22 Best Restaurants in The Far North, California

Hand-cut steak is the star in this refurbished early 1900s building, the place to come when you're craving red meat, a huge baked potato, or some fresh seafood. Exposed redbrick walls warm the dining rooms, and a long mahogany bar catches the overflow crowds that jam the restaurant on weekends.

The chef here gained experience working in top San Francisco restaurants before moving north to prepare adventurous Mediterranean fare with a French influence. Appetizers like a recent menu's mozzarella-stuffed arancini with a piquant tomato-based sauce hint at the level of refinement on display, as do entrées that might include cassoulet or roasted steelhead trout.

Many Reddingites consider this softly lit restaurant with black-linen-topped tables and artworks for sale adorning the walls their town's best fine-dining option. The menu tilts heavily Italian (gnocchi, lasagna, chicken Marsala) and American (braised short ribs, pan-seared fish, an elk burger), but the chef ventures across the Pacific for dishes that might include a pork-belly appetizer or Thai coconut curry entrée.

This casual breakfast and lunch place inside a clapboard house satisfies diners' cravings with dishes like homemade slow-roasted corned-beef hash topped with two eggs and accompanied by a slice of sourdough or gluten-free bread. You can get breakfast and excellent pastries all day, with soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers on the menu for lunch.

Dining at the Highlands Ranch Resort’s contemporary roadhouse restaurant is in a stained-wood, high-ceilinged indoor space or on an outdoor deck with striking views of a serene meadow and the hillside beyond. Among the few sophisticated eating options within Lassen Volcanic National Park's orbit, the restaurant serves updated pasta, fish, chicken, beef, and lamb dishes.

This restaurant in a white-clapboard home, framed by a picket fence and arched trellis, offers an eclectic menu, starting with bananas Foster French toast for breakfast. The varied lunch and dinner selections might include spicy Mongolian chicken salad, herb-stuffed fresh trout, pad Thai, filet mignon, and always several burgers.

Travelers mingle with locals at this downtown spot for microbrews and pub fare that includes vegetarian-nut, elk, and ½-pound Angus-beef burgers, along with pesto-cream mussels, duck tacos, and smoked-salmon and classic BLTs. The house brews range from pale ale to a porter, with growlers available to go.

A homegrown variation on the Panera theme, this extremely popular operation (as in expect a wait at peak dining hours) serves pastries, eggs and other hot dishes, and good coffee drinks, juices, and smoothies for breakfast. The chefs whip up a diverse selection of wraps, panini, sandwiches, burgers, rice bowls, and soups the rest of the day.

Tap into the spirit of 21st-century Weaverville at this mellow café that serves breakfast (all day) and lunch, in winter specializing in hot soups to warm body and soul. Expect all the usual suspects at breakfast, along with Country Cheesy Potatoes (topped with green chili) and sausage between two biscuits topped with homemade sausage gravy; a spicy club wrap and several vegetarian sandwiches are among the lunch offerings.

The chef-owner at this light-filled restaurant in a strip mall 1½ miles southwest of downtown incorporates seasonal organic produce, free-range meats, sustainable line-caught fish, and cage-free eggs in his cuisine. Staples include salads, fish tacos, pasta dishes, and burgers (standard, veggie, or teriyaki mushroom Swiss) for dinner daily and lunch except on Sunday, when buckwheat pancakes, French toast, and two variations on eggs Benedict headline the brunch menu.

With its burgundy carpet, white linen tablecloths, and mellow lighting, this is one of Chico's coziest restaurants. The Mediterranean-influenced menu, inspired by fresh local produce, with vegetarian and pescatarian fare in addition to meat and poultry dishes, changes seasonally—steak au poivre, bucatini and clams, grilled meat loaf, and pan-seared halibut are among recent offerings.

A favorite gathering spot for locals, this small coffee shop in a stone building serves specialty wraps and burritos for breakfast and lunch, plus soups and salads. Pastries, made daily, include muffins, cookies, and scones (great blackberry ones in season).

The famous brewery's high-ceilinged, heavy-on-the-wood taproom bustles day and night with patrons washing down well-conceived gastropub grub with the best-selling Pale Ale and smaller-batch offerings, some only available here. The open kitchen turns out sandwiches, burgers, wood-oven pizzas, and fish-and-chips (the fish's batter made with Pale Ale) with remarkable speed.

With items like Shanghai dumplings and Taiwanese sausage fried rice, this pan-Asian restaurant decorated with contemporary flair tilts heavily Chinese—the chef's from the mainland, the owner Taiwan—but Japan and the rest of Southeast Asia are amply represented. Some dishes seem tweaked to broaden their appeal, but they're generally well executed, and even on busy nights the staffers remain pleasant and efficient.

This convivial neighborhood pub stands out because of its abundance of shaded patio seating (and full horseshoes pit) in the landscaped backyard. After a long day of hiking and exploring, the restaurant is a reliable bet for hearty comfort fare—sandwiches, half-pound burgers, fish-and-chips, and tacos, plus a daily special or two.

For more than two decades, the chefs at this downtown pan-Asian restaurant and bar have served up sushi, sashimi, rolls, "hot bites" like Korean tacos (short ribs with kimchi aioli), and build-your-own poké bowls. Chico being an inland destination, the sushi might not always be as absolutely fresh as on the coast, but even then it's close, and the nonsushi options show flair and imagination.

Craft brews, from pale ales to stout, and food that's a cut above the expected have made this brewpub with a cavernous industrial interior a hit. The cheese-curd and chicken-wing starters and burger and grilled-chicken sandwich are among the best sellers.

Patrons of this comfort-food haven across from downtown's 1935 Cascade movie palace wash down elevated pub grub with classic and craft cocktails and wines and beers from California and beyond. The fare includes salads, sandwiches, rice bowls, a locally revered mac-and-cheese, truffle burgers, fish-and-chips, and a few heartier entrées.

Beloved on social media for its sticky buns, addictive two-cheese tater tots, and bacon-jalapeño and other 100% grass-fed burgers, this festive, brightly painted joint wins most diners' hearts with its house-made ingredients, dozens of beers, and upbeat staff. You'll pay more than expected but will likely leave feeling you got your money's worth.

The northern sibling of the Yaks on the 5 restaurant in Dunsmuir begins the day serving breakfast burritos and sandwiches, staying open until mid-evening for lunch- and dinner-oriented burritos and Buddha bowls along with burgers overflowing with ingredients that might include bacon, avocado, pickled jalapeños, crispy onion strings, and one or more cheeses. Smaller than the original Yaks but similarly enlivened by colorful murals and pulsating to indie rock, the Mt. Shasta iteration benefits from zealous staffers aiming to please.