Readers Say the Darndest Things: Restaurants & Bars

What You Said

Best New Restaurant
Flora
Get the fish 'n' chips. Max Allstadt

Brown Sugar Kitchen
Good food, ambiance in industrial West Oakland. Sharon L. Nichols

Citrone
There should be SOMEplace to vote for your overall best East Bay restaurant. Dave

Best Vegetarian Restaurant
Cafe Gratitude
The food is good if you can handle lots and lots of nuts both in the food and as your servers. — Dior

Best Deli
Genova on 51st
Just go once and you will know what I am talking about. Anne Ayers

The Sandwich Board
Anyone that can make a tofu sandwich taste great gets my vote. Jason Kohler

Best Take-Out
Gregoire
But who cares? Where's the best delivery category? There isn't one because the Bay Area doesn't deliver anything! — Christian

Khana Peena
And they deliver! — Jessica

Gregoire
I think they might put an addictive chemical in their potato puffs, but I don't mind. — Anne Ayers

Best Bar
Missouri Lounge
Whoot! BCox

Cocina Poblana
The best margaritas! Mardi Storm

Kingfish
Save it! Connor Morrison

Water Lounge
Finally, a hip watering hole in Rockridge that's not attached to a super-popular restaurant! Jonathan Bair

Best Gay Bar
The White Horse
Isn't it the only? Celestina Pearl

Club1220 in Walnut Creek
"Cabernet?" Jerry Reiva

Best Cocktails
Flora
Swank-a-licious! Andee Brown

Fellini's
Ginger cosmo! Iris Bell

Trader Vic's in Emeryville
Get a Mai Tai old style with 151 floated on top. Just don't get too many! Jackie Walts

Cafe Van Kleef
Fresh juice, squeezed right in front of you. Then the vodka goes in. Phoebe J

Best Cafe/Coffeehouse
Awaken
Awesome mission supporting local artists and community, awesome free-trade organic coffee. Phoebe J

Caffe 817
I feel like I'm in Paris sitting at a table outside. The food is fresh, the coffee is an art. Heidi Kearsley

Mama Buzz
Rapidly becoming a cultural mecca. Gentrification my ass. Max Allstadt

Peet's
Started locally, still the best. Nicole Magnuson

Best Teahouse
Julie's Tea and Coffee
This is a cute place with lots of homemade goodies and wireless Internet. Also, it's health conscious/socially conscious. — Owen Li

Best Diner
Bette's Oceanview Diner
Can anything compare? All around great. Great food, playful atmosphere, enthusiatic wait personnel. Marsha Lehmer

Claremont Diner
Vintage ambiance, better than vintage food. Ask them to turn on the model train that runs around on an overhead track. Logan De Ley

Denny's in Emeryville
Who doesn't have a place in their heart for this diner? Might get eminent-domained by the city and demolished to make way for luxury apartments and a boutique hotel. We have to stop it! Owen Li

Best Breakfast/Brunch
Mamas Royal Cafe
Same as it ever was. Nicole Magnuson

Brown Sugar Kitchen
The chicken and waffles are the best you have ever had. Heidi Kearsley

Cock-a-doodle doo
Oaxacan pork omelette. CJ Jiang

Full House Cafe
Chicken hash yum! Ellen Goldstein

Montclair Egg Shop
I only wish the trains delivered the food. Nicolas

My Boyfriend
He brings it to me in bed and there is never a wait! Anne Ayers

Best Barbecue
Big C's
Make you wanna holla. Connor Morrison

Everett and Jones
Nice and greasy! I also recommend Brick Pig and that place that starts with N ... Ken

Doug's
It's closed ever since Doug died ... somebody who has the recipes, learn them and please open the fuck back up!! Dior

Best Southern/Soul Food
Jeffrey's
The best, healthful soul food. Everything tastes homemade without the pork and lard. The greens are the best. — Sharon L. Nichols

Best African Restaurant
Cafe Colucci
Ethiopian food don't get better than this joint. Patrick "Das" Schlesinger

A Taste of Africa
One of Berkeley's best kept secrets! I can't get enough of this food! I savor every morsel of the veggie combo even the rice is superlative. This is food from Cameroon, and quite different from the more common Ethiopian fare. Logan De Ley

Best Italian Restaurant
Caffe Venezia
Best carbonara. Best caesar. Best tiramisu. Best ambiance. Best wait staff. Claudia Conrad

Pizzaiolo
Best restaurant, period. Tenli Yavneh

Riva Cucina
Small, out of the way. Exquisite pasta. Juanita Carroll Young

Best Pizza
Zachary's
Always and forever. Christa Rybczynski

Pyzano's
Great pizza margherita. Laura McMichael-Cady

Arizmendi
Every day there is a new, kooky creation from their glowing ovens. Beauty is in simplicity. Christopher Monaco Glynn

Gioia Pizzeria
I lived in NY for six years and ever since I returned I have been searching for something thin, triangular and greasy, that I can fold in half just right. Gioia is it, with a gourmet topping twist which makes it all the better. Cory Gunter Brown

Best Mexican Restaurant
Picante
Homemade tortilla chips: yes! Julie Danger

Doña Tomás
Okay not *exactly* Mexican but totally the best! Lisa Jervis

Juan's Place in Berkeley
Best Flour Tortilla Chips EVER. Anne Ayers

La Pinata
But just for breakfast. Angela Tsay

Sinaloa Taco Truck
22nd & International. Lee Goldhagen

Tacubaya
Two words: tortilla soup. Jennifer

The taco truck that's permanently on that parking lot
It's on International and has outdoor table seating with a roof. Everyone knows it's the best taco truck. Owen Li

Best Indian/Pakistani Restaurant
Dollar Curry House in Berkeley
Full meal for $4! Jessica

Ajanta
The owner oversees every detail. Connie Chiulli

India Palace
They deliver everywhere! — Iris Bell

Chaat Cafe
Love the wraps and can't beat their prices. Virginia Afentoulis

Khana Peena
Outdoor seating, view of X-rated mural. Jessica

Best Thai/Burmese Restaurant
Thai Delight
The rare place for organic Thai. — Julie Danger

Neecha
It's not really fair to put these in the same category. Burmese food is akin to Chinese or Indian just like it is to Thai. — Jessica

Best Chinese Restaurant
King Dong
The name put me off forever, but the fresh high-quality ingredients have me hooked now! Lisa Jervis

Great Wall
Because fake meat sits better in your stomach than real meat! Katie Barrow

Best Vietnamese/Cambodian Restaurant
Le Cheval
No doubt. — Julie Danger

Champa Garden
Cambodian/Laotian. You will not find food this authentic anywhere else!!! This place is incredible. I always take out-of-town visitors here. — Owen Li

Phnom Penh House
This place is amazing. Try the 'B Soup' with fish. — Alice

Best Japanese/Sushi Restaurant
Kirala
New Kirala II lets you take perfection home in a bag! LeeAnne Haglund

Yoshi's
Still innovative and well-executed. Jessica

Coach Sushi
Beware, Coach will not stop filling your Sake-box. Ever. James Pickrell

Best Korean Restaurant
Kang Tong Degi
This is the best restaurant in Oakland. I probably spelled it wrong though because there is no English sign. Nicolas

There are no good Korean restaurants.
Stay away from Korean restaurants. You never know what they'll put in your food. Dave Lebowitz

Best Salads
Burma Superstar
Tea Leaf Salad rocks. Benjamin

Spettro
I could eat Booberry salads FOREVER. Maryam

Tacabuya
Their salad with avocado, pumpkin seeds and their viniagrette is amazing!!! Must try! Leah Irwin

Best Seafood Restaurant
Vida's
Big portions, freshest fish, best fries and butterfish in town anywhere. — Pat McCullough

Quinn's Lighthouse
Okay, it's not that great, but you can dump peanut shells on the floor! — Courtney

Best Ice Cream/Soda Fountain
Fentons
Can't help it, I grew up here. Cleo Vilett

Ici's on College Avenue
There no other place that has such creative flavors. Connie Chiulli

Tucker's Ice Cream Alameda
This place is a terrible habit. Julie Danger

Best Brewpub
Pyramid Alehouse
Great beer and great food and summertime movies. Connie Chiulli

Pacific Coast Brewing Company
Very good food and wonderful beer selection. Roy M. Carlisle

Best Waiter/Waitress Outfits
Rudy's Can't Fail
If you consider tattoos part of one's outfit. — Juanita Carroll Young

Flora
Bartenders in suspenders = I feel like I'm in a black-and-white movie. — David Indart

Fenton's
Humiliating! — Molly

Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe
The dolls they have on display are actually wearing the best waiter/waitress outfits a must see. — Angelique Green