Zatis in Oakland, CA  - update, lunch      CLOSED as of March 2013
Review date: February 2012
(previous reviews appended below)

Yes, Zatis was still open! Apparently Oakland's ABC dept. is so understaffed and backlogged that transferring liquor licenses takes forever – so we stopped in to warm some seats. Sadly, we were the only people lunching that day; we're not the only ones who keep expecting Zatis to have shuttered its doors already.

John, the cook, and owner Zati Uysal were staffing the restaurant by themselves.  With the closing date so uncertain, the lunchtime waiter has been laid off.

Soup of the day was a yellow split pea, lighter than the thick porridge that one usually receives. It was very tasty. Mucver, the zucchini cakes with their side green salad, and the calamari salad, which is so much better than the ubiquitous batter-fried calamari rings everywhere else, are the two things we always order. We love them and will miss them terribly.  

I chose the calamari steak special today, which was excellent. The Fat Lady/Oakland makes our definitive rendition, but Zatis' version today might have even been just a tad better, due to the light, luscious sauce. The calamari was fork-tender, with a simple sauce of EVOO, capers, lemon and peeled diced tomatoes.

Carlos picked the penne pasta with a marvelous smoked salmon cream sauce, also livened up with capers (not too many, just the right amount), and topped with a generous amount of fresh mussels in the shell, extra-large shrimp, and cubes of fresh salmon. He absolutely loved this, said this was the best dish he's had at Zatis.

Both entrees were seasoned with a mix of fresh herbs that added subtle, gentle notes without any one herb asserting itself to the detriment of the others. There was definitely parsley and chives, perhaps some fresh marjoram or chervil; a delicate touch of shallots, perhaps. They were masterfully handled, and a tribute to why understatement is so much more alluring to the palate than the aggressive overseasoning so common to today's cooks.

I always finish with the Turkish coffee custard, my favorite dessert. It's light, soft, and delicious. Carlos was a little disappointed in the rum cake this time; it was a bit stale, although the vanilla gelato moistened it up a bit. The decaf and regular coffees were freshly made and therefore were fine.

We'll be very sorry to see Zatis go. There are still a lot of these "old-school" neighborhood restaurants around – but not that many good ones. Zatis is one of the very good ones. We're only sorry we had just a few months to enjoy its better-than-average food.

Two people, lunch: three starters, two entrees, two desserts, two beverages, with tip was $98.

Zatis in Oakland, CA  - update, lunch             
Two reviews: November 2012
(previous reviews appended below)

I was shocked to read the notice in EaterSF that Zatis is closing as of December 31st. After a doctor's appointment nearby, we took the opportunity to return to Zatis to find out what was happening. The owner confirmed that after twenty-two years, he has decided to retire, and is selling his location. Diablo Dish confirmed that it is Waterfront/SF chef Fred Sassen who will take over and open a new restaurant called Homestead with his wife Elizabeth Sassen. 

I wanted to have the chicken-quinoa soup, but apparently today it was just chicken soup, no quinoa! Carlos had it anyway; I passed on it. It was a decent broth, with diced chicken breast and mixed vegetables. Not the best soup, but made from scratch, not with canned chicken base. Like most dishes at Zatis, it's the kind of food you'd make at home for yourself: not four-star gourmet, but not Sandra Lee "open a package of this and a box of that", either.

Carlos had the squid salad, which we had tried on our last visit. It belies the unappetizing description of "boiled and sliced", and is a wonderful way to have squid without the usual breading-and-dip that seemingly every restaurateur in the US offers. I had the meze platter, which is sometimes a little up-and-down. This time it was 100% on its game. The feta cheese "cigar" was perfect, the spinach-mashed potato filo triangle was light instead of leaden, the mucver (zucchini pancake) was crusty outside, moist inside. Even the dolma was a little more interesting, with less lemon and the addition of some pine nuts in the soft rice filling. 

For his entree, Carlos picked the lamb kebab. He got seven sizable chunks of roasted lamb, rice pilaf and yoghurt. This normally comes with a small side salad but because he had the squid salad as his second course, we asked them to skip the salad on the lamb plate. It was a hefty entree and a very good value for the price.

I chose the shrimp-pesto crepe. This was a classic French crepe, filled with very fresh shrimp, diced red and green bells (thankfully not too many), with a lovely pesto cream sauce that managed to be surprisingly light. Carlos loves crepes, and was impressed with the pesto cream sauce, something he normally isn't fond of.

We finished with coffee for him and the Turkish coffee custard for me. We're sorry to learn that Zatis will be closing, and will schedule dinner here soon before they go away forever.

Two people, lunch: One soup, one salad, one starter platter, two entrees, one dessert, two beverages, with tip was $90.

Zatis in Oakland, CA  - update, dinner
2nd review date: November 2012

Yes, we do want to enjoy the food here as often as possible before they close on Dec. 31st. But no, we didn't mean to come back to Zatis the very next day for dinner. 

However, the weather reports were so full of the threat of high winds and possible thunderstorms, we nixed the idea of going elsewhere in favor of a place where we could be sure to find parking less than 30' from the restaurant.

Inez was with us tonight. We had been a little hesitant about bringing her to Zatis because the food can be unexpectedly spicy. Fortunately, they had a duck confit entree with a fruit sauce which was perfect for her, as those are two things she loves.

We started with their bread slices, dipped in the strong-flavored Turkish olive oil with a dish of mixed brined olives, marinated in oil and some finely chopped onion. Zatis actually sells the olives in their glass jars – they're the Laleli brand and hard to find in the U.S. - but they are packaged according to type. Zatis mixes the four kinds of olives together. We really like Zatis' olives, and will miss them. 

Carlos decided to try the cream of mushroom soup, while it was my turn to order the calamari salad. The soup was full of mushrooms, made with light cream. There was little depth to the mushroom flavor, however – not enough umami. Because of that, I thought using the light cream was preferable to heavy cream, which might have masked the flavor of the mushrooms completely.

The calamari salad was excellent, and this time had some finely chopped red and green bell peppers to augment the poor quality supermarket tomatoes. At lunch we've always received skinned tomatoes in Zatis' salads, but the dinner salad lacked this extra touch. Still, it was very tasty, with that lovely tender calamari in long thin strips, zesty with a few judicious shreds of pickled red onions.

Inez's duck was very good. A good-sized quarter of duck confit with a barely sweet sauce of au jus, apricots, and figs, was served with roasted diced butternut squash and a few leaves of baby arugula. She really liked this, and finished it all.

Carlos tried an evening special of paella. Although good, it wasn't up to the outstanding paellas that Seison/Oakland gave us last year. The chicken breast slices were badly overcooked, although the sausage was surprisingly spicy. There were also clams, mussels, and shrimp. The flavor was good, but the rice was almost like Basmati, and lacked the creamy texture Carlos prefers in paella.

My entree was also an evening special of mussaka. Mussaka is a homey dish, never elaborate or upscale. I liked Zatis' version as it was very similar to how I make it myself. The bottom layer is a full-flavored, mildly spicy meat sauce. The middle layer is thinly sliced, cooked eggplant, with a top layer of a bechamel sauce lightened with some beaten egg.   It was served with a few halves of small Yukon Gold potatoes on the side. I prefer this to the recipes that use layers of potatoes in the mussaka. Zatis' version isn't the best I've ever had – that honor goes to the now-closed Agora Bistro in Pleasanton – but it was above average for a restaurant.

Carlos and I both ordered dessert. He chose the rum cake and I picked the pear cobbler, which was a dessert special this evening. Both were served with a small scoop of vanilla gelato. The rum cake didn't have enough rum for Carlos, but it was fresh and moist so he was happy with it. The pear cobbler was full of fresh fruit; had it been served warm it would have been very fine. Cold out of the refrigerator, it was good but not great.

The coffee is only good here freshly made. We were fortunate in eating early, as both the decaf and regular had to be freshly brewed.

We'll be eating at Zatis as often as we can before they close down. We'll really miss that calamari salad, the zucchini pancakes, and the divine Turkish coffee custard!

Three people, dinner: two starters, three entrees, two desserts, two beverages, with tip was $121.