks and thyme. Head baker Luis Lujan is to thank for my new favorite pastry: pain suisse — layers of croissant dough filled with vanilla pastry cream and Dick Taylor dark chocolate.
“We’re finding our footing, making a great product, providing a great atmosphere,” Clarke said. “I’m optimistic about our prospects.”
It isn’t just first-time restaurateurs eyeing Redwood City. In the past year, the proprietors of Mediterranean eatery Mazra, German beer garden Das Bierhauz and dim sum specialist Bao chose downtown for sequels to their San Bruno, Mountain View and San Francisco outposts, respectively. (Mazra’s Jordan Makableh and Saif Makableh are in the running for the 2025 James Beard Award for best chef in California. And the city has a Michelin-starred restaurant: While maps indicate that Selby’s is in Redwood City, the upscale steakhouse and the Michelin Guide deem it an Atherton joint.)
In October, Limón landed here with its latest location. A representative for the Peruvian restaurant cited the diverse local population comprising university folks (Stanford is 5 miles away), families and businesses as a factor.
Redwood City Downtown Business Group executive director Regina Van Brunt counts the Caltrain station as a major amenity, attracting employers like tech company Box Inc. Employees translate to diners, as do the tenants in the residential buildings cropping up. Since 2020, per the Economic Development Office, downtown has gained over 500 new housing units.
Redwood City’s good weather is another perk, Van Brunt said. The intersection of Broadway and Arguello Street famously has a sign that boasts “Climate Best by Government Test.” The slogan dates back a century — the result of contests sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the Real Estate Board.
That much-touted climate is conducive to outdoor dining. Cardamomo has sidewalk seating and aims to complete a parklet by summer. Clarke and Johnson are hoping to add both in front of The Baker Next Door.
Although some lament that the influx of restaurants has led to parking woes downtown, Anthony noted the numerous lots and garages; city data indicates ample capacity. Van Brunt shared her go-to: the lower level of the Jefferson Garage, under the Cinemark movie theater. From 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., the garage is free for the first hour and a half, and the theater validates for four hours. The same deal applies 24 hours a day at Marshall Garage, and at night at the Crossing 900 and Hamilton garages.
Beyond downtown, the Woodside Road corridor is popular as well. The much-anticipated Pamilya is opening this month. “Growing up nearby, I always noticed how there were never any Filipino restaurants in this part of the Peninsula,” owner Jhed Yuzon said of his decision to open in Redwood City.
“Part of our vision is to bring Filipino food to a community that hasn’t had this kind of cuisine in the past,” he continued. “We’ve designed our menu and our interior to hopefully not only bring Filipinos in the area together, but also attract those who are curious and have never tried Filipino food before.”
On another thoroughfare, Middlefield Road, Marianne Despres, whose El Sur Empanadas opened in August, echoed Yuzon’s sentiment. The cafe’s Argentinean-style, from-scratch empanadas — including vegan options — “give people a little bit of an original product,” she said. (Her father is from Argentina.)
The venue itself holds significance: From roughly 1975 to 1995, Despres’ parents operated the grocery store Mario’s Market in the same spot, in a building that her family owns. When it became available a few years ago, she decided to set up shop there.
Despres studied at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and, upon returning to the Bay Area in 2003, staged at The French Laundry. She launched a high-end catering operation before turning her attention to empanadas and introducing the El Sur food truck in 2012. Upon deciding to relocate to the Peninsula, in 2022, she closed her 5-year-old San Francisco brick-and-mortar.
The 22-seat cafe is open during the day; once a beer and wine license is procured, Despres anticipates extending hours into the evening. The Traditional (hand-cut beef) and Champiñones (mushroom) are the most popular empanadas. An order of four, plus a salad, makes an excellent lunch for two and costs about $35.
Although Despres lives in San Francisco, Redwood City “feels like home,” she says. “My whole childhood was going there [to Mario’s]. My parents worked ALL the time. My mom would pick us up from school, and my sister and I would be there doing homework until they finished up.”
Since Cardamomo’s Batra moved to Redwood City last year, she has delighted in discovering the breadth of the culinary scene. “I’ve been in the Bay Area my whole life,” she said. “How did I not know that Redwood City was such an amazing place to be? It’s become a destination.”