Places to eat (and unless it's indicated, they all have many veggie options as well as meaty ones):
| Brunch | Coffee! | Laid Back lunches and dinners | Slightly Fancier lunches and dinners | Fancy lunches and dinners | Dessert | Other Berkeley restaurant guides |
Fat Apples - This is the place that Steve and I go Every Weekend. And Always Get The Same Exact Thing. Yes, we're creatures of habit, but we also know what makes for a good brunch. Our picks are the pumpkin pancakes and the spicy tortilla scramble. If you're not as into breakfast food, the curly fries are good, but their lunch and dinner offerings seem to be more palatable to meat-eaters than to us herbivores. Please note that they tend to have a line on weekends at both of their locations - the lines move fast, but standing and waiting for 5-20 minutes isn't unheard of. Also, we prefer the Berkeley space and cooking, but parking is likely easier at the El Cerrito location.
The Homemade Cafe - This is a very cool restaurant, to which Steve is very devoted. Alice is less into it, but still has good things to say. They have many meaty options, as well as some veggie choices. This place is also likely to have a wait, albeit a short one on the weekends. Recommended: the waffle, the homefries and their café au lait.
Venus - This place has more of a stereotypical Berkeley menu, and is a place that Alice likes, while Steve is somewhat indifferent. It will probably have a wait as well, but when you go to put your name on their list, they can usually give you a good estimate of how long your wait is. Recommended: lemon ricotta hotcakes.
Au Coquelet - The nostalgia factor compels us to mention that this was the location of Steve and Alice's First Official Date. A word to the wise, however - their "cafe au lait" is a latte with more milk, and their "bianco" is what regular cafes call a café au lait.
Caffè Strada - See grad students in their natural habitat! Ample outdoor seating and a space across the street from campus mean that many, many, many grad students and other academic folks gather here through the day. Their "Strada Bianca Mocha" is their signature drink - a white chocolate mocha. It's very sweet, but good nonetheless.
Cafe
Milano - This is a coffee shop not too far downhill of Strada, on the
same street (Bancroft). This is more of a muggle
undergrad hangout than Strada. Steve's lab often buys coffee beans from
here when they run out and no one remembered to get any from Peet's.
A Cuppa Tea - The name reflects their commitment to offering a wide, wide array of tea options, however they also have very good coffee and espresso. They are located near the beginning of the Rockridge Area, which has shops around which to wander.
Brewed Awakening - One of the "north side" coffee shops on Euclid (located on the north side of the Berkeley campus). Their espresso is decent (not as good as Nefeli's across the street), and they've got a pretty good array of pastries, plus they make smoothies. The biggest draw, though, is the couches! They're comfortable and fun!
Nefeli Caffè - Another of the north side coffee shops. This place has excellent espresso (the best Steve has had in Berkeley, when they're using the Illy beans), and a few tables out front to sit at in the comfortable Berkeley days. The double Nefeli mochas are simply amazing. This is the place where Steve's lab group goes to get double espressos at 7am when they've been in lab all night.
Peet's Coffee & Tea - The coffee here is excellent, and very, very, very strong. For those who don't quite like to suck on whole coffee beans, you may have more luck buying whole beans or grounds from them and brewing it yourself (instead of buying the liquid coffee there). Peet's is the coffee brand of choice of Steve's lab. (The link is to the Peet's on Solano, down the street from Zachary's and Khana Peena. There are a few others in Berkeley, too, but they're easy enough to find once you try to look for them.)
The Cheese Board Pizza Collective - A co-op that's been around since 1990, the cheese board operates by making one kind of absurdly good pizza per day, and making a lot of them. When they run out, they run out, but are usually able to satisfy all those who arrive at least 45 min before they close. Call ahead to see what their pizza of the day is, because they can't accommodate requests like 'no mushrooms.' There is very limited space available to eat inside, so we recommend picking up slices or pies and heading to a park. Or, if you don't want to wait, you camp out in the green median area of the road, where many a cheese board pizza has been eaten over the years.
Khana Peena - Northern Indian food, the link has the menu along with prices. It's been a while since we've been here; we'll go soon, and then have recommendations for stuff to eat.
Kurry Klub - Don't be turned off by the name! They have some amazing food, and a pretty pleasant atmosphere. Recommendations include their samosas (fried savory pastry filled with spiced veggies, including potatoes and peas) malai kofta (essentially potato dumplings in cashew sauce) and baighan bhartha (medium spicy eggplant dish). They also have good naan (indian bread cooked in a tandoori oven).
Plearn - This is a restaurant that Steve and/ or Alice have probably taken you to if you've visited Berkeley. It's very good, centrally located and can deliver a wide range of spiciness, depending upon your preference. Their thai iced teas are good, as is the pad thai and vegetarian curry option (which I can't recall the name of, however there is only one).
Zachary's - A pizza wonderland, particularly for those who eat meat and vegetarians not allergic to mushrooms. They tend to get crowded (think full to bursting) so calling ahead to order a pizza to go is a good option for those not into long waits and densely packed people.
Oliveto - Steve and Alice have only been once, but thought that it was a great place. The wait on a weekend can be somewhat intimidating, however they do take reservations. Even though the vegetarian selection seems small, the pizza and pasta that we have had were excellent, as was their selection of appetizers.
The Stinking Rose - This is over in San Francisco, but is the widely known haven of garlic lovers everywhere. Their use of it is judicious, however, and almost never gratuitous. (Alice didn't hate the garlic ice cream, though, so she may not be a good judge.)
The Townhouse - This place has great atmosphere and very good food, served in moderate portion sizes. The garlic fries and mojito are recommended.
Chez Panisse - Alice will go on record as saying that the place is lovely, but probably not worth a visit to most vegetarians. The downstairs is the prix fixe menu, which can offer vegetarian and other options if you request ahead. the upstairs has a wider selection and is more moderately priced. It's a popular place, well known for the principles of its founder, Alice Waters, who was a pioneer in using local produce and herbs. Reservations would be a good idea.
Greens - This is a completely vegetarian restaurant, but their food has appeased the palates of many a meat eater. The decor is gorgeous, and the restaurant offers a view of the boats in the bay. It is located in San Francisco, and reservations would probably be a good idea, even though it is not as booked as Chez Panisse.
Please note! All the non-pizza places listed above have some wonderful dessert options, particularly Greens.
Fenton's - This ice cream parlor has very generous sundaes, as well as some basic lunch and dinner options. They can have a sizeable wait on the weekends, however, so be forewarned. Additionally, their parking lot is laughably small (10 spaces or so), so you will have to find parking on the streets nearby.
Gelateria Naia - Have you ever wanted to see what totally random flavors do when they're turned into gelato? If so, you should go here. They also have regular flavors, which are all quite good. Neither Steve nor Alice has been since they changed their name from Mondo Gelato, and so don't know if the new ownership has changed things perceptibly.
Are we not thorough enough for you? Here's a couple of other places with lists...
Lucille Poskanzer & Family's list of Berkeley Area restaurants - A good (but not totally complete - there's so many restaurants here!) list of places, with brief descriptions.
Berkeley Restaurant list from shopinberkeley.com - They don't have much in the way of descriptions, but they are a fairly complete list of places with addresses and phone numbers, and can be searched via type of food.