Castro Street

General

Castro Street is the "main drag" for Mountain View.  Conveniently, it's the exact same street as Moffet Boulevard, the one that runs through the main gate to NASA ARC/Moffett Field.  The street name changes at the Central Expressway (which is also where the Caltrain rail tracks are).  Incidentally, Castro Street is named after Don Mariano Castro (no relation to Fidel), who in the 1800s owned a ranch that included the land that eventually became Mountain View.

The stretch of Castro Street between the Central Expressway (in the north, nearest ARC) and West El Camino Real is designed to be pedestrian friendly.  Many of the restaurants have outside seating along the street, the speed limit is 25 mph (and seems to be followed), there are benches and small shade trees all along the stretch, and there are crosswalks in the middle of most blocks.

Incidentally, if you're the one doing the driving, you're supposed to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks.  (It's a California state law.)  That includes the mid-block crosswalks, which have no stop signs or lights and are just painted on the street.  Of course, having the right of way won't make it hurt any less if some bonehead runs over you doing 45 in a 25 zone, so don't take the crosswalks too much for granted if you're on foot.

Speaking of traffic hazards, don't stop on the railroad tracks at the north end of Castro Street.  The layout there is a little strange, so be mindful of what's going on.  When the traffic light at the Central Expressway is red, the light at the rail tracks will be flashing red.  That means you only have to stop at the tracks, and then you can cross.  However, there's only room on the far side of the tracks for about two cars in each lane, and you really, really, really DO NOT want to end up sitting with the trunk of your car hanging over the tracks when a train comes barrelling down the line.

There's a cluster of civic buildings near the south end of downtown Castro Street, between Mercy Street and Church Street.  The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (MVCPA) is there, as are many of the government buildings.  If you need to do something official, chances are you can do it there.  Also, if you walk west through the cluster (or just cheat and take Mercy or Church west), you'll come to Pioneer Memorial Park and the Mountain View Public Library, both of which are worth seeing.

At the north end, in the Caltrain Parking lot, a Farmers Market is held every Sunday from 9 AM to 1 PM.

Bars & Restaurants on Castro

(If you add something here, please add it to the Restaurants Bars Clubs page, too.)

This is believed to be a complete list of the restaurants fronting onto Castro Street between the Central Expressway and Mercy Street.  Where known, the cuisine is in parentheses after the name.  (Where it's obvious from the name, the parentheses have an arrow pointing to the name.  Hey, come on, <-- looks sort of like an arrow.)  Feel free to extend this south to West Camino Real or thereabouts, correct any errors, add details and reviews (or links to reviews), comments, etc.

Caution:  According to a knowledgeable local, eating lunch on downtown Castro Street during a weekday is easy (and tasty), but parking downtown at lunch time can be a real nightmare.  Figure in some time for walking. Or park in the free parking garages which can be found on either side of Castro. Follow the signs to the right immediately after the RR tracks, or to the left a little farther down.

• Amarin (Thai)
• Buddha Lounge (dance club)
• Cantankerous Fish, The
• Casa Lupe Mexican Restaurant (<--)
• Castro Point
• Chef Liu
• Diyar Bistro & Wine Bar
• Don Giovanni
• Easeal
• ETA New Wave Fusion Restaurant & Bar (<--)
• Food Street Restaurant [may be closed]
• Fulam Mum Chinese Restaurant (<--)
• Gelato Classico
• Godavari Indian Restaurant (<--)
• Gyro's House (<--)
• Hangen Szechuan Restaurant
• Hong Kong Bakery & Cafe
• Hong Kong Bistro
• Hunan Chili
• Kanh Vietnamese Restaurant
• Kapp's Pizz Bar & Grill (<--)
• King of Krung Siam
• Kirin Chinese Restaurant (<--)
• Maru Ichi (not to be confused with "mariachi")

• Mediterranean Grill
• Minh's Restaurant (Vietnamese)
• Molly Magee's Irish Pub (<--)
• Monte Carlo (Mexican)
• New Mongolian Barbecue (<--)
• NETO Cafe & Bakery (<--)
• Pasta? (Italian; the "?" is part of the name)
• Pho Hoa
• Posh Bagel, The (<--)
• Queen House Chinese Restaurant (<--)
• Red Rock (coffee)
• Roadhouse Bar & Steakhouse (<--)
• Shabuway
• Shiva's Indian Restaurant & Bar (<--)
• Sono Sushi Restaurant (<--)
• St. Stephen's Green
• Taqueria la Bamba (Mexican)
• Temptations Indian Chinese Fusion (<--)
• Thai Restaurant & Bar (<--)
• TK Noodle
• Tsunami Sushi Grill (<--)
• Vaso Azzurro
• WJ Grinders (<--  For folks from places where the term "grinder" isn't used, a grinder is a type of sandwich.)
• Xanh
• Z Pizza (<--)
• Zucca

Other Things On Castro

• Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
• Tap Plastics - If you're building or casting something out of plastic, this is a handy place to go.

Bars & Restaurants Near Castro Street

(If you add something here, please add it to the Restaurants Bars Clubs page, too.)

• Fiesta del Mar, Too (Mexican)

Other Things Near Castro