SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA – Lots of people throw around the term “Mediterranean food” without pausing for a moment to think what that really means.
The Mediterranean is a massive area, encompassing everything from the tomato-and-saffron cuisine of southern France to the cumin and cardamom of the Levant.
Lots of Mediterranean places really serve Italian or Greek food, with perhaps a few nods to the rest of the region. But one restaurant in San Ramon pulls flavors and influences from across the entire Mediterranean–and far beyond.
Alora Social (6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd, Suite 1100) opened in March of 2025. I visited right after the opening, when Alora was still getting set up and was essentially in the soft launch phase.
Now that the restaurant is fully established, I went back to try their burrata, cocktails, baklava, and their Izgara Aile Tarzi–basically a giant, $78 plate covered with every type of grilled meat you can imagine!
I discovered a delicious dining spot with a stunning interior, sharing-plate vibes, and terrific drinks. Here’s my review.
The Ambiance
Alora Social is tucked into the corner of City Center Bishop Ranch, nearby to ROAM and diagonal to Slanted Door. The Western exposure means the restaurant is warm and beautifully lit, especially around sunset.
Alora Social has outdoor tables with warmers if you want to sit outside in the late Summer and into the Fall.
Inside, though, the interior is stunning and expansive.
Alora Social took over the spot formerly occupied by Chow. The previous restaurant did a lot to build out the space, and Alora capitalized on that, while adding its own touches.
As with Chow, there’s still a small local market section of the restaurant, with to-go food, wine, cheese and more.
Chow’s central bar and open kitchen are preserved and integrated into Alora Social’s design, too.
Alora Social has put its own touches on these sections, though, with Turkish coffee and other Mediterranean-inspired options on display.
The heart of the restaurant is the large dining room, which has a central fireplace and views right into the kitchen.
It has a cozy and fairly casual vibe (I saw multiple tables with families and kids), but also feels dynamic and exciting enough to make a great date night spot, or a place to go with friends for sharing plates and drinks.
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The Food
Alora Social is the work of husband and wife team Anu & Vikram Bhambri. They’re known for their Alora location in the city–which serves somewhat fancier, less shareable food–as well as Rooh, an Indian cuisine restaurant with several locations around the Bay Area, and several other local upscale Indian spots.
As we’ll get to in a moment, those influences come through on the Alora Social menu. But fundamentally, the menu explores every corner of the Mediterranean.
On our visit, I started with Alora Social’s burrata (Alora hosted us for the meal; the Bay Area Telegraph covered gratuity). The burrata is a fried ball of extremely creamy and delicious cheese–think mozzarella, but made with cream instead of just milk.
Alora Social serves it in a sea of creamy tomato sauce.
We paired this with foccacia bread, which was perfect for mopping up the tasty tomato sauce and creamy cheese.
The burrata was tasty and playful, with strong “elevated mozzarella stick” vibes. I visited with my wife, and we paired our food with cocktails.
Alora Social’s cocktail menu is excellent, capturing the same range of Mediterranean and Levantine flavors as the menu.
I tried the Ruby and the Phoenix, a bourbon cocktail with raspberry and dates.
A bit like a Turkish version of an Old Fashioned, it was beautiful and–for a drink that incorporates berries–surprisingly dry.
My wife tried the Persian Sunset, a gin cocktail with pomegranate, apricot and rose water.
Again, the drinks reflect multiple parts of the Mediterranean region. Rosewater is a more Middle Eastern flavor, while apricots scream Greece.
We then moved on to one of Alora Social’s signature dishes, the Izgara Aile Tarzi. This is basically a gigantic plate covered with eminently shareable skewers of grilled meats, paired with tasty sauces, sides and spices.
Our plate came with chicken, steak, shrimp and more. The steak–chunks of tasty filet with a chimichurri style sauce–especially stood out.
It was more than enough food for two people, and I could easily see sharing this massive plate with a bigger group.
The dish came with several sides. One was a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and cilantro–kind of a mashup of Greek and Middle Eastern salads. It was delicious and extremely fresh–a real standout.
The entree also came with a rice dish. Essentially a biryani, this side incorporated Mediterranean flavors, but pulled in elements from far beyond the Mediterranean and Levant, clearly reflecting the Bhambri family’s roots in Indian cuisine.
Harissa and other dipping sauces added interest and rounded out the dish.
During our meal, we got to meet chef Ramesh Bisht. He shared that his favorite dish on the menu is the Frutti de Mare. Perhaps a reason to come back again?
We finished the meal with a chocolate baklava. Served in a skillet and topped with chocolate sauce tableside, it was rich and delicious–almost brownie like in its consistency.
There’s a nice scoop of house-made ice cream on top, too!
The Verdict
When I first visited Alora Social, I felt it was secretly a Turkish restaurant. That was probably based on the limited menu at launch, and the fact that I focused on dishes like the mezze platter (“Alora Sampler”), which has more Levantine items.
Now that Alora Social has been open for several months and is hitting its stride, the Eastern Mediterranean influence is still clearly there in the baklava and kebabs, but the menu has broadened substantially.
The Izgara Aile Tarzi is perfect microcosm of this, with kebabs capturing Middle Eastern flavors, steak with a Spanish vibe, and shrimp that feel very Southern Italy. The focaccia and burrata feel very Italian too, with a warm, riviera element in the tomato and cream sauce.
The cocktail program at Alora Social is top notch. You could easily come here for a few drinks and a mezze platter and have a fantastic evening.
Alora Social manages to feel festive without being frou frou, and energetic without feeling like a bar. The dishes are beautifully executed, and the addition of some Indian cuisine flavors and influences–especially in the rice dishes–takes the Mediterranean concept in a new and unique direction.
I would definitely recommend Alora Social for a night out on the town, or any evening where you want to take a group of friends or colleagues out for a meal where the flavors are accessible, the drinks are good, and the vibes are fun but still upscale and exciting.
Alora Social: 6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd Suite 1100, (925) 236-2026, https://www.visitalora.com/menu-social
