Last week, we wrote about some of the best restaurant week deals to be had in Oakland — and starting this week, Alameda, Berkeley, and El Cerrito are following suit with their own restaurant weeks.
For Alameda Restaurant Week, which takes place from Jan. 16-26, many of the island’s best restaurants are offering discounted deals or restaurant week exclusive dishes. Spinning Bones, which I recently praised in the Express for its succulent steak, ribs, and unique takes on sauces, is offering rotisserie ramen for $20, which is made with rotisserie cha siu and a shoyu egg, and comes served with sweet potato croquettes and edamame. Mama Papa Lithuania has offered exceptional Restaurant Week bargains in the past, and this year is no different. The two-course $12 lunch special, with options including red borscht, cabbage soup, flour dumplings, and chicken goulash is an especially good deal. German biergarten Speisekammer also has an intriguing lunch deal on tap, which comes with your choice of split pea soup or salad, a mini schweinebraten sandwich, a mini wiener schnitzel sandwich, and fries or bacony roasted potatoes. For dinner, Afghan-French-California bistro Angela’s Kitchen has a $34 three-course dinner that includes a Mediterranean salad, short ribs, and lemon panna cotta for dessert. For the full scoop, visit AlamedaRestaurantWeek.com.
El Cerrito Restaurant Week, which also runs from Jan. 16-26, also has some appealing deals. We’re especially into the $19.99 three-course meal at the already very reasonably-priced Peruvian restaurant El Mono, which also comes with a free drink. Larb Thai Food & Tapas also has a solid deal for $25 that gets you half a lemongrass chicken with Thai papaya salad and sticky rice. Deals haven’t been published yet for Himalayan restaurant Zomsa and multi-regional Chinese noodle specialist Noodles Fresh, but they merit a visit, restaurant week or not. Visit El-Cerrito.org/939/Restaurant-Week for more information.
Berkeley Restaurant Week takes place Jan. 21-31. Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya wasn’t even open at the time of writing, but we’ve been eagerly anticipating the opening based on the photos posted on Instagram. The $40 per person four-course menu includes offerings like smoked cod roe potato salad, chicken karaage, veggie tempura with matcha salt, sea bream over rice with dashi broth, Berkshire pork hotpot, and homemade ice cream for dessert. The dinner menu at Henry’s at The Graduate looks like a decent bargain at $30, which includes a salad with fennel, radish, and blood orange vinaigrette, a choice of lamb shank or fish of the day, and crème brûlée. The dinner deal at La Marcha, a pick from last year, has gone from $35 to $40 this year, but you still get a lot of choices for a moderate price. Take your pick of several options for each of the five courses, including crispy potatoes with crab, wild boar meatballs, and calamari and squid ink paella with truffle aioli. Check out VisitBerkeley.com for details.
