Walnut Creek Downtown

Love, Love, LOVE this shopping center. It has everything you could want. High end and medium/​low-​ish end shopping, a multitude of restaurants of various cuisines, a movie theatre, an abundance of parking garages, and just an overall safe and pleasant atmosphere.
The selection of shops here is fabulous. I always find it fun to window shop the stores that I could never afford. Anthropologie, Free People, Kate Spade, Lucky Brand, etc. The stores I can afford to shop at are great too. Gap, H&M, J. Crew, and Urban Outfitters are my favs. There’s also non clothing stores like Barnes & Noble, Crate and Barrel, and the Apple Store. I could spend hours and hours here. So much to see!
Restaurant wise, there is something for everyone. The cheap places like Chipotle, Ikes Sandwiches, The Counter are all very popular. Other restaurants vary from Chinese, Mexican, Cafes, Seafood, Italian, Pizza, and a bunch more.
The only downer of this place is the parking situation. Sure there are tons of parking garages, but if you come here during dinner time or pretty much anytime during the weekend, parking is scarce. One time I had to circle all of downtown at least 3 times to be able to find a spot open up in a garage. The most popular garage is the one next to the movie theatre. If there are no spots there keep a look out for a smaller garage. There are a few tucked away in allys.
All in all, I will continue to drive all the way from Fairfield to this shopping center. The stores, dining, and ambience are unbeatable in my book.

I loved Walnut Creek’s Downtown.
My friend and I came here to go to Canvas and Cabernet for the afternoon, and we both had a great time, not only at C&C, but when we walked around, shopping and dining.
I was really sort of worried about parking, because I had read a lot of the reviews and it seemed like it was going to be nearly impossible to find, especially on a Saturday afternoon. We found street parking, which was 2 hours (It was $ 4 or so), had a long lunch, and then went to one of the parking garages. We found a spot (by this time, it was 1:00), and parking was free for 3 hours!
The stores are varied and fun to pop in: Candy, second hand shops, Anthropologie, lots of places to eat, bars, jewelry stores, clothing stores, to name some.
The only thing that I DON’T like about Downtown: the sidewalks! It seems like they’re too narrow… it’s hard to pass people in small groups. My friend and I were walking side-​by-​side and if two people walking the same way were coming towards us, one had to move aside to allow for elbow space. I noticed it several times, even with other people. What’s up with that??? LOL

Downtown walnut creek has plenty of outdoor stores you can shop at. They got name brand stores, mom and pop stores, movie theaters, nice restaurants near by, bars. Very lovely place to enjoy the outdoor scenery. Will be back when I get the chance. One of the cleanest downtown I have been to.

One of the best Downtown areas in the East Bay. Great for singles, couples and families. Just love the selection of shops and restaurants.
The only challenge is that parking can be a little hard to find, especially on the weekend.

This is a really cool part of town. Downtown Walnut Creek has a lot to offer, in terms of food and shops. We ate at Pyramid and did come window shopping on our way over and back.
Street parking is hard to find, but it is your best option. Luckily the street meter takes credit cards. Even still, street parking is expensive and you really only have a 2 to 2 ½ window.
All in all, it is worth the trip — local or not.
There is a lot to do and see in downtown walnut creek.

It used to be such a charming downtown with unique shops, courtyards, gorgeous trees, and lovely views in every direction. All is being torn down, the charm is going, going, gone.

I don’t know where to start but this city is my absolute favorite (besides Alameda). Family friendly but perfect for singles as well. A huge selection of restaurants and bars. From night life to wine tasting Walnut Creek has it all. Several trails and open space to explore. Plenty of parks and public swim areas. Major retailers and high end specialty shops.
The only con is parking downtown but that’s to be expected with any city. Centrally located only about 20 minutes to Oakland and 30 to SF depending how close you are to the freeway.
Safe community and excellent school district. And of course that comes with a price. To live here is a bit pricy which seems to be the trend these days especially in the Bay Area. You definitely get what you pay for.

This area is saturated with great restaurants and boutiques.
Parking is often sparse, and therefore hard to come by. Most spots have a 2 hour limit with meters charging $ 2 per hour. There are, however, a few public parking lots and parking garages offering additional, off-​street parking.
Nice to walk around and people watch too, hehe!

Every time I return home, I make sure I pay a visit to Walnut Creek. There’s just something so charming and local about the place, even though it can be full of rich, stuck-​up, bougie white people. I still find a lot of charm and enjoyment out of the place, simply because it reminds me a lot of my growing up.
There’s a great nightlife here, seeing to it that a lot of surrounding neighborhoods don’t quite have a nightlife like this (though: it IS an older crowd. Young college kids like myself would feel too young here.) There’s a bunch of small, intimate bars and late-​night eats that I love. There’s also a great variety of places to go to, from expensive, high-​end shops and local restaurants to more modern, hip, trendy stores with better price tags. The place itself is beautifully decorated and clean and well-​kept. You get your old-​fashioned local eateries paired with a budding modern locale with newer restaurants and shops. It’s charming and just about right.
It’s easy to walk everywhere, and there’s SUCH a variety of stores down the blocks. You get older cafes to bigger department stores to modern large-​group eateries, a movie theater and a late-​night bookstore. I’m in love with the place, and it provides a nice, charming atmosphere for small-​town, safe folk looking for places to entertain.

I really enjoy the downtown area of Walnut Creek for its restaurants and shopping. It seems like most days are sunny and nice as I stroll around Walnut Creek with a Jamba going shopping at my favorite kitchen stores.

About 5 years ago, I was moving up here from San Diego and had my first glimpse of Walnut Creek coming off the 24 and down Mt. Diablo Blvd. I was in love, the second I made my way past the World Market, in to Broadway Plaza and knew this was the spot in the East Bay I’d make my home.
Downtown WC is the perfect blend of local shops and restaurants, along with chain stores, coffee shops, fountains, and a real sense of community. Extra perks include our beautiful library, civic park and in my opinion tons of generous free parking. Honestly, I’ve never not been able to find a spot in the many free lots. You just need patience and be willing to walk a bit to your destination.
From Broadway Plaza to the Lesher Center and all the unique stores on North Locust, Main and Broadway, I just love my town. Lots of seasonal events as well-​everything from Wine Walks, Art on the Main, Halloween and Christmas happenings and more-​I can’t think of a more well rounded spot than downtown Walnut Creek.

Downtown Walnut Creek is a great area for shopping, restaurants and nightlife! Parking garages abound (though they aren’t all free — do your homework or consult a local), but luckily many of the restaurants validate and high-​end places frequently offer valet. Street parking will always be a challenge, you’re much better off heading to a garage since everything is a reasonable walk.
There is truly something for everyone down here! Movies, restaurants that will suit all palates and pocketbooks and many boutiqes. Admittedly many of the shops are more high-​end (reminiscent of areas like Carmel — Walnut Creek truly is the East Bay’s own little Rodeo Drive), but it is a great area to come for unique gift or house items. The area is very walkable and has great nightlife, and you’ll be very safe to wander the downtown area into the wee hours.
Come find your new favorite haunt in Downtown WC!

Think Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, any quaint town with outdoor shopping and eats and you’ll love Downtown Pleasant Hill.
We walked for hours window shopping, slipping inside to escape the heat, grabbing some good food and took in some fun people watching too. There is something for everyone around here!

Downtown Walnut Creek is one of my favorite neighborhoods. For any of you out there who like to enjoy nightlife in the bay area in an urban area with several bars and nightclubs in a low crime area then so far I think Downtown Walnut Creek is the best place to go, one of the main reasons is because there is a large police station in the heart of downtown and there are police cars everywhere making sure nothing gets too crazy.
Even in the nightclubs I’ve went to so far have had security everywhere working like watch towers with ear pieces, and anytime somebody made a mess they would grab a towel right away and say «that’s okay I’ve got it», clean it up, and then go back to their watch tower positions. THAT MAKES ME FEEL SAFE.

I love downtown Walnut Creek! There is a huge variety of stores here, from the big fancy expensive places I will never go, to the random mom and pop shoe stores on the side streets. Parking is never that bad, you never have to walk too far, movies, restaurants, etc. I love the farmer’s markets and the white lights hanging out at night everywhere. The only annoying thing is the teenage girls representing the annoying cliques of east bay — walking around with tiny excuses for dogs and daddy’s credit card. le sigh. Otherwise — a fun place to be all year round!

I’m so excited to try this walk tonight. My review will be updated soon after my adventure.

Downtown Walnut Creek is your typical «upscale» money trap. Ala… Union Square… Palo Alto… the Marina in SF… and to a much smaller scale Marin…
The only bad part about Downtown Walnut Creek is its well-​known reputation as the «snob» capital of the bay. Unfortunately, this reputation is well deserved…
However, as much as some of the establishments try their best to make certain ethnic groups uncomfortable, there are also just as many other business in Downtown Walnut Creek that go out of their way to make you feel at home.
One MAJOR plus for Downtown Walnut Creek is despite the ‘snobbish” their parking meters will give you an entire 30 minutes for one quarter!!!
Wow… One quarter MIGHT get you 6 or 7 minutes in Oakland. Also, for those of you who don’t want to drive, there is a FREE shuttle from the Walnut Creek BART station to the downtown area.
So, if you can stand the somewhat elitist attitude, the sorority girl/​frat boy aroma of duchies, I think you could have a very fun time in the DWC. I mean, they do have a TON of really good (romantic) restaurants…