The Essence Redefining Indian Food represents Indian food in all its eccentricity and diversity along with a high quality family dining experience. The Essence provides its guests a feel of traveling across India with all five senses and a plate. A beautiful extension is that the menu undergoes a change every two months with exciting add-ons. Also, whichever region The Essence makes its home, there is an adoption of the local cuisine by its menu.
Traditionally inspired from dishes, ingredients & techniques spanning the Malay archipelago, namely Singapore & Indonesia. Regionally influenced by Northern California’s palette of producers, produce, and presentation. Essentially: expressing these tropical, cosmopolitan island flavor profiles through the abundance of what thrives in Northern California’s Mediterranean climate and terrain. Nusantara cuisines could be characterized as intense, rich, spiced (more than spicy). Steeped in time and layers of complexity, both in the kitchen and in the long history of diverse peoples in this part of the world. Chef Nora Haron draws from this wealth of culinary knowledge, plus contrasting Californian influences, which some could say to be the polar opposite: that deconstructed-composed, whole-ingredients-laid-bare simplicity, the lightness that has evolved in California eating through the few decades of this relatively young place.
With its cheerful exterior and warm and friendly setting, La Piazza in Orinda is a San Francisco Bay area gem. Offering the fun of an open kitchen, where pizzas, pastas, salads and desserts are prepared before your eyes, La Piazza is a perfect choice for dinner or a post-movie treat as it is directly across the street from the Orinda Theatre.
A truly classic Italian menu includes pizza, antipasti, beautiful pasta dishes, heartier entrees and a stunning dessert list. In fact, many visit La Piazza for dolci along with a glass from their comprehensive wine list or excellent and authentic coffees.
