SFGuide

The Hit List: New East Bay Restaurants To Try Right Now

We checked out these new restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley, and beyond—and loved them.
The Hit List: New East Bay Restaurants To Try Right Now image

photo credit: Erin Ng

When new restaurants open, we check them out. This means that we subject our stomachs and social lives to the good, the bad, and more often than not, the perfectly fine. And every once in a while, a new spot makes us feel like experiencing the first ray of sunshine after a month of straight fog. When that happens, we add it here, to the Hit List.

The Hit List is where you’ll find all of the best new restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley, and beyond. As long as it opened within the past several months and we’re still talking about it, it’s on this guide. The latest addition might be a buzzy New York-style slice shop, or a new bagel hotspot we can't stop talking about. Or maybe it’s even a restaurant with caviar priced by the bump.

Keep tabs on the Hit List and you will always know just which new restaurants you should be eating at right now.

New to the Hit List (12/21): Dumpling Hours

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Erin Ng

Chinese

Oakland

$$$$Perfect For:Dim SumCasual Weeknight DinnerLunch
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The team behind dumpling all-stars Dumpling Home is on a quest to spread the word about their miraculously sheer, broth-packed xiao long bao—there are now four related restaurants across SF and the East Bay. Dumpling Hours in Oakland’s Lakeshore is the latest edition, and cranks out a variety of perfect steamed, boiled, and pan-fried pouches made to order. The menu's long, but we'll make things easy: order the pork soup dumplings and pork buns, paired with the crispiest cucumber salad around. This casual place (no reservations taken) is the answer to any call for a no-fuss, dough-fueled meal.

The Bay Area isn’t nationally recognized for its BBQ. We’re secretly OK with that—if it means we get to keep gems like Fikscue to ourselves. But of course, we’re going to stand on an apple crate and shout about this tiny, part-Texas-style BBQ, part-Indonesian restaurant in Alameda. It’s a smoked meat paradise, full of beef back ribs and peppery brisket by the pound as well as smoked sausage filled with cheese. The Indonesian specials, like the nasi goreng, bowls of soto padang, and brisket rendang rice plates with coconut milk-soaked greens, are worth the wait in the line that forms on Saturday and Sunday mornings (they're open weekends only). Arrive early since they will sell out.

Is Good Luck Gato an izakaya or a cantina? Both, considering this spot revolves around drinking and talking about the paper lantern display over Japanese-Mexican small plates. This cozy Uptown Oakland spot from the Low Bar team and former Hopscotch chef pulls off the mashup with ease. There are limewash walls, maneki-neko cats, and hanging noren that make you feel the Japanese minimalism. If you’re in the area and want a non-boring place to drink a sesame oil-topped mezcal-yuzu cocktail and eat uni elote and hamachi tartare tostadas, book a table. 

Burdell is a fantastic soul food restaurant in Temescal that feels like you’ve stepped back in time. Family photos hang by the host stand, vintage ovens are next to pews and cane-backed chairs, and groovy hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s play. Dinner is like getting dropped into an intimate family meal, but here, the chef cares a lot more about fancy presentation. There’s a decadent chicken liver mousse spread over a wonderfully crispy cornmeal waffle, balanced and vinegary greens, and an impressive roast pork neck topped with honeynut squash that cuts like a knife through butter. Service can be slow but embrace it, especially since you’re spending quality time with your table mate over a bottle of wine.

photo credit: Julia Chen

$$$$Perfect For:Casual Weeknight Dinner

Anyone who chooses to hydrate with tonkotsu broth instead of water, we have excellent news. Mensho, the legendary SF ramen spot, has sent their phenomenally rich and creamy soups across the Bay Bridge to Oakland. It’s a more laidback outpost that’s roughly triple the size of the Tenderloin location. And instead of having to spend an hour waiting for a coveted seat, you can walk right in for a bowl full of velvety broth, chewy noodles, and fall-apart chashu. The GKO (Garlic Knock Out) is a glorious (and breath-ruining) hit with three types of fried garlic and black garlic oil. And the slow-burning spicy miso lamb ramen is umami in a bowl. Get here for casual weeknight dinners, or when the predictably tepid Bay Area weather requires you to warm your body with hot soup. 

A new Cellarmaker could open every day, in a different neighborhood, for a year, and we’d still get excited. This San Francisco-based brewery and pizzeria is always a good time, so we embrace its third iteration, now in Oakland’s Jack London. The Detroit-style pizzas are superb, bordering on decadent, with crisp cheesy bottoms and sides, while the snacks, like the polenta fries and briny pickled okra, are also very good (though not as epic). This warehouse-like space (an expansion of Blue Bottle’s former home) has plenty of room inside, on the sidewalk, and street-side deck—so bring a well-behaved dog or a stroller, and don't forget to grab a pint.

Ever since former pop-up Popoca opened their brick-and-mortar in Old Oakland, it's been easier than ever to get their we-can’t-stop-talking-about-it Salvadoran food. This place focuses on traditional Salvadoran dishes, with fresh and seasonal takes. The vibe is date night with sultry mood lighting, plants, and stained glass windows everywhere. It’s the perfect setting to eat perfect wood-fired pupusas made on a beautiful wood-fired hearth. They come with three fillings that change up depending on the day, like sweet potato, hog trotters, and classic beans and cheese. Each one is a master class in masa that's the perfect mix of meltiness to crispiness. The yuca con chicharrón with the softest chicharrón on record and the pollo en chicha with a tangy fermented pineapple sauce also need to be on your table. 

We’re grateful to any place that makes us intentionally drop the ball on responsibility, and relax until sundown. Mother Tongue is a coffee roasting company, and now an easy, fuss-free cafe and cocktail bar, in Oakland’s Temescal. Your double-header day starts with excellent espresso drinks (and pastries by Colonial Donuts and La Farine), best enjoyed on their front deck, or at the communal table under the disco ball. At night, transition into cocktails and wine, and chat with friends about culturally relevant things (“what is RICO?”) under the pink glow.

Mama’s Boy is making some of Oakland’s best new slices. And that’s saying something, given that great new pizza joints are popping up like wild rabbits all over the East Bay. The two-story spot (from the people behind Oakland and San Francisco Athletic Club) feels like it’s been around for years, and the combination of family photos, red stools, and Pac-Man give this place a nostalgic touch. This Uptown slice shop nails the New York-style, including a bubbly crust that’s sturdy enough to hold the toppings. Be sure to get the pepperoni slice, but don’t overlook the behemoth heros on pillowy rolls.  

This Berkeley cafe will inspire you to lock your phone in a closet and stay all day—it’s the antithesis of rushing out of a place with a to-go cup at lightning speed. The gorgeous space, a major upgrade from their previous takeout window on San Pablo, is decked out with deep green tiles, and tons of seating and natural light—so embrace a never ending coffee date or lunch that lasts for hours. Also, their frequently changing pastries (made in-house) are flat-out incredible, from the golden-brown coconut macaroons to the scones so fluffy and buttery you’ll never look at a scone the same way again. The menu’s showstopper is the Persian breakfast (served Fridays and Saturdays only): it’s a simple yet perfectly balanced plate of creamy lebneh, pickles, jam, and a bright green heap of fresh herbs.  

When Noodle Theory closed in Oakland’s Rockridge late last year after 15 years in business, our hearts shattered. So it was only right that we’d be skeptical of the new Italian spot that took its place. Lucky for us, Sfizio is our new beloved. Their whole shtick is affordable pastas, with the $10 rich red spaghetti serving as their headliner. But if you end up getting more plates (which you should), like the excellent tagliolini or rockfish ceviche, the bill adds up quick. Nonetheless, this is a spot to get excited about for fun walk-in dinners with friends when you want good pasta without too much effort or wait. What’s for dinner tonight? “Oh, Sfizio, sounds great.”

A fun new pizza spot is joining the ranks of Berkeley’s flourishing pizza scene. Pizzeria Da Laura is cranking out New York- and pan-style pizzas that sing. Pillowy, chewy crusts, simple yet bright tomato sauce, and high-quality toppings are how this spot (run by a Tony’s Pizza Napoletana alum) nails pie perfection. There are some homemade pastas and meatballs on the menu, but really, getting the Ray J overflowing with mozzarella, burrata, and deep pepperoni cups, or the Sicilian-style Regina (an international pizza award winner, if you care about that sort of thing) is the roadmap to pizza-party success. This place is buzzy, with two stories of seating, wine, and several TVs for your sports-watching pleasure. Think of this spot as the city’s new pizza-centric clubhouse for grad students and theatergoers, or anyone looking to have a good time.  

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Oakland

From bánh mì institutions and casual sushi joints to New York-style slice shops, this is where you should eat in Oakland.

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