Meeting my daughter in Berkeley and wanted to eat at Chez Panisse, but their downstairs is closed for a private event. Any other really good options?
Thanks.
Bill
Is Oakland an option?
I really like the Ramen Shop which is run by Chez Panisse Alums.
At the higher-end Commis is outstanding - two Michelin stars this year. Chef trained at Coi and Manresa.
I strongly prefer the upstairs cafe at Chez Panisse to the downstairs, though it is less formal. Is that an option, or is it closed as well?
Agree with Robert on the other two, though we found the service at Commis to be a bit cold. Food was excellent, though.
I had a nice meal at Rivoli a couple weeks ago. It won’t change your life, but the food is good and the setting is lovely.
If you enjoy Indian Ajanta is lovely and had a nice list of Riesling and Gewurztraminer when we dined there a few years ago. Comal is fun and energetic Mexican if you want to party a bit.
I love upstairs at Chez Panisse - one of the most enjoyable meals ever.
I have a reservation for the Chez Panisse cafe. Sounds like I should just keep it. Thanks everyone.
Bill
I respect your restaurant opinions and agree with almost all of them. I’m gonna have to disagree on this one though. My last meal at Chez Panisse Cafe was so abominably bad that I won’t go back. I found the food to be a very simplistic version of farm to table more akin to home cooking. This is going back a few years so I don’t remember exactly what we ate, but I remember thinking I could produce a better result at home. It was served by a very grubby staffer who could have really benefitted from changing his disgustingly dirty apron. As an aside, my wife had to have the taxi pull over because she was so sick from what she ate that she vomited.
On the same trip we tried Zuni Cafe which is very much in the same mold and loved every second of that meal.
Zuni biker-stomps upstairs @ Chez Panisse.
Wow … I can’t imagine that. The meal we had was mostly “simple” but simply perfection. Each flavor respected and clear. Service was attentive and adept (and certainly not dirty!)
Did you let them know? I’d assume they’d want to address whatever made for such a bad experience.
I let them know, but the Maitre’d was part of the problem. Rude from the get go. Believe me this east coaster was surprised at the attitude he got from what is supposed to be a laid back west coaster.
That’s terrible, Mike. I eat there once or twice a year and have never had an experience anything like that. As I’ve written before in this forum, you aren’t going to get anything innovative or eye-opening there, and possibly there are things I could do better at home (my husband makes Zuni Cafe’s famous chicken much better than Zuni, for what it’s worth) but everything I’ve had has been a great example of simple pleasure in a comfortable surrounding with friendly and efficient service.
How disappointing that they dropped the ball so badly when you were there. I wonder what happened? It can happen anywhere, of course, but that sounds like a serious issue.
Strongly second the Ajanta suggestion. We try and eat there when in the vicinity. If you like Greek food, we recently enjoyed a very nice meal at Pathos Organic Greek Kitchen. Nice to have an upscale rendition of this type of food in the neighborhood. I have to agree with Mike’s assessment of the food upstairs at Chez Panisse. We were left nonplussed by our meal there which, to us too, seemed very simple and something we’d readily whip together at home. Our service I can’t recall, so I guess it was ok.
A few of others…Pizzaiolo in Oakland is always fantastic. Charlie Hallowell is also a Chez Panisse alum and has been kill’n it at his flagship joint on Telegraph since he opened over a decade ago. A16 on College is solid but again it’s Oakland. In Berkeley, you could give Antoinette in the Claremont Hotel a shot. Antoinette is Dominique Crenn’s new brasserie and I’ve heard good things so far…
If Oakland is in play, literally right on the Berkeley/Oakland border as you go south on College Avenue away from campus is Wood Tavern. Definitely will need reservations if you go there for lunch or dinner, unless you’d like to take your chances on getting seats at the bar.
I went to Comal last week and loved it. Fun is right, and loud, but their Meyer Sound cancellation system makes it seem intimate despite the hyper activity.
Good call on Wood Tavern, delicious! Also could consider Gather and Belli Osteria next door to Comal. All great suggestions on this thread so far!
I love Chez Panisse but if you go you should understand that it is basically great home cooking. If you want cooking theater you need to go someplace else. There’s a reason why so many great chefs have been through Chez Panisse, though.
We realized this the first time we went. My wife and I felt like we had the best meal we had eaten outside of France. Our friends, who were fans of Fleur de Lys at the time, felt marginally ripped off and not very impressed.
Most high end restaurants are like going away to an exotic place, but Chez Panisse is like coming home.
If you love Indian food, here’s a third vote for Ajanta.
It has been years but I had a very unpleasant dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe. In fact it was so disappointing that I wrote a note to Alice Waters. She sent me a comp for their house Champagne (I don’t think it was Sparkling). So I went again; the Champagne was oxidized.