Steve Sugarman’s Berkeley Law Dining Guide – Good Choices and Options By Neighborhood

A. Good Choices

 

Wood Tavern — 6317 College Avenue (Alcatraz), Oakland (510-654-6607). Lively local with a nicely varied menu. Very popular. Very tasty food. Very welcoming hosts. Excellent bar, if you can get a seat.

A Cote — 5478 College Avenue (Lawton), Oakland (510-655-6469). Lively French/American tapas place. Full Bar. Very tasty. Festive. Charming outdoor back patio.

Chez Panisse Cafe — 1517 Shattuck Avenue (Cedar), Berkeley (510-548-5049). Chez Panisse’s regular restaurant downstairs is marvelous, but it has long become a “destination” place where we rarely eat anymore. Upstairs in the cafe remains a local favorite.

Oliveto — 5655 College Avenue (Rockridge BART), Oakland (510-547-5356). Our local has become a “destination” restaurant. The downstairs cafe is good with a fine, but small, bar.

Townhouse Bar & Grill — 5862 Doyle Street, Emeryville (510-652-6151). Go for a good time, good food, good drinks, maybe even sit outside in warm weather. Good bar. Not pretentious.

 

B. Options By Neighborhood

 

  1. College Avenue and Telegraph Avenue
  2. Oakland Hills
  3. Piedmont Avenue/Grand Avenue
  4. Uptown and Downtown Oakland/Jack London Square/Chinatown and East Oakland 
  5. Solano Avenue Area
  6. Emeryville/West Berkeley/West Oakland
  7. Downtown Berkeley

 

COLLEGE AVENUE AND TELEGRAPH/TEMESCAL AVENUE

 A Cote — 5478 College Avenue (Lawton), Oakland (510-655-6469). Lively French/American tapas place. Full Bar. Very tasty. Festive. Charming outdoor back patio.

A16 — 5356 College Avenue, Oakland (510-768-8003). Jazzy vibe. Good starters. Tasty pizza and back room can be reserved for a memorable group dinner. 

Barney’s Hamburgers — 5819 College Avenue (OceanView), Oakland (510-601-0444). Popular chain, but not my favorite.

Beer Baron — 5900 College Avenue, Berkeley (510-338-3464). Beer, whiskey and outdoor seating; popular neighborhood pub.

Belotti — 5403 College Avenue, Oakland (510-788-7890).  Terrific new Italian neighborhood gem.

Burma Superstar — 4721 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland (510-652-2900). Classy Burmese in an attractive setting.

Crepevine — 5600 College Avenue, Oakland (510-658-2026). Excellent salads and outdoor setting.

Donato & Co. — 2635 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley  (510-838-1131).  Ambitious true Italian food in attractive setting.

Enoteca Molinari — 5474 College Avenue, Oakland (510-428-4078).  Small, hip wine bar with nice food.

Filippo’s Pastaria — 5400 College Avenue (Taft), Oakland (510-601-8646). Cheap, casual, Italian.

Golden Squirrel — 5940 College Avenue, Oakland (510-735-9220).  Local pub replacing Barclay’s.

Gordo Taqueria — 2989 College Avenue (Ashby), Berkeley (510-204-9027). Great take out burritos.

Hawking Bird — 4901 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland (510-593-2376).  Mostly chicken-based food with a southeast Asian flair.  A casual offering from the Commis group.

Hog’s Apothecary — 375 40th Street (Shafter) Oakland (510-338-3847).  Beer and sausages.  Not our thing but already popular with others.

Homeroom — 400 40th Street, Oakland (510-597-0400). Untried by us but promising reports. Though, we’re not the mac n cheese type.

Jules Thin Crust — 5804 College Avenue, Oakland (510-597-1859). Tasty flatbreads with wholesome ingredients, disappointing ambience.

King Yen — 2995 College Avenue (Ashby), Berkeley (510-845-1286). Old reliable Chinese.

Kiraku — 2566 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley (510-848-2758).  A marvelous and authentic Japanese restaurant, very popular with students.

La Mediterranee — 2936 College Avenue (Ashby), Berkeley (510-540-7773). Informal, Middle-Eastern(ish). Sidewalk dining.

Limewood — 41 Tunnel Road (in the Claremont Hotel), Oakland (510-549-8585).  Appealing replacement for the Paragon, still with great views and some patio seating.

Millennium — 5912 College Avenue, Oakland (510-735-9459).

Noodle Theory — 6099 Claremont Avenue, Oakland (510-595-6988). Inventive. Tasty.

Oliveto —  5655 College Avenue (Rockridge BART), Oakland (510-547-5356). Our local has become a “destination” restaurant. The downstairs cafe is good with a fine, but small, bar.

Pizzaiola — 5008 Telegraph Avenue (51st), Oakland (510-652-4888). Good pizza and more place. Very crowded,  very noisy.

Pucquio – 5337 College Avenue, Oakland (510-658-7378). Delicious Peruvian food.

Ramen Shop — 5812 College Avenue, Oakland (510-788-6370). As yet untried by us.  Delicious ramen.  Sit at the counter.  No reservations – irritating.

Shen Hua — 2914 College Avenue (Ashby), Berkeley (510-883-1777). Large attractive Chinese in the Elmwood. Noisy.

Soi4 Bangkok Eatery — 5421 College Avenue (Hudson/Manila), Oakland (510-655-0889). Nice Thai food in Rockridge. Quite popular.

Southie — 6311 College Avenue, Oakland (510-654-0100).  Great sandwiches.

The Hideaway —  5634 College Avenue, Oakland (510-808-7780). My favorite for burgers and fries.

Trattoria La Siciliana — 2993 College Avenue (Ashby), Berkeley (510-704-1474). Home style fairly simple food, nicely prepared. Informal.

Uzen — 5415 College Avenue (Hudson), Oakland (510-654-7753). Can be fine sushi. Simple.

Wood Tavern — 6317 College Avenue (Alcatraz), Oakland (510-654-6607). Lively local with a nicely varied menu. Very popular. Very tasty food. Very welcoming hosts. Excellent bar, if you can get a seat.

Zachary’s — 5801 College Avenue (OceanView), Oakland (510-655-6385). Midwest-style deep dish pizza (but not as good as the original). A second Zach’s is located on Solano Avenue. We go for slices at lunch all the time.


OAKLAND HILLS

Bellanico — 4236 Park Boulevard, Oakland (510-336-1180). Italian neighborhood place with very good food and gracious service.

Italian Colors — 2220 Mountain Boulevard (Montclair) (510-482-8094). Ok Italian. Good enough food.

Kakui — 2060B Mountain Boulevard, Oakland (510-338-1188). Hip Japanese. Inventive.

 

PIEDMONT AVE/GRAND AVE

alaMar — 4214 Park Boulevard, Oakland (510-531-4500) informal, well priced, seafood boil and more.  We love it.

Cesar — 4039 Piedmont Avenue (40th), Oakland (510-883-0222) Oakland. Sister to the well-established Berkeley boite, emphasizing Latin food.

Commis — 3859 Piedmont Avenue (Mac Arthur), Oakland (510-653-3902). Fixed price fixed (expensive) meals. Very Ambitious. The “high end” place to go now. On our first visit it was fabulous and on our second it was delicious but the same experience and so less exciting. If going to our Michelin star Oakland restaurant seems too pricey to you, perhaps you should instead try their less costly and less formal next door sister restaurant and bar CDP.

Dopo — 4293 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland (510-652-3676). Very tasty pizza and other Italian items. Attractive place with some outside seating; great for lunch. Very popular.

Grand Tavern — 3601 Grand Avenue (Ellwood), Oakland (510-444-4644).  A sort of old time but new American gastro pub in an attractive setting, a remodeled house.  Untried by us.

Homestead — 4029 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland (510-420-6962).  Tasty inventive good, lively crowd.

Ikaros — 3268 Grand Avenue, Oakland (510-899-4400).  Greek on Grand.  Sounds just fine for real Greek food.  We must try it.

Lake Chalet — 1520 Lakeside Drive, Oakland (510-208-5253). Large effort on Lake Merritt. Nice view. Outdoor weekend brunch. Nice feel. Good enough food. 

Lo Coco’s — 4270 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland (510-652-6222). Friendly pasta place.

Mistura Rotisserie — 3858 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland (510-652-1439).

Ninna — 4066 Piedmont Avenue (near the cinema), Oakland (510-601-6441). Semi-fusion, new American food with Thai overtones. Friendly service. Good food. Quiet.

Shakewell — 3407 Lakeshore Avenue (Longridge), Oakland (510-251-0329). Replacing Mezze.  Spanish tapas, on our first visit, some delicious tastes and unappealing service; plus disappointingly small drinks from a place with that name.

Sidebar — 542 Grand Avenue, Oakland (510-452-9500). Comfortable food in a nice Lake Merritt locale. Good bar scene.

The Wolf — 3853 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland (510-879-7953).  Ambitious revival of Bay Wolf by the Wood Tavern team.

 

UPTOWN AND DOWNTOWN OAKLAND/JACK LONDON SQUARE/CHINATOWN AND EAST OAKLAND

Caffe 817 — 817 Washington Street, Oakland (510-271-7965).

Calavera — 2337 Broadway, Oakland (510-338-3273).

Champa Garden — 2102 8th Avenue, Oakland (510-238-8819). Laotian/Thai, out of the way, very neighborhood place. Tasty and lots of fun.

Chop Bar — 190 4th Street, Oakland (510-834-2467). Great burgers. Fun place. Sit at the bar.

Cook and her Farmer — 907 Washington Street (in Swan’s Marketplace), Oakland (510-285-6140).  Oysters, and some Southern tastes.  Small but attractive.  Untried by us.

Delage — 536 9th Street, Oakland (510-823-2050).  Upscale sushi.

Duende — 468 19th Street, Oakland (510-893-0174). Paul Canales formerly chef at Oliveto has opened a Spanish restaurant. Terrific Spanish food — both tapas and paellas — in a wonderful and lively setting. 

Drake’s Dealership —  2325 Broadway, Oakland (510-568-2739).

Dyafa — 44 Webster Street, Oakland (510-250-9491).  Modern Arabic cuisine, leadership in transition.

Flora — 1900 Telegraph Avenue (19th), Oakland (510-286-0100). Jazzy-look place from the Dona Tomas folks. Lively and noisy. Very good food.

Forge — 466 Water Street, Oakland (510-645-9292). Wood fired pizza at Jack London Square good enough in a nice setting.

Galeto Brazilian Grill — 1019 Clay Street (Old Town), Oakland (510-238-9488).  Brazilian and Italian?? Hey, why not.

Hopscotch — 1915 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland (510-788-6217). Small scale, neighborhood place with mostly comfort food nicely prepared and presented. A few quite unusual offerings. 

Ichiro — 412 15th Street (Franklin),Oakland (510-452-1994 ). Terrific and low priced Japanese food (sushi, sashimi and more) in the heard of downtown Oakland. Friendly host,some unusual dishes, & good sake list.

Le Cheval — 1007 Clay Street, Oakland (510-763-8495). Good Vietnamese, but noisy.

Lungomare — 1 Broadway, Oakland (510-444-7171). Ambitious Italian-like, seafood plus, place at Jack London Square right on the water, where alas many others have failed. Bar and music too. Try it.

Luka’s Tap Room and Lounge — 2221 Broadway (Grand), Oakland (510-451-4677). Revitalized, even hip place in Oakland’s “updown” district. Very lively at lunch. Good enough food.

Make Westing — 1741 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland (510-251-1400). Big success bar.

Mua — 2442 Webster Street, Oakland (510-238-1100) new trendy lounge, good food and more. In what looks like a former car body shop, very Brooklyn.

Nido — 444 Oak Street (4th Street), Oakland (510-444-6436).  Terrific Mexican informal place at the edge of the Nimitz freeway.

Parlour — 357 19th Street (Webster), Oakland (510-451-1357).  Great look.  Good food.  Hip.

Pho 84 — 354 17th Street, Downtown Oakland (510-832-1338). Good Vietnamese food.  Occasionally you have to wait for a table.

Plum Cocktail Bar — 2216 Broadway, Oakland (510-444-7586).  Evolving away from food to bar.

Quinn’s Lighthouse — 19510 Embarcadero East, Oakland (510-536-2050). Sit outside on the deck. Eat peanuts – drink. Good enough food. Classic.

Scott’s — 2 Broadway (Jack London Square), Oakland (510-444-3456), and other locations. Nice for a drink and view; pretty good fish.

Tamarindo — 468 8th Street in Old Oakland (510-444-1944). Terrific family run, Mexican tapas place. Charming and popular.

Teni East Kitchen — 4015 Broadway, Oakland (510-597-1860). Burmese café with wonderful flavors.

Vien Huong — 712 Franklin Street (Chinatown), Oakland (510-465-5938). Authentic, casual, Vietnamese place.

Yoshi’s — 510 Embarcadero West (Jack London Square), Oakland (510-238-9200). Said to now offer first rate Japanese food. Jazz club next to the restaurant has great music.

 

SOLANO AVENUE AREA

Ajanta — 1888 Solano Avenue, Berkeley (510-526-4373). Good Indian food.

Fonda — 1501 Solano Avenue, Albany (510-559-9006). Tapas and bar scene. Much praised by locals.

Juanita and Maude — 825 San Pablo Avenue, Albany (510-526-2233).  Creative cooking definitely worth visiting.

Lalime’s — 1329 Gilman Street, Berkeley (510-527-9838). Very popular. Some say it is their very favorite in the East Bay.

Rivoli — 1539 Solano Avenue (Nielson & Peralta), Berkeley (510-526-2542). Physically attractive, Rivoli is uneven in my opinion. Many praise it as among the very best in the East Bay.

Vanessa’s — 1715 Solano Avenue, Berkeley(510-525-8300). Small, lively, Vietnamese tapas place with a French twist offers a huge number of mouth-watering small plate options.

Zachary’s — 1853 Solano Avenue, Berkeley (510-525-5950). See College Avenue. Pizza!

 

EMERYVILLE/WEST BERKELEY/WEST OAKLAND

Breads of India — 2448 Sacramento Street (Dwight), Berkeley (510-848-7684). Nice Indian cuisine.

The Bureau 510 — 5800 Hollis Street # 150 (Powell), Emeryville (510-595-1000).  A new burger place.  Simple.  OK.

900 Grayson — 900 Grayson Street, Berkeley (510-704-9900). Highly popular, lively and delicious for lunch and earlier.

Iysare — 1830 Fourth Street (Hearst) Berkeley (510-845-8100).  A marvelous addition to 4th Street.  Most inventive Japanese food in a stylish location (of course we badly miss O Chame but Iysare is excellent).

Kabana Restaurant — 1106 University Avenue (San Pablo), Berkeley (510-845-3355). Very unassuming Pakistani eatery with friendly host and good food.

Paisan — 2514 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley (510-649-1031). Pizza and pasta. Attractive setting.

Riva Cucina — 800 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley (510-841-7482). Hidden away Italian place. Attractive. Tasty. Noisy. You can sit outside at lunch. Very friendly service.

Skates — 100 Seawall Drive (Berkeley Marina), Berkeley (510-549-1900). Good views and drinks, mixed quality food, great variety.

Townhouse — 5862 Doyle Street, Emeryville (510-652-6151). Go for a good time, good food, good drinks, maybe even sit outside in warm weather. Good bar. Not pretentious.

Vik’s Chaat House — 2390 Fourth Street, Berkeley (Channing Way) (510-644-4412). Casual Indian food, best for lunch, lots more choices (and crowds) on weekends.

Zut — 1820 Fourth Street, Berkeley (510-644-0444). Attractive. Mixed setting.  Now owned by Iysare folks.

 

DOWNTOWN BERKELEY

Bar Cesar — 1515 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (510-883-0222). Very animated tapas and bar scene. Lots of fun. Noisy.

Chez Panisse — 1517 Shattuck Avenue (Cedar), Berkeley (510-548-5049). Chez Panisse’s regular restaurant downstairs is marvelous, but it has long become a “destination” place where we rarely eat anymore. Upstairs in the cafe remains a local favorite.

Comal — 2020 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (510-926-6300). Very attractive, hard to reserve, good enough Mexican food.

Corso Trattoria — 1786 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (510-704-8004). Authentic Florentine food. Very tasty. Nice wines. Noisy.

Gather — 2150 Alston Way (in the David Brower Center), Berkeley (510-809-0400). A somewhat confused menu, but some nice items in an attractive setting.

Great China — 2190 Bancroft Way (Oxford), Berkeley (510-843-7996).  Re-opened in a new locale (after a fire), Great China is an immediate hit.  Long lines reported already.  The old place was great.

Gregoire — 2109 Cedar Street (Shattuck), Berkeley (510-883-1893). Take way (or two outside tables) of terrific french-inspired snack food at lunch; also dinner take-away.

Ippuku — 2130 Center Street, Berkeley (510-665-1969). Marvelous and unusual Japanese food in charming (and different) setting. Special alcoholic drinks too.

Kirala — 2100 Ward Street (Shattuck), Berkeley (510-549-3486). Some call this the best Japanese restaurant outside of Japan (not me). Long lines all the time.

La Note — 2377 Shattuck Avenue, Downtown Berkeley (510-843-1535). Charming outdoor back garden. Tasty lunches.

Plearn Thai — 2050 University Avenue, Berkeley (510-841-2148). Good Thai.

Revival — 2102 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (510-549-9950). Attractive. Good food. Good before the movie or theater OR try eating at 8 or later when it is likely to be calmer.

Venus — 2327 Shattuck Avenue (near Durant), Downtown Berkeley, (510-540-5950). Nice enough for a quick, simple meal before the movies or theater or for lunch.