Elegant Mediterranean cuisine in upscale digs that feel more San Francisco than suburban is part of the vision behind Amara, a new restaurant in Belmont serving cuisine from Turkey to Morocco.

Ajay Walia and Reena Miglani — the Peninsula couple behind Rasa in Burlingame and Saffron — love to travel to the Mediterranean but hadn’t had the chance to vacation in a couple of years. So they decided to build a Mediterranean oasis close to home.

On Jan. 21, they opened Amara, pairing California bounty and Mediterranean flair, with a relaxed atmosphere conducive to lingering over small plates.

So far, popular mains include the branzino, served whole with roasted lemon chermoula; the roasted lamb rack served with herb salad and green zhoug; and a saffron-marinated roast half chicken, paired with charred Persian cucumber and tzatziki.

“The Mediterranean has a deep history, rich traditions and a generosity of spirit,” says executive chef Bret Tullis. “We want to honor that ethos through a playful menu utilizing the best of seasonal products.”

The cocktail program, designed by Jonathan Adler, the beverage director behind craft cocktails at Shinji’s in Manhattan, includes 10 cocktails (and four non-alcoholic options) with ingredients such as saffron-infused tequila or grape leaf-infused vodka. And their wine menu includes not just French and Californian wines but rare wines from Morocco and Greece.

Desserts, by pastry chef Linda Ho, include labneh cheesecake with pomegranate molasses and olive oil ganache.

Expect to see an indoor garden with a water element this spring.

Details >> Open 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at 1015 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont; amararestaurants.com.

Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery coming to Walnut Creek

One taste, and you’ll go nuts.

That was the original slogan of Mr. Dewie’s first non-dairy ice cream in 2011. Almost 15 years later, the popular cashew ice cream shop is opening its fourth store early in March.

The new location in Walnut Creek will extend Mr. Dewie’s reach from Albany, Emeryville and Oakland all the way to downtown Walnut Creek.

“It’ll blow you away,” said owner Andrew Cohen. “It’s blown people away for 15 years.”

Created because neither Andrew nor Ari Cohen could eat dairy, Mr. Dewie’s was originally an almond-milk based ice cream that quickly found its way into major grocery stores, including Whole Foods up and down the West Coast.

But drought issues in California made it expensive to grow almonds, so the brothers made a decision to cash out of the almond-milk ice cream business and cash in on cashews.

They opened their first scoop shop in Albany on Solano Avenue and “it was an instant success,” Andrew Cohen said. They quickly expanded to Emeryville and Oakland.

Their product evolved after a customer connected them to a cashew distributor in Tanzania, where they now purchase all of their cashews.

“We said, ‘if they’re organic and tasty, let’s try them,’ ” Cohen said. “They are phenomenal. I didn’t realize there’s such a difference in cashews from where they’re grown.”

After the cashews are imported, they’re roasted in a San Leandro kitchen and made into 16 flavors of ice cream.

“Everything is vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free and additive-free,” Cohen said. “They’re all natural, organic products. High in protein. It’s quite good for you except that it has sugar.”

The most popular flavor is the caramel almond crunch, the only flavor that uses coconut palm sugar instead of cane sugar. It provides a flavor profile that combines nicely with natural caramel flavor, then is mixed together with roasted almonds to make a crunchy and creamy ice cream.

Chocolate cookie crumble, mocha chip, chocolate orange chip and strawberry are among the most popular flavors, Cohen said.

Mr. Dewie’s also sells freshly packed pints to go, ice cream sandwiches and Dewie Dippers, which are ice cream sandwiches dipped in chocolate.

“We’re the most popular unknown ice cream shop,” Cohen said. “You either have known us for a long time or never heard of us. You have to try it.”

Details >> Opening soon at 1521 Cypress St., Walnut Creek; mrdewies.com.

18 restaurants in the Bay Area are named DoorDasher favorites

For Valentine’s Day, the marketing folks at DoorDash decided to count the number of times customers said they “loved” the quick, reliable meal delivery they received.

DoorDash tallied nearly 60 U.S. restaurant locations with more than 50 mentions of the word “love” in their customer reviews over the past six months.

And 18 of those are in the Bay Area. In alphabetical order, they are:

Ben’s Fast Food (San Jose), Cholita Linda (Alameda), Comal Next Door (Oakland), Gordo Taqueria (Albany), Gott’s Roadside (San Francisco), Kitava (Oakland), Marufuku Ramen (San Francisco), Moonbowls (San Jose), Poke Zone (Oakland), Proposition Chicken (Oakland), Slice House (San Leandro), Souvla (San Francisco), Square Pie Guys (Oakland), Starbird Chicken (Sunnyvale), Teaspoon (San Mateo), The Good Salad (Santa Clara), The Star on Grand (Oakland) and Tisane (San Jose).

To create this list, DoorDash analyzed data from small- to medium-sized restaurants and brands for six months, ending in January 2025. Find the full list at the website.

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com, Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@bayareanewsgroup.com or John Metcalfe at jmetcalfe@bayareanewsgroup.com.