Late-night hot pot, spicy fried chicken, fresh mochi? New businesses that opened on the Peninsula and in the South Bay have brought a range of food to the region.

Multiple ice cream shops also made their debut in recent weeks — just in time for this weekend’s heat wave. There’s a new Somi Somi serving soft serve and taiyaki in downtown Palo Alto; Rabbit Rabbit Cream is an Instagrammable marriage between boba and soft serve at Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center; and Nature’s Organic Ice Cream is now scooping flavors like honey lavender and ube in Sunnyvale.

Read on for more on seven Peninsula and South Bay restaurant openings.  

A splashy hot pot restaurant arrives 

This new Burlingame hot pot restaurant is by far the splashiest location of HL Peninsula Pearl, a local string of dim sum spots. Curls of raw A5 Wagyu steak arrive on a tiered platter in the shape of a gleaming gold cow while hunks of lobster sit atop ice in a lobster-shaped bowl. The over-the-top serving ware was imported from China just for this location, according to the restaurant. All of the tables, which overlook the bay, are equipped with hot pot and grill equipment to cook high-end proteins like Alaskan king crab and Angus beef tongue. Behind a dark marble bar, a robot named Adam mixes cocktails. HL Peninsula Hot Pot & Grill stays open until 2 a.m., which the owners hope will be a draw for people coming and going from nearby SFO airport. 

1600 Old Bayshore Hwy., Burlingame. 650-692-8888

Peninsula gets outpost of L.A. spicy chicken hit 

Spicy fried chicken tenders, sliders and sides from Dave's Hot Chicken.

Dave’s Hot Chicken, a wildly popular Los Angeles spicy fried chicken chain backed by celebrity investors like Drake and Samuel L. Jackson, has touched down in Sunnyvale. Dave’s is known for its take on the Nashville hot chicken craze. Here, the fried chicken can be as tame as no spice to “reaper” hot and available as tenders or on a sandwich. This follows Dave’s first Northern California location in Santa Rosa; more franchises are set to open in Oakland and San Jose.  

118 El Camino Real, Sunnyvale. daveshotchicken.com

The team behind the blockbuster mochi doughnut chain Mochill has branched out into making its own mochi. Mochi-ya Ren, tucked inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace in San Jose, serves mochi and white bean paste wrapped around fruits like strawberry, kiwi and peach. Fresh, handmade mochi is hard to come by in the Bay Area after the closure of longtime spots like San Francisco’s Benkyodo, though it’s available at the nearby Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose. Mochi-ya Ren also serves soft serve and lattes in flavors like matcha, hojicha and black sesame.

675 Saratoga Ave., San Jose. instagram.com/mochiyaren

A new hotel tapas bar

A Spanish tapas bar is now open inside the newly renovated Prado Hotel in downtown Palo Alto. El Prado serves snacky dishes like pan tomate (grilled sourdough smeared with tomato and garlic olive oil), albondigas and cheesy croquettes. To drink, there’s plenty of Spanish wine and cocktails.

520 Cowper St., Palo Alto. elpradopaloalto.com

Arya, a longtime South Bay Persian steak house, has moved into new digs in downtown Palo Alto. The halal menu features steaks aged in-house for nearly a month paired with both Persian and classic steak house sides like baghali polo (rice with fava beans and dill) and garlic mashed potatoes. Owners Mike Hashemi and Fera Hashemi opened the first Arya in Cupertino in 2007 and another in Redwood City in 2012. The new Palo Alto space now serves as their sole location.

140 University Ave., Palo Alto. aryasteakhouse.com

Shinjuku Shadow (bratwurst, diced daikon, spicy cheddar sauce, Umai teriyaki sauce, bonito flakes, green onion, furikake) at Umai Savory Hot Dogs at Westfield San Francisco Centre in S.F.

Umai, a popular Bay Area hot dog chain, is continuing its expansion kick with a new outpost at the food-filled Westfield Valley Fair shopping center on the border of Santa Clara and San Jose. At Umai, choice is king: Diners have their pick from 27 topping combinations, from sprinkles of nori to truffle aioli. 

2855 Stevens Creek Blvd.,  Santa Clara. umaicatering.com

More Italian food for Los Gatos 

The owners of Los Gatos Greek restaurant Dio Deka have branched out into Italian cuisine with Due Dieci. Newly open inside the Toll House Hotel in Los Gatos, the restaurant serves handmade pasta, pizza and entrees like cioppino and osso bucco.  

140 S. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. duedieci.com

Elena Kadvany (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ekadvany

Elena Kadvany joined The San Francisco Chronicle as a food reporter in 2021. Previously, she was a staff writer at the Palo Alto Weekly and its sister publications, where she covered restaurants and education and also founded the Peninsula Foodist restaurant column and newsletter.