Neumanali

I will say that is is the best food that we have had in Hayward upon moving here. Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Hayward, next to the Lucky’s grocery store. (Our server told us that long ago, the raised victorian building originally was where the Lucky’s is now.)
There aren’t many choices for evening dining and Neumanali is superb. The service was absolutely perfect, Our salad with the little pan fried goat cheese and mixed greens was delectable. Upon finishing, the spicy Cajun shrimp came out; the sauce had just enough spice and enough left over tomato chunks to sop up bread with. We ordered steamed clams too; which were awesome but we couldn’t finish them.
Our entrees, mine baked trout with thin sliced cauliflower and sprinkled with almonds atop was all toasty and perfectly put together. It had an artistic look to it as well… thin-​shapes of flowerettes dangling like a spiderweb over the juicy trout. My fiancé’s rib-​eye steak was almost like butter… I don’t eat steak but he offered so I snuck in a bite. His came with buttery greens and smashed potatoes. Really great horseradish dolloped on top, falling over the side.
We almost ordered the flourless cake but alas our tummies received the best of us and we paid our bill (under $ 100 with even two glasses of wine, amazing), chatted with our server and went on our merry way.
*(Sorry no picture this time, it was too dark in there to take a shot of the trout I was eating however, my man did have our server shoot us when our entrees arrived)

Went here for a Saturdate as a Demi-​occasion. A goodbye dinner for my love because I’ll be heading out overseas for nearly 3 weeks on family vacation.
We called and rushed right over as they person on the telephone said last seating was at 8:30 p.m. I live only 5 minutes away and luckily we made it on time.
Located right across from the new Hayward City Hall and Hayward Bart station. The front Is a pretty White House with a large brown French doorway.
We walk in and there was some light instrumental Jazz playing; dimmed lighting, a place to hang your coat and you see large shelves lined with various wine bottles as soon as you enter the door.
The bartender seated us to our table. A Caucasian pepper-​haired man who is also tending the 2 female guests at the bar. I think he’s running the front all by his lonesome.
Complimentary bread and EVOO with balsamic and minced garlic came to our table.
For starters, we ordered the warmed marinated olives and house salad for appetizers. Nothing too crazy or extraordinary. The salad, green with some crumbles of what may have been goat cheese drizzled in oil. The olives, maybe 4 – 5 varietals of purple and green, very salty and sour. Pretty straight forward.
The small plate was the prosciutto wrapped prawns. 4 large prawns on top of greens with a drizzle of a sweet sauce. Crunchy on the outside. Prawns could have been more tender, personally and also too peppery, with black pepper.
The rack of lamb, pretty presentation. 4 chops on top of roasted potatoes with pomegranate reduction. I really like the pomegranate and the seeds. The lamb I ordered medium rare, it was tender and savory. I could only eat two pieces I was too full. No complaints there. But the potatoes, although roasted because it was thinly sliced came out a little dry, didn’t really eat that at all.
My boo ordered the mignon. He ordered rare. A generous piece although not consistently cooked throughout. Dry on the edges and cooked well but medium rare in the center. You could take your knife and make a scraping sound on the edge of the beef. We almost wanted to ask to have it changed but by boo is too nice of a guy to ever complain. To me that’s a huge difference from a warm, pink juicy center and receiving a kinda dry, well done piece of beef. Could have been happier, but we’ve had better meat elsewhere. If I’m paying $$$, I expect the quality to match.
The upside. It’s nice having one fine dining restaurant in Hayward. I like the ambiance but not sure if I’d come back for the food. 3.5÷5 overall.

Found this place on Unilocal while looking for a place to celebrate my wedding anniversary, and I am so glad I found it. I was very surprised to see a place like this in Hayward. The food was great, the service was excellent and the restaurant was cute and romantic. My husband loooooved this place even more than me haha. I definitely recommend!
ps: make sure you make a reservation.

I would have rated this place lower but I am considering the location. You don’t get this type of restaurant around here so it’s kinda nice to have a defacto fine dining spot.
I took my wife here for some reason… probably something I did wrong and I was making up for it. We had the spicy cajun shrimp and it was good but crazy heavy. I feel like they just dumped a lot of heavy cream and then seasoned it. Of course it’s going to be good because of all the fat but it hides the natural taste of the shrimp and overloads you with cream.
Wife had the pork chop which was well cooked. I had the steak which was overly drenched in some sauce. *sigh* I am big believer that if you have an amazing piece of beef, you don’t pour sauce all over it.
TLDR; if you live around Hayward and you need go to a fine dining date spot then hit this place up.

I don’t often dine in Hayward and found this place via Unilocal.
Party of 6. Nice menu. Varied selections, all solid.
Decent service. Minor faux pas on serving the second bottle of wine. It was the same selection, but no tasting offered and 2^nd bottle was poured into glasses containing 1^st. (Snobbish of me).
Tasty desserts. Very nice ambiance. Good location, just off of downtown.
Overall, decent, not great, but above standard for the area.
I’d recommend this establishment, if dining in Hayward.

Took my girlfriend here twice for her birthday, as this is just about the fanciest place in Hayward. It almost doesn’t fit, as it resembles a Napa eatery more than something you’d find downtown. Can fill up fast for reservations, so sign up early. Pretty pricey, but the food is very good. One server is basically the jack of all trades, as he seats you, takes your order, and serves you. He only doesn’t serve at the bar, it seems. The prosciutto wrapped prawns are really good, highly recommended. The ribeye is a a standout, and I believe just about the only thing I’ve ordered here. The service, since it’s a one-​man show, is just slow. Be prepared to give yourself almost 2 hours from entering to exiting, and you’ll be in for a good dining experience. And bonus – if you go early on a Saturday night, you’ll just about be the only person in there.