Brian's San Jose WWDC Guide

May 30, 2017   By: Brian Webster | 

With Apple’s move of WWDC to San Jose, a lot of folks are wondering what all San Jose has to offer during the week they’re in town. Being a local to the area, and spending a lot of time in downtown specifically, I thought I’d offer some recommendations for restaurants and attractions. These are just the places I know about myself, so it’s not meant to be an exhaustive list, but hopefully this will give a good starting point for anyone looking to explore San Jose a bit. Note: now updated for 2018!

General advice

• San Jose has different weather from San Francisco! It’s quite a bit warmer down in the valley, and will typically be in the 70s or 80s in early June during the day. You might want a light jacket if you’ll be out at night, but you almost certainly won’t need one during the day. And if you plan on spending significant time outdoors, you’ll probably want sunblock and/or a nice hat.
• Like any city, San Jose has its share of “local color”, shall we say, but is pretty darn safe overall. There’s no section analogous to SF’s Tenderloin area that is really a “do not go here!” zone.

Getting around

• San Jose is not as dense as San Francisco, but the downtown core itself is fairly compact. You can do just fine walking around within a mile or two of the convention center and find most anything you need.
• The VTA bus and light rail can get you around outside the downtown area, and of course Uber/Lyft is always an option. If you have a Clipper card from using the BART or Caltrain, you can use that to pay on VTA as well.
• If you want to pop up to San Francisco before/after the conference, the easiest way to is to take the free DASH shuttle (weekdays only) or light rail to Diridon station, and then hop on the Caltrain up to SF.
• The nearest Apple Store is at the Valley Fair mall, about 5 miles west of downtown. You can hop on either the 23 or 323 bus right outside the convention center and it will take you straight to the mall.
• Ford GoBike provides a number of stations downtown with bikes you can rent and travel to other places around San Jose. Both LimeBike and Bird have plentiful dockless scooters and bikes you can tool around on as well.

Coworking

If you didn’t get a golden ticket to WWDC but are coming to town for the week, and would like somewhere a bit less chaotic than a coffee shop to get some work done, check out Nextspace (full disclosure: I work out of Nextspace myself). You can get a free day pass to try it out, and buy further passes if you want to come back. There is also a WeWork location downtown, so if you have an existing membership at another location, you can easily set up camp there.

Running/biking

For those looking for somewhere to get in a run/bike ride, I recommend the nearby Guadalupe River Trail. From the convention center, just jog a block west on San Carlos and the trail entrance is on the north side of the street. The trail goes both directions, but I recommend heading north from there. The trail goes for many miles, and does have a couple places where it splits and rejoins, so do keep an eye out on your way back, as you may end up coming back on a different fork that you went out on. If you go far enough (about 6-7 miles) you can visit Lupe the Mammoth!

Groceries

If you have need to pick up any food or other grocery items, the Safeway at San Fernando and 2nd is your best bet. There used to be a Walgreens on 1st street which unfortunately closed a few weeks ago, so if you’re in need of a pharmacy/drug store currently the CVS on The Alameda is probably your best bet.

Coffee

Straight to the important stuff! San Jose has several good coffee options, including:

• Philz, a very popular pour-over coffee Bay Area chain
• Social Policy is an excellent hang out spot with good coffee and eats.
• The Forager (serving Devout coffee from Fremont)
• B2 Coffee in San Pedro Market

Beers

• Original Gravity House has a wide selection of beers on tap, along with a variety of homemade sausages and other foodstuffs.
• ISO Beers has good variety at the tap, as well as several fridge cases of bottled beers and other yummy beverages. Also has a nice outdoor patio seating area.

Cocktails

• Paper Plane is my favorite place for a good cocktail. They have a constantly changing menu, or the bartender will be glad to whip up something based on what your likes are. Their small plates are also very good, also a rotating menu, and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything bad here.
• Haberdasher is a fun downstairs cocktail bar with a 40s speakeasy feel going on. I’ve only been here once, but had a lovely custom cocktail and enjoyed it quite a bit.
• Cafe Stritch also has a nice cocktail menu, good food, and features live jazz music Thursday through Sunday nights.

Pizza

• Pizza My Heart is a popular South Bay chain, originating in Santa Cruz, featuring large slices with a wide variety of toppings. Make sure to try the Shark Repellent hot sauce!
• Pizza Bocca Lupo makes a nice simple wood-fired pizza, and have a good lunch special with half a pizza and a salad.
• Pizzetta 408 is another, newer wood fired pizza place that I haven’t yet had a chance to try myself, but looks quite good, and is super close to the convention center.

Burritos

San Jose burritos are a bit different from SF mission burritos, and are all about their garlicky orange sauce. I can’t get enough of the stuff. La Victoria is my go-to place for a burrito, and Iguanas (home of the Burritozilla!) is good too.

Vegetarian

There aren’t a ton of strictly vegetarian places in downtown, but Good Karma is definitely a good option. Everything I’ve had from their menu has been good, and they offer a number of craft beers as well.

Breakfast/diner

• Peggy Sue’s and Johnny Rockets are the two popular diners downtown. Neither is particularly special, but has your typical diner fare.
• There’s no 24-hour diner right in the downtown core, the nearest such option being an IHOP about a mile up 1st St.

Bagels - nope 😭

Other good food options

• San Pedro Market is an open market with a variety of different eateries to choose from (crepes, Vietnamese, tacos, pizza, seafood, mediterranean, poke bowl, and so on), and a generous amount of both indoor and outdoor seating. This is a great place to go with a group, as everyone can split up and get food wherever they want, then meet up in the central seating area.
• Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse is a solid choice for those looking to recreate past years’ WWDC Night Of Meat™. Remember to bring your hollow leg.
• Nemea Greek Taverna is a nice, higher-end Greek restaurant. I’ve been here several times with good quality food and service.
• Smokin Pig BBQ is a bit outside the downtown core, a couple miles north, but has some seriously tasty BBQ. They are unopinionated when it comes to region, so you can get pulled pork, brisket, or a number of other meats, as well as four different sauces. Also make sure to try the Wolf Turds and the peanut butter pie.
• Back A Yard is one of my favorites, and serves Jamaican fare. I recommend the jerk pork with dirty rice.
• IPOH Garden serves good Malaysian cuisine, I love their lamb curry.
• Ike’s has some most excellent sandwiches.