The Yummiest Comfort Food in Oakland

Napa Valley Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.1 (837) • $$

"Napa Valley Bistro was incredible. It is kind of outside of downtown Napa so the area is fairly quiet. We were surprised that for a Saturday lunch, there were not a lot of people there. I brought my friends here to celebrate someone's 21st birthday. The inside had a beautiful long painting of the mountains and there were wooden tables that had wine glasses set up. They're truly living in the "wine culture."I wish I remembered the server's name but she was such a lovely lady. She was very nice and was able to provide a sweet cake surprise for my friend turning 21. The cake piece was too big for everyone and everyone's dishes were given at quite a generous portion.I bought the Summer Spring Vegetable Risotto. I love how the risotto just melts when you eat it. The seasonal vegetables were extremely well done for the taste and I couldn't have asked a better way to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday.There is a spot where you can make reservations, but for the most part, walking in should be fine."

Touch of Soul

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (743) • $$

"I have been enjoying Touch of Soul for several years, at the former San Pablo location. I finally made it to Touch of Soul at the new(ish) location on Adeline in Emeryville. It was excellent! The food was spot on with all dishes cooked with aplomb. It seemed better than ever. Had the 1/2 fried chicken and it is always sooo good. They do not rely on the batter to make it tasty as too many others do. Their chicken is battened perfectly but it is not the only gem. Skin is always super crispy and the meat cooked to perfection. Big flavor, juicy meat, and really not greasy. My sides were the mac, brussel sprouts and dressing with gravy. Last night the dressing was the stand out. They make it with noticeable sweetness which is the best match with their rich and savory gravy. My only issue with TOS (a personal pet peeve) is they never returned to real plates and actual silverware. All you can get even for dine-in are plastic utensils. However This is meaningless when the food is just that dam goodTOS has always been a delightful group of people and that continues to be the case. They are always so kind and welcoming. I will go eat at places where staff treats me like crap if the food is real good. But at TOS this is never an issue. Just wonderful to eat outstanding fare while feeling like you are with family. (Well, at least with the parts of the family that are chilI, not the ones that are all fucked up and crazy.)TOS FTW!!"

Tin & Pig - Kang Tong Degi

★★★★☆ 4.1 (445) • $$

"First timer, Tin & Pig is def serving up some authentic Korean food. The ambiance was great the meals are extremely hearty but also pretty pricy which is why I took a star away - not saying it's not worth it but it could be a tab then again what's not now a day's. I'm a huge fan of Kimchi Stew this one had pork in it, very rich & comforting on a rainy night served with a side of rice. Def enjoyed it. Got the sweet & spicy wings & the plain wing's I wanted the sauce on the side but it's $3 to have the sauce on the side which kinda confused me? Regardless packed with flavor and fried to perfection. The bulgogi w/rice & egg which is semi pictured could honestly be skipped on. It was good but it didn't stand out to me. Def wanna try hot pot going back.Over all the customer service was great, the gentleman who served us was very personable & he checked in but also gave enough space for us to have a conversation. Hopefully you guys enjoy this place & try it out :)"

Q'S Halal Pizza

★★★★★ 4.6 (207) • $

"This place is open for dining in. Not super fancy place, but pretty good.I have had chicken wrap with fries. Meat was super delicious and there were only fresh veggies in the wrap. Also I really liked the fries.Come check this place out if you are looking for a good halal place."

Homeroom Berkeley

★★★★☆ 4.2 (181) • $$

"Was welcomed as soon as I entered. Seated immediately. Service was fair. Stronger at the start, but once I received my ordered, I was left unattended. The plates are a whopping portion size. The gluten free elbows are tiny, and the vegan cheese sauce was a bit runny so eating with fork didn't quite cut it, when I finally flagged someone down and requested a spoon, I was able to dig in. I added broccoli, spinach, jalapeños and tomato. The added veggies were pretty scarce, especially the jalapeño.The dish was piping hot, and I really enjoyed the flavor or the cheese sauce for a vegan version. Hoping service is a bit better next time, and now I know to order dbl or triple veggies in order to get my dish to my exact desires.Happy I stopped in and will return. It's great to have a place to enjoy vegan + gluten food. Huge dining room and big bar. Prices are fair."

Cinema Grill

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (263) • $$

"The service was five stars The drinks 5 stars The food was 2 stars. Mismatch opportunities as well as mismatch level of service. Ordered the sidecar drink which was very delicious and my father ordered a beer. He ordered fish and chips and when he asked for tartar sauce they didn't have any. So what's the whole point of fish and chips? I ordered the Snow White Pizza. It was served lukewarm and not fully cooked. You can tell they cooked the dough and the sauce and then added lukewarm toppings on top. Not sure what the white chunky cheese was. This is very basic pub food in general and does not meet the expectations of a higher bar that they provide. This was a mistake coming here for dinner."

Roll & Bowl

★★★★☆ 4.2 (155) • $$

"I ordered brownie with banana & chocolate syrup. It was absolutely delicious! So happy to know that there's an ice cream rolls shop that does not disappoint in the East Bay! They have a great variety of flavors. I'd advocate for more toppings such as gummy bears :) but not a deal breaker. Will certainly be having this again!"

Rise Woodfire Pizza & Rotisserie

★★★★★ 4.5 (93) • $$

"Eyes on the RiseThe sister restaurant to Burlingame's Rise Pizzeria, Rise Woodfire is a mom-and-pop done good story. It all began with by a local couple who had a passion for making pies the proper way, using a wood-fired oven. Housed in the former Piatta Italian location, they've renovated it from white tablecloth Italian, to a rustic local neighborhood joint that just happens to sling wood-fired pizzas and also happens to have a killer bar. This The Good:*Reservations via OpenTable *Great service*Not only do they use their wood oven for Pizzas, but they also use it to cook several other items like Prime Rib and Beef Ribs--both of which aren't available until after 4 p.m. Next time, Gadget!*Full bar with local craft brews on-tap*Grass-fed Beef Meatball app was superb. The marinara was delicious and the meatballs were cooked to perfection. *Pizza was delicious. The dough had a nice chew, the ingredients were distributed well, and the crust had a nice char from the oven. They make a damn fine pie. *I don't recall much about the Kazbah bowl other than Carissa enjoyed it. I'd ask her for more details but she's hurrying me along right now so we can eat dinner. (:The Meh:*No outdoor seating for the time being but it looks like it's in the works. *Located in a large outdoor shopping center so there's plenty of parking abound, but this center can get quite busy and turn parking into "quite the tenses." If you don't mind walking, I recommend parking by the library/park. The Ugly:*They don't have a BYOP (Build-Your-Own-Pizza) option on the menu, so if you're building a pie for a picky teenager then you have to pick one of their presets that has the closest toppings and then add and subtract accordingly. But, as it's SoP in her pizza world, taking off an ingredient doesn't save you money but adding them on will cost you. And adding on a few things can inflate the price of the pizza well-over 50% very quickly.Conclusion: Tasty pies in a great ambiance. I'll be back for the Prime Rib! :)"

Carnitas El Rincon - Hayward

★★★★☆ 3.6 (83) • $$

"Best carnitas I've ever had outside of Mexico. You HAVE to get the combos. That's the best bang for your buck, also get the carnitas MIXTAS. Straight fire. Their house salsa is so good too. Estás carnitas son las carnitas más deliciosas que e comido fuera de México. Vivo en San Francisco y vengo hasta Hayward a comprar estas carnitas mixtas."

Baltic Kiss

★★★★☆ 3.9 (65) • $$

"this is the most underrated/unknown amazing restaurant. The food here is AMAZING - never hand anything less than delicious tho my standard go-to is the shrimp 'n' grits. it's a lovely place to eat outside on their patio and listen to some live music in the most uniquely beautiful art-garden of a space. it's hard to know that it's even a restaurant and you'll probably have to tell someone that you're there for food, since it's mostly a bar and hangout for music. went here for a party once and Chef Tony cooked up the most incredible cajun FEAST. Also the BBQ truck out in the back parking lot kicks ass.GO HERE. TIP THE BAND. TIP YOUR SERVER."

Mercantile Social and Terrace

★★★★☆ 4.2 (50) • $$

"Sequentially, this was going to be my 400th review--but it's getting bumped thanks to a certain pup at a new brewery in Suisun City.Probably not the smartest last hop as everyone else was trying to get it in before 1am. I think that's probably the curfew in this town because the streets were pretty bare for a weekend.That said, we were flyin' high by the end of the night. So high, I had ordered four Fernet 'with' Cokes instead of ending on a Fernet n chase note. That pushed our limit pretty good.Mercantile's at the base of the Andaz hotel. Attracts a more speakeasy/artisinal crowd who enjoy their whiskies and flashy spirits with no real regard to price.More of a bar to leave first impressions with than the drink itself. Not really our style but by all means if you have slacks and dress shoes on = go for it."

Thayir Sadam

★★★★★ 4.7 (17)

"Such a delicious vegetarian thali experience! They have all you can eat thali which they refill at table side, along with different starches and dessert including mango lassi. The restaurant is clean and tidy, with excellent service. My favorite dishes was a curry with edamame that was super flavorful as well as the rice porridge. Will happily go back again!"

Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe

★★★☆☆ 3.4 • $$

"Rudy's is aptly named--it can't fail! Staff is friendly and helpful, the food is plentiful and tasty, with a good variety for vegans and vegetarians. Comfy ambiance too."

Sons of Liberty Alehouse

★★★★☆ 4.1 • $$

"I can't say enough about this place and I'm trying very hard not to gush. But when you have a cocktail named 'An Italian, a Frenchman and a Filipino Walk Into a Bar' and there's calamansi juice in it--game over. Pretty and refreshing, I could've downed another two. Their lime Sriracha wings were amazing and the burger with blue cheese crumbles, equally delicious served with the crunchiest, most well seasoned fries I've had in a long time. Props to our cute and friendly server, Bee. She said "like Bumble" and because I'm old and crusty, I wanted to say, "like Aunt.""