Exegesis

Oakland / Alameda / Emeryville

We live in the East Bay. The restaurant scene has improved dramatically in the last decade. Some we love and go back to regularly. Others....well, not so much. Here’s the ever-growing list.

Double-click the active links for the full review, then use the back arrow to return: 

Our favorites:

Cana Cuban, Oakland - Loud music but a great Cuban menu, and that oxtail dish rocks! Rum tastings, too.
Centouno, Oakland - CLOSED
Ching Hua, Alameda - CLOSED
Crogan's, Oakland - We've bumped them up a level since discovering their fish tacos really rock. Oddly, the super-spicy gumbo is also good, along with the 8-oz. top sirloin. But otherwise, it's C-level bar food. An old-style hangout in Montclair Village.
Desco, Oakland - Took over Borgo Italia's handsome space and ran with it. One of the four new authentic trattorias in Alameda County. Of three dinners, the most recent one wasn't very good. We're hoping that was a one-off and will return.
Enssaro Ethiopian, Oakland - Pretty good Ethiopian, but not as spicy as Cafe Eritrea. Enssaro is more generous with the vegetarian dishes than Eritrea, and their meat dishes are better than Cafe Romanat. Parking is tight - watch for meter maids!

Fat Lady, Oakland - Old style but a few surprisingly good entrees. If they'd only be more creative with the sides, and execute more consistently at dinner, this place would rock with Millennials, having a great retro Victorian decor with a classy antique bar. Lunch is preferable to dinner; the cook runs a tighter kitchen.
Flipside Burger, Oakland - Our pick for the best cheap fast burger. 1/2 lb. properly seasoned patties, simple buns, great customization, by cheerful efficient staff. Winner!
Galeto Brazilian Grill, Oakland - Not just lots of meat, but an outstanding salad bar. Not cheap, but great carnivorous fun.
Hopscotch, Oakland - Lunch was awful--but dinners are amazing, everything we could hope for in a funky little bistro. We'll be back...but only for dinner.

Italian Colors, Oakland - Lunch has been simplified, but it's still pretty good. Owner Alan Carlson is partnering with James Syhabout of Commis on the new Box and Bells at the old Somerset spot in Rockridge.
Juhu Beach Club, Oakland - Fun little Indian snack/sandwich place taking over the old SR24 spot. Not great, but charming.
Kamdesh Afghan Kebab, Oakland - A true hole-in-the-wall in downtown Oakland makes simple but satisfying grilled meats.
La Calaca Loca taqueria, Oakland - A funky hidden gem. Their superb quesadillas and a spicy burger have won our hearts. The nachos are clean-tasting and light, not weighted down with grease and cheese.
Lungomare, Oakland - The best of Jack London Square, but that's not saying much. The pastas are your best bet, but once in a while the chef sends out a dish or sauce that knocks your socks off. Trouble is, you never know if it's going to happen that night.

Market Hall Rockridge, Oakland - Great for cheese, charcuterie, specialty products and some deli items. Terrible bakery for cakes, so-so bread. 
Mariscos Estilo Sinaloa, Oakland - Do not get this confused with the Mariscos Sinaloa, which is not related. This is newly opened, clean, bare-bones, and the menu is all in Spanish. It will also blow the top of your head off - SERIOUS chile heat!
Mama's Royal Cafe, Oakland - (breakfast & lunch only) - Our hands-down breakfast favorite for 20 years, but the funk is starting to surpass the authentic retro charm.
Metro Montclair, Oakland - We need to return--Chef Steve Jaramillo left, so we'll see how the new chef does, both here and at Metro Lafayette.
Mockingbird, Oakland - A block down from Hopscotch, with a nicer dining room and more comfort-food menu. Loved the sliders and dessert was great. Definitely worth a return visit. Big groups stretch the waitstaff too thin, though.
Noodle Theory, Oakland - Simple dumplings, some great housemade noodles, make this one of our fav lunch places. But it's tiny, and if you don't get there before noon, you'll wait.

Osmanthus, Oakland - Fusion Asian, but a couple of dishes are quite good, and we appreciate that a few Cantonese dishes are well done here.
Pardee Home Museum High Tea, Oakland - Superb! 4-12 people by reservation only, best bargain in the Bay Area.
Paradiso, San Leandro - Nice little neighborhood bistro with an amazing after-dinner liqueur list. Not too far from OAK airport. Weekend brunch is very good, better than weekdays.
Pican, Oakland - Upscale Southern means no heartburn from too much grease. Not clear yet what new chef is capable of. Brunch is excellent; better service with fewer crowds. Difficult parking unless you come early or on weekends.
Pican-Bourbon Tasting Notes only - for us bourbon lovers, the notes on three separate bourbon flights at Pican
Pietisserie, Oakland - New retail space near Lake Merritt - we love Jaynelle's pies!

PyungChang Tofu House, Oakland - Outstanding tofu soup, but some of their food is peasant regional and can be skipped.
Red Sea, Oakland - Lunch buffet is a bargain. But the waitstaff is the worst ever; it takes hours to get the same food as on the buffet. Why, you ask? Why, indeed...nobody understands it. Stick to the buffet and you're in/out in 30 min. 
Restaurant Chu, Oakland - Not as good as now-closed sibling Ching Hua, but some dishes are excellent. We prefer it to China Village/Albany, but only if you pick your way carefully through the menu.
Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe, Emeryville - New breakfast cook has them coming close to Mama's level, but why they still use frozen shredded hash brown potatoes is beyond my comprehension.

Seoul House, Oakland - CLOSED (and we're sad, this was our favorite Korean place)
Siam Bay, Oakland - Few come for dinner, but their spicy basil fried rice and stuffed chicken wings are yummy, as are the Spicy Chili dishes
Sidebar, Oakland - Wonderful appetizers, entrees and salads got a little sloppy. Waitstaff is amateur. But that gravlox and duck liver crostini are worth coming back for! Lunch, however, was a notch below all around.
Speisekammer, Alameda - Old school German. We love spaetzle, potato pancakes and red cabbage. Like any German restaurant, if you don't like pork, or if you're a vegetarian, you shouldn't even bother. The sauerkraut got too tart, though.
Spice Monkey, Oakland - Cute little lunch/dinner SE Asian/fusion place. Service is slow but they try hard; the food can be unexpectedly spicy but is a great value.
Star On Grand Pizza, Oakland - Quality over quantity, and the deep dish is excellent. But noise is ear-splitting at dinner; we prefer lunch when it's almost empty. Tiny parking lot.

Terrace Room @Lake Merritt Hotel, Oakland - Much improved, with better chef and waitstaff. Salads were good, meats were done perfectly. But stick to ice cream or creme brulee for dessert.
Townhouse, Emeryville - Wed-Sat they serve excellent prime rib for less than anyone else. But cost-cutting is taking a toll, and we're dropping them a half-level. Crab-artichoke dip was mostly artichoke, and the bread was terrible quality.
Trabocco, Alameda - The carpaccio and baccala (salt cod) are stunning, and we love the easy parking, excellent service, interesting menu, well-run operation (the owners are professionals, and it shows). Nice for lunch, but even better for dinner.
Venga Paella, Oakland - Austere, simple Spanish menu executed perfectly. We love this place!
Wood Tavern, Oakland - It was very good, better than Trattoria Corso/Berkeley now that Corso's pizza ovens are gone. 
Yummy Duck, Oakland - CLOSED
Zatis, Oakland - CLOSED
Zen Asian Fusion Tapas, Alameda - Zen shows there's some hope for Asian fusion, and if they'd cut the sauces down and offer a simple noodle dish, they'd be perfect.  But they are very good, and an excellent value.
Zza's, Oakland - CLOSED

OK, but doesn't really wow us:

Abesha Ethiopian, Oakland - Not bad, but overshadowed by its nearby competitors, such as Enssaro.
Abura-Ya, Oakland - Trendy karaage pop-up, cheap and decent but it's still just bar food for Millennials.
A Cote, Oakland - Some winners here, although not quite consistent enough to be at the very top level. Excellent waitstaff.
Angela's Bistro, Alameda - CLOSED
Asena, Alameda  - A cute little local bistro, similar to the now-closed Zatis. Open for lunch, unlike many places.
Axtlan Taqueria, Oakland - A downtown greasy spoon that makes good batter-fried fish quesadillas. Otherwise average.
"B", Oakland - CLOSED.
Baja Taqueria, Oakland - Prawn quesadilla was good, but the prawn burrito was indifferent. Quite a few calamari dishes here, unlike many places, and they give you limes instead of lemons, along with a good spicy remoulade for dipping the fried food. Still, we prefer La Calaca Loco.
Bar Cesar, Oakland - Outside of the ceviche, there's no reason to come for sloppy service or Cal-Mex food done cheaper and better elsewhere.

Barlata, Oakland - CLOSED.
Brown Sugar Kitchen, Oakland - Some excellent Southern food (but not all), small and crowded, noisy with an erratic staff, but if you like gumbo or waffles, this is the place to come. We prefer Pican.
Bellanico, Oakland – (also lunch) Not perfect, but they can cook veggie sides nicely, and the goat cheesecake is luscious. They need to up the quality of their meats and cooking technique, however, which are simply terrible.
Best Taste Chinese, Oakland - Simple tiny Chinatown standard, decent Cantonese, lousy deli
Bocanova, Oakland - It's declined quite a bit, and Sunday brunch was pretty bad, although the quinoa salad was good.
Borgo Italia, Oakland - CLOSED

Cafe Jolie, Alameda - A small but popular bistro gives the former I-Squared chef a little more room to show off. $1 oysters on Thurs. evenings wins Carlos' vote, and the onion soup variant is tasty, too. Ordinary compared to Monterey or Sonoma Cty, but adequate.
Casserole House, Oakland - A little too much sugar, but their jap chae was okay and the seafood tofu stew second only to PyungChang down the street. But we prefer the new Bowl'd BBQ.
C'era Una Volte, Alameda - Old style Italian, pretty dining room. Similar to Viva Voce in Oakland's Montclair Village.
Chop Bar, Oakland - It was okay, but we prefer Tribune Tavern (although TT suffers from much poorer service)
Commis, Oakland - If you don't remember nouvelle cuisine, you'll be wowed. If you do, you'll think "same old, same old, only more pretentious." The price is reasonable until you realize you only got 9 bites of food. Of which, only two were really spectacular, while the rest were good but not stunning. There are better tasting menus elsewhere.

CockADoodle Cafe, Oakland - Noted LGBTX cafe is okay for lunch if you're in the area. The burger is decent, and when they say spicy they really mean it.
Communite Table, Oakland - Nice little take-out/deli place with a few tables. Decent chicken pot pie, good quality ingredients.
District Wine Bar, Oakland - A sophisticated Old Oakland bar, with so-so food.
Doyle Street Cafe, Emeryville - High quality, great sandwiches and soup. But breakfast wasn't great, and when it's busy service gets forgetful. Watch out for that habanero sauce - it's killer hot! 
Flipper's, Oakland - A once fine burger joint has faltered under new owners. They left and now it's Korean/burgers, which we haven't tried yet.
Dona Tomas, Oakland - We liked our first visit, but a return gave us indifferent, uninspired food.

El Agavero, Oakland - Excellent carnitas, but not much else rings the bell. The Happy Hour quesadilla with carnitas was seriously good for less than $6.
Faz Oakland - Dinner is empty, booths are small but comfy, and that pomegranate chicken with Jewel rice is a killer. Nothing else, though.
Flora, Oakland - It's good food, but more expensive than their competition for food that isn't any better, served in smaller portions. The service is erratic. Stylish decor may draw you in once, but why return when there's better places nearby?
Full Moon, Oakland - A couple of dishes done well, and at least they don't use MSG as Ly Luck does. But their noodles are terrible, sigh.

Ghazal Indian, Oakland - Not bad, but not exciting either. There's better curry elsewhere.
Gold Coast, Alameda - An old-style Italian that should go all the way into Greek/Mediterranean if they want to survive.
Greasebox, Oakland - Gluten free on a shoestring budget; now a bakery although they still do their gluten-free fried chicken.
Guest Chef, Oakland - CLOSED
House of Curries, Oakland - Not exciting, but decent and close to our house. Hamro Aangan/Albany is much better.
I-squared, Oakland - CLOSED (now called Homespun; comfort food under same owners/same chef; we haven't tried it yet)

Kabob Central, Alameda - Barebones Iranian, but offers good cheap beef kabobs with a great little salad and real Basmati rice.
Khanh Huong Chinese BBQ, Alameda - Vietnamese-Chinese, it's barely half as good as Yelpers think.
Khana Peena, Oakland - A couple of things were tasty, but not enough of them to compete with Kabana and Hamro Aangan.
Kim Huong, Oakland - Simple basic Vietnamese in Oakland's Chinatown.
Kincaid's, Oakland - Corporate sibling to Skates, and just as tired in both service and food.
Koryo Korean, Oakland - Sloppy and marginal, both decor and food.

La Palma Taqueria, Oakland - CLOSED
Laurellino's, Oakland - CLOSED
Lin Jia, Oakland - Vietnamese fusion, small and noisy but some great dishes the first time. But they proved erratic - those same dishes changed and were a level below, on our second visit.
Lo Coco Italian, Oakland - Limited menu, good pizza, decent pastas. No credit cards, cash or check only.
Los Cantaros Taqueria, Emeryville - Okay but we're still looking for the Cal-Mex burrito of our dreams. Does make a good mushroom quesadilla, though
Lucky 37, Oakland - Basic Filipino take-out, but the oxtails aren't too bad and the lumpia's a great value

Marica, Oakland  - They keep overcooking their seafood, and since it's their Big Thing, we don't understand why. Okay, but there are so many better places for the same or less money...why bother?
Marzano on Park, Oakland - CLOSED
Massimo's, Fremont - It is what it is: old fashioned and stodgy. But it is quiet, comfortable, with good service, and your parents will love it. So did our out-of-town guests, who were relieved to find a menu they could read without making them nervous. NOT related to the Massimo in Contra Costa Cty.
Mexicali Rose, Oakland - Big plates of inexpensive old-fashioned Cal-Mex, at prices new bistros can only dream of.
Michel Bistro, Oakland - Updated French, lamb burger is good but standards like French onion soup are poorly conceived.

Mijori, Oakland - An odd Japanese/Hawaiian mix, but it smells like old oil and the tempura tastes like it, too. Sushi average, meaning low - Oakland is just not the place for Japanese food.
Montclair Bistro, Oakland  - CLOSED
Mua, Oakland - Less punk/grunge, but the food is erratic. Like Bocanova and Fonda, this is a bar with some food.
Nama, Oakland - Decent Japanese/Korean rice bowls and udon soup, but only average sushi.
Nido Mexican, Oakland - Authentic Mexican left my DH cold, he prefers old-style Cal-Mex. Excellent quality, interesting regional dishes. 
Oliveto, Oakland - Whole Hog Dinner was perfect, but three other 2013 dinners were ruined with excessive salt. We've complained to no avail, and don't want to fight any longer. It costs too much here to be wasting time and $$$ on the sodium blizzard.

Pappo, Alameda - Small bistro very similar to Venus in Berkeley. Food slips occasionally on execution but they offer a good value for the money.
Park Burger, Oakland - Good tasting burger, but the bun fell apart. Fries were poor; ordering system is a major pain. With some rethinking, they'd rate higher with us.
Piedmont Cafe, Oakland - Just a small greasy spoon 1.5 star, but nice family staff and a cheap decent chicken-fried steak give them a couple of points from us.
Rumbo al Sur, Oakland - Same owners as A Cote and same issues. Great service, but food is heavy and only a couple of dishes shine. Menu doesn't properly identify spicy dishes, either.
Sacred Wheel & cheese shop, Oakland - A cute gimmick (panini-fried mac'n'cheese) with very tasty sloppy Joe topping. Nice deli selection that doesn't duplicate Genova Deli's offering across the street.
Sabuy Sabuy I, Oakland - Although related to SS2/Berkeley, it's a full level worse. Cheap mediocre Thai.
Scott's Oakland - Tired old warhorse, but good calamari and popcorn shrimp starters (with the same sauce, though). The lemon butter sauce on the fish dishes is a dietetic disaster but nonetheless yummy. Nice for lunch, with a good burger.

Seoul Gomtang, Oakland - Bare bones Korean was okay but only if you like the boiled soups, which we don't
Shaan, Oakland - A small neighborhood Indian. OK, and they have the rare mulligatawny soup. But there's better curry elsewhere.
Shakewell, Oakland - Much ado about relatively little. Good waitstaff and great desserts, but the rest was a disappointment after all the hype.
Shan Dong, Oakland - Vaunted hand-made noodles were slimy and disgusting, and super-sweet as well. A loser all around.
Spettro, Oakland - A surprisingly old fashioned menu with Mexican touches. When the food is fresh it's good, but too often dishes are reheated over and over.The communal tables are a big minus for us.

Ta-Ke Sushi, Oakland - Special rolls and donburi are still decent, if you must eat there.
Toast Kitchen + Bar, Oakland - Lighter food than The Barrel Room, but not quite as good for food or wine.
Tribune Tavern, Oakland - New owner, new chef, new direction means our review is suspended until we return.
Vientian Cafe, Oakland - Small Laotian restaurant, but the crispy rice ball salad is their single "killer dish". Get it with the sausages (sold by the pound) for great take-out.
Viva Voce Cafe, Oakland - Small old-fashioned Italian place under new owner/chef, they make a decent pizza and the lamb tenderloin with polenta on special was excellent. Sadly, coffee fell several levels downwards; the once-good espresso is gone.
Xyclo Vietnamese, Oakland - Like Vientian, only one good dish but that one's amazing: the Bit de Tartare, raw beef dish. The rest, including shrimp curry, was barely average.
YaYu Ethiopian, Oakland - CLOSED

We have NOT liked:
A16 Rockridge, Oakland - Salty, sloppy food. A frittata is not a quiche, but God forbid a quiche would ever be this bad.
Actual Cafe, Oakland (Coffee only) - It was terrible, so bad I couldn't finish my cappuccino. And uncomfortable. Why bother?
Asmara, Oakland - Once great Ethiopian, now the dregs of the barrel
Aunt Mary's Cafe, Oakland - A lot of people like this place. We must have tried the wrong things, because we thought it was awful.
Banana Blossom, Oakland - Super-sweet Thai; the chicken wings were the worst ever. 
Bay Wolf, Oakland – Yes, this is heresy! But we’ve eaten here half a dozen times, and nothing is memorable or inspired. Competition has passed them by.
Blackberry Bistro, Oakland - Original owner sold and it's been downhill ever since.
Boniere Bakery, Oakland - Mediocre hot cross buns use a terrible quality butter

Brotzeit Lokal, Oakland - For people that want to drink and need to get food in their stomachs to soak up the alcohol. It's a bar with uneducated waitstaff and some perfunctory food, unlike Speisekammer/Alameda.
Buckhorn Grill, Emeryville - Stick strictly to the tri-tip. Everything else is terrible. Worse, it's deli style, with the ambiance of a closet.
Burrito Shop, Oakland - Disappointing; stick to the steak & prawn burrito.
Cocina Poblana, Oakland & Berkeley - Mediocre attempt at upscale Cal-Mex
Doukkala, Oakland - CLOSED (Formerly Tanjia, reopened under same owner with updated concept but failed again)
Dragon Gate Taiwan, Oakland - The beef soup was good, but a family dinner tried a large part of the menu and wasn't very impressed. It's okay, but not our favorite cuisine.
El Gusano, Oakland - Schizoid restaurant wasn't good for lunch or dinner. Poor service + indifferent food = bleh.

Forge, Oakland - Sloppy, overwrought food with untrained staff and hideous noise level. Why would you go?
Fountain Garden, Oakland - Awful, the type that gave Chinese food a bad rep
Homestead, Oakland - Replaced our fav Zati's. Like an erratic, uncomfortable, not-very-good Camino. Just go straight to Camino: do not pass Go, and do not stop here. Yes, it's cheaper. Who cares?
Hudson, Oakland - CLOSED. Purchased by the A16/SPQR owners.
Jack's Oyster Bar, Oakland - Sibling to Bocanova, and half as good. Salty, saltier, saltiest - every dish had too much salt. What wasn't salty was greasy or not fresh. Ugh.
Kansai, Oakland - Yelpers love the 10p Happy Hour and big sloppy cheap sushi. We don't. In a city of bad tempura, this was the worst version ever.

Il Pescatore, Oakland - Poor example of Cal-Italian in Jack London Square
La Furia Chalaca, Oakland - We keep trying Peruvian but have no idea what all the fuss is about
Levende East, Oakland - CLOSED
Kakui Sushi, Oakland - Return visit dropped them off our list forever. Never, ever lie to your customer and switch cheaper escolar for costlier hamachi. Do you honestly think Asians are that stupid?
Kevin's Noodle House, Oakland  - I've never had a bad Bun Thit Nuong...until we came here. It's cheap, but indigestible. They should hand out Maalox for free afterwards.
Lake Chalet, Oakland - Part of the local Chalet chain, this unfortunately takes after Beach Chalet instead of the more casual Park Chalet. Trying to be upscale and snooty, but neither service nor food warrants the attitude.
Little Shin-Shin, Oakland - Embarrassingly bad, a throwback to chop suey quality.
Ly Luck, Oakland - A basic 2-star kept dropping until we finally couldn't stand it any longer. Even their HK chow mein wasn't enough to keep us coming. Sigh.

Mezze, Oakland - CLOSED
Messob, Oakland - Ethiopian if you're desperate on Piedmont Avenue. But Enssaro is only a half-mile away, so why bother?
Ohgane, Oakland - Too sweet on everything, even the ban chan! Owned by parents of Bowl'd BBQ.
Pagarung Thai, Oakland - I loved the stuffed chicken wings but everything else was just average. Not offensive, nor exciting. Siam Bay remains the best in Oakland, Sabuy Sabuy II the best in Berkeley.
Miss Pearl's Jam House, Oakland - CLOSED (thank God)
Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland - Awful starters like lead made us reluctant to test our stomachs further
Ploughmans, San Leandro - Breakfast only, skip lunch items. Even then, it's quantity over quality.
Rosamunde Sausage Grill, Oakland - Good bread, okay sausages, mediocre sides, inefficient setup, but the raw sausages spoiling so fast on us tipped the balance to a "no." DiBrova is better.

Sahn Maru, Oakland - CLOSED
Seison, Oakland  - Once a fav with us, our sixth dinner fell off a cliff and died messily on the rocks. Everything had changed and was pretty much awful. We're pretty sure the old cook is gone, and the new one can't cook..
Shimizu Sushi, Oakland -Similar to Kakui/Montclair Village, but not quite as good. Shimizu described escolar as 'super white tuna', which they shouldn't do. Some people have a serious reaction to this fish.
Somerset, Oakland – CLOSED
Sweetbar Bakery, Oakland - We hear their cupcakes are good, but the croissants are just bread in crescent roll shape.

Tanjia Moroccan, Oakland - CLOSED. Reworked into Moroccan fusion and reopening April 2014 as Doukkala, under same owner.
That Takes The Cake bakery, Oakland - Strange location and too-sweet cupcakes don't score with us
Vegan Tikka Masala, Oakland - lunch buffet was sad, bad, and the second worst we've ever had (Mehak/Berkeley was the worst)
Yung Kee, Oakland - Noodle/deli in Chinatown was so awful, I walked out and left my plate after one bite.
YuYu Za Zang, Oakland - Mediocre Chinese/Korean hole in the wall. For students, misers, or anyone without a palate.
Z Cafe and Bar, Oakland - Pretty dining room and portions are generous, but they should reduce the service size, up the quality, and train their waitstaff.
Zeytini, Alameda - CLOSED