Julia's Restaurant

First to note - the restaurant is housed in a special building, transporting you to a vintage era of elegance. The building is now a quaint hotel and a club by UC Berkeley campus. Julia Morgan originally designed this structure for then a women's club /YWCA. This restaurant is named after the first woman architect in California. It is located on the second floor of Berkeley's City Club. With woodsy details, high ceilings and lighting from the big windows, the ambience is inviting and beautiful. Service- our waiter was friendly and prompt. He was polite and not overbearing in making his recommendations and suggestions. Ultimately he won our hearts by remembering what I said at the onset when taking our orders - that I was taking my GF for her birthday lunch. He offered to make her dessert special without even being asked. We have not tried their dinner so this rating is based only on their lunch experiences. Their lunch menu though not large in selection covers an approachable range where everyone's taste is bound to find one's favorite. My GF had the Nicoise salad she said she's been craving and loved it. It was a generous portion with additional avocados and grilled tuna practically spilling off the plate. It's definitely a meal at $27. She insisted on plating some of the tuna on my bread plate so I sampled. Tuna was delectable, seared on the outside covered with toasted black and white sesame seeds. Tuna was seared just enough to leave the mouth watering inside sashimi perfect. Loved that my quiche had lots of vibrant "green" not-overcooked spinach in a richly flavored but light textured custard egg filling. Baked and served in a flaky pastry shell, it was one of the best quiches I ever had in a recent memory at $19.00. The salad greens were dressed just right and the fries were addictive. It's a lovely place, away from the surrounding hustle and bustle, where we can thoroughly enjoy our lunch without being rushed. We intend to return for special occasions.

So, I kind of love this place and it's a complete hidden gem. It's in an old, historic Julia Morgan Women's Club that has seen speakers from Amelia Earhart to Hilary Clinton. It's current use is that of a hotel, but also an event space, restaurant, theater and more. There's an indoor pool, reminscent of the Hearst Castle. The small dining room is that of an old French chateaux that has an adjoining wood/leathery bar area. We kind of stuck in the '50's here and I love every part of it.The food is classic French and it's solid. The escargots were well done, with that sizzling buttery sauce. The salads were simple, but fresh and ample for the price. The entree's were adequate. The short ribs were hearty, the vegetarian rice dish was solid. Are they pushing food boundaries here? Nope, but it's all about the vibes. You are coming here for more of this unique experience. The service was also so charming and delightful.Overall, I'm a fan of this unique, quintessential old-school Berkeley restaurant: no pretension, no IG virality, no "crazy" ingredients. Just some good old fashioned French food, at reasonable-ish prices in a nostalgic setting. Not an often visit for me, but an annual one, most likely. Excited to one day check out the bar and its events.

I visited Julias for the first time last week, and I was extremely satisfied with the service and food. The ambiance is outstanding (the historical Berkely City Club designed by Julia Morgan as Berkeley Women's City Club). All the food was amazing, and I especially recommend the short ribs or rack of lamb. The orange rice pudding was outstanding. This is a great place to come after an event at UC Berkeley.

The atmosphere and buildings architectural design are excellent. Julia's is housed in the Berkeley City Club. You ring a doorbell for admission to the 2nd floor restaurant location. Service exceeds expectations. The wait staff is welcoming and friendly while professional in their service. The main dining room is quiet and of visual interest as you wait for a delicious meal. We dined to celebrate our daughter in law's birthday and before Cal Performances Drum Tao show. We enjoyed the escargot with a warm Crusty baguettes. The entrees were delicious, lamb chops, prok chops and a delicious duck presentation. Everything was on point in flavor, presentation and aroma. Our server was spot on refilling our glasses and removing empty plates after we ate every scrumptious mouthful. I look forward to returning to try their other dishes.

Cute little restaurant and bar right off of Berkeley campus. It's inside some club building so you need to ring a bell and ask them to let you in, then go upstairs. Quite interesting setup. The building has a classic feel and it was really nice walking around the ornaments and decorations. They have a separate section for a bar but you can order drinks and cocktails in the dining area too. Food was very delicious and presented in a beautiful way. Server seemed a bit inexperienced but he was the sweetest guy! Definitely going back to this place. Highly recommend! (Gotta do street parking but there were plenty of spots when we went on a Wednesday around dinner time)

5-star! Ambiance with architecture of Julia Morgan (Hearst Castle fame), mouth tantalizing French cuisine, and impeccable and friendly service. This place is a gem. Plan to return for the brunch.

I attended a drug presentation at this restaurant and was very surprised this place exist in the middle of the UC Berkeley campus. I believe you will likely need some type of reservation to eat here as the front door is locked and you will have to ring a bell to be let in. It's inside the Berkeley city club with an attached parking lot next door which you probably need to pay to park. You can find street parking but depending on the time of day and day of week, that might be difficult and prices for metered parking is $3.50 per hour.I didn't get a chance to explore the entire place since the presentation was located inside one of the rooms. The room we were in looked like it needed some updating. The service was attentive for our event. We didn't have to wait long for the next course to arrive. When the staff was bringing out the salad, I was missed but a nice gentleman saw and kindly asked why I decline it. I told him I actually wanted a salad but prefer to have no cheese. He immediately went back to the kitchen and got me a salad without cheese and provided me with the Champaign vinaigrette instead of the original dressing as that contained cheese as well. That was very attentive of him. For the main course, I picked the steak. It was mediocre, cooked medium rare and some parts of the steak was quite chewy. The size of the steak was enough to fill me up but maybe a little small for male customers. Dessert was cheesecake with some type of tart syrup and powdered sugar. It was the best tasting dish out of the night. It wasn't too heavy and the cake just melts in your mouth with every bite. A suggestion would be to have a tiny menu on top of each plate in the future for these presentations to allow guests to know what food will be served. Water, coffee and tea was also provided. If I ever come back here for another drug presentation, I will try the fish next time as that looked a bit better than the steak.

Wonderful ExperienceExcellent drinks, dinners and desserts. Service was impeccable and cheerful. The building is amazing and we wandered around the first two floors. The library is magnificent!

Worth a visit for the architecture. The building is a gem designed by the early 20th century architect Julia Morgan. The service is very attentive and helpful. The food can be great, and when they get it right it's a five star experience. But I knocked off star after the duck confit was falling apart, as if it had been on a steam table for too long. There is a bar next door to the restaurant and you can check out the location while sipping a very-well-made cocktail.

Four of us were there for a birthday celebration. Our waitress was lovely and very accommodating, the food was delicious, and the setting was charming and special.