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East Bay Livin

Central Contra Costa · Contra Costa County

Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill sits between Walnut Creek and Concord, with a redesigned downtown, a community college, and the county’s busiest BART village next door.

Downtown Pleasant Hill is newer in feel than Lafayette or Concord’s plaza: a planned main street of restaurants and shops. Diablo Valley College gives the city a student calendar. Residential streets are classic East Bay suburb, with quicker access to trails than the map suggests.

The Pleasant Hill / Contra Costa Centre station is the transit prize, even when the platform sits just outside a given address. San Francisco is a long BART ride and a normal one.

Known for

  • Downtown Pleasant Hill
  • Diablo Valley College
  • Proximity to BART

Getting around

BART at Pleasant Hill / Contra Costa Centre. Downtown is walkable. Concord and Walnut Creek are short drives.

Coffee, beer, parks, schools

Local shops

Food truck

Los Rockeros

Mexico City street food. Thursdays at Off the Grid in Pleasant Hill. Wednesdays at Epidemic Ales in Concord.

Open

Cafe

Rooted Coffee

The Oak Park Boulevard cafe Pleasant Hill actually sits in.

Open

Restaurants

American

Jack's Restaurant & Bar

The Pleasant Hill room locals name when someone asks where to eat. Patio, bar, and a full menu.

Open

Brunch

The Royale

Brunch and a full bar on Contra Costa Boulevard.

Open

Brunch

The Hangout

A Morello Avenue breakfast room with a line on weekends and a thousand-plus reviews.

Open

Pizza

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

The same stuffed pizza, on Crescent Drive. Pleasant Hill's weeknight order.

Open

Barbecue

Back Forty Texas BBQ

Brisket and ribs on Monument Boulevard. Pleasant Hill has been coming here for decades.

Open

Sushi

Nobuya

Sushi boxes and a late kitchen on Contra Costa Boulevard. The room people post before they tell you the address.

Open

Tacos

Tacos El Patron

Behind the car wash on Chilpancingo. The taco stop locals treat like a secret.

Open

Japanese

Kobe Japan

Teppanyaki and sushi on Oak Park Boulevard. A Pleasant Hill night that feels like an occasion.

Open

Thai

Saneh Bangkok

Bangkok flavors on Pleasant Hill Road. Lunch, then dinner, in a room the neighborhood already treats as its own.

Open

Around Pleasant Hill

campus

Diablo Valley College

A big, busy campus in Pleasant Hill and a central-county institution.

Open

downtown

Downtown Pleasant Hill

Crescent Drive: the restaurant row Pleasant Hill treats as its plaza.

Open

Nearby

Central Contra Costa

Walnut Creek

The East Bay downtown people drive to on purpose.

Open

Central Contra Costa

Concord

Todos Santos Plaza, a big city footprint, and summer concerts.

Open

Central Contra Costa

Contra Costa Centre

The transit village around the Pleasant Hill BART station.

Open

Central Contra Costa

Martinez

The county seat, John Muir’s house, and a working marina.

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