My Essential Oakland & Berkeley Restaurants, Part 1

Condé Nast Travelers' Best Food Cities in the US, from the POV of a local

I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area over 5 years ago, relocating from NYC’s Astoria, Queens to Temescal in Oakland. I was tipped off about the neighborhood food scene, walkability and proximity to nature. Craigslist led me the bottom unit of a duplex built in 1910, complete with arched doorways, deck and grassy backyard, complete with avocado, passion fruit and plum trees where I still call home.

To consider Oakland a borough of San Francisco, likening it to a Brooklyn or Queens, is doing it a disservice. It’s its own thing! Condé Nast Traveler named Oakland the #1 food city of 2024, and the New York Times speculated it may be the next big “it” food city.

I’m excited to share my hit list of locally-owned restaurants that are worth your time, money, and yes, a trip across the bridge.