Where do the locals like to eat? Best of the Best is written by Serena Bartlett, author of the GrassRoutes Guidebook Series and Oakland resident. Serena shares with us her best picks from a locals viewpoint of dining in Oakland. Her books, GrassRoutes Guide to Oakland and Berkeley and GrassRoutes Green Road Trip to Northern California Wine Country. For more info visit: www.grassroutestravel.com
Encuentro - There are many exciting thing brewing in Jack London Square. The upcoming opening of the local food marketplace, a number of new restaurants, a fancy cupcake shop… But whenever...
Jon’s Street Eats - The trend of gourmet food carts is finally hitting Oakland. Jon's Street Eats are a perfect summertime bite, tethered to the corner of Piedmont and Pleasant Valley Avenues from...
Dimond Café - A newer addition to the burgeoning Dimond District, Dimond Cafe is a great place to stop after a delicious shopping spree at Farmer Joes, in view of the main intersection of the...
Day of the Dead Café - This totally unique cafe and eatery serves up some great coffee, but also offers hot dogs, popcorn, and a few sweet treats, shrouded in fun decor that echoes of Dia de Los Muertos...
Terrace Room - A historic hotel on the shores of Lake Merritt has recently transitioned into this reinvigorated era for the city, with a new manager, a new chef, and two tables in the raised,...
Bellanico - This cozy Cal-Ital restaurant is named for the husband and wife owner team's children Bella and Nico. And this family feel is steeped into the comfortable atmosphere in the most...
Taste of Joy - When you think of eating in Oakland, chances are the first type of restaurant you'll have in mind is a classic American soul food eatery since this town has become synonymous with...
Chop Bar - Yum, yum and yum. Yucatan style broiled oysters, rosemary fried chicken doused in local honey, 18-month aged ham with chilled watermelon and queso fresco, fennel and potato soup,...
Ohgane Korean Barbeque - If you aren't already familiar with this exciting, colorful, and delicious culinary tradition, you should take the opportunity to discover it while in Oakland. At a place like...
Bocanova - Before you even sit down at your appointed table Bocanova is sure to dazzle you and your lucky dining companion. The place is decked out with fine design that looks fresh from the...
Water Lounge and Raw Bar - Replacing what was once Pearl Oyster Bar, while retaining the hip underwater vibe, Water Lounge is a fine spot for $1 oyster Happy Hours, a range of cheap and sophisticated drinks...
Scott’s Seafood Restaurant - Set apart from the trendy fine dining establishments, Scott's Seafood has stood the test of time with a classic menu of delightful fruits of the sea. Prepared with the utmost...
Café Dejena - This lovely golden-colored corner cafe is the perfect place for a break in between your Oakland explorations. Conveniently located near the MacArthur BART stop, Cafe Dejena is the...
Souley Vegan - No compilation of vegetarian eating in Oakland would be complete without a mention of Souley Vegan, the only respectable soul food without meat and dairy. It is hard to believe...
Fat Cat Café - Tucked under one of the many tiled art deco facades in the trendy Uptown district, Fat Cat Cafe has been dishing out delicious bowls of soup and hearty sandwiches to workers and...
Kefa Coffee - Oakland's newest and most exciting coffee find is in Jingletown, right by Oakland's bay estuary. With a tag line 'where burning coffee is a crime,' you might not think they've got...
- For a fun toast with bubbly mixed drinks Mimosa is the spot. The long high tables and low row of lounge seats make for good candlelight nooks where conversation can kick off. Try...
The Den at Fox Theater - Next to the new premier concert destination for incredible musical acts, the renovated Fox Theater plan included space for this 'den,' where you and your friends can mingle even...
Commis - Housed in the narrow space next to Bay Wolf, where JoJo's restaurant used to flaunt famously genuine French fare, Commis will make knowledgeable Bay Area foodies less downtrodden...
Meritage at the Claremont - Much like Heavenly Ski Area in Lake Tahoe, which wraps the heights overlooking the lake including the boundary between California and Nevada, the beautiful Claremont Resort covers...
L’Amyx Tea Bar Mochi or Lemon Tarts and Stage Left Viognier-Roussane - With every new technological contraption, we hope to speed up our daily tasks but often find instead that we've added new ones, and are even busier. Then there are those moments,...
Marzano Pizza to go and Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel - Within the first year of it's opening, even during this economic rollercoaster, Marzano set up a second location. Anyone who's gone can't get enough of the authentic, fire-baked...
Mariposa Bakery - Hidden inside an art deco brick building on Telegraph, where you'd least expect to find the most sinful chocolate treat, is gluten free bakery Mariposa. But don't let the 'gluten...
The Meadows - In an exciting city there's often so much to see and do that you forget to slow down and smell the roses. The Meadows, one of Oakland's very best flower shops, ensures that...
Awaken Café - People watching, a jaw-dropping organic boxed lunch, and one of the best cups of coffee this side of the Bay - Awaken Cafe is one complete midday treat. Eating here comes with a...
Aroma Cafe and Bakery - With Uptown buzzing with new restaurants, bars, and great places to be entertained, it is a good thing Aroma is around to calm things down, and bring a cozy feeling to this...
- Ethiopian food is a unique eating experience - one you won't soon forget. If you are eating in at this cozy Telegraph location, you can expect to sit on comfortable basket-woven...
El Huarache Azteca - Dreamed up by a strong woman with great drive and a bundle of family recipes, Huarache Azteca is one of the few Mexican eateries that doesn't focus on the same Jalisco-style menu....
- With an eye for delicacy and a taste for the finer things in life, the charming couple that own Le Bon makes the sunny corner shop the go-to place for sweet tooth fixes. Find...
- Here's one itinerary for a relaxed and healthy day enjoying the gorgeous Glenview neighborhood's highlights. Start in Dimond Park at the end of Wellington off of Park Boulevard....
Gourmet Mexican at Cocina Poblana - Sharing the menu pages with classic chicken verde burritos and carnitas tortas are a spectacular vegan nopales cactus plate with lemon-infused rice and a mushroom burrito that is...
Local love at Everett and Jones - Q's Lounge - No tour of Jack London Square's food scene would be complete without a trip to Everett and Jones Barbeque, even if you only have time to grab a bottle of their famous homemade...
Best New Cozy Restaurant: Sidebar - The trio behind Oakland's newest, and most comfortable eatery, Sidebar, has really hit on something. With a background from Zax in San Francisco, head chef Barbara Mulas and hubby...
Best new tapas: Barlata Tapas Bar - If you have walked back and forth on Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal neighborhood lately, than chances are you will have noticed the brilliant rouge corner restaurant taking...
Best New Taco Shack - La Calle - With Mexico so close by, it is tempting to stay on the 880 for an extra couple of exits and take a quick plane ride south for authentic Mexican street food. Oakland has some great...
Best Hidden Lounge - Marc 49 - Snuggly positioned between a Moroccan restaurant and an original Oakland fish and chips spot, Marc 49 is yet another delicious asset to the rich Temescal food scene. Its easy to...
Best Food Magazines - Issues - In between meals there are plenty of ways to stay inspired about food. Issues, an amazing local magazine and periodical shop, stocks glossy and matte pages from around the world...
Best Valentine's Drinks - Luka's Taproom & Lounge - There are lots of good reasons to go to Luka's - great atmosphere, amazing steamed mussels, live music, possibly the best burger in town, and then there is the bar. With a handy...
Best Place to Pretend it's not Winter - Tropix
The summer never leaves Tropix, Oakland's premier Caribbean and creole restaurant. Just step off lively Piedmont Avenue and you'll be immersed in sunshine-color walls,...
Best Place to Hit the Pause Button - Numi Tea Garden
Get away from all the hullibalou and enter a world were tea is served next to fountains and reflective artwork in a secluded setting. It is easier to ponder the...
Best Wine Label - Since 2001 Eno Wines has been making some tasty urban wines with catchy names that'll draw you closer in to their robust flavor. Zinfandel has been big at Eno, changing names each...
Best Panini - There's no reason to empty your wallet for a taste of Oakland's haute cuisine. Oliveto, one of the best restaurants in the city, and a consistent high ranker on the prestigious...
- Chicken salad sandwiches, flat bread and mushroom soup sound pretty basic, but the flavorful attention to detail these staples are given at B make them shine like stars. In...
- When a menu is designed around the ingredients from traditional European producers and the weekly offering of Old Oakland's international Farmers Market, you know it has to be...
- Perhap's California's most prominent quality tea producer calls Oakland home, and for good reason -- the brother-sister duo behind Numi thought up many of their concoctions in...
- Linden Street has turned its back on the west coast ale-making trends, going by the old school rulebook, the one written by the traditional beer makers serving up suds in the beer...
- This chef is serious about terroir. Terrior, in the sense that the soil, the community, the environment go into the roots of this place, like grapevine roots extract aromas from...
- Vegan food is usually a hard sell for carnivores, but New World is a hit with all sorts of eaters. Their dishes represent a wide array of international cuisines. Wet burritos...
Best Special Occasion Dinner - Oliveto
Sitting at a high perch in the tree of Oak town cuisine is Olivetto, the amazingly unassuming yet refined eatery where very local can't wait to return. You'll find the...
Best Date Dinner - Tamarindo
Take a taco, add a dash of class and a smidgeon of modern flair and you get Tamarindo, a fine Mexican eatery in large part responsible for the rebirth of Old Oakland. A...
- Best Chocolate
Cosmic Chocolate
5002 B Telegraph Avenue, 510.654.2923
Cupid's arrow has struck chocolate at Cosmic Chocolates, tucked away off Telegraph Avenue. For the...
- Best French Bakery
La Farine
Francophiles unite! Oakland's favorite French bakery now has two locations, to help spread love and buttery goodness to all whom enter its...
- Ring in the New Year with a prefect pot of tea at L'Amyx Tea Bar
4179 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, 510-594-TEA2
3437 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, 510-835-TEA2
www.lamyx.com...
- Ring in the New Year with pints and laughter at The Trappist Belgian and Specialty Beer Bar
460 8th Street, Oakland, 510-238-8900, www.thetrappist.com
Where can you...
- Best place to do your Thanksgiving shopping: Farmer Joe's
3420 Fruitvale Avenue at MacArthur Boulevard, 482.8899, Open: Everyday, 8:30a-8:30p
Under the colorful...
- Best Slice of Heaven: Sweet Adeline
3350 Adeline Street at Stanford Avenue, 985.7381, Open: M-F 7a-5p, Sa-Su 8a-5p
Right where Emeryville, Berkeley and Oakland meet...
- Best After Dinner Walk: Lake Merritt.
One of the best ways to digest a delightful dinner is to take your feet for a relaxing stroll. With a parade of excellent...
- Best Lunch on the Go: Bakesale Betty
Exploring Oakland can fill up your day quickly. Between musicals in a forest of redwoods, hikes with sweeping views and rare flora...
Destination Oakland Food and Drink
