Becca Gomez Farrell
Google
This Slanted Door location has quite a large dining room and outdoor patio space in the upscale Bishop’s Ranch shopping center in San Ramon. Blonde wood floors, marble tabletops, and black accents throughout. Definitely a good spot for celebrations, in addition to simply enjoying a nice dinner out.
My husband and I dined with two friends, sharing six dishes family style between us—family style is the preferred method of ordering here. We started with the daikon rice cakes, which were one of the highlights of the meal for me!
The texture was impressive: somewhat creamy, somewhat spongy, with the light pepperiness of the daikon radish. Another favorite for me was the wood-roasted and dry-aged duck.
The duck was cooked to perfection, offering a bit of crunch with each bite of skin and a milder-than-most gaminess to the meat. Nice accompanying hoisin sauce as well. I also thought the shaking beef, served with a vibrant lime sauce, was delicious.
Shaking beef has been a favorite of mine since I first tried it at Golden Garlic on the Peninsula years ago. I love how a good crust can seal in great prime rib flavor with every bite, and the Slanted Door’s was no exception.
We also shared the stir-fried bok choy, cellophane noodles with gulf shrimp and Dungeness crab, and the shrimp and pork imperial rolls. Those were all good, but not as notable as the previous dishes.
The cocktails were expertly made, offering unique versions on classic tiki cocktails, and it takes skilled bartenders to pull that off well. My Singapore Sling—Glendalough gin, benedictine, cherry heering, cointreau, fresh pressed pineapple, lime, angostura bitters—was a delight, and everyone enjoyed their first round picks.
It did take a while for our waiter to come by, but he was an excellent server for the rest of our meal, making some recommendations and advising us on how much food to order.