Inexpensive but not cafeteria style

[walkoffdinner]

My husband doesn't mind inexpensive places, but hates to stand in line, order, bring tray to table etc. In short, he likes table service. Please recommend your favorites in East Bay (east of the tunnel preferably). Thanks.

[katya]

East of the Tunnel

"American"
Chow, Lafayette

Mexican
La Tapatia, Concord
Guadalajara Grill, Concord

Chinese
Golden Willow, Concord

Thai
Siam Orchid, Orinda
Jitr Thai, Alamo

Indian
Sargam, WC

Italian
Mary's Pizza Shack, WC (for their superb spag 'n balls made with sausage)

This is without naming chains that I'm not ashamed to admit I like: PF Chang's, Chevys, Old Spaghetti Factory, and CPK.

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West of the Tunnel:

Pizza
Zachary's

Thai
Ruen Pair
Cha Am (for Cha Am Noodles, Chicken with Cashews)
Tuk Tuk Thai (green curry noodles with chicken)
Berkeley Thai House (basil beef)

Vietnamese
Le Cheval
Le Regal (only for vermicelli with BBQ beef skewers)

Chinese
Great China
Shen Hua (Andy's Chicken)

Mediterranean
La Mediterranee

Cambodian
Battambang

Japanese
Kamakura (good teriyaki/tempura) in Alameda

[Robert Lauriston]

Oh yeah, Sargam. I haven't been there recently but it used to be very good.

There's a third Le Cheval in Walnut Creek. If you're driving through the tunnel there's much better Vietnamese food near the Oakland location.

There's a third Zachary's in San Ramon. Expensive for pizza and not that good a rendition of Chicago style. If you're going through the tunnel for Chicago pizza, drive all the way to SF and go to Little Star.

Shen Hua, Kirin, and Ching Hua (quasi-chain) are relatively expensive bland yuppie-Americanized Chinese food (a la Alice's and Eric's in SF). Surely there's a similar place in Walnut Creek?

La Mediterranee--Holy Land's a block away, cheaper, and serves much tastier food.

[Robert Lauriston]

Oakland / Berkeley / Albany cheap, great food, table service:

Battambang
Binh Minh Quan
Champa Garden
China Village
Daimo
El Huarache Azteca
Great China
Holy Land (Berkeley branch is better)
Lanesplitter
Ohgane
Ryowa Ramen
Shanghai
Spices!3
Udupi Palace

Reports on all in the archive, use the search.

[lexdevil]

I would add to the Oakland/Berkeley list:

Kang Nam Pho--cheap Korean owned Pho/Rice plate restaurant.
Sahn Maru--Korean (cheaper than Ohgane, which I'm a fan of as well). Has super friendly service--a great place to learn to like Korean food.
LoCoco's--okay red sauce Italian w/ seriously tasty pizza (not super thin crust...chewy and very flavorful).
Jayakarta--Indonesian.
Cafe Colucci--Ethiopian w/ pretty potent flavors.
Messob--Ethiopian, a bit more delicate than the above.
Uzen--The sushi isn't cheap, but it's not crazy expensive either. Quality is very high. Cooked food like Udon, Donburi, etc. is quite reasonable if you're trying to stay cheap.

[Robert Lauriston]

LoCoCo's pizza is good, especially the fresh ricotta. I found their pasta mushy and gross. I suspect there are similar old-school places on the other side of the Caldecott.

Note that Lo Coco's in Berkeley is owned by cousins and has a different menu. Their pasta's OK but I'd stick with the pizza.

Uzen's maybe dangerous if you're on a budget.

[lexdevil]

You need to stick w/ cooked food to stay on a budget at Uzen. Maybe have some maki or nigiri as an app., but don't plan to fill up on it as a main. Happily, most of the cooked food is good. The Udon is excellent. The Tonkatsu is very nice. The Tempura is just fine. The Oyako Don is nice too.

[Robert Lauriston]

I could post a long list of places on the west side of the tunnel.

[sydthekyd]

Please do, Robert. Thank you.