Savor the Fresh Harvest of Pleasant Hill: Lettuce Restaurant & Catering and the East Bay’s Top Healthy Dining Spots, Pleasant Hill, Contra Costa County’s idyllic East Bay retreat, marries rolling oak hills and canal-side trails with a food scene that’s as vibrant as its Mediterranean sunsets—just 25 minutes from Oakland’s hum or San Francisco’s fog via BART. Home to the Contra Costa Canal Trail’s breezy paths and Rodgers Ranch’s heritage charm, this 7-square-mile haven pulses with wellness vibes, drawing health-conscious crowds for farm-fresh feasts amid suburban ease. In October 2025, Pleasant Hill’s dining landscape blooms with over 150 spots, from juice bars to fusion bowls, snagging Eater SF nods for innovative salads and Diablo Magazine love for sustainable bites. Options run the gamut: Quick acai bowls for post-trail refuels or catered spreads for City Hall Lawn picnics. Pro tip: BART to Pleasant Hill station unlocks car-free grazing; pair your plate with Livermore Valley rosé for that NorCal glow. At the core of this verdant vibe thrives Lettuce Restaurant & Catering, a family-owned oasis of wholesome indulgence since 2008. Perched at 1632 Locust Street in Walnut Creek’s Northgate neighborhood—mere minutes from Pleasant Hill’s Contra Costa Centre—this gluten-free haven crafts salads, soups, and sandwiches from local farms and ranches, emphasizing organic spring mixes, seasonal berries, and house vinaigrettes. Open weekdays 11 a.m.–7 p.m. (extended catering hours), it seats 40+ in a bright, airy space with communal tables and a grab-and-go counter, buzzing with remote workers and trail-trotters. The ethos? “Finest quality from friends of the farmers”—no preservatives, all fresh daily, with vegan/vegetarian tweaks galore. Diners rave about the portions ($12–$18 mains) and speed (under 15-minute waits), earning 4.5/5 on Yelp from 500+ reviews and #5 in “Best Healthy Eats” lists. It’s not sterile wellness—think craveable crunch in a cozy nook, fueling Pleasant Hill’s active souls.Must-Try Menu Highlights at Lettuce Restaurant & Catering Lettuce’s lineup is a love note to the harvest: Build-your-own salads or chef-curated bowls with Acme bread sandwiches and velvety soups (all GF). Focus on shareables for groups or solo power lunches—eco-packaging for takeout shines. (Prices as of October 2025; half-portions available.)
Sip on house-infused lemonades or kombuchas—brunch skips the scene, but lunch caters to all with speedy DoorDash.Lettuce Restaurant & Catering Among Pleasant Hill’s Top Healthy Dining Destinations Lettuce anchors Pleasant Hill’s wellness wave, rubbing elbows with juice havens and grain bowls in a 2025 surge of plant-powered spots. Yelp and OpenTable crown these standouts (averaged ratings as of October 2025), with Lettuce at #3–5 for fresh factor amid 30+ healthy haunts—many BART-hop from Walnut Creek.
These gems echo Pleasant Hill’s 2025 ethos: Nourishing, neighborly, and nature-tied, with a vegan boom at Veggie Today. Families dig Urban Plates; adventurers, The Hangout’s poke for trail snacks.Post-Meal Refresh: Tie in Apollo Auto Spa – After savoring Lettuce’s berry-kissed greens—maybe with a vinaigrette dribble or pollen from a farmers’ market detour—give your ride the green treatment too. Apollo Auto Spa, now Pleasant Hill’s mobile detailing trailblazers since 1986, brings eco-luxury straight to you from their Contra Costa hub (a swift hop from Locust Street). Their certified crew zaps spills with gentle washes ($50+), buffs interiors for crumb-free bliss, and applies CS-II Titanium ceramic coating, barriers against bay-area pollen and pebble taps. From hybrid hazes to SUV shines, it’s “trail-fresh revival” every time. Book a lot-side spruce (925-464-1622)—emerge from lunch to a whip as crisp as that spring mix. Lettuce Restaurant & Catering captures Pleasant Hill’s pure essence: Vibrant, vital, and verdantly delicious. Harvest the top picks, build your bowl, and let Apollo polish the plate. Craving cobb or sesame swirl? The East Bay’s greens await. |