For an evening at a nice restaurant, the average customer would expect to travel to a city and pay a hefty price tag, but East County residents can now enjoy a beautiful and carefully crafted meal at a reasonable price on Bethel Island. Deal’s Restaurant and Bar, open since April of this year, offers a spacious, tastefully decorated dining room and a full bar. The staff members are friendly and welcoming, and all dishes are prepared fresh.

Chef Daniel Prevot, of Prevot’s in Brentwood, uses his extensive experience to bring French, Italian and American cuisine to the table. Some of the most popular include Calamari Steak with caper sauce ($12) and the grilled New York Steak with either garlic-herb butter or marsala sauce, available in 8-ounce ($13) or 12-ounce portions ($19). Chicken lovers will enjoy Chicken Marsala ($11) a boneless breast sautéed in mushroom marsala wine sauce, or the Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken ($10).

For pescetarians, the delicate Filet of Sole ($12) is sautéed with white wine, lemon and butter. Deal’s also serves certified Black Angus beef for meat lovers. Dinners are served with soup, salad, fresh bread, pasta and vegetables. Prevot described the restaurant strategy as striving to keep nice meals affordable, all the while serving “the best food we can get our hands on.”

Restaurant manager and mother of owner Terry Diehl, Kimly Diehl used to own a Vietnamese restaurant on the Island and has contributed some of her own recipes to the menu. The Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad ($8) includes grilled pork served over rice vermicelli with vegetables, roasted peanuts and fresh Asian herbs in a tangy chili salad dressing, and the Vietnamese Sandwiches ($6) offer grilled pork with traditional vegetables on a French roll.

Deal’s also offers daily specials such as Fish and Chips ($9) on Mondays or Prime Rib ($13) on Fridays and Saturdays, and weekly specials such as Filet Mignon, Osso Buco, Braised Lamb Shank, Chicken Cacciatore or Kobe Beef. At the bar, draft beers are $2 each and a glass of house wine is $4. Sandwiches, burgers and even hot dogs are available in the restaurant and at the bar. Appetizers range from Prawns Bordelaise ($7) – tiger prawns sautéed with vegetables in cream and white wine – to Buffalo Wings ($6) in varying degrees of spiciness.

The restaurant staff is dedicated to the local community and is looking into hosting after-hours comedy or karaoke in the restaurant to provide social activity. The community has responded positively, as the dining room is often filled in the evenings. One local commented, “The place is nice. The food is excellent. The price is right.”

Deal’s Restaurant and Bar, located at 6277 Bethel Island Road, is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 3 to 10 p.m. for dining; the bar is open from noon to 11 p.m. Deal’s is closed on Tuesdays. To make a reservation, call 925-684-3000. Catering and banquet facilities are available.