With the restaurant industry still facing challenges, businesses in Fremont and Oakland are enticing food lovers with the opportunity to save money while discovering new places and revisiting old favorites.

Fremont Restaurant Week

This inaugural event for the diverse city of more than 225,000 residents runs from Friday through March 26 with prix fixe menus, specials and freebies. Leading the array of 40-plus restaurants are three classics that have been in business for decades: Massimo’s, El Patio and the Market Broiler.

Joining them are restaurants in all corners of the city: Amazing Basil, Ambrose Butchery, Billy Roy’s Burger Co., Cafe Mei, Cantaritos Restaurant & Bar, The Clubhouse, Das Brew, De Afghan Kabob House, Duan Chun Zhen Noodle House, Ephie Cuisine, Falafel Etc., Federico’s Grill, Hops & Beans, Hyderabad Dum Biryani, iniBurger, Jack’s Brewing Co., Le Moose Crepe Cafe, Little Dipper Shabu Shabu, Mas Fuego, Milk & Honey, Momo & Kebab, Namaste Pizza, Papasan Rolls & Bowls, Port of Peri Peri, Ristorante Il Porcino, Satayman, Skilletz, Smoking Pig BBQ, Soho Modern Japanese, Sojo Ramen and Vitality Bowls.

The lineup of dessert, bakery and beverage spots includes Cauldron Ice Cream, Forest & Flour, Mamahouse Bakeshop, Mr. Sun Tea, Nature’s Organic Ice Cream, 99 Tea House and Tea for Fremont.

Look for meal promotion menus and pricing at www. fremontrestaurantweek.com.

Oakland Restaurant Week

Running from Thursday through March 26, restaurants are featured in every district of the city, from Jack London Square, Downtown and Fruitvale to Uptown, Temescal and Rockridge. More than 125 businesses are offering meal deals, with more being added each day to the searchable list, organized by cuisine and neighborhood.

Want to eat in the Grand Lake district? You’ve got six choices, including Cuban, Greek and vegan.

How about adding a Mexican spot to your repertoire? There are 14 participating restaurants across the city with dining deals to check out.

Two of the city’s brand-new restaurants also are taking part: Acre, located in the former Oliveto space in Rockridge, and Left Bank Brasserie, which just opened at Jack London Square. Other first-time participants include Coco Noir Wine Bar, Roasted and Raw, and Parche.

In addition, Restaurant Week highlights Oakland’s Vegan Trail, Community Kitchens, coffeehouses, wineries and wine bars. Find those lists and restaurant deal details at www. visitoakland.com.

Santa Clara’s Eataly hosts its first Restaurant Fest

Eataly, the three-story culinary emporium at Westfield Valley Fair, is holding its first Restaurant Fest for this location.

The promotion, which runs through March 19, offers two-course menu deals, specials on regional wines and what they’re calling “bites of indulgence” at special prices.

For La Pizza & La Pasta’s promotion of two courses for $22, the appetizer choices include zucchini fritters and bruschetta. Main dish selections feature spring vegetables — asparagus, snap peas, fava beans — with pappardelle, ravioli or bucatini. Or, diners may pick a pizza (margherita or quattro formaggi). Several glasses of wine and cocktails are priced at $10 each.

At the store’s rooftop Terra restaurant, the $39 for two courses promotion features appetizers such as insalata verde, housemade fennel sausage or crostini with stracciatella cheese and main courses of spaghetti al pomodoro, spring ravioli or chitarra with zucchini.

The bites, priced at $6 to $10, include oysters, asparagus rice balls and tuna crudo.

Details >> Find more menu information and make reservations at www.eataly.com/us_en/stores/silicon-valley/restaurant-fest-at-eataly-silicon-valley. 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara.

Shake Shack opens Walnut Creek location, at last

You can add wildly popular Shake Shack to Walnut Creek’s evolving fast-casual burger scene.

The New York City-founded counter-service restaurant famous for double cheeseburgers, hand-spun milkshakes and crinkle-cut french fries has made its debut, giving some new competition to George’s Giant Hamburgers, The Habit, Gott’s Roadside, Burger Lounge and Mooyah.

The menu stars the Golden State Double, a regional item only available in the Bay Area. The double cheddar cheeseburger is topped with pickles and smoked garlic aioli and is made with California grass-fed beef from Oakland-based Cream Co. Meats.

The 10th Bay Area Shake Shack location and first in Contra Costa County is one of the biggest to date, with two levels of seating and a walk-up window. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 1604 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Walnut Creek.

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com and Jessica Yadegaran at jyadegaran@bayareanewsgroup.com.