Cordial Cellar + Lounge

This might be the best dinner in castro valley. My profile doesn't show how often I've been here because there's no Wi-Fi in the restaurant, but I've been here a lot!! Tonight (Friday night) there is a 3 piece jazz ensemble. Nice. The beef ragout with polenta is amazing. It makes me feel like I'm in Croatia ( or Italy or Slovenia) with this nice slow cooked tender beef and polenta. The 5 spice flavoring is excellent. While we have tried other items in the menu ( which are good) it is this polenta beef dish we get a hankering for-- especially when it's cold outside and nobody wants to cookIt is also gluten free. There are other menu items that are gluten free too. A person with celiac ate the beef polenta dish and had no issues. The chef was so friendly and showed us the polenta packaging and that he uses tamari instead of soy to keep it gf We always have the beef with a nice glass of red wineThis is just darn good food, a fair price for the amount, great atmosphere and close to home !! Chicken pot pie-- good though I wanted a slightly bigger portion and the salad side is boring. It needs fruit/ nut/ cheese to make it interesting

I'll start with the celiac stuff. When this restaurant first opened, they did not explicitly have gluten-free items on the menu. However, my parents visited before I did, and asked extensive questions about how gluten-free the menu was. When I went back with them (my first time), a bunch of things had changed on the menu:They had printed new menus that marked both gluten-free and dairy free allergens. The chef came up to the table and let us know that he had replaced the soy sauce in any dishes with tamari. He is conscious of how to make things gluten-free and enthusiastic about doing so. I recommend it.The vibe of the restaurant is very middle-aged-chic. The music isn't too loud, the lights are the right level of dim, the space fairly secluded. It's a nice calm vibe. I think a great improvement could be made if they offered desserts and mocktails. Also, just a note, though we all three got the ragu dish, something that stews all day and would therefore likely be ready to serve immediately upon ordering, it did take about 50 minutes for our food to arrive. It seems those who sit at the bar get priority device. Still, not a huge problem. We enjoyed our food and the experience.

I'm so glad they're back! I love this spot. It's a great place to meet a friend and catch up over a glass (bottle?) of wine and delicious appetizers. It's a cozy, swanky lounge - needed in Castro Valley! - and with great service. I cannot emphasize enough how bummed I was when I heard they closed. We don't have anything like this in CV! So I was elated to find out they were reopening. I hope they stay forever ... or at least for a few decades:) I think it's a darling place and I'm already planning to meet a friend there.

Welcome back. So glad they are open. Good music. Great vibe. Head on down. Diverse and hearty menu.

Friday night was a blast! Hidden away in the lower level of the Castro Valley Marketplace, we reserved a table as we had 6 adults and 2 children in our party. The table they selected for us was perfect and was right near the piano which was pretty awesome as it was near the piano and there was a pianist playing that night. Half of the room is separated by a partician which allowed us privacy and to keep the children contained and away from the other guests. We started out with appetizers, a charcuterie board with meats, cheeses and nuts as well as a mixed cheese board which had cheese, crackers, fruits and nuts. This was fairly priced and enough for us all to nibble on. A few of us ordered other items to share such as the tomato basil flatbread and the spicy sausage fennel flat bread. The crust on both flat breads were crunchy and the toppings were fresh and flavorful. This was enough for all of us to have a few pieces and paired well with the beer on tap as well as the wine flights. I ordered the sparkling wine flight and it came with 3 glasses and a sheet with descriptions for each selection. I was pleased with the flavors and moved on to the revisit of Wednesday's flight which was a Gewürztraminer and 2 reds. The samples are just enough to allow you to decide if you want to order a glass or a bottle to share.Our friends ordered the popcorn with ghee, Marcona almonds and a spring mix salad. The popcorn was just enough for the children to share and the almonds were very tasty with a seasoning similar to everything but the bagel.The pianist was great and he played songs from blues, to pop to rock. I know I look forward to spending a few hours with friends again and this is the perfect place. It is nice to have a place to go with friends that have children and enjoy their company, good food and fantastic wines.

Just plain WOW! Loving everything about this place! My husband and I moved back to the area a few months ago and we're so pleasantly surprised to find this gem. They are in the basement of the marketplace in a cute and secluded spot. Service- 5 stars! Everyone is friendly and inviting. They also have great menu suggestionsWine and Food- also get five stars. There is a nice selection of wines by the glass and some yummy appetizers to accompany the wine choices.Thursday nights are particularly awesome- they have a supper club with a three course meal and optional wine pairing. Every course is created with love and yummy ness that only amazing chefs can provide. Last week we had the shepherds pie which was deconstructed and scrumptious. Looking forward to the steak tonight!The cheese platters are fantastic as well as the flatbreads. They also have a great bottle selection with reasonable prices, including some already chilled, for purchase to take with you. They also have a wine tasting night (Wednesdays I think) and live music on some days to keep the ambiance going.I'm so happy we found this place- a wonderful local gem that you should try immediately!

Cordial Cellar + Lounge is in the basement of Castro Valley Marketplace. i didn't know they had a kitchen. saw only 2 items on the blackboard. didn't look at the menu on the counter since lighting wasn't good. seating in lounge isn't limited to counter. there's a few tables in adjacent room.offerings: wines, draft beers, small bites.drink: Pliny the Elder DIPA (8)-nice smooth DIPA-might have gotten a wine if i knew they had a food menu...drips:-parking lot in back is small. easily full during peak times. -Cordial has a liquor store on MacArthur Ave. -has a wide selection of wines & small selection of craft beers.-lots of items offered here, not everything in plan view.

Do you ever go to a place and think, "wow, this is so aptly named?" This is the place. Stacey is a gem, and Leslie is a gift. Great drinks, incredible vibe, and excellent service. This is the perfect spot for a date, to catch up w old friends, or to come make new ones. Definitely recommend

This was our first time coming in for a visit versus purchasing from the shop. We really enjoyed our visit! We were very happy with the draft beer selection. We had the Russian River Pliny the Elder DIPA (which you don't find on draft at many places and is one of our favorites!). For food we ordered the Citrus, Fennel and Watercress Salad and the Hot Italian Sausage and Fennel Flatbread. Both had very fresh ingredients, were delicious and filling. Sitting at the bar was fun. We enjoyed chatting with the staff and the other folks at the bar. We look forward to coming back plus also checking out some of their Wednesday wine tastings and Thursday wine dinners.On our way out we purchased one of our favorite wines, Rock Wall Super Alamedan. They have an impressive wine selection and surprisingly good prices. It's so great to have access to this type of selection near to where we live!

Came here for a $15 themed wine tasting, which they are currently hosting every Wednesday evening. We happened to catch the Summer Sippin' series. They had the wine tasting in the back and a cute indoor seating area set up in the middle of the cellar. My friend and I really enjoyed the Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rosé 2020 from Pfalz, Germany, which was light, refreshing, and - dare I say - slightly effervescent (although, it could have just been my imagination). The perfect sipping wine, indeed! We both ended up purchasing a bottle and got an additional 10% discount for doing the wine tasting. Customer service was friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Pours were generous and the sommelier explained which regions each wine came from (both local and international) along with expected flavor profiles. Apologies for staying past closing hours! We were both having such a good time and lost track of time. This place is located downstairs in the Castro Valley Marketplace. In addition to wines, this place also sells beers, spirits, sake, and flavored liqueurs. They have both local and international wines. In addition to the themed wine tastings, Cordial Cellar + Lounge has done food and wine pairing collaborations with other businesses such as Hermanos Verdes. I'm really looking forward to their next food and wine pairing event and will definitely keep my eye out for the themed wine tastings. Thank you, Cordial Cellar + Lounge for the warm hospitality and looking forward to future wine tastings!