Top Restaurants in East Bay These Days?

[dontworryaboutit]

I'm a city girl, needing to treat some friends in the East Bay to a great dinner. They've done Panisse and I'm looking for something a little more mellow than that, any other reccos where two people could have a nice dinner for around 100 bucks? Thanks fellow hounds!

[judgesammy]

Out of Lauriston's list above (I've been to most of them), I recommend A Cote, Cafe Rouge, Cesar, Dopo, Olivia, and Pizzaiolo for sure.

[rworange]

Try a great new place - Vanessa's Bistro

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[Robert Lauriston]

Usual suspects (not all of which I recommend personally, and some cost more than $100 for two):

A Cote
Adagia
Bay Wolf
Cafe Rouge
Cesar
Chez Panisse
Citron
Dona Tomas
Dopo
Eccolo
Jojo
Lalime's
Le Theatre
O Chame
Olivia
Pizzaiolo
Rivoli
Sea Salt
Soizic
Zax

[sensi63]

Olivetto, O Chame, Sea Salt, Lalimes, Rivoli Cafe Rouge, I am blanking on the other Italian place on 4th st. None as good as Chez P/ Cesar is great but not exactly dinner/mellow, more loud.

[oakjoan]

Eccolo, I think. However, my last dinner there was more than $100 for dinner for 2 with only 1 dessert and 2 glasses of wine.

I'd rec. Pizzaiolo, JoJo's on Piedmont (ex ChezP cooks), Luka's is fun and has great food, but it's quite loud.

Sea Salt is relaxed, has fantastic food and is quite pretty inside. It may not be fancy enough.

Oliveto is now, imho, quite expensive. The prices had risen between February and September of this year. It's still wonderful, but is now a real big treat-type place rather than a nice place to have dinner.

Cafe Rouge is good, but I just don't like their space that much.

[JasmineG]

Seconding JoJo, which I forgot about. Very romantic atmosphere, which Pizzaiolo (which I love) and Cesar are not.

[sydthekyd]

We like Olivia's on Dwight right below Sacramento.

[Morton the Mousse]

"more mellow than Chez, nice dinner for 2 for under $100"

You want to go to Pizzaiolo. It's my favorite restaurant in the East Bay, and I think it's the best of the more casual set. I've probably been between twenty and thirty times and I've never had a meal that wasn't great.

[JasmineG]

Other than Pizzaiolo (and depending on your definition of mellow), I'd also recommend A Cote, Cesar and Luka's in Oakland, and Sea Salt in Berkeley (if they like seafood).

[Robert Lauriston]

Depending on what you mean by "mellow," maybe Pizzaiolo.

Here's a recent topic on great-but-not-Chez-Panisse:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...