California may not have the longest history, but here in NorCal we at least have a few landmarks left that date back more than a century. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Hotel Mac in Richmond — originally opened as the Colonial Hotel in 1911, and in honor of the occasion the restaurant’s doing weekly $19.11 dinner specials. (Earlier this year the Hotel Shattuck Plaza rang in 100 years with a similar deal at Five.) What with this tour of vintage menus today, this seems as good an occasion as any to round up the Bay Area’s old guard eateries, starting with S.F. institutions like Tadich Grill (1849), and Berkeley’s Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto (1890).
Note: The Bay Area News Group/Mercury-News did a similar roundup today, however theirs felt a bit incomplete, so we’ve supplemented.
Swiss Hotel, Sonoma - ~1842
Tadich Grill, SF - 1849
7-Mile House, Brisbane - 1853
The Old Clam House, SF - 1861
The Cliff House, SF - 1863
Sam’s Grill, SF - 1867
Fior d’Italia, SF - 1886
Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto, Berkeley - 1890
Duarte’s Tavern, Pescadero - 1894
Hotel Mac, Richmond - 1911
Hotel Shattuck Plaza, Berkeley - 1911
Claremont Hotel, Berkeley - 1915
Sam’s Anchor Café, Tiburon - 1920
Wing’s Chinese, San Jose - 1925
Casa Orinda, Orinda - 1932
The Van’s, Belmont - 1947
Century-old restaurants – Tadich Grill, Hotel Mac and more – continue to thrive in the 21st century [Mercury News]
