3 Best Restaurants in Riverside, The Inland Empire

The clientele is as beautiful as the food at this intimate jazz and supper club across the street from the Mission Inn. The northern Italian cuisine is first-rate—try the penne rigate with oxtail ragù followed by the orange blossom–water panna cotta for dessert. On the last weekend of the month, jazz groups play on Friday and Saturday night.

Expect to wait in line at this little sandwich spot on the pedestrian-only shopping strip outside the Mission Inn. At lunchtime, salads, soups, and sandwiches on house-baked breads are served (sandwich standouts include the chicken-apple sausage and the roast lamb topped with baba ghanoush); pastries, eggs various ways, and French toast are breakfast highlights.

Innovative food and drink menus make this clubby restaurant on the historic Main Street promenade very much shaken, and not stirred. Grab a front-row seat on the patio or head inside for a table overlooking the neon bar to enjoy cocktails such as the But First, Let Me Take a Selfie (arrives with a Polaroid of you) or the Bonnie and Clyde (arrives with a flaming counterfeit $100 bill) and entrées like the short-rib melt or the honey jalapeño–glazed salmon on peanut slaw. Vegans will be pleasantly surprised with a variety of options. It’s one of the few places in Riverside open daily for dinner, with a “last call” way past midnight.