New resto: Lake Chalet in Oakland... anyone been? Oyster bar recs?

[S U]

My neighbor was walking the lake yesterday, and noticed the Lake Chalet was open and receiving customers. I think its their soft opening. Any first hand experiences yet? I looked at their website, http://www.thelakechalet.com/ and I notice they've got a raw bar.... dunno if its going to be any good.

My DD's B-day is coming up and I'm thinking of booking @ Lake Chalet, just to try it out. She'd love the raw bar, I think, although her fave has been Hog Island in the Ferry Bldg for years. Not sure yet if I want to try something so new... I'm not a fan of oysters, and the last time I attempted to pick a spot for a dinner she'd love fell flat -- Pearl Oyster in Oakland. She was too gracious to be really upset, but I could tell...

I know she's been to Anchor, which she'd declared so-so, Waterbar might be an option although she might be a bit miffed that I'm not creative enough to not pick a chain place. Any other ideas?

I'd prefer to stay on the East Bay, as her B-day weekend coincides w/ the major bridge shutdown on Labor Day. Wouldn't mind heading down towards San Jose, although I'd much prefer someplace closer to Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, etc.

[rworange]

If you don't get enough feedback on Lake Chalet, Sea Salt would be a great option.
http://www.seasaltrestaurant.com/

[Robert Lauriston]

Sea Salt and Cafe Rouge have excellent oyster bars. Both also have $1 oyster specials, Sea Salt from 4-6 daily and Rouge 5:30-9:30 Tuesday-Thursday and 8pm-closing Friday-Sunday.

http://www.caferouge.net/dinner.htm

http://seasaltrestaurant.com/menus/Ne...

Waterbar's not part of a chain.

[Ruth Lafler]

Beach Chalet isn't known for the quality of its food, so I'd be wary of their new venture. The menu looks depressingly generic: crab cakes, tuna tartare, etc. However, their Taco Tuesday ($2.50 tacos, $3 pints and half-price margaritas looks like it might be a nice way to spend a warm summer evening -- assuming we ever get another one).

[Robert Lauriston]

The food at the Park Chalet is better than the food at the Beach Chalet, presumably because it can't coast on the view.

[wolfe]

All right! Nice pun.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2138/1...

[wolfe]

Robert, this piece in the Chron suggests we were wrong.
Lake Chalet in Oakland boasts the stellar vistas of Lake Merritt, but what comes out of the kitchen can't compete with the views.
.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

[JasmineG]

I went to Lake Chalet last night with a group; Tuesdays is Taco Tuesday out on the deck only (I think). On Tuesdays they have three kinds of tacos (carne asada, fish, and vegetable) for $2.50 each, chips and salsa also for $2.50, and half price drinks. The setting is great; the back patio is a gorgeous place to sit, they have a beautiful view of the Lake and of Oakland, and the space is nice. They don't have space heaters yet, so it was cold out there, but apparently they're supposed to come soon. My group shared a bunch of tacos, and they were tasty, but nothing special. The salsa that came with the chips was really good, but they gave you far too little of it (it was in a little plastic salsa cup like the ones you get at a salsa bar), and the chips themselves were also good. The margarita was okay. I didn't see any of the regular menu, because they only had the Taco Tuesday menu outside. The service seemed a little overwhelmed, because the restaurant was packed last night, outside and in, but the servers were all very friendly. There is a really long bar inside the restaurant that looked like a nice place to get a drink, and it was also pretty full, with a nice range of people. I won't necessarily go back for Taco Tuesdays, but I'd go back for drinks and appetizers at the bar or outside, especially on one of our rare warm nights.

Another note: parking around there is a hassle, and the restaurant does have valet, which is only $5 (which isn't bad considering that Oakland now charges for metered parking until 8pm, so if you got there at 6, the valet would be only a dollar more than the metered rate), and you can add the valet charge to your bill, which makes that a little easier.

[Robert Lauriston]

I called Lake Chalet to ask if they were open today. Would have been nice if they'd suggested that I make a reservation, since when we got there they said it would be an hour wait. I guess they weren't serving on the deck, those tables were all empty. Baffling.

[JasmineG]

That's so weird, especially since the deck seems like the perfect place to spend a warm night in the East Bay. I think they're having opening kinks, though -- the service on the deck was slooow when I was there, and the waiter said that they hadn't been prepared for the people.

[S U]

We ended up having dinner at Sea Salt, since I didn't want to chance it on the new raw bar @ Lake Chalet. Food was not all that spectacular, but maybe we are just a spoiled group =)

My DD appeared to be satisfied w/ her oysters, even the $1 marin special of the day. She apparently is partial to the hogwash @ Hog Island... couldn't help w/ that since the bridge was closed and we didn't feel like taking the ferry or bart. We shared a handful of apps: fried cheeks (they were ok), fried laughing bird shrimp was my DS's favorite, fried oysters -- for those of us who don't eat raw -- were surprisingly moist & juicy inside while the outside managed to be crisp and held up well. Fried smelt was a bit disappointing, since they weren't as crisp as some S&P fried smelt from Chinatown eateries.

In our party of 4, we ended up ordering the fish entrees: one got the tuna, another the halibut, third got the sturgeon, and fourth got the salmon. Out of the 3 who tried all 4 dishes, the halibut seemed to be the clear winner. Unfortunately, I didn't try it so I can't report on that. 2nd place appeared to be a tie between the sturgeon and salmon.

Oop... got to finish this later. DH has dinner on the table... bitter melon soup! Will post a continuation in a bit.

[PegS]

Sorry...so this is a Sea Salt review and not a Lake Chalet review, right?

[ML8000]

So what's the verdict on Lake Chalet? Besides Jasmine G's taco night report, really can't decipher much. Is it about the same as Beach Chalet, or better/different?

[calalilly]

I went last Friday for lunch. It was my second time there and am still un-impressed. The location is beautiful as is the restaurant itself. Both times service was awful. I sat at the bar both times because were told there would be a "very long wait" for a table since we didn't have reservations, even though I showed up at 11:30 on Friday. I had the burger the first time, which was good, not great, and the tuna burger the second time. The tuna burger didn't have much flavor at all, a far cry if you compare to say Taylor's. The drinks were really good though. Overall, I'm excited there's a nice place like this in the area and I think I'll give it another chance because of the location, but food wise, Luka's is definitely a better option.

[ML8000]

Thanks, nice summary. So it's about the space, location/view and drinks and not so much the food. I can see going there for particular reasons just not a great meal.

[chefdara]

I went to LC in Oakland on Saturday evening. Ordered the tuna ceviche, clam chowder, salmon with grilled vegetables, and the Mahi Mahi with Basmati Rice. All were really good. I was a little dissapointed with the ceviche; it was more like a non-spicy poke; however having said that I must add the tuna was very fresh. The service we received was top notch. The restaurant location, atmoshpere, and decor are fabulous. I saw the oyster bar as I entered and was impressed. I will definitely be back; I would like to try some of the other dishes on the menu. I would give it three out of four stars.