what to do in San Jose over the weekend? (San Francisco: rental car, rental)

[bionictony]

Coming in on Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday afternoon. Winchester house is on our to do list for Friday. What's there to do and see for Saturday? Which mall was better? Eastridge or Oakridge? Were there any other malls in the area between San Jose and San Francisco that's big? We'll have a rental car so we can drive around.

What are some popular restaurants in the area?

Thanks in advance.

[Meowen]

Valley Fair mall is better than both of those, its on stevens creek blvd in san jose/santa clara. Right near the Winchester house.

[Billy Millennium]

Scratch the Winchester Mystery House, a complete waste of time. It's on a major street next to a movie theater. It's a joke.

^ As Meowen said, Valley Fair is considered the top mall. Although I like Oakridge and it's a very nice mall and less of a hassle getting around/in and out. Steven Creek Blvd can be more chaotic.

As far as restaurants go, we don't really have a wide array of good local restaurants. We have at least one Cheesecake Factory around here. Forget it it's in Oakridge or Valley Fair. A few places downtown but there are a small handful of "institutions" in San Jose. Original Joe's in downtown is considered one.

[Meowen]

Cheesecake factory isn't exactly local or good IMO. There isn't really a lot of good formal dining in the south bay, for that you'd have to go up to San Francisco which has tons of great options.

However, San Jose is loaded with great informal dining experiences. Taquerias and mexican places in general, Pho places, korean bbq on el camino, things like that. A good option near valley fair mall, DIA DE PESCA..delicious little informal mexican place specializing in seafood tacos and stuff like that.

[ippi76]

I agree with Valley Fair mall, in addition you have the outdoor Santana Row center across the street. There are some food places there, I think, like Roux and Village, and Left Bank Steakhouse (everything is pricey just a warning.)
Parking is terrible at Valley Fair, especially for a weekend nearing Christmas. Do yourself a favor and arrive before 11:00 if you can.
Winchester Mystery House isn't bad, maybe 1-2 hours and some nice garden scenery, but it is paying to see an old house lol.
For Saturday, you could always check out downtown, which has San Jose State University, San Pedro Square, Christmas in the Park.

[easybay]

There isn't really a lot of good formal dining in the south bay, for that you'd have to go up to San Francisco which has tons of great options.

Hmmm, I can think of a few really good places in South Bay. Cincin and Dio Deka in Los Gatos, The Basin or La Fondue (how about Plumed Horse??) in Saratoga? Michael Mina's Arcadia in San Jose?

[easybay]

On Saturday - I would make a reservation for dinner in Saratoga and go do some wine tastings in Saratoga before hand - Savannah Channal is really nice and Mountain Winery too!

[Meowen]

Originally Posted by easybay

Hmmm, I can think of a few really good places in South Bay. Cincin and Dio Deka in Los Gatos, The Basin or La Fondue (how about Plumed Horse??) in Saratoga? Michael Mina's Arcadia in San Jose?

Yeah those places are good, i wasnt really thinking about them..but also uber expensive!

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by bionictony

Coming in on Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday afternoon. Winchester house is on our to do list for Friday. What's there to do and see for Saturday? Which mall was better? Eastridge or Oakridge? Were there any other malls in the area between San Jose and San Francisco that's big? We'll have a rental car so we can drive around.

What are some popular restaurants in the area?

Thanks in advance.

If you have kids, Christmas in The Park downtown would be fun for them and there's an ice rink across the street. It's a San Jose tradition. If you don't have kids, but still want to get into the Christmas spirit, it may still be fun for you.

Eastridge is typically considered to be the "ghetto" mall in SJ, and I'd avoid it. Oakridge is nicer and is in a better part of town.

Downtown will probably have the best concentration of restaurants to choose from. I recently tried Billy Berk's for the first time. It's about a block away from where Christmas in The Park is set up at Plaza De Cesar Chavez and I had a good experience.

[easybay]

uber expensive

Isn't "formal" dining expensive? OP - go online to see if the prices are inline with what you are expecting to pay. Most restaurants have $15-25 corkage - so BYOB.

You can also drive South and hit the beach or go to Capitola (personally, I'd avoid Santa Cruz). Or take an hour drive down to Monterey and check out the aquarium or walk around Carmel.

If you are into shopping you can check out the Great Mall in Milpitas (Get there EARLY - or forget about getting in or finding a parking spot), or head out to Gilroy to the outlets.