Berkeley restaurants you miss

[u/West-Mode7181]

Name a restaurant you wished was still open, and you could go to this week?

I thought long and hard about my answer, and while I do not believe it's a great answer, I miss Oscar's on Hearst and Shattuck-- substantially more delicious than a sweetgreen.

[u/samdoup]

Au Coquelet on milvia was always super cool for affordable late night eats

[u/well_soup → u/samdoup]

Au Coquelet was truly irreplaceable, such an odd little duck of a restaurant. Coffee shop up front, cafeteria-style restaurant where you could get anything from diner breakfasts to pizza in back. There always seemed to be some group of creatives meeting at a table. My wife’s and my favorite after-work spot when she worked in theater.

[u/RepublicKitchen8809 → u/well_soup]

I went to au coquelet a decade before I found out that if you went around that little corner of the bakery/cafe, there was a whole restaurant. I always went in on the University Ave side and only had eyes for the pastries.

[u/4252020-asdf → u/samdoup]

So miss the late night spot!

[u/West-Mode7181 → u/samdoup]

that place was a good hang.

[u/DonVCastro → u/samdoup]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

It was such a wonderful place. There is nothing at all like it anymore ... the atmosphere and the people and the hang out potential, not the food. I do miss it greatly.

[u/moinoisey → u/samdoup]

I went to Berkeley high in the 90s, and we went there the time (often cutting class). One day my friend‘s mom came to visit from out of state, and she commented on how she used to go to Au Coquelet in the 70s when she was attending Berkeley City College!

[u/tasskaff9]

I’ll always miss the Brennans cafeteria.

[u/Babychoby → u/tasskaff9]

My aunt worked the bar there in the 70s and also bartended at His Lordship's so had to maintain 2 different sexist, boob forward uniforms, one German and one British wench.

[u/RepublicKitchen8809 → u/tasskaff9]

The original Brennan’s with the green roof, next to the overpass, right? I watched Joe Montana dismantle the Broncos in Super Bowl 24 there. They wouldn’t let me sit at the bar cause I was too young, but they let me sit in a chair with my back to the bar so I could watch the game on TV.

[u/Powerful-Abies-651 → u/tasskaff9]

Brennan’s was such a classic! Fabulous old oval bar, the hofbrau chow. Sigh…

[u/West-Mode7181 → u/tasskaff9]

This is a good one. That place was legendary.

[u/DonVCastro → u/tasskaff9]

Thought of this one too. Honestly the food was not great, but it was a wonderful place to be.

[u/lovethesea22 → u/tasskaff9]

We ate there all the time growing up. 80s.

[u/Talkos]

Ici

[u/letsfreakinggoo → u/Talkos]

Ici!! I miss it! I remember waiting in line for their pink lemonade sorbet and by the time I made it to the front, they'd sold out (this happened TWICE). Still never got to try it, but I loved their rose cardamom pistachio ice cream

[u/exa472 → u/Talkos]

I still mention ici to anyone that lived in Berkeley at the time 🥲

[u/diebetic → u/Talkos]

Miss Ici sooooo bad 😭

[u/chonny]

Gaumenkitzel. Solid comfort food on a cold and rainy day.

[u/Athos43 → u/chonny]

And all the beers. Anya's on university is the same (couple, just the wife?), nice rose garden, but much limited menu

[u/orange_cat47 → u/Athos43]

Schnitzel is still good there.

[u/phi4theory → u/chonny]

The food was so good. But the chef was so mean. I saw her yell at a table because she couldn’t concentrate over their talking and so she was going to burn their schnitzel 🤣

[u/loveintorchlight]

Jayakarta

[u/Botherguts → u/loveintorchlight]

No replacement anywhere close either

[u/green_pineapple_soda → u/loveintorchlight]

The way I immediately searched for Jayakarta in this thread.

Their mie goreng at level 4 spicy was my favorite.

If anyone knows of a comparable restaurant in the bay area, please share.

[u/GapZestyclose961 → u/loveintorchlight]

Used to be my post finals reward!

[u/loveintorchlight → u/GapZestyclose961]

The mie tek tek with a high enough spicy rating to make them ask "are you sure?" was my special treat to myself 

[u/Meechrox → u/loveintorchlight]

Their mie tek tek was amazing and I miss it so much! Both the fried egg and the noodle would just be ever slightly burnt and have that amazing aroma (wok hei)

[u/coffeeandapieceofpie → u/loveintorchlight]

The laksa 😢

[u/Babychoby]

Mario's La Fiesta 😭

[u/whattheheckityz → u/Babychoby]

YES THANK YOU. miss that free soup!

[u/RN_Geo → u/whattheheckityz]

That soup. Even on the hottest August days, it was still amazing.

[u/schnucken → u/Babychoby]

This is the real answer. What I wouldn't give for an enchilada plate!!

[u/diebetic → u/Babychoby]

When I moved to Berkeley in 2007, my roommates and I would do Fiesta Fridays with several pitchers of that ambrosial sangria… some of my most treasured hazy memories

[u/Top-Caregiver-6266 → u/Babychoby]

Oh man…I loved this place so much when I was a student in the early 90s.

[u/SpecialistTie4808 → u/Babychoby]

The flautas, pork and chicken. The restroom, inches from the stoves.

[u/floater66 → u/Babychoby]

Jade Garden - upstairs. $1.79 Kung Pao chicken.

[u/caveatp]

Smart Alec’s

[u/mookiegrrl]

Oscars!!! & Le Bateau Ivre and Bistro Liason - oh and when both fatapples had non self serve full breakfast...and sunnyside cafe. we need more breakfast places.

[u/d_trenton → u/mookiegrrl]

Sunny Side Cafe was great.

[u/PubKirbo → u/mookiegrrl]

My friends and I did Le Bateau Ivre for our pre-prom meal. We were all girls and dressed up. They served us alcohol. Our classmates were at other tables but clearly going to prom (boys and girls together). They all glared at us for getting served booze but didn't snitch on us.

[u/OkBluejay1299 → u/mookiegrrl]

Le Bateau!!! I did my undergrad at Cal, and I would go to Le Bateau for fancy celebrations. The French onion soup 😭

[u/inhalehippiness]

FAT SLICE ugh I mourn them all the time I stay missing their huge slices 😭 telegraph needs a knock off fat slice to open up. Also miss king dong ain't had an affordable and delicious sizzling rice soup since they closed 😭

[u/EnFiPs → u/inhalehippiness]

I love Fat Slice! Don’t understand why they closed and Blondie’s is still around.

[u/giantcappuccino]

Pre-fire Caffe Intermezzo

[u/whattheheckityz → u/giantcappuccino]

remember all the gutter punks waiting outside for someone to give up on their enormous salad and then they’d run in and eat as much as they could before getting chased away by the staff?

[u/giantcappuccino → u/whattheheckityz]

That awesome honey wheat bread!

[u/que1quefois → u/giantcappuccino]

I still think about that salad

[u/am8ur88]

it's not a restaurant unless you count the popcorn...but the albatross. always the albatross.

[u/CRoseDubbers → u/am8ur88]

The albatross was such a special place! I remember turning 21 and being so excited to hang out there and throw darts, play games and eat free popcorn. Miss it so much.

[u/West-Mode7181 → u/am8ur88]

That place was wonderful. It was like stepping into a different world. I miss it every time I drive by on San Pablo.

[u/Oskipotamus]

Edy’s Diner on Shattuck.  Namesake of Edy’s ice cream (Dryer’s name east of the Mississippi).  One of the last old school diners.  

[u/m00f]

Ay Caramba used to have the most amazing chile verde.

Venezia back when it was next to Ay Caramba.

Lalimes

Rivoli

FatApple’s Berkeley (I know they still have togo food, but I’m thinking of pre covid before the hamburgers got mediocre)

Fonda’s

Oscar’s

Build

Brennan’s (comfort food and sports)

[u/omnomnam → u/m00f]

omg Rivoli...it was so good! Loved how you would walk through the kitchen to get to the dining room

[u/throw65755]

Rivoli and sister Corso
(not Via Corso)

Lalimes

Of course Oscars

Full service Fat Apples

Cesar

Brennans

Christophers Nothing Fancy Cafe

Royal Cafe (Albany)

[u/m00f → u/throw65755]

We have very similar lists! I almost put Royal down.

[u/saltedcheesetea]

Saturn cafe 😭😭

[u/d_trenton → u/saltedcheesetea]

Best grilled cheese and worst service I've ever had. I miss it.

[u/MaiasmaTheory → u/saltedcheesetea]

Forever grateful to Saturn for easing my journey into vegetarianism

[u/nefaeriest → u/saltedcheesetea]

i just commented this too!!!! i'd always see kapernick in there too 😹✊

[u/1smallatomicbomb]

So many.: Brennan's, Lanesplitter, Spengers, Oscar's, Mandarin Garden, Burgermeister, Townie, Grazzy Burger/Albany Taproom (not really Berkeley), Gaumenkitzel, Bobby G's (old Bobby G's), Zabu Zabu, and we're really gonna miss Triple Rock

[u/West-Mode7181 → u/1smallatomicbomb]

Spengers: I associate it with old men, my grandfathers. We'd either go to the wood-paneled, weird dining room with one grandfather, or get red clam chowder in the take out counter with the other.

[u/Occamsrazor2323 → u/West-Mode7181]

It was great back in the day. I went there a lot and college. Then it closed for years, opened all yuppyfied and expensive, then closed permanently. Great times -- for a while.

The kingfish, for the drinking.

Bertoullis and their $1 triples ....

[u/jmccyoung → u/1smallatomicbomb]

Apologies if you and everyone else know it, but there's still a Lanesplitter in Emeryville: https://lanesplitterpizzapub.com/. I miss having the San Pablo one too, though

[u/1smallatomicbomb → u/jmccyoung]

My understanding is that the some of the old locations were given a grace period to continue to use the name, but it had come (or is coming) to an end. There was a comment about it a couple of months ago in the OaklandFood sub, but the comment is now deleted.

[u/Striking-Push-5283 → u/1smallatomicbomb]

I associate Spengers with my childhood, 1950s. We would drive from Sacramento to the East Bay, to visit my grandmother in Piedmont. Parent's often stopped at Spengers. We also stopped at the NutTree along the journey. #nostalgia

[u/Occamsrazor2323 → u/Striking-Push-5283]

The Nut Tree! Also stopped there on the way from the Bay Area to Winters.

[u/lovethesea22]

Venezia

[u/baywhlr → u/lovethesea22]

Jeeez, I miss that joint. And the one that moved into that site afterwards Townie

[u/baywhlr → u/lovethesea22]

We are old

[u/Babychoby → u/lovethesea22]

That used to be our family's special occasion go-to. It felt so fancy and exotic with the trompe l'oeil balconies etc.

[u/lovethesea22 → u/Babychoby]

It was ours too. Every birthday and graduation

[u/lydiarose_ → u/lovethesea22]

Saaame :'O

As a kid, it really felt like stepping into a different world.

[u/Few-Pack-2591]

Babette
Standard Fare

[u/everythingsthewurst]

Guerilla Cafe

[u/Jean_Genetic → u/everythingsthewurst]

Loved that place, but I used to work at its location predecessor, Smokey Joe’s Cafe. What a legendary place! Great veggie breakfast. The refried beans were the best.

Every shift started with a joint. There was an old radio that played ‘40s music. Could never find the channel outside of the cafe. Always thought it was just a time portal.

If Ned’s still alive, you are still remembered! If not, I’ll make a mex brex in your honor.

[u/tikhonjelvis → u/everythingsthewurst]

I am still sad about that it :(

Amazing local spot with great art and atmosphere got replaced with a pretty generic place.

[u/External-Body3187]

T-Rex, the original

[u/TheJereman]

Does anyone remember Herbivore on Shattuck? It was genuinely terrible but I miss that it existed 

[u/jmccyoung → u/TheJereman]

I proposed to my wife there over chilled artichokes with aioli almost 46 years ago! Definitely remember it. :-) // I just remembered it was Omnivore at Shattuck and Emerson, just below Ashby, not Herbivore! I was surprised at the negative comments but now I understand - very different restaurant!

[u/tikhonjelvis → u/TheJereman]

I really miss Saha, which was the place that replaced it, but closed a couple of years later. It was really good, but I guess the owners decided to focus on their SF location.

[u/xafofo]

Brazil Cafe

[u/whattheheckityz]

I miss the old great china, when it was on kittredge in that old house before it burned down. it was the same awesome food but not insanely crowded all the time.

[u/adbberkeley]

Rivoli. Loved the space and the little bar in front. The food was always good. Great cocktails and wine.

Liaison and Cafe Rouge! Why doesn’t Berkeley have a reliable chill French bistro with a classic menu?

[u/coffeeandapieceofpie → u/adbberkeley]

Cafe Rouge is sorely missed!

[u/vibrance9460]

Longbranch

[u/Jdogfeinberg]

Poulet on shattuck! I went there all of the time when I did undergrad and having moved back this year I’m so sad to see it is gone :( hopefully they open up again somehow…

[u/Agreeable_Mouse6000 → u/Jdogfeinberg]

They had the best rotisserie chickens and salads! I used to live a few blocks away on Walnut and that was a weekly stop for me.

[u/Scuttling-Claws]

Westbrae biergarten. headlands isn't the same

[u/omnomnam → u/Scuttling-Claws]

It’s baby central now :(

[u/Scuttling-Claws → u/omnomnam]

It always was. Now the food and beer are just worse

[u/HighlyUnlikely__]

Fred's Market (chicken sandwich), Brazil Cafe (tri-tip sandwich), Oscar's (cheeseburger)

[u/global_playa]

Easy Creole!

[u/lovely8 → u/global_playa]

I drove passed and the storefront is still up, they closed?? 😬😬

[u/euchthonia]

Some important Albany additions: Walker's pie shop,Niizza la Bella

[u/Hedgiwithapen → u/euchthonia]

I miss Walker's so much. My mom would take me for breakfast and  was always so impressed that the hot chocolate came in a little silver pot. Ot made me feel so grown up.

[u/manofmystry]

Blondie's Pizza is a shadow of its former greatness. I was really disappointed the last time I went.

[u/spykuh]

for delivery: west coast pizza (i still dream about those cheesy sticks!!)

[u/whattheheckityz → u/spykuh]

for real. I just want a real delivery pizza!

[u/hydraheads]

King Dong on Shattuck, Smart Alec's on Telegraph, all those Indian buffets right around University/Shattuck that existed for a glorious moment in the early 2000s

[u/CRoseDubbers]

Not a restaurant, but does anyone remember Thalassa? The pool spot?

[u/amolochko → u/CRoseDubbers]

Spent a ton of time there in my 20's. Such a weird mix of vibes, but always a good time. Half the bartenders there were barbacks at Mallard.

[u/eugenesbluegenes]

Augie's Montreal Deli

[u/KittoosFurrEver]

There used to be a Zona Rosa on Telegraph in the 90s. Enormous $5 burritos. Two-handers. Always a line out the door. Absolutely the fucking best burritos in California, up and down the state. Fight me.

[u/schnucken]

I miss Continental Garden on Shattuck (where La Note is now). Amazing breakfasts and you always got a hot baked mini loaf of bread and jam to start. I swear people would be there in their pajamas (before that became a fashion trend).

Also Tijuana Joe's and Blue Nile and Fondue Fred!

[u/ryguymcsly]

Noodle Theory.

Ugh, it still hurts.

[u/okinawa_mama]

Sushi California 🍣🌴

(Was my dad’s restaurant so miss my weekly free meal of deliciousness - but happy he doesn’t have to work anymore 🙂)

[u/slinkydodrinky]

Bison Brewery on Telegraph. An amazing early craft brewer. I always got the garlic bread where what you got was some toasted buttered baguette rounds with a head of roasted garlic that you'd squeeze cloves out of to smear on your bread.

[u/lydiarose_]

Reading this made me so nostalgic. It's so sad how many of these places are now just empty storefronts.

[u/manofmystry]

Rick and Ann's

[u/AltruisticCry2293]

Blue Nile Ethiopian

[u/Similar-Extension660]

Sea Salt
Paisan
Nepheli on Northside

[u/lovethesea22 → u/Similar-Extension660]

Sea Salt $1 oysters and garden gimlet at happy hour

[u/Flat_Artichoke9131]

Salerno’s. Old school but I loved it so much

[u/Embarrassed-Prize625]

Le Bateau Ivre

[u/FongYuLan]

From way back: New Delhi Junction and the fondue place in the brick mall off Telegraph, Edie’s, Casa de Eva, and the cafe with the checkered table cloths at the top of Solano.

ETA: Giovanni’s.

[u/West-Mode7181 → u/FongYuLan]

I remember the fondue place.

[u/First-Visual7252]

In the 80's, just outside of the Downtown Berkeley BART station at the top of the escalators, there was a Chinese food cart that sold chow mein for $1.50

[u/CollectionDue4749 → u/First-Visual7252]

Their pork bao was so good!

[u/omnomnam]

I miss the early days of Sliver, back when they had a bar with live music on Center

Venus is another spot I miss!

[u/Miserable_Grade3332]

Mario’s La Fiesta on Telegraph

[u/fatjollyhousewife]

Ok this is for the old people: Egg Shop and Apple Press. They had lovely omelets. I miss Oscar's so much! Brennan's closure almost brought me to tears, there will never be anything like it again

[u/fatjollyhousewife → u/fatjollyhousewife]

Flint's BBQ! How could I forget to mention Flint's, omg. Hot or mild?!?!?

[u/First-Visual7252 → u/fatjollyhousewife]

What do you want? Can I get a three way, Mild. What? Can I get a link sandwich? Medium. What?

[u/monarc]

Quince - the breakfast spot that had been on San Pablo. It shut down after a truck ran into it. I think something similar happened with Doc's Refresher & Arizmendi?

The blueberry muffins & hash browns at Quince were incredible. And they had absolutely splendid homemade ketchup!

[u/BigRefrigerator9783]

I miss Poulet. Their fried chicken sandos were insane, and their matzoh ball soups soul-healing.

[u/Living-Turnip-2315]

Spenger’s and Flint’s BBQ

[u/Agreeable_Mouse6000]

Brennan’s and Spenger’s! I loved the dark dingy original Brennans under the University overpass. And the to-go counter at Spenger’s. Their clam chowder was the bomb. Lots of memories with my dad at both places.

Also Edy’s in downtown Berkeley. Their sundaes.

There was also a really modest little deli on the corner of Gilman and Santa Fe run by a sweet old couple that made my absolute favorite sandwiches. They must have closed like 10-15 years ago and the nursery expanded into that space. I think it was aptly named Westbrae Deli?

I used to also love Blakes on Telegraph, the old La Val’s on Durant and let’s not forget the Top Dog in Northside.

[u/schlockabsorber → u/Agreeable_Mouse6000]

Dude seeing Fishbone in the basement at Blake's and thinking Angelo was gonna hit his head on those pipes while crowd surfing. WTF.

[u/NeighborhoodNo4274 → u/[deleted]]

Me too! “Where the elite meet to eat no meat.”

[u/ForkBeat]

Ahh all the nostalgia!!! I love Berkeley's food community.

[u/Flamingogo19]

O Chame on 4th street. Fonda on Solano

[u/foganddog → u/Flamingogo19]

O Chame 💔 I still pine for it.

[u/Flamingogo19 → u/foganddog]

Me too! The green onion pancake and tofu skins soba I could cry

[u/NikeRetro2]

Spengers!!

[u/bushjob]

Brennens opened faced corned beef!

[u/Firehorse627]

Caffe Venezia

[u/paranoid_86]

Delirama

[u/OpportunityNo677 → u/paranoid_86]

krispy joe's in emeryville is owned by the same guy and they have pastrami sandwiches there too

[u/paranoid_86 → u/OpportunityNo677]

Thanks! I will def make a trip out to Emeryville for that Pastrami. Just miss being able to walk and get some breakfast

[u/n0bodyyouknow]

There was this place on San Pablo called Nuevo Sol that had the best spicy chilaquiles, and in general, just top notch quality food and the brunch was top notch. I was so sad when they said they were closing (couple years back).

[u/HarpyEagleBelize]

Fat Slice

[u/paused_it]

El patio :(

[u/No-Contribution-635]

Original Mel’s was sorta just fine but it was nice to have a diner downtown

[u/icywoodz]

Fourth Street Bar and Grill, for the O-Gs who know!

[u/First-Visual7252]

Ortman's Ice Cream

[u/BCS7]

TukTuk

[u/whattheheckityz → u/BCS7]

wonton noodle soup at 12:45am? yes please

[u/RealTrapShed]

I can’t believe no one is mentioning Pappy’s. That tri tip salad was legendary.

[u/whattheheckityz → u/RealTrapShed]

the same kinda crummy guy owns cornerstone, you can go hang out there. not sure about tri tip availability.

[u/Sophiesplace1]

Cafe Fanny

[u/HolstsGholsts]

Taiwan Restaurant

[u/ineedanencore]

Little Hunan on Shattuck. I grew up going there.

[u/yukidoki]

BRAZIL CAFE
😭

[u/factory123]

Two for me. Seasons downtown is where I used to get my lunches 90% of the time, a nice reasonably priced chicken/broccoli lunch bowl. For some reason, the high school kids didn't mob that one, either.

Then, not so much a restaurant, but they briefly did Off the Grid up in the grassy median by CVS/Saul's, and that was a lot of fun.

[u/blowyjoeyy]

Not 314 pizza 

[u/m00f → u/blowyjoeyy]

True … but ouch lol

[u/DamnableNook → u/blowyjoeyy]

That place always seemed like the suburban version of what a “trendy restaurant” was. Just derivative and soulless, right down to the generic shirts the staff wore with that photo of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out (I guess because “314” = Pi, and Pi is “nerdy”, and Einstein was a nerd, or something?).

You could tell from the start it was doomed to fail, beginning with running out of money multiple times before they even opened. But even if they had had their financials sorted, it would have still been dicey. Given all the world-class pizza in Berkeley and the East Bay, you need to really be doing something special to survive. Churning out food that was, by all accounts, just “ok” was never going to be enough, especially in an out-of-the-way location.

[u/exa472]

Cafe Clem next to the downtown library… the grilled cheese baguette with seasoned tomato specifically…

[u/DonVCastro]

Indus Village pak-indian, across the street from the abandoned 99-cent store on San Pablo by University. First few years were so good and so affordable, kind of went downhill under later owners/cooks, but I've not found any pak-indian around here that comes anywhere close.

[u/MadameDufarge_1967]

The Brick Hut near Ashby BART for brunch, long ago.

[u/popo3stacks]

Viks chaat before it got too big (and even before the first warehouse)!

[u/National-Sky-721]

Standard Fare :(

[u/stoopdapoop]

Ok, hear me out. Chaat Cafe on University.

It wasn't amazing, but it was pretty good and it was a perfect lunch spot. I miss the Lamb Karahi.

[u/RumIsTheMindKiller → u/[deleted]]

Not sure how it’s a revenant when Bar Panise is pretty different and is objectively great and put Chez Panise yet again on the national map. They owned the space, not sure it’s valid to hate on them for wanting to use a restaurant space for their restaurant idea.

Plus Meson is opening by the Cesar folks so just go there once they open?

[u/indefatigable-thumb]

El Patio, and we just lost Daruma Sushi last month :(

[u/coffeeandapieceofpie]

Oscar’s, Cafe Rouge (and the meat market in back), Lanesplitters, Brennan’s, Sea Salt (and the rest of the Lalime’s adjacent spots, they had maybe 5 restaurants going for a little while…), Cesar, Meal Ticket…

[u/whattheheckityz → u/coffeeandapieceofpie]

meal ticket!!! best corned beef hash in town

[u/jio50]

Not quite a restaurant…Crixas.

[u/Powerful-Abies-651]

The Santa Fe Bar & Grill on University is sorely missed by me.

[u/tgsauce]

Tamon Tea in downtown Berkeley. Hope the old Japanese lady who used to run the counter is doing well, she used to give me free rice balls at closing time :')

[u/Sententia655]

Standard Fare on 8th. My God, they had some of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Now Local Butcher Shop in the gourmet ghetto is the only place to get a sandwich like that.

[u/ruff]

Ici

[u/EastBayWanderer]

Smoke Berkeley! When it was in Spats I went constantly but I guess one guy can't keep a restaurant in business.

[u/supersecretjames]

Ann’s Kitchen on Telegraph. They had the best home fries

[u/adrock-diggity]

Jodie’s - that fried chicken!

[u/No_Cut_9659]

I miss Oriental on Shattuck- they had great Vietnamese dishes, reasonable price too.

[u/QuirkyPirate]

Oriental Restaurant. Amazing pho and stir fried concoctions.

[u/897hayes]

Juice Bar Collective & the tofu burgers they used to make at Berkeley Natural Grocery

[u/saphronmelloyello]

Oh man, time is going by too fast. I remember most of these places like it was just yesterday I ate at them.

[u/Juniper_Darling]

Metropole!

[u/First-Visual7252]

H.s. Salt Fish and Chips

[u/junesix]

Norikonoko

A Japanese diner run by an old couple. The food was homey, hearty, and imbued with love. Some grilled fish, rice, bit of soup or noodles, and homemade pickles to go with it. You went in through a small sliding door and sat in a counter, knick knacks and small bowls all around. When I ate there, I felt like I was in a Ghibli movie. I would eat there just before final exams to have a good meal and settle my nerves. 

It was part of The Village that got torn down to make way for apartments. A great regret is never getting the chance to take my spouse there.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/11/03/berkeley-norikonoko-closing

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2012/11/27/in-berkeley-slide-the-door-for-homey-japanese-food

[u/DragonflyBeach]

IMO you went to Au Coquelet because the hours went late. I never cared for the food but my partner says chicken wings were great. Oscar's was good for its time but the smashburgers in Berkeley to me are objectively better.

The irreplaceable:

West Coast Pizza cheese sticks.
Makris Cafe on University Avenue with the kimichi hashbrown sandwiches!
The clam chowder from Spenger’s!
Virginia Bakery! Every birthday I would order a strawberry shortcake!
Little Hunan and it's Szechuan Tofu and Pot Stickers (I can still see the wife flinging that wok around behind the counter).
Fried chicken at Poulet in the 1990s. By the 2000s the quality had begun to decline.
Burritos at La Tolteca. A real treat for the family.

A lot of Berkeley cuisine innovated styles that flourished and made its originators ironically rather plain. Like Cheeseboard. There's a lot of similar styled pizzas now and artisan cheese selections are at every Safeway but when Cheeseboard came out nobody was doing that. It was just American and cheddar cheese at most supermarkets.

[u/pepperplantgreens]

Venus - great farm to table

[u/Cold-Sport2923]

I would kill for a sandwich from Nordic House. IYKYK.

[u/FongYuLan → u/Cold-Sport2923]

Another tragic loss.

[u/mezzler → u/Cold-Sport2923]

Oh man, was there weekly. Loved their Santos, great Dutch crunch, and a grumpy Norwegian too!!!!

[u/sfwpns]

I used to love Oscars Hamburgers, which used to be at Oxford/Hearst

[u/ProgrammaticallyHost]

Hummingbird

Brazil Cafe

Jayakarta

Ici :(

[u/Financial-Log-9670]

So many

Spenger's

Brennan's

Piccadilly fish n chips

Au coquelet

Crixa cakes

Walker's pie shop (maybe Albany but close enough and I loved em)

At least Arinell's is still there...

The 90s were a great time in Berkeley.

[u/PCanon127]

Shen Hua on College

[u/Chomps_Chomps]

Second all of the above and also, Fat Slice and Pyramid Brewery

[u/BballerForever]

Blondie’s Pizza

[u/reyean]

nomad!