Downtown Restaurant
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhoods: UC Campus Area, Downtown Berkeley2102 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 649-3810
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Mon 5:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Fri 5:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sat 5:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sun 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
127 reviews
Alameda, CA
"Great little place located on the island city. Fantastic Spaetzle dumplings. Great selection of German beers. Service is very good. Been…" read more »
114 Reviews for Downtown Restaurant
The bar can be great, depending on who's mixing--but the mushroom drink was awful.
Service is usually good, unless it's swamped, or there's another lame manager screwing things up.
They've made lots of changes recently on the menu--but I've enjoyed many nice duck confit salads, house potato chips, good salads, and other dishes before or after theatre.
That neon light is not really enjoyable. The decor kinda sucks.
I had dinner here on a Saturday evening. I found the service to be outstanding and the food was very tastey but not over priced. I had a four course meal with a wine paring. The aesthetics were pleasant. Additionally the location is just half a block north of the Downtown Berkeley BART station. Very easy access.
I've now been to this restaurant at least 10 times and can safely say that 8 out of 10 times, I've been incredibly disappointed with the service and kitchen timing. Here's a run-down of what you can expect:
- You'll be seated and ignored by the wait staff.
- When you manage to flag a wait person down and get some help, more often than not they'll forget to do what you asked for.
- Orders from the kitchen can take an incredibly long time. You've been warned. DO NOT go to this restaurant before a show at Berkeley Rep or the Greek, or your evening will be off to a very stressful start.
- Be prepared to police the wait staff to ensure that you receive all of the food you ordered. Most of the time, the kitchen will forget a few items, which is infuriating because those items will be on your bill.
The food itself is decent, the menu is interesting, and the wine list is OK, which has me believing that the concept is solid but the owners may just be permanently out of town or busy launching other restaurants. It really does feel like no one is in charge when you go there.
It's such a shame because the location is great and it'd be nice to have such a convenient place to get a quick bite or a great meal before a show. Perhaps the owners will read enough of these bad reviews, fire the staff and re-launch the place with a competent team.
Well... i just ate here and had to review. Since I'm becoming a yelpaddict.
We were seated quickly but waited 15 minutes for anyone to come to the table with water, or menus. then we ordered a bottle of wine and some apps. they came back and didn't have our wine and didn't actually bring a wine list, just told us they didn't have the wine we ordered. ugh. 5 minutes later she returned with the list and left.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The hostess dropped by and took our wine order. by that time i was in withdrawals and the gals i was with were rubbing my shoulders.
25 minutes in we got our wine, and slowly the mediocre food. We thought about another bottle, but lets go elsewhere to finish our night.
Will never return. Service would have saved it... but killed it.
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Downtown is a lovely restaurant in Downtown Berkeley (get it?). It's more known for its bar scene, which is well deserved, but the food there is quite excellent.
I went there with my family for a graduation dinner. We started off with calamari and champagne and i ended with the lamb. It was all very good, especially the champagne. I love champagne.
The aesthetics are nice with simple lines yet layered and warm so that you dont feel like the place is too pretentious. The service was decent, though our waitress was a bit off at times, making us wait unusually long. But overall, the price-quality-portion ratio of this restaurant is good. I would reccommend coming here with family or a date. If you come on the right night, you can catch live music as well.
Like a bad boyfriend, this is one of those places that consistently disappoints me. Sure, I keep coming back for more because I'm hoping this time it will be different--the food will be transcendent and the service pitch-perfect!
Of course, none of this ever happens here, but because of its close proximity to Berkeley Rep, I'll just continue to park it at the bar, order the soup and turn a blind eye.
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Every time I go here I can't believe how bad the service is--it has been consistently bad. Food really isn't memorable.
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Maybe I'm crazy, but I think the food here is genuinely delicious. I got the duck confit and the skin was perfectly crisp and despite the decent portions, I was craving just one more bite. I love that feeling! Another time I went, I ordered the braised lamb and if you put each ingredient in the dish on the spoon and ate it all at once, it was the perfect spoonful of goodness. The combo of flavors was amazing. I didn't want to share any with my bf, but I did cuz he's pretty cool. As for the service, no one rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't feel neglected, which other yelpers complained about. Plus there's a bar and live music on some nights!!
Ok..I've been here before for either dinner or a special invitation only kind of thing...but tonight was to hear music and have dinner. Rhythm Bound, an Albany High school jazz group was playing, and we decided to eat there to get a good seat. I'll say this: they get credit for presenting music without a cover if you buy some food or drinks. Unfortunately, that's all I can say that's raving....food is OK..but an entre shouldn't look like a small plate. Seriously, when you go out, you shouldn't be made to feel like you are on a diet....yes, it feels sort of like a bustling place to be.....at the bar....but I don't work in the downtown, so there's no other reason to go. sorry. Oh, the risoto was good
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Pretentious place with overpriced food and snooty inattentive service. Have had much better steak at a roadside grill in 29 Palms. Unimaginative menu, copycat California cuisine. Nice decor. Easy parking, with garage across the street. Never going back."
My friend is a cook here and have to say we got VIP treatment but that won't effect my review of the food or service.
We sit down, my buddy sends me these anchovy stuffed green olives she's been swearing were the sh*t. Well if you can imagine a coating of super fine bred crumbs and then just a brine explosion in your mouth. Yeah that was it, not so much for me but my friend was diggin' em. I had crostini with artichoke/cream cheese(?) spread, bocarones (oil packed anchovies) and pickled red onions. This was very good. My friend had a asparagus and mixed greens salad with bacon and a poached egg, no complaints here good stuff.
I had the chicken and potatoes, pretty standard stuff but they did it up really well, nicely roasted chicken and some rich butter mash. the jus/gravy from the chicken, I think had green garlic in it, that was damn good sauce, my only quib is that it was poured over the chicken, ruining the crispy skin that I knew it had...
Buddy had a Moroccan style braised lamb on polenta, it was good but I donno maybe kinda out of place in this restaurant. My theory is the lamb suffered from same-day-of syndrome. That's to say that when you cook a protein for that long you need to let it cool back down to relax the muscle tissue and suck all the juices back in. "Pot roast is always better the next day". I may be way off but I think that's why it was dry.
Desert was not memorable to me for 2 reasons... 1. I'm not a desert person and 2. We didn't have to order it, it just came so when I don't order something I tend to forget it. I remember that my guest though they were good and that I thought (with the one bite that I took) all the flavors were there.
Service had mixed reviews...it helps to have a starter sent to your table right as you sit down and half way through they set a martini in front of me and some bubbly in front of her (baller status again). BUT our server was a little odd...I didn't know what to make of her, you know the constantly asking "How is everything?" but then not clearing plates OR asking to take them to early. The icing on the cake was the fact that, I figured we would get a comp on our bill...but anytime I go to a friends place I tip 25% of what the bill SHOULD be not after the discount. This lady circled how much she had discounted off the bill. Um thanks like getting a free starter/round of drinks/desert wasn't something I noticed.
UGH it just put a damper on it all....and I actually took off a star off for that alone. So you can think of it was 2 out of 4 for the food. If you're in downtown Berkeley I'd sit at the bar and get a top notch martini and enjoy some great food from my girl on the line. I'm gonna have to give it another shot soon just because I know this place could be great.
The place was empty, and they said they couldn't seat us. We opted to sit at the bar instead. And good thing we did. The bartender was on fire, cracking jokes, singing to himself, and lightening our mood after that hostess.
Food was a bit over priced, but very tasty. We started with the calamari, which has this awesome chipotle sauce. Great. The salad was simple and tasty. I had the braised lamb, which was great. My girlfriend had the pork, which was also great.
Portions a little small and annoying hostess. Other than that, a great find.
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meh is right. i don't know if i'm just not ordering the right things but i've been here twice for lunch and so far, not so much....
the first time i was there, i had the pasta of the day. bad idea. i think it basically translated into let's put crap together that we need to get rid of. it was bland.
the second time i was there, i played it safe and only ordered a caesar salad. even that they couldn't do right!
why downtown...why?
apparently, the fish sandwich is to die for, maybe i'll give it a go next time - if there is a next time. oh and everyone loves the fried olives stuffed with anchovies - i think they're alright, they're craaaazy salty though....
So disappointing!
Great menu, bad execution.
I had the braised lamb... and when you think braised lamb, you think of meaty, hearty juicy. This was anything but... small little morsels of lamb and dry. It's brasied! How can braised be dry??
My boyfriend had the pork which was tasty, but really small portions...and still not as good as it could had been.
They have so much potential, but instead, just expensive and unsatisfying.
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Great location, generally pleasant service, above-average food and great drinks. If you are on a budget, skip it. If you are not overly concerned about your finances, enjoy the Downtown Margarita and have a good time.
This is a place to go if you are in downtown Berkeley with a group and can't decide where to go--and don't mind paying $30 plus/person.
My favorite way to enjoy Downtown is to sit at the bar and have a few drinks with a snack. Bartenders have always been friendly and pour generously.
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one word: salty. from the deep fried olives stuffed with anchovies and homemade potato chips--from which i supposed you'd expect copious amounts of salt--to the duck confit and steak, which you would not, i left wanting to scratch my tongue out. also, the ambiance was very confused. i kept wondering what they were trying to go for. intimate? accessible? classy? it really was none of these things, though service was great and everything was clean and all that. the meal was okay, but i probably wouldn't go back unless someone twisted my arm.
I actually haven't eaten here in a while, but i wanted to write a review because i'm new to yelp.
this honestly could have been a 5 star review, but i killed a star worth of brain cells since i've been there. everything looks better posthumously.
highlights: bartender "jen" - total sweetheart and quite the mixologist..... duck confit - not only cooked perfectly (moist and awesome, with a nice crisp skin) but also with a bit of seasoning that i am unaccustomed to with confit, maybe a pre-cooking dry rub of garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika... possibly old bay seasoning.... not sure... but AMAZING... pizzas are very good in the thin crust, high quality topping variety. I loved the outer crust burnt blistering effect from the raised dough... it's what pizza should be. open kitchen allows you to see some of the cooking action, though it also serves as a reminder that not all cooks are as pretty as they appear on tv.
downside: if you go too early, there is a theatre crowd that makes the entire staff too rushed... i always wished the ambient music was just a little more hip and a little less safe.
overall: don't go for early dinner, wait until a little later after the pre-theatre crowd has vanished. the chef is clearly a genius, and the staff executes his menu well, so bring a few people so you can all sample various dishes. if you sit at the bar, find "jen" and have her make you cocktails, after a couple of those, everything seems a little brighter.
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This place is pretty pricey for a Berkeley restaurant and looks nicer than the food actually is by far. The ambiance is nice with nice linens and it is a more upscale feel than the rest of the other places you could eat in downtown berkeley, but the food itself is not really worth it. I lived in berkeley for 4 years so I have tried a lot of restaurants there and this is one of the few I actually left somewhat disappointed....You could go many other places and get more bang for your buck
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"When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go... Downtown..."
Unfortunately, this was NOT the happy-go-lucky tune that I was singing in my head after we left Downtown Restaurant in Berkeley the other night. In fact, I'm struggling to justify the two stars I've assigned to this review. Let's recap:
First off, the decor. One word: Disjointed. A hybrid between cheap and cheesy. While some may consider hanging used plastic grocery bags from the ceiling in a wreath-like arrangement and illuminating them with pink neon lights "new age", I couldn't help but see a resemblance to bundles of cotton candy. It was straight-up weird. The theme was kindof minimalist neon nouveau meets IKEA apartment lighting. I really wasn't digging it. Especially the infusion of real bouquets of beautiful flowers mixed with artificial neon tulips. Odd.
Secondly, the service. Our waitress was clearly new, for she not only referred to several items on the menu as if she were once a server at Chili's (pushing the "up-sell" without really offering suggestions as to what was worth trying and what we might actually LIKE), but she also messed up on our bill, charging us for two of the drinks that we ended up sending back because they tasted so awful and another drink which never even came. I couldn't tell if she was trying really hard with us, or if she was just so preoccupied with learning the ropes that she really couldn't give my party of 6 the attention we deserved.
[Then again, perhaps I'm officially an SF dining snob? Have our standards risen so high because we're just so damned spoiled with all of the amazing restaurants we have immediate access to in San Francisco? Something to think about...]
Anywho, I wouldn't come back here anytime soon. Bad service, weirdness for the look and feel and so-so food. The only dish worth mentioning was the seasoned potatoes we shared as a starter. Everything else was, umm.. forgettable.
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It was really disappointing. For such a great location and what seemed like a promising menu, everything really fell short.
The decor was, well, weird. Neon signs and cheap party lights mixed with what's suppose to be a hip spot for the over 30 dinner crowd? Strange.
The specials sounded OK but our waitress was not very on top of things and we were told they were out of several items and that their usual weeknight evening menu specials were not available.
The food was overcooked, greasy, and unseasoned. I'll never try it again, especially with so many other great restaurants available in the area, and a new Rivoli (similar prices) opening on Shattuck just a few blocks away from Downtown.
This place is a tough one to rate. I have eaten here many times and stopped by for drinks and to listen to music. This is the only somewhat "swanky" place in the downtown area of Berkeley.
Since their menu changes it is hard to know whether you are going to hit or miss. I loved their ox tail stew the first time I went, but have not enjoyed a meal there as good as the first time.
The service is attentive and not fussy. It could be better. The music is good.
Overall it is a fairly decent place. Hence the 3 stars.
Came here with some friends after a few rounds of beer at Jupiter. Service was friendly and attentive.
Food was OK. We started with fried calamari, kumamoto oysters, and the patatas bravas. Calamari was OK, small portions, oysters were fresh, and the potatoes were food with a nice kick to them. Caesar salad was OK, a little bland for my taste. I had a rib-eye steak, which they prepared medium rare, as requested. Good and satisfying. Some of guys had the lamb, others, had the pork shoulder, others had various seafood dishes.
Overall, I thought it was priced pretty for what we got. We didn't get dessert, and some of the guys still hungry (Top Dog!).
A friend djs here from time to time and last night I stopped in to say "hello" and maybe even get a drink.
The "hello" was as far as I could get because the place smelled so horribly!! It was like, mildew-on-rugs-left-out-in-the-rain horrible. The stench was so awful! It smelled like mothballs or an old sponge.
I kept looking around to see if maybe there was a troll or a Bezerkeley standing by to explain the smell, but all I could see was a crap chandelier/wreath looking thing made of plastic shopping bags and no one coming by to ask us if we would like a table or a seat at the bar.
Hmmm. So, upon first impression- terrible reek in the building and bad hosting- I will never come back.
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The food could have been good because it looked good, but it lacked the finesse I look for. Louisiana prawns were ok, the two scallops in a red sauce without flavor was very disappointing and way too small. The presentation is good, but please start seasoning the food and hire professional waitstaff. They are off my list for now.
I encountered the most annoying prick of a waiter here.
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Okay, so there are strange paper mache objects dangling from the ceiling and the portions are a size my miniature schnauzer would sneeze at, but if you sit at the bar, you will receive great service and a few extra pieces of bread and butter.
I have to admit that I'm not willing to buy their $11 wine by the glass ever again, so the first words out of my mouth are always "I'll have your HOUSE chardonnay, please."
But the bartenders include a beautiful woman who will call you by name and continue to catch your eye when your subconcious is yearning for a second cocktail.
Then again, I find that these experiences happen on weeknights but probably not so often on weekends. I've been to Friday happy hour and had to yell to get someone to approach me, and in a classy paper mache decorated place, this is a little embarrassing.
The drawback would be going as a large group because when you see the portions lined up in all their petite glory you really do wonder where all of your money is going. And when you're sharing one piece of bread with three friends, that can get a little depressing.
But the risotto, the cheese plate, the salads, all excellent dishes. Just eat very, very slowly so your stomach thinks it's getting full.
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Food's delicious, bar's great, staff's hit or miss, and the crowd is entitled Berkeley snobs. For the most part.
Triple Threat alert!
The problem with having dinner with two friends who are quickly becoming avid (rabid?) Yelpers is that...you're all going to yelp a place pretty quickly afterwards.
Please refer to Chelsea's and Angie's reviews for the blow-by-blow...but suffice it to say, the service at Downtown was atrocious.
The menu was also very confusing. Instead of separating it up into the traditional "starters/mains", they separated it up by type of food - pasta, meat, seafood, etc. - sort of. This rule was not followed through all the way, which made it extra confusing. So when I ordered the scallops with zucchini ribbons, the waitress told me that it was a starter. Hmm. I ended up ordering it along with an artichoke salad that was pretty good - crispy artichoke leaves that you could eat like potato chips. The strawberry cosmopolitan with strawberry puree was delicious, along with the wine (Navarro Chardonnay from the Anderson valley - but see other notes about said wine being lukewarm).
There's no nice way to describe the service at Downtown - in fact, the only words that come to mind are "chaos", "disaster" and "confused".
It's really sad - the location is very convenient to the Berkeley Rep and the restaurant itself is a nice space. It's great to have a nice, popular restaurant in that part of Berkeley - otherwise known as "the section of Shattuck that time forgot".
I wavered between giving 2 and 3 stars. The food was quite good, but in the end, at those prices the service was unforgivable. If the prices were more moderate, they probably would have gotten the third star from me.
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Downtown has gone down hill. I couldn't agree more with another yelper here who really saw the same disparity I did when I went there last night. Like Elic S, I too used to love Downtown, but now it's Downlow.
Food is first and foremost, so I'll start there . . . um . . . underwhelmed is the word I would use here- and I think the service, i.e., the harried, awkward and miscalculated way the food was served really affected my appreciation of my meal. I mean, they forgot to bring me my salad. And never remembered. (And I forgot to check the bill to see if we were charged for my imaginary salad- Lisa! Please look at the receipt if you still have it) The oysters were good- solid mignonette and all. My seafood bolognese was okay, but please don't tell me that was housemade taglietelle, because it sure didn't taste like it. And well, maybe my salad would have been good too, if it had actually arrived. Dessert was the best part of the meal- banana cheese cake was to die for and the desserts of my dining partners looked drool-worthy.
Another tasty tid bit: they brought us our Chardonnay, late, after we were served our main platters, and it was barely cool. They said the reason the Chardonnay was late was because they were chilling it. Great. That really worked out. We got warm, tardy white wine, and it's too bad, because the wine was decent. Also, dear Angie was served the dessert menu while she was still midway through her risotto.
Also there was a confusing staggering of wait staff attending us, so that it was never actually clear who our dedicated server was, which probably accounts for the above mentioned blunders.
Okay, let's address the decor. Those neon signs have bastardized the former simple elegance of Downtown. The lighting and ambiance used to be so warm and calm: the lovely jazz guitarist that you used to play there has been replaced by trendy beat-heavy music (this from a house music lover). It's like the new management wanted to add a club vibe. Why oh why? Bad taste is so sad.
Okay, let's see . . . I think that sums it up. Oh, and one more thing: I ain't goin back. Ever.
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I went to Downtown for the first time tonight, with two friends, one of which was celebrating her birthday. We didn't have reservations and we showed up about 10 minutes before they served dinner, but after we waited a scant couple of minutes, they seated us.
Our waitress was just delightful, had a professional sense of humor, and picked up on the fact that it was a special occasion. Unfortunately, we couldn't have the strawberry drink that was on the menu because they ran out of strawberry puree, but we found other cocktails to suffice. They were delicious.
I had a pear salad with prosciutto and goat cheese, which was divine -- imagine the sweetness of the pear against the saltiness of the prosciutto. And my friends really enjoyed their entrees (the salmon and the roasted chicken, respectively) as well. The birthday girl ordered the 3 sorbets in the martini glass, and they served it with a birthday candle. Very sweet.
Exquisite, prompt service that doesn't interrupt. This is the way to do it. I hope to be back, and hope to make it part of my Berkeley Rep experience in the future.
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Downtown is a good meeting spot because of its location and layout. I think it would also be an ideal spot for a date. They have a full bar, and an interesting menu, right in the center of all the action in Berkeley.
(What action there may be available, live music, theatre, etc...)
I normally go just for drinks, but the food has been good whenever I have eaten there. I like their servers as well. I have appreciated the bartenders and the food servers because they are friendly, pleasant and attentive.
The drinks are a bit on the expensive side. I mean, for $12-$14 I am expecting a magic potion, not just a cocktail.
This restaurant and bar has lots of potential. They have great staff, appetizing foods, and good drinks, but the art! Come on guys, you seem way too smooth for plastic bag chandeliers.
I remember coming here a few years ago with my gf for valentines. For what its worth, I do not know if this place is any better than how I remembered it. The food here is mediocre at best and pretty pricey for what you get. We came here because we were both CAL students and really did not have the ease and flexibility to get into the city. Trust me, if you are considering coming here vs. going to a legit rest. in SF, I'd go to SF. Chances are its a better choice for not only better food but just better priced.
I would give this place 2.5 stars actually, but the ambiance bumps it up a little bit. Just slightly. It's nice for a place in this part of downtown Berkeley, but there are a few places close by that are a lot better (Venus, La Note, etc.)
I got the ravioli with squash and goat cheese. Whoever thought of this combination for ravioli must have been crazy, b/c it was one of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life. Not to mention the dish was like $16 and there were 4 pieces of ravioli. My sister got the brick oven roasted chicken, which was actually pretty good.
I never complain about places being overpriced, but since my food was so bad, I have to say this place is overpriced. Plus, the atmosphere isn't good enough to make up for the mediocre food like some of the other places. The service was forgettable.
I will not be back.
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I had a fabulous time at Downtown, and for all of the courses that we ordered, it was very reasonable. Even though we did not have a reservation, we were promptly seated at a cozy, intimate table in the backroom which I would recommend since it has a more "upscale" vibe compared to the main room where the bar is located. To start, we ordered a delicious salad with little gem lettuce and pears as well as some triple cream cow's milk cheese which was also very good and a steal at $4. I decided to order the brick oven roasted chicken for my main entree which was moist and juicy and paired nicely with the thyme jus.
To accompany our meal, we also had a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand which was once again a good bargain for the quality of the wine. To top things off, we had the strawberry shortcake and a peach tart which were also both excellent although the strawberry shortcake was a little bit more on the plain side. Downtown is an excellent choice if you want a delicious meal and an upscale atmosphere without having to spend big bucks. I look forward to making another visit to Downtown soon!
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The food is okay. Just ordered a couple dishes in the bar area. I have to say the ambiance is terrible. As soon as you walk in you can smell it...it smells....stale, like when you walk into a cheap Chinese restaurant and you can smell that years of vaporized cooking oil has stuck to the walls. I expect that smell in divey hole in the wall, but not when entrees are in the $25 range.
The main dining room is decorated with different furniture than in the bar area, but this place definitely has an identity crisis going on....as can be seen on the light fixtures on the ceiling above the bar.....literally covered by used plastic shopping bags. It's not artistic at all. It's just like someone strung up their pile of plastic bags...you can see it---target, walgreens taped it to the light and voila....artsy light. I had a hard time enjoying myself with a pile of trash bags above me.
I had a pate plate...3 different pates were piled on a little plate with no effort at presentation. The plate itself was like some cheap, scratched up ikea crap. The pate was ok...not great, not bad, but it came with only 4 little slices of toasted bread. I had to ask the waiter for some bread.
Sorry not to write more about the food, but I couldn't get over how bad the entire dining experience was...I mean if you're going pay in this price range...presentation and ambiance should be important. I recommend going to "Wood Tavern" in Rockridge for similar menu, better quality, better plates and silverware...and most importantly a better time.
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Nice setting for a restaurant in downtown Berkeley. Came for lunch, very fast service. I had the Duck Confit, meat was tender and skin was crisp, nicely seasoned too. Came with squash which I did not care much about. Portions are on the smaller side and prices are a little higher than average at this semi higher scale place. They change their menu weekly which gives loyal customers new experiences each time. Glad I tried it but probably won't come back voluntarily.
We go there occassionally for a before-the-rep snack and drink, but I always leave, well, exploited.
Dining room: OK, but a little tired and dingy in a 90's sort of way.
Food: Expensive, spotty, unreliable, expensive
Service: Great, or not, sometime avec attitude. So Berkeley.
Drinks: Expensive! I'm a Zuni regular and they don't have the cojones to charge $12+ for rather ordinary drinks.
Overall: Expensive! I don't mind expensive, generally, but when the food or service is uneven, miniscule, good but not great, toooo precious, I'll pass.
On my first visit, execution was competent but unremarkable. For the money, both food and service were decent. I've had better, but there was nothing wrong with it.
My second visit was so atrocious that I am unlikely to return. I'll spare you the gory details, but multiple staffers made a whole series of mistakes with long delays to boot. Every last food item we ordered was incorrect in some way. Through it all, I managed to remain polite and even cordial to the staff. For my trouble, the staff was rude, conveying the impression that all of their mistakes were somehow our fault.
I recognize that food service is hard work and that some mistakes are bound to happen. However, the sheer volume of mistakes and the poor customer service that followed make it hard for me to chalk my experience up to chance.
My friend and I left exhausted, upset, and still hungry. Dear Downtown, I would like my evening back please.
What's the fuss? I hadn't been to Downtown before last night and after reading the Yelp reviews had loooow expectations.
When the waiter suggested the vodka martini with Grand Manier and champagne I gave him an uncharacteristically dirty look and told him he'd put me off cocktails for the evening; he threatened to bring me the drink on the house just to prove his point. He did, which I thought was funny and personable, and it was delicious. My date and I agreed that we could order a pitcher and two straws and skip dinner, but we didn't. I had wine, he had beer, and we both took sips from the fancy drink (truly the best cocktail ever).
Anyway, we shared the calamari appetizer, which I admit was room temperature and came out with our entrees- but the aioli was really nice. The crispy duck with figs and frisee was fantastic, with crispy savory skin and meat falling off the bone; my date's pork shoulder was also really tender and flavorful.
Date had a stout that was good (all stouts LOOK good, I always want a stout when someone near me orders one, and I always think of the line from the Tom Waits song: "Yes, I'll have another stout"...
Let's see... the water did come about 15 minutes after we asked for it, with an apology about clean glasses, but I wasn't bent out of shape about it. Overall it wasn't the best dining experience (see Salt House) ever, but it was okay.
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We used to love Downtown. What happened?! Apparently it's under new management, and that ins't a good thing. The quality of the food has gone way down, the menu is confusing (our poor waiter had to spend 5 minutes explaining the hodgepodge of ordering options), the atmosphere and decor are just bizarre (bad neon art and eerie green lighting in the central ceiling). Worst of all was the food, which had the quality of reheated leftovers. A side order of green beans seemed to have been poured right out of a can; a plum tart tasted as though it had been made with Bisquick. We were sad because we've had so many lovely pre-theater dinners there. Downtown? Downhill!
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