Nick's

Located in a fancy outdoor mall straight out of a Williams Sonoma catalog, Nick’s has all the ingredients to be yet another corporate lunch/brunch wasteland. But it’s not. And it’s because the crowd-pleasing American comfort food menu—think seared ahi salad, cioppino, and fried chicken plats—is pretty delicious, with great service and an even better patio to boot. It’s not a complicated formula, but this all-day downtown restaurant has it figured it out.