The Walnut Tavern Bar & Grill

Wonderful cuisine and cozy atmosphere.Beer wine and cocktails! Fabulous deserts as well.There is an interesting delicious twist to their European Tavern cuisine.You must go to find out what it is

Fabulously intimate space (which was a breakfast joint back in the day that I used to frequent with fam), so old school Bay Area roots continue, not to mention next door to the original Pete's Berkely! Big shoes to fill were filled rather nicely with a start of the freshest most tender calamari friti. On to the umami wings: a beautifully naughty sesame seed laden monstrosity which was devoured with sticky fingered fanfare. Amazingly delicious short rib burger was a perfect medium and hot and juicy as ever, and the star of the show was a delectable seafood stew which, though lacking the hat nod of a remoulade on the toast, had more than enough fish stock umami and garlic notes to make up for it. Service was a bit off in timing and foresight albeit courteous and accommodating for shared entrees. Those 3 star reviews must have been on a really off night because our meal (crazy panhandler inside for a brief moment, included) was a 4 star soirée of delectability and did not disappoint!

Cute restaurant trying to find its footing. Food and service are the high points, though dishes like Sweet and Savory Root Vegetable Blend are not a complete meal, even with a salad, for most people.Unsure that the overhead screens with fireplaces add anything to the ambiance. Music could be turned down a notch or two. The TV in the bar showing sports, while it might be appreciated by some, perhaps should be off weekend nights -- no one was watching the NASCAR race (unclear why the Warriors game wasn't on). Would prefer dessert menu to be a menu, rather than a plastic doodad on the table. Actual menu would be easier to read without background. Restaurant's menu prices on its own website are about 10% lower than the actual prices as of this writing (11-02-2024).

"Walnut Tavern" seems like a perfectly fitting name for the overall ambiance. The lighting, windows and wood details create an upscale, cozy feeling. The menu has good variety. Our party of 6 ordered warm olives and calamari to share. The olives were the stand-out and amazing (I almost got a serving order). The two salads were good, and eaten as meals, the burgers were good and satisfying. They came with salad or fries. I would opt for the salad next time since the fries were the kind with a crumbly coating which I don't enjoy. The Root Vegetable blend with spicy tomato coulis was delicious. We were well taken care of by our servers who were attentive but also gave us space. I'd love to return

Situated right relatively close to UC Berkeley (~5-minute drive), The Walnut Tavern Bar & Grill is a cute and quiet restaurant that exemplifies the word: cozy.My friend and I both ordered the New York strip steak, alongside a Caesar salad which although was nothing noteworthy, it really satisfied our cravings after a workout. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare just as I asked for, and the seasoning was spot on. The only slight con was that I was the steak was a bit thicker, but that is just me being nitpicky.The Caesar salad was also well executed, with it us being able to taste the sardine, but not overpowering the salad, which was greatly appreciated. The service was great, and our server answered all of our questions. This restaurant although might not serve mind blowing food, the atmosphere, in my opinion, makes up for it.

After seeing that the Walnut Tavern Bar & Grill, had a lesser wait time compared to the other brunch spots around the area, my party of 5 and I decided to eat here. Upon arriving, the space is huge with booth seats in the indoor eating area and tables& chairs with umbrellas. After being seated, there was another party of 12 I believe that was still waiting to get all of food after waiting a while. I overheard that the kitchen has one chef and they like to have food served at the same time. I think the idea of getting food served at the same time is nice because everyone can eat at the same time. However, that can cause food to later come out soggy or lukewarm. We got there at 12:12 and was seated at 12:20, and received our food by 1:07. To be waiting that long while super hungry was kind of upsetting to say the least and then to have the food come out lukewarm and soggy is frustrating. I ordered their red & green Benedict's: the muffin was already soggy and soft by the time that it came to the table as it's been sitting in the hollandaise sauce for a while. It lacked in flavor, in my opinion and the side of country potatoes were salty. My sister wanted to order their rib eye omu rice but our waitress stated that they ran out. So she opted for a tomato heirloom and burrata salad instead. For $16, I would think that they would give you a decent size of burrata but we got half. It was mostly arugula salad with a couple of tomato wedges. We had our pupperoo with us for brunch, and had ordered one single pancake and a side of scrambled eggs WITH NO SEASONING. The waiter came back with a PANCAKE STACK that has powder and berries on it and scrambled eggs WITH SEASONING. The rest of my parties food was okay. Nothing too spectacular considering we waited about 40 mins to get them. I did feel bad for the waiter. I think if the place was going to start to serve brunch that they should expect the place to have more people come and have a quicker service because getting lukewarm food while waiting so long for it was unsatisfactory. I wish they had more shaded seats because the umbrellas they had even though provided SOME shade kept moving around making it somewhat unstable and nerve-wracking while eating. The waiter that helped us was really trying his best, so I want to say thank you for that. Going forward, I do hope that they have a quicker service to get food out.

The patio was nice on a warm sunny day in May. The inside was charming too but we wanted sun. The service was slow enough that you could have a lengthy conversation. It might have just been that the patio is out of the way. As a result you had to catch people for service when you saw them there for others.For the price I would have expected the food to be better. It was not bad but did not have the presentation or unique flavor you might expect for the price.All in all it was an ok experience.

i was here for the sunday breakfast and it was amazingly flavourful. i specially love the ambiance of the restaurant. Definitely 5+ star for the amazing place.

Great food and drinks. Warm, woody atmosphere. Very friendly staff. (When the silent landscapes gallery on the big-screen TV switched to an obscure, scenic Asian location, my bartender casually mentioned "I'm from there.") This new ownership has nicely resurrected what used to be the friendly, local Chester's brunch spot. Owners in between tried a pricey French restaurant (trying to leverage proximity to Chez Panisse) and an Italian spot, neither of which worked. Walnut Tavern has been deservedly solid for years, and seems here to stay.

Really liked the restaurant. Would give 4.5 stars if possible. Calamari was delicious and well fried. Had the New York steak which was good but a bit overcooked for medium rare. The Chicken with Alfredo sauce was delicious. The flavor of the 1/2 roast chicken was good, but it was a bit dry. They are dog friendly and the service was excellent.Had the flourless chocolate cake for dessert which was really good.Overall experience was great and will definitely go back, especially because they are so dog-friendly.