Top Hatters Kitchen & Bar in San Leandro is not a place you casually meander by.

Not when it’s nearly right below elevated Interstate 580 with its perpetual congestion of cars, and in a neighborhood with an auto repair shop across the street, and quaint bungalow-style homes all around.

It’s a place you need to know about. And if you find yourself in the East Bay, it’s a place well worth seeking out, which is exactly what my husband and I did recently.

Honored with a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand for serving good food at affordable prices, Top Hatters is named for the longtime family-owned hat shop that once graced the property.

It was opened in spring 2019 by husband-and-wife Matthew Beavers and DanVy Vu to serve up California-Vietnamese cuisine and creative cocktails.

Take a seat in the inviting dining room done up in crisp blue and white. Or best yet, if it’s a nice day, grab a table in the lovely walled-in courtyard, a sweet little oasis with plenty of potted greenery.

Don’t leave home without your phone, because you’ll need it to access the menu via QR code and to place your order via Toast (yes, even if you’re dining on the premises). If you have questions about any menu items, just flag down a server to ask. You can add other dishes along the way or dessert at the end. When you’re done, simply close out your tab on Toast and pay by credit card.

Sit back with one of the specialty cocktails, which take their name from hats. For instance, the Shiso Non La ($17) gets its name from the Japanese perilla herb, and the Vietnamese conical hat that shields from sun and rain. It’s a bright herbaceous blend of house-made shiso bitters, vodka, lime, Cointreau, ginger syrup, and muddled Thai basil. It’s like drinking a summer meadow.

Halibut tartare ($17) gets a noticeable zing from incaberries or cape gooseberries, along with pickled red onions, and tangy sumac. There’s a hit of heat from bird’s eye chili and of umami from fish sauce. Scoop some up with house-made rice crackers for a refreshing bite that will wake up the palate.

One of the restaurant’s signature dishes is the savory donuts with bacon ($10), which are a must-order. They arrive hot and super crispy, showered with Pecorino. Made with ricotta, these two-bite donut holes are tender and soft, even a teeny chewy. They get extra savory from garlic, bacon, and scallion. It’s like eating the very best, fresh-out-of-the-fryer tater tots.

I dream of having the napa cabbage slaw ($17) again just for lunch. It’s a riot of textures, colors, and flavors that really showcases California ingredients with an Asian sensibility. It’s a beautiful dish, loaded with green and red cabbage, plus long slices of chewy fried tofu skin. Fried shallots and peanuts add delightful crunch, while Thai basil, rau ram, and mint leaves bring their perfume and floral notes.

From the entrees, pork belly with rice ($39) arrives with two large slabs rimmed with delectable fat. Since the meat is braised in coconut water, the skin isn’t crisp, but satisfyingly chewy. The meat is rich and a little sweet. It’s a true comfort dish.

Another one equally so is the oxtail and grits ($42). The long-cooked meat can be pried off the bone with little coaxing. The oxtail are served atop creamy, buttery grits, and get topped with slender carrots.

If you want donuts upon donuts, you can have them again for dessert in the form of tiny lemon riccota zeppole. However, since I can rarely resist anything mochi, I went with the fried sesame mochi ($8).

The taste and texture are reminiscent of Chinese fried sesame balls enjoyed at dim sum time. In this case, though, there is no red bean filling inside. Instead, these mochi are flatter but no less nutty tasting and deliciously chewy. They get a peanut sesame sugar filling, and are arranged atop tapioca coconut pandan cream and ginger syrup.

The location of this restaurant may be unexpected, but so, too, is its food — in the best of ways.