Best Restaurants for Quiet Conversation in El Cerrito

First visit to China Live and what a delight! The perfect execution of the Dim Sum dishes made it a memorable eating experience.

adequate number of choices for starter and main courses. Service was good. The environment is lovely -- Julia Morgan architecture building, high ceilings, noise was well controlled even though the dining room was full.

Happy Hour menu on the weekends?! YES please! Just the two of us, but couldn't resist over doing it, easy to do here. 3 apps: Brocoli fritters (delicately crisp, the best way to get a veggie in!) the Duck Liver pate (consistently great), and meatballs w/pesto (crisp, light, consistently good!). I'll definitely be trying to reproduce Brocoli. For pasta, the Casoncelli and Malfatti... both just sublime. Both so gently and thoughtfully prepared, you have to slow down and enjoy each bite and sip of wine. I don't see Malfatti outside of Napa much, and this one is excellent, be sure to get some. You'll be sorry if Chris changes things up. Just one secondi to split, the lamb shank... decadant, rich, melt in your mouth tender, with the tiny style cous cous perfectly sopping up the luxurious, dark sauce. Sampler plate for dessert and short espresso ended things... always a great night at Bellanico!

A gem that more of us should know about. The food was creative, flavorful and beautifully presented, our service was attentive and bespoke and warm thanks to Ella, who was delightful and made our evening so nice. It was pretty quiet, but of course it was Monday night, a holiday, and inauguration day, so people may have been hunkered down at home. I would encourage everyone to give it a try, the steak was delicious, the lamb ribs were crispy and great, and we had a really nice hummus and appetizer. Give Zino a try!

Happy with the food and the service; the location in the Hyatt Lobby was very nice.