The Junction

This place was great! The boat burger was perfect (never had boar before being from Minnesota). Also the sweet potato fries were really well fried and salted. Probably the best sweet potato fries I’ve had. Someone else was mentioning «you gotta get the onion rings» so those may be even better depending on your preferences. The place is 5 stars ignoring the scenic drive to get there. Factoring in the drive, I guess it’s 5+ stars. The food is American. Burgers, bbq, and a bar. It’s not fancy, and I think it’s perfect that it isn’t. Also I should mention the server was great… Very helpful and friendly.

This is a little place in the middle of nowhere and it is absolutely great.
With the wood burning stove, a wall of books, a dart board, the atmosphere is like out of a dream.
The staff was exceptionally nice and welcoming.
The food was surprisingly good and the price for what I ordered was shockingly low.
I liked it so much that I’ll make the trip again soon – driving all the way from San Jose.
I give a lot of credit to the owners. The atmosphere, the friendliness, the food, the low prices. This place is an absolute gem.

Alice’s restaurant of the East Bay? Mt. Hamilton/​Mines Road are great rides and the Junction is a good stopping place. The food is quite good and they have a fair selection of beer too. The service is friendly and the location is beautiful. I really like this place.

Good food. Got charged for fries that ordered but never got. The reply funtion to your receipt does not work and email bounces. For corns sake fix the bathroom .It been ouuta order for two + months and dont feel like takin a dump with a racoon.

Walked and was greeted right away! Have snacks for sale, cold, local beers, games, wood burning fireplace, great service and classic music! We love little off the map bars, and this one did not disappoint. We didn’t eat, but they do have food!

Dan and Michelle have created a home base for residents, Ranchers, Bikers, and weekenders who enjoy the beauty out Mines Road. Great burgers /​fries. Dans signature BBQ and a great selection of beers. Friendly place always.

Since the Junction is miles from anywhere, it was the only choice for a mid-​ride break. If you’re not put off by the motorcycles filling the parking lot, then all else was great. Road bikers aren’t always welcomed with open arms in these parts, but the reverse was true here. We had friendly — even gracious service from everyone.
There was a great selection of food, and it was pretty darn good. I had a tri-​tip sandwich, fries (fresh cut not frozen), and a Lagunitas (on tap). Food always tastes better when you’re starving, so I’ll have to go back and check it out under let’s biased circumstances.

Spectacular customer serice –Wide variety of sauces –Restaurant atmosphere was cozy, chill, and refreshing –excellent hospitality –had motorcycle trouble and staff didn’t hesitate to lend a helping hand. Definitely going back a 2^nd time! Thanks!

This place is great. Stopped here while just driving around in my rental car from San Jose. The BBQ was great and owners were really friendly. They let me use the wifi and we had a good time chatting.

This is a great place to stop for a lunch break. I’ve only ordered the ‘dirty dog’ since not too many places serve a hot dog with bacon and chili on it. The place is kind of small so it can get pretty crowded very quickly. The bathroom is very tiny, but it’s generally pretty clean. The Junction is like a small scale version of Alice’s on the other side of the bay, a great place for riders, bikers, and drivers, to stop for a drink or food.

Simple, traditional, friendly. Just beautiful. Perfect stop for your drive. Go to the bookshelf and try to find the National Geographic of the month/​year you were born.

Tasty Fries, Spicy Fries and Onion Rings.
Good Veg Burger
Good beer selection.

This place is a spiritual experience after 3 hours of motorcycling the gorgeous twisties that lead up to it. The service was completely warm and welcoming. Everyone smiled and was friendly and down-​to-​earth. At the same time as it felt familiar and homey, I was still served promptly and professionally. And the food. I never felt like I made love to a hamburger before. I might have blacked out once or twice. I had a ½ lb of hand-​pressed Wagyu patties surrounding bacon, caramelized onions, mushrooms, covered in brie, encased in the perfect burger accouterments. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, whole-​potato fries and the most incredible selection of BBQ sauces, each one a happy adventure. I would sincerely drive the 3 hours from San Francisco to eat here. Without a stitch of pretense, this place gets my vote for the best burger in a day’s-drive radius. I hope my next encounter with this legendary restaurant – oh, and there will be a next – will equal my first, and if it does, I might just permanently move to the Frank Raines camping site down Del Puerto Canyon Rd., as there will be nothing left for me here in the city by disappointment and longing. Go there.

A bar and grill – in the middle of the Diablo Range. Is it in Livermore? San Jose? Patterson? The «San Antonio Valley»? Never mind. It is a welcome place to stop and eat and drink after a day hiking and/​or biking in the area. Great BBQ.

If this place didn’t exist I probably would have died on my bike ride today. And the pulled chicken sandwich was excellent! Great slaw too, and sweet potato fries.

BBB, BBQ
The first three B’s are from the microwave going Beep — Beep — Beep as it’s finished warming your previously made BBQ. What a bummer. I was on a motorcycle ride on my way down the backside of Mt. Hamilton and the James Lick Observatory. I was starving and as I rounded a corner there it was, like an oasis, I could hear the angels sing, it was so awesome that there was a place to get a bite to eat so far out in the boonies. This place is about 50 mile from San Jose and 30 miles from Livermore way out in the San Antonio Valley. Everything was going well, I ordered a glass of some local microbrew which was very tasty and I saw that they had BBQ. When I ordered the rib special the nice woman behind the counter told me good choice! I sat down at a picnic table outside, it was a beautiful day and got into a fun conversation with some bird watchers. When they called my name to get my food, I had to walk into the place and grab it and take it back outside myself, no big deal really except they walked all the way outside to call my name, it would have been nice if they just brought the plate out to me. The real bummer was when I bit into the ribs they were cold, I mean refrigerator cold. I was going to just eat them as I don’t like to complain but I was so hungry I didn’t want to eat cold food. I got up and took them back and the staff were apologetic as they took the ribs back. I had barely sat back down at my table (like one minute later) and I hear my name called again. This is where the Beep — Beep — Beep came into play. It’s more than obvious that in that one minute they just threw the ribs BACK into the microwave to zap them a bit longer for me. Again They called my name from 20 feet away from me and made me come back in and carry my food back out to my table.
Well I guess they have an OK microwave as the ribs were warm this time but I don’t get why they weren’t running the BBQ on such a nice day, it made me wonder how long ago they were actually BBQ’ed. The dish was $ 10 and came with some potato salad that was tasty, and some baked beans which were alright as well. Nothing really stood out on this plate. The highlight was the IPA from Altamont Beer Works and that inspired my next stop on this ride.
I’ll probably be back as this was an EPIC adventure to come out here but I’ll order something that I know they are cooking hot next time. Great stop for beer and a break!

Staff was friendly enough. Service was in a timely fashion. For a small staff. Portions were small. And well … Just ok!!! It’s the only place out there. so it should get plenty of business during riding season!
Oh yeah. I enjoyed the microbrews from a local brewery. Especially the Livermore «D»

A handful of us rode our old Kawasaki two-​strokes up mines road from Livermore, and stopped in at the new-​ownership Junction. This was my first time here and I tend to like quaint, down-​home type eateries, and this fit the bill with it’s simple tables and chairs and décor. The staff was friendly and made sure to ask how are food was for some important feedback for the new owners. I paid just over $ 8 for a tasty burger and fries, and a canned soda, which is just fine with me, and I felt the taste was right on the money — perfectly cooked burger inside a nice and fresh bun with all the fixin’s.
Now I, along with others, felt the wait was a bit long after ordering, but I just chalk that up to the early learning stages of taking over a newly acquired business. Besides, you shouldn’t be in a rush in such a nice and peaceful naturesque environment anyway — you can stay in town for that. Just order as soon as you get there, and then have a seat either in or outdoors, and chat with friends, or make new ones as we did when talking about our old bikes to others who remember having and riding some of the same. If you can do with just a quick snack, it appeared fries, onion rings, and the like arrived fairly quick for those who ordered such.
Mines road is a nice road to ride, and the Junction is a nice place to grab a bite to eat, and I for one plan to return the next time I’m out this way!!! :-)

This is an update under the new ownership. Nice improvement with the addition of barbecue! I tried the chicken wings, pulled pork, pulled chicken and all 4 barbecue sauces. They were all great! I look forward to many fun rides out here!
A perfect place at a perfect location. Mt. Hamilton Road from San Jose, Mines Rd from Livermore, or Del Puerto Canyon Road from Patterson. Where they meet is a little slice of heaven (Mt. Hamilton Rd becomes San Antonio Valley Rd). The Junction sits at (yes you guessed it) the junction. Very friendly folks feed good hearty food, I had the barbecue pork sandwich which was great. Nice place to talk to other riders and take a break. Outdoor seating is great,

After riding our bicycles through Del Puerto, the Junction was our destination lunch spot and it did not disappoint.
I ordered the special of the day which was the pulled pork sandwich with a choice of either fries or onion rings… I chose the fries. I was craving beer, but that wouldn’t of been a wise choice since I still had a lot of riding todo.
Nice people, beautiful rustic environment and ambiance.