Definitely a second for Chef Zhao Bistro and Refuge. Fey Szechuan in Menlo Park is also good.
Jonathan’s Fish and Chips in Menlo Park is a Louisiana-style seafood place, usually have half a dozen kinds of fish you can get fried, broiled, etc. Fried okra to die for. Hush puppies and other Southern stuff to go with it. Check their hours because they’re not open late most days. Decor is “formica and paper plates”.
Rustic House Oyster Bar and Grill in Los Altos is the opposite end of the formality and price scales for seafood from Jonathan’s. Opened recently, and we’ve been there a couple of times and liked it.
Noodle Talk is a Hunan place in Los Altos (corner of El Camino and San Antonio.) Decent Pho place around the corner from it. Across the street are Chef Chu’s Chinese, Armadillo Willy’s BBQ, Esther’s German Bakery (has German food and a beer garden as well as pastries and breads), and Estrellita’s Mexican, all of which I’d recommend.
Veggie Garden in Mountain View is a vegan Asian fusion place. Some fake-meat dishes, some veggie dishes, all good. Non-veggie friends like to go there.
Zareen’s Pakistani has two branches - the original near Google, and California Ave. in Palo Alto. Both extremely good, but extremely crowded (both because of location and food quality; you’ll have better luck getting a seat at the Palo Alto one.)
Ramen places I’ve liked:
Dohatsuten Ramen on San Antonio in Palo Alto.
Shalala in downtown Mountain View is a ramen and other Japanese non-sushi place. Good, but crowded.
Ryowa is good classic ramen, but seating is either counter or 2-person tables, so it’s great for single or couple but doesn’t work for groups.
Italian - Caffe Riace in Palo Alto has an outdoor courtyard with lots of random artwork that’s great fun to eat at in appropriate weather. (Local microclimate tends to be a bit too cool at night, and while there’s indoor seating, that’s not the point of this place.)
Patxi’s Pizza in Palo Alto has good deep-dish Chicago-style pizza, and there’s a gelato place next door and art-house movie house across the street.
Because you said “South SF to Mountain View”, I don’t have recommendations for Korean or Indian - there are concentrations of each along El Camino in Sunnyvale to Santa Clara. (SGD Tofu House Korean has a branch in Palo Alto - good food, but tends to be crowded and echoey.)