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    The Riata Diner & Tavern

    3.6 (377 reviews)
    ModerateBars, Barbeque, Diners
    Open • 9:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order The Riata Diner & Tavern Takeout or Delivery

    The Riata Diner & Tavern Photos

    THE RIATA DINER & TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
    Kevin R.

    The bacon wrapped jalapeño was on point but unfortunately the beef dip sandwich was disappointing.

    Wings with fingers and all. Gross!!

    Ordered buffalo wings and got dry barbeque wings. At least I think they were barbecue. The smoke flavor that they use was overpowering. And they don't cut their wings. They were disgusting and went in the garbage'

    Laura B.

    Stopped in downtown Livermore on our way to Oakland for the A's game. Found the Riata based on their high ratings so we wanted to try them out. First impression - The restaurant was clearly a local favorite based on the inside and outside both being packed! Conversations were buzzing, drinks were flowing, and memories were being made! We were seated right away and impressed with our waitress. She was so sweet and helped with food recommendations. All meals were great and tasty! The two boys tried the breakfast shot and were pleasantly surprised, especially with the bacon finisher. Overall, we enjoyed our experience and would recommend stopping by!

    Shrimp cocktail with avocado and chips.
    Frank D.

    We always enjoy the food and the service at the Riata. Be sure you come with a large appetite as the plates are filled with nutritious and great tasting food. The noise level can get loud as the customers here are having a fun time.

    Bar
    Kimi S.

    Casual diner spot. We came here before during taco Tuesday and the service was absolutely horrible. I inquired about their Taco Tuesday menu and the waitress just gave me an annoyed face and said to look at their menu randomly sitting curbside written in chalk on a board. So we had to get up out of our seats and go look at their menu. Not many vegetarian options here so haven't dined here since. Today we just went to get some cocktails and the bartender was friendly. The hostesses were neutral. We got a manhattan and a gimlet, were seated next to the TVs to watch the game so we were comfy.

    BBQ plate
    Denise L.

    We went in on a busy Sunday. Long wait but ya know they said we could sit at the counter immediately so we did. Oh and the BBQ plate was the bomb. I was craving it so....best BBQ! 3 ribs that fell off the bone and so tender tasty. The chicken did not disappoint. And potato salad came with it. Quite pleased and content. Service was attentive to all our needs on a busy weekend. A definite return!

    Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
    Phoenix P.

    Back again! Just love this place ! Staff is friendly and very nice. There is usually a wait on weekends but not too bad Food and drinks were spot on like always LOOOOOVE the house made potato chips

    Tri-Tip Salad
    Nita M.

    This food was amazing and it was more than enough for me and my husband. The fried sampler amazing. Everything was delicious fresh everything was good. Service was great. I don't know why, but they had our server every which way, but you know what it was still amazing. She gave us extra refills Would go again if in the area. The whole place was just amazing. It felt really nice being in there. I love the atmosphere.

    outside

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    8 months ago

    Ordered that Chile verde. It was amazing. I would drive there just for that. Best I've ever had. Wonderful surprise!

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    6 months ago

    Always excellent food at this place I've been going there for years they have really good steaks

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    9 months ago

    Came on Sunday brunch. Absolutely wonderful. Place has fun vibes, our server Alicia was a gem. We will be back!

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    11 months ago

    We love coming here. Great food, caring crew of people and amazing home town menu! My favorite place for bloody Mary's on Sunday

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    1 year ago

    Great classic American food! Fried chicken, fish n chips and rib eyes are great! Desserts too!

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    11 months ago

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    2 years ago

    The club sandwich is great ! Packed with meat and piled high. We order to go alot and the food is always good prices are really good too.

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    9 months ago

    food was good, experience even better thanks to Alicia. we had tasty breakfast shots & fluffy pancakes

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    The fish and chips was most likely the worst I've ever had in my life! Omg, so bad Hard pass to ever order that again!

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    Page 1 of 10

    Ask the Community - The Riata Diner & Tavern

    Are dogs allowed on the outdoor patio?

    Yes, on a leash. They will even provide a water bowl and some treats if you'd like!

    Is this place open for business?

    Yes they do carry out not sure if sidewalk seating is available

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    Sauced BBQ & Spirits - Brisket and Pork Belly Burnt Ends

    Sauced BBQ & Spirits

    3.8(2.8k reviews)
    0.1 mi
    •$$

    Weeknight. After a high school game. Glad they were still open late to accommodate us and gave us…read moreservice with a smile. Nice western feeling inside. Lots of tables for big parties, small parties, and tall tables at the bar. Food arrived pretty timely. Our party of 10 got our plates roughly about the same time. I ordered the 1-meat combo with 4 ribs. Decent size for a solo eater that comes with 2 sides. Garlic mashed potatoes were tasty. The side salad was good and the dressing came on the side. The ribs were on the dry side and a little burnt to my liking. Needed a steak knife to cut the meat off the bone. Otherwise, it tasted good. Burger was moist and flavorful. I'd love to come back when I'm more hungry earlier in the evening.

    Sauced BBQ & Spirits in Livermore was an okay experience overall. The surrounding area was fun, but…read morethe restaurant itself was very loud, making it difficult to relax or have a conversation. The staff was not very attentive during our visit, and the service could have been more consistent. The brisket nachos were the highlight and had good flavor, but the rest of the food was not especially memorable. I have had better barbecue at other restaurants and even at home, so the meal did not stand out enough to justify a return visit on its own. This seems like a better place to visit for happy hour, drinks, and a lively atmosphere than for the barbecue itself. Beyond happy hour, I probably would not make a special trip back.

    Photos
    Sauced BBQ & Spirits - Interior

    Interior

    Sauced BBQ & Spirits - Hella Cali Salad no blue cheese

    Hella Cali Salad no blue cheese

    Sauced BBQ & Spirits - Rednexican Nachos "Runt" size

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    Rednexican Nachos "Runt" size

    YakiniQ - This USMC man suggested this place for our dinner tonight

    YakiniQ

    4.2(468 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    •$$$

    We have been enjoying YakiniQ regularly since about a year after they opened. It's definitely our…read morego-to for Korean BBQ. We usually just get the regular menu and are well satisfied with our many available meat choices. The staff members are always so courteous, friendly and attentive (shout out to Ethan! He's the best!), and they provide frequent grill changes as needed. They provide a table full of various banchan dishes (sides) to enjoy - the japchae is consistently delicious and our daughter enjoys their kimchi - and they will replenish those as often as you like. They also offer a generous serving of free ice cream for dessert (always scrumptious), although since my husband and I started eating carnivore at the beginning of this year, we give the banchan and ice cream a polite pass now. This is the perfect restaurant for carnivores because you can get all the meat you care to eat! The sliced brisket is great, and the miso pork belly is a big favorite of ours! We did try the premium menu one time and the wagyu was definitely delicious! There's very little we would change at all! Foodwise, we would love it if they offered pre-shelled garlic marinated shrimp - we like seafood, but we tend to avoid this because the one time we tried the shrimp it stuck to the grill and just involved too much messy peeling to deal with for what we ended up getting to eat. There are always plenty more items to choose from so this was a very minor thing. There's admittedly not much parking onsite to accommodate their volume of customers, as their lot is small, but that dates back to the original business (Kawa Sushi, which was our all-time favorite sushi restaurant before it sadly closed after COVID!) and can't be helped. There's plenty of on-street parking, and after eating an indulgent meal, a little walk is not a bad idea to level out our blood sugar! One change we would definitely appreciate is if the music volume was set slightly lower (it is always high decibel and tends to impede conversation if you're eating in the main front area) and we would love some variety in the music selection. We understand the custom in this type of restaurant is to play high energy music rather than anything more relaxing to eat by, but how about some great 70s, 80s, and 90s music? My guess is that a lot of the patrons that eat here regularly might enjoy that ambience much more (we definitely would)! One more thing I'd like to add - we have tried out several different AYCE Korean BBQs, both locally and in other places, and nothing has ever lived up to YakiniQ in food quality and in dining experience - we are always somewhat disappointed whenever we go somewhere else. For one thing, most places force you to choose from a limited menu framework that also includes many specific side dishes or non-BBQ items that we cannot eat, and they will only serve a limited amount at one time, so sometimes there is inconvenient waiting involved as we try to get the attention of the wait staff. This is not the case at YakiniQ - all ordering is done conveniently through scanning a QR code that opens their online menu app. You can get everything from food to drinks to additional tableware (and even request your bill), all by a quick tap of your screen. There are very few limited-consumption items, and the allowed amounts are generous enough to satisfy a healthy appetite. Also, some of these other restaurants have developed some rather elevated upcharges (or even a "membership") and/or complicated pricing structures which are both unreasonable and unnecessary. At YakiniQ, they keep the focus where it belongs, on good food and good service for a reasonable price per person. If you do decide to splash out on the premium menu, you will definitely get your money's worth, and if you stick to the regular menu, you will not be disappointed - either way, you will not leave hungry! (And for us getting the regular menu just means we can come back more often!) If you love Korean BBQ, YakiniQ is the place to be! If you've never tried it - start here. You'll never want to go anywhere else.

    Havent updated my review in over 2 years, and I still am so impressed with YakiniQ! 5 stars as it…read morehits all of my standards.. mind you, we only got their regular menu. (Below to name a few) -Amazing service and friendly staff. (They changed our grill constantly -affordability and quality of food. (Marbling of meat pop off!) -cleanliness. -flavor and variety in their menu -good for large groups A few faves: -galbi (both seasoned and not seasoned) -small intestines -garlic pork belly -finger ribs -beef belly Buuuuurppp!!! Thank you, YakiniQ!

    Photos
    YakiniQ
    YakiniQ - Side dishes and meat

    Side dishes and meat

    YakiniQ - Korean Beef Tartare

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    Korean Beef Tartare

    Sons of Liberty Alehouse - Date Night Spot!

    Sons of Liberty Alehouse

    4.3(424 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    •$$
    Outdoor seating
    Happy hour specials

    Cure What Ales You…read more This locally-owned restaurant is run by a Canadian expatriate couple, Tom and Teresa Lawrie, whose love of comfort foods and libations has borne two similarly named restaurants and a speakeasy, the Honeycomb Lounge, also in Livermore. This location is in one of my favorite quaint downtowns in the Bay Area, Livermore, and really delivers on the comfort food front with lots of creative riffs on American classics that will make your cardiologist shake their head in disappointment. The Good: * Happy Hour M-Fri 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. * Outdoor dog-friendly seating * Online reservations and waitlist via Toast (access through their website) * Seasonal menus so there is always something new to try. * Friendly service * Full bar with signature cocktails, as well as local beers and ciders on tap. * The brisket dinner wasn't quite what I was expecting, as it was more of a pot roast than a BBQ classic, but man, it was one of the best pot roasts I've ever had. The beef was smoky, succulent, and melted in your mouth. The concomitant jalapeño mashed potatoes were a fantastic accompaniment, as you got all the flavor of the jalapeño but just enough heat to make it an excellently balanced dish. * The BBQ beans were more of a bean soup, but delicious and smoky nonetheless. The Meh: * Limited menu for vegetarians and vegans The Ugly: * Street parking can be tough to come by, especially on weekends, but if you don't mind walking, there is a free city-run garage on Maple St. that has tons of spots and is shaded from those hot Livermore summers. Conclusion: Great place to get drunk, fat, and happy. Need I say more? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    We had such a lovely dinner at Sons of Liberty Alehouse in downtown Livermore! The atmosphere is…read morecozy and welcoming, with comfortable seating that works well for both date nights and group dinners. We tried the Guava Margarita, Old Fashioned, and Espresso Martini--all were delicious. For food, the Artichoke Dip, Deviled Eggs, Southwest Salad, Fish Tacos, and Summer Pasta made for a great spread. Everything was flavorful and beautifully presented. A wonderful spot for dinner, cocktails, and a relaxed night out in Livermore. We'll definitely be back!

    Photos
    Sons of Liberty Alehouse
    Sons of Liberty Alehouse
    Sons of Liberty Alehouse

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    First Street Alehouse - California Burger

    First Street Alehouse

    4.0(2.4k reviews)
    0.1 mi
    •$$

    I recently visited First Street Ale House and was thoroughly impressed! The atmosphere is casual…read moreand inviting, making it a perfect spot for a relaxed night out. Their selection of craft beers is extensive--there's something for everyone, from fruity IPAs to rich stouts. I ordered their burger, and it did not disappoint! Juicy and flavorful, paired with crispy fries. The service was attentive and friendly, which added to the overall experience. One minor downside was the noise level during peak hours, but it's to be expected in a lively pub. Overall, First Street Ale House is a must-visit for anyone in the area. Great drinks, delicious food, and a vibrant atmosphere--what more could you ask for?

    It saddens me to have to leave a bad review, since I frequent this place quite often... but the…read morequality of their to-go orders has gotten so bad. In-house we haven't had much issue, but I don't know what's going on with door dash/delivery orders. Almost every time, there's an issue. My littles absolutely love the mini corn dogs, and even though the listing says "with fries" they've suddenly stopped delivering with fries for the past few months ( and don't allow customer notes.) It's also a 50/50 chance the mini corn dogs will be dark and hard... I have a sensitive stomach with dietary restrictions, so I find great comfort that I can get the seared ahi tuna tacos while my husband enjoys a hamburger... but the last few orders have been so wrong. Once I was missing avocado, next I was missing the sauce, and this time my tuna was completely raw, not seared with hard jasmine rice and very tiny avocado slices. I always put input in to DoorDash, but I don't think it's getting to the restaurant... and it's reached a point where I feel like I have to leave this review and maybe find a new go to for quick family dinners. I enjoy visiting, the staff is always so kind and the kids like the back patio. Perfect vibe for a laid back dinner.. but why are the to-go orders so terrible suddenly? Absolutely heartbreaking.

    Photos
    First Street Alehouse - Inside

    Inside

    First Street Alehouse - Bavarian Pretzel

    Bavarian Pretzel

    First Street Alehouse - Seared Ahi Tacos with Jasmine rice

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    Seared Ahi Tacos with Jasmine rice

    The Riata Diner & Tavern - bars - Updated September 2026

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