Top dining spots in the UCOP neighborhood
August 11, 2015 •
From Chinatown to Uptown, the sheer number of dining places around UCOP’s offices is overwhelming. Whether you’re new to UCOP or a veteran who just wants to get out of your regular rut, we’ve gathered some of our favorite places for lunch.
Café Gabriela: Best pulled pork sandwich and caprese salad, good people, great manifesto (988 Broadway)
Fountain Café: Outstanding salad bar (City Center)
Taylor’s Sausage:Â From spicy boudin to hot beef links to andouille sausage (907 Washington St.)
Ratto’s International Market and Deli: Too-big sandwiches and shopping for fancy foodstuffs while you wait. Go on a Friday, when Old Oakland Farmer’s Market is in full swing  (821 Washington St.)
Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana: Authentic Mexican for a special lunch or after-work cocktail (468 Eighth St.)
Tribune Tavern: Comfort food served in the former Oakland Tribune newsroom (401 13th St.)
Biryani Kabab: Tandoori, tikka, samosas and more (377 13th St.)
Shan Dong: Known for noodles and dumplings (328 10th St.)
Tao Yuen: Cheap and delicious (816 Franklin St.)
Napoleon Bakery:Â Egg tarts, BBQ pork buns, pineapple buns and more. Bring cash. (810 Franklin St.)
Gourmet Delight Seafood: AÂ dim sum feast for less than $10 per person (701 Webster)
New Gold Medal: The best won ton soup — little nuggets of meat and shrimp in a flavorful broth (389 Eighth St.)
Wonder Food Bakery:Â A variety of fresh baked goods; try the pineapple buns or pork buns. Bring cash. (340 Ninth St)
Cam Huong Deli:Â Great for cheap take-out lunch combos or bahn mi. Bring cash. (920 Webster St.)
Hawker Fare: Thai with a twist (2300 Webster St.)
TrueBurger: House-ground meat and a really good vegetarian burger (a fried portabello stuffed with smoked mozzarella), great fries and interesting shakes (146 Grand Ave.)
Uptown Café & Crepes: Lots of veggies as salads or crepes (410 21st St.)
Cathedral Café: The 3-salad option is tasty, fast and reasonably healthy. A bonus: The grassy area adjacent to the café and cathedral is an oasis for decompression, too. (2121 Harrison St.)
Getting there
Take advantage of the free Broadway shuttle, which runs from Jack London Square to Grand Avenue. Just look for a sign with the green “B on Broadway” logo. Buses run every 10 minutes during lunchtime, every 15 minutes at other times. See http://www.meetdowntownoak.com/shuttle.php for details.
What’s your favorite dining spot near the office? Leave a comment below to share your go-to spots.
Link thanks the following colleagues for their contributions to this list: Shawn Brick, Nina Costales, Katherine Edwards, Leland Espinosa, Blaze Farrar, Alec Rosenberg,Paul Schwartz, Katherine Tam, Â Liz Tamayo, Anne Wolf and Han Mi Yoon-Wu.Â
Great listing – lots of my personal favorites are already listed, but I want to throw a little additional love out to Taylor’s Sausages for their Italian Sausage. They absolutely NAIL the heart and soul of a perfect Italian Sausage. Try it out!
Try out Marhaba as well at 1437 Franklin St. Good indian cuisine. They have a pretty lavish lunch buffet. If you’re short on time, plan to be there by 11:30am. They are almost full by 12 noon.
At the risk of making an already popular restaurant even more crowded, I have to give props to Saigon Restaurant over by City Hall. I have been going there for many years and never tire of it! They have a HUGE menu and great outdoor seating.
To add to this great list; we love Aromas at 20th and Franklin. In the morning, I get an everything bagel with veggies, cream cheese and bacon–yummy. For lunch, I love the Gyro: lamb, beef, Tzatziki and hot sauce wrapped in a spinach tortilla. Excellent cookies as well. I’ve been going so long, they know my order and know me by name.
If anyone is in love with sandwiches like I am, give Deli Fresh a try. It’s on the corner of 22nd and Franklin, a couple of shops over from another great sandwich place, named Ike’s. It’s equally as good as Ike’s and quite a bit cheaper!
What a great list! I’ll add Uptown Juice Company- you’ll find incredible fresh daily cold-pressed juices and smoothies. They also started carrying products from Mission Heirloom- INCREDIBLE salads, bone broth, and so much more!
The list of restaurants in Oakland is always changing, so I thought I should recommend checking out the website http://www.meetdowntownoak.com and of course Yelp!
I also wanted to include my new favorite Bissap Baobab Oakland for traditional Senegalese food, at 381 15th St
I’d like to add Nature Vegetarian-just across Franklin. The owner has a great story as to why he has only vegetarian food at his restaurant (on the website http://naturevegetarianoakland.com/). The garnishes are beautiful and mostly edible. The owners are a lovely couple and the customer service is good. That’s my go-to place when someone offers to take me out to lunch (yes I’m a cheap date).
And allow me to add Phnom Penh House on 8th and Alice to the list. They serve amazing, low-priced Cambodian. It’s a bit of a trek from the Franklin building, but so very worth it. And the owners are extremely nice. Probably my favorite place in Oakland (and I live here!). Try the chicken or shrimp soup. Best ever.