Maisa - 13th St. Downtown Oakland - Has anyone tried it yet?

[10foot5]

I noticed yesterday that a new restaurant opened on 13th St. (btw Webster and Franklin) attached to the newly refurbished Clarion Hotel (formerly the Will Rogers Hotel before it had a fire). It's a smallish placed called Maisa and their menu says "Simple, Fresh, Beautiful Home-style Italian & Mediterranean Cuisine".

The place has that bloodless, new hotel look. I'm trying not to assume that the food will be institutional and pedestrian. There are a few possibly interesting items on the menu (a lamb stew item listed as "Tajene - a North African specialty").

I'm curious if anyone has ventured in there yet and can report.

[10foot5]

Update - I’ve been to Maisa a few times over the last couple weeks and have to report it is a pleasant surprise.

The atmosphere is off-putting (classic rock music wafting through a bland hotel lobby) but the food is actually a step above and obviously prepared with some care.

I’ve only tried the Mediterranean items from the menu so far but they’ve been good across the board.

Medit. sampler platter ($6.99): Falafel are crispy and freshly fried to order, humus and dolmas are fine, babaghanoush has a wonderful smoky flavor. Greek salad is also good with real Greek feta and fresh mint. Very generous servings of everything.

I’ve had 2 dishes with lamb (“Tajene” ($9.95) and one other dish they were making for a special event but is not yet on the menu). In both cases the lamb was remarkably well cooked. Possibly the most tender, juicy lamb I’ve had at such a low price. Unfortunately both dishes were also rather bland on the whole. They both benefited from hot sauce that seems to be made in house. The hot sauce reminds me of the one at Holy Land, but a little less garlicky and with a fresher olive oil flavor.

A co-worker raves about their Minestrone soup, but I haven’t tried it myself.

The woman at the counter (and who also helps out in the kitchen) is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. They want to add more Mediterranean and North African items to the menu but need to gauge the interest. The kitchen is still working out the kinks – each time I’ve gone they’ve been out of one item or another.

All in all a good new downtown Oakland lunch option.

[betterbeheaven]

thanks for checking this out! I am always looking for more places to eat in Downtown Oakland

[musician]

After spending a short week in Oakland, and sampling some of the many restaraunts in the 13th/Franklin/ Broadway area, I have nothing but the highest praise for Maisa. I got all my meals to go, and, yes I believe they should add a bit of character to their decor, and PLEASE play mediterranean or Italian music (I AM a lifelong rock musician, but in an Indian restaraunt, I want Indian music, in a Jamaican restaraunt, I want Jamaican music, in a Japanese restaraunt... in other words anything BUT pop music, Britney Spears and the like) The food was superb and my biggest regret is that I am now back home in Los Angeles. I must agree with 10foot5 - the extremely hard-working lady behind the counter (who I did not get to say goodbye to) was gracious, interesting, and informative - and so very nice. Try Maisa, you will not be disappointed.

[10foot5]

I feel like I should update this thread.

I go back to Maisa about once every week or 2. It has joined my regular lunch rotation (along with Cafe 15, Cervante's, Cafe 817, Rico's, Café Madrid, when I’m walking, and Yardie Jerk, Jon’s Street Eats, and Wally’s Café when I‘m driving .

Everything I've tried has been far above average. The meatball sub is surprisingly good. Good enough that one of these days I'm going to finally start exploring their pasta options.

I generally grab lunch on the late side, but when I do the restaurant is always empty or nearly so. We need to support this excellent, reasonably priced lunch option near the heart of downtown Oakland.

[Ruth Lafler]

If I were to be so bold, may I suggest that you start a new topic just about this restaurant and the various things you've tried there? Someone glancing down the board at various topic headings is unlikely to open a topic that doesn't just by the title appear to have much information.

[Robert Lauriston]

So has anyone asked where the chef is from? Italian + Middle Eastern + North African sounds like maybe Tunisian.