A meal at Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar is not for the narrow palate. Executive chef and owner DanVy Vu embraces a refreshingly offbeat culinary approach, playfully combining flavor and texture profiles for dishes that are as visually stunning as they are delicious. You won’t find burgers in this establishment. Each menu item is an ode to a point in Vu’s complex life story.
“Our mission is for each dish to be unique,” Vu says. “We want to surprise you.”
At Top Hatters, highbrow cuisine meets humble immigrant origins. Vu learned to cook from her parents who were Vietnamese “Boat People”—groups who fled the country by ship following the end of the Vietnam War. Her family would host anywhere from 15 to 20 refugees in their four-bedroom home at any given time, preparing traditional Vietnamese meals to satisfy their guests’ growing nostalgia. Thousands of miles away from home, food became their way of staying culturally grounded.
Over the years, Vu would encounter a variety of cuisines in her Orange County neighborhood. Her mom, a factory worker employed alongside other immigrants, would bring home dishes her coworkers prepared for their Friday potlucks. Many of these dishes were foreign cuisines for Vu, and she grew curious about these new eats. And so the chronicles of the Flavor Chaser began; itching to relive those potluck days, Vu learned to recreate the yummy meals of her childhood, with only the memories of how they tasted to guide her.
“I was always chasing those flavors but never knew exactly what they were,” Vu says. “The food at Top Hatters is inspired by that constant flavor chasing from my childhood.”
The menu embodies the farm-to-table philosophy. Each week, the restaurant receives shipments of fresh produce in partnership with Stonybrook Canyon Farm located in Castro Valley. Vu takes pride in having access to high quality produce, as she believes it’s been key to her successful veggie-heavy dish lineup.
“We’re big on fresh, from scratch, and natural food and ingredients,” Vu said.
Upon walking in, one is greeted by a chic yet unpretentious ambiance. The décor blends modern elegance with rustic touches, featuring large windows, wooden beams, and accent greenery. The room is humming, and waitstaff work the dining floor like a ballroom, waltzing between tables as they deliver platters with rhythm and grace. Service is warm, and visitors are quickly seated. The experience begins.
For starters, the Tissue Bread is a fan favorite. It comes rolled on a plate and fortunately, resembles Indian roti more than the sanitary paper product its name alludes to. Being in a fine dining eatery, a diner’s instinct may be to grab the fork in front of them and dig in. But trying to conquer this appetizer with a utensil is futile; due to its thinness, it’s best eaten with the hands. One can also dip their bread into the tangy house-made soy sauce.
Vu first discovered the concept for this dish in Singapore, where she stayed in a refugee camp for a while as a kid. There, it’s called tisu prata, and similar breads can be found throughout Asia.
“I’d been chasing that flavor for years,” Vu says. “Then I came here and tried the Indian version and it clicked for me.”
Those curious about plant-based main course options can try the Shimeji and Cremini Mushroom Lemongrass Madras Curry. This dish is Vu’s vegetarian take on the popular Vietnamese chicken curry or Ca Ri Ga. The roasted potatoes are a robust meat substitute. Zucchini and carrots offer a delectable summer garden blend. The two mushrooms, shimeji and cremini, complement each other, the former providing buttery notes and the latter packing a more mild, earthy essence.
But the one ingredient that truly elevates this dish is the fried onion, presented as golden-brown shreds. Cooking them to a crisp unlocks their umami, allowing them to impart a sharp, sophisticated flavor. The meal comes with a sliced banh mi roll, a French bread cousin. The banh mis are freshly baked daily and have an airy quality to them, and they quickly sop up the curry when dipped.
“A lot of veggie-based dishes don’t taste hearty,” Vu says. “I wanted this dish to be a hearty option for vegan and vegetarian diners.”
And for those who order dessert after their meals on principle, the Lemon Ricotta Zeppole Doughnuts are sure to satisfy. These spongy mini cakes come dusted with powdered sugar and are topped with lemon rind for a sweet treat that packs a citrusy punch. But their sweetness is subtle—and that’s where the side of Earl Grey ganache comes in. The ganache is a thick, creamy chocolate sauce that offers a boost of bittersweetness.
The doughnuts are Vu’s iteration of zeppole or deep-fried dough balls that her Italian in-laws grew up on. But perhaps it was chasing the flavors of these doughnuts that taught Vu the most valuable lesson of her career. After trying to nail down a recipe for months that resembled the dessert her husband’s family adored, she realized she was pursuing an elusive idea. She jokingly added that she doesn’t wish to compete with any Italian grandmother’s cooking; rather, she wants to use the inspiration to develop new mouthwatering creations that are uniquely hers.
“I’ll never be able to replicate someone’s exact memory of something,” Vu says, “and that’s okay.”
So while she’s still the wild Flavor Chaser at heart, Vu’s accepted that her masterpieces may not always be duplicates of the originals. Her doughnuts may not be the most Neapolitan zeppole, but they are the Top Hatters zeppole. And they’re damn good.
Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar, 855 MacArthur Blvd, San Leandro, 510.777.9777. Open Tue-Thu, Sun 12-3pm and 4:45-8:30pm; Fri-Sat 12-3pm and 4:45-9pm. tophatterskitchen.com.
