Weekend lunch in Oakland

[unionpig]

I need to take someone to lunch in Oakland on a Saturday, and I'm having trouble finding somewhere appropriate. The places I can think of that would be good, like Soi4 or A Cote, aren't open, and Wood Tavern seems like it would be much better for dinner. I would be willing to go to Bakesale Betty's for the chicken sandwich, but we won't have anywhere to go with our food, and it's likely to be cold out. Any ideas?

[dinnerout]

We went to Sea Salt for brunch yesterday - it is definitely close enough to qualify as Oakland in my view. I had my heart set on clam chowder, but it was not available...instead I had fish & chips. Frankly, I only like very few varieties of fish (though I love shell fish), but the fish was great - fresh tasting, very flaky. I enjoyed every bit. Plus we were lucky enough to be able to eat outside. What a difference a day makes...the day before we spent hours sitting in the rain at the Cal game!

[Morton the Mousse]

Wood Tavern, 900 Grayson, Sea Salt, Gregoire Piedmont, Cesar Piedmont, and Oliveto Cafe are all great recommendations. Oliveto upstairs would be good if you wanted something really special and $$$.

[rworange]

A place I went to recently was Z Cafe & Bar off of Broadway near Grocery Outlet ... but wait ... it is a lovely restaurant with sidewalk tables and a really nice staff but sloooow. It is set back from Broadway so it looks over the tree-lined street rather than ... well, Broadway.

It will not blow you away, but it is acceptable. The link to the place record below has the website with sample menus.
http://www.chow.com/places/15113

Don't order anything fancy-sounding and take the ingrediant list with a major grain of salt ... if that was an heirloom tomato ... in November ... they need to find a different source of heirloom tomatoes.

This is the restaurant attached to a car dealership that at one times I the was called Carrera's ... or something like that. It closed and changed focus. It gets lots of good press about the bar.

[doxxie lover]

Try Pearl Oyster Bar or Olivetto on the 5600 block of College Ave. Both are open for Lunch at 11:30 on Saturdays.

Both are great options in the Rockridge District of Oakland!~

[Janet]

i thouoght Soi 4 was closed only on Sundays. Give them a call

[lexdevil]

Lunch is only M-F.

[lexdevil]

Wood Tavern is great at lunch. The seafood stew is always on, plus a nice pastrami sandwich and burger. I've had the crispy pork belly salad at lunch as well. Given that Wood Tavern dinner reservations are booked close to a month in advance now that they're on opentable.com, lunch may be the best time to go.

Other options include 900 Grayson in Berkeley, Gregoire or Cesar on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland, Sea Salt in Berkeley. The Berkeley spots I've listed are quite close to Oakland.

[unionpig]

Maybe I'll see if I can get into Wood Tavern. Cesar would work except I'm going there the week after. Gregoire might work also--I haven't been to the one on Piedmont--can you sit down there or is it like the Berkeley one?

[lexdevil]

You can sit, but it is very casual counter seating. If you're looking for relaxing or "nice," this won't cut it. Gregoire is, however, a step up from the stools and ironing boards of Bakesale Betty.

[Stephanie Wong]

Last Saturday when I passed by Bakesale Betty, I noticed about a dozen colorful table tops with chairs set up on the sidewalk. So they've upgraded from the ironing boards and milk crates.

[rworange]

Well, barely. There are more ironing boards and stools with a few tables. Not what the OP would look for but at least there are more seats at Bakesale Betty's and it is a pleasant little spot.

[Marc Wallace]

Gregoire on Piedmont is also just a block from Ninna's, an interesting Thai/Italian fusion place. Fairly cozy and tasty. So you could go to Ninna for the main course and then Gregoire for crispy potato puffs for dessert.

(haven't seen much about Ninna here, though?)

http://www.ninnarestaurant.com/

[The Dive]

I am completely addicted to the lunch at Wood Tavern. I just love that fabulous pastrami sandwich. In fact, it has usurped 900 Grayson as my Saturday regular, which is so unfair to 900 Grayson. One of them needs to be open on Sunday!