The Top Rated Restaurants in Chico

The pandemic has taken a toll on the restaurant industry.  Between labor and certain food item shortages and shutdowns, it’s amazing many restaurants are open at all.  That said, Chico is a college town and the restaurant industry is great for college kids.  Flexible work schedules around school really help the restaurants in Chico avoid some of the issues other cities experience.

So where do you go?  What are the top rated restaurants in Chico?  I’m glad you asked!  Here’s a short list of local favorites under the search term “best hip new restaurants”.

Top Rated Restaurants in Chico, Ca

1. Burban Kitchen

While it looked like the Burban Kitchen wasn’t going to make it through the pandemic, it certainly did.  This medium priced restaurant is a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 78 reviews.  They have outdoor dining but we’re not sure they have heaters for that area.  Anyway, their menu features a great selection of seafood and meat dishes.  The shrimp Caesar is fantastic!  Super clean and hip…are you there yet??

BONUS:  Try the Ahi Avocado Toast for a little something different. It’s amazing!

2. Mulberry Station Brewing

Brew pubs don’t usually come to mind when talking about “restaurants” but the Mulberry Station has set itself apart.  With 4.5 stars out of 66 reviews, which is a fair sampling, the reviews on this place are universal.  The pizza is to die for.  Not to mention they really vary the pizza style.  While I’m pretty basic in my pizza tastes, it is nice to have a little variety now and then.

Like Hummus?  The word on the street is that this is the place for Hummus.  We haven’t tried it but it sure sounds interesting.  Great beer and pizza selection.  Newer restaurant in town which is GREAT to see.

3. The Lab Bar & Grill

The Lab has 4 stars out of 220 reviews.  It definitely makes the list but pursuing through the written reviews indicates they may have been a bit affected by the pandemic.  There are a couple of reviews that say there have been issues of late.  Probably just a bad day as other reviews RAVE about the food and they have a vegan menu.  Not common in our neck of the woods.

The feature a great selection of sandwiches and burgers.

4. The Handle Bar

Clever name, great food!  The Handle Bar serves mostly pub food but that too can be done badly.  Not so at the Handle Bar.  The have a great selection of beer (can you get away with a poor selection of beer in a college town?) and a great neighborhood pub feel.  This place is unique as it’s connected to a bicycle shop.  Who knew?  I guess the name could’ve been a tip off?

Anyway, with 4 stars out of 182 reviews, they’ve got to be doing something right. Being a fan of the Rueben sandwich, the Handle Bar has a “Brewben” sandwich on dark bread that looks delicious.

So that’s the top four rated restaurants in Chico according to Yelp!. Click here for more selections from the top 10.

ANOTHER BONUS: A shout out to my all time favorite sandwich shop in Chico. I love a good sandwich and Fast Eddie’s is a GREAT place to grab a sandwich over on East Avenue.  I had the “thanksgiving on a roll” (I made that up cause I can’t remember the name of the sandwich) and it was amazing!

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Thanks for visiting!