Spicy shihan ful & coffee! Flaky, stretchy roti! Funky wines! Oakland’s Temescal makes a strong case for the most compelling dining neighborhood in the East Bay. Combined with its cute boutiques prime for gift shopping, it’s the ideal candidate for our Best Day Ever series, holiday edition. Many visit […]
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Oakland’s Temescal makes a strong case for the most compelling dining neighborhood in the East Bay. Combined with its cute boutiques prime for gift shopping, it’s the ideal candidate for our Best Day Ever series, holiday edition.
Many visit this slice of North Oakland for its hip new restaurants, buzzy natural wine bars and succulent-lined beer gardens, but the neighborhood has long been known for its high density of excellent Ethiopian, Eritrean and Korean spots. For example, the Freedom Farmers’ Market, which spotlights Black and other historically underserved farmers, just expanded to year-round service. (It hits Telegraph Avenue at 46th Street on the second Saturday of the month in the winter. On the weekends when it’s not open, check out the festive, family-friendly vibes at the Sunday Temescal Farmers’ Market instead.)
While some Bay Area commercial corridors have suffered during the pandemic, Temescal continues to thrive. Among the businesses slated to open soon are Roux40, a restaurant focused on Black heritage cuisine, and Root’d in the 510, a massive cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge.
With the holiday season in mind, we are highlighting the best in food- and beverage-oriented gift shopping ideas, sprinkled among dining picks for morning, afternoon, night and late night. Of course, there are also many lovely boutiques specializing in other gifts like jewelry, clothing, board games and plants. To maximize options while staying walkable, we venture outside the Temescal borders slightly to enjoy all that North Oakland has to offer. Keep in mind that, while not required in the city of Oakland, many of these restaurants require proof of vaccination for indoor seating.
Start your day with a colorful East African feast
Alem’s Coffee, a no-frills East African cafe north of Temescal’s main drag, serves one of the Bay Area’s most delicious versions of shihan ful, a spicy stew made from dried fava beans. At their 21-year-old restaurant, Eritrean husband-and-wife owners Alem Negash and Nigisity Eyasu generously top the dish with glugs of olive oil, chopped tomato, jalapeño and feta cheese for a colorful feast. It’s vegetarian, creamy and pleasingly spicy, thanks to a heady sprinkle of berbere, and comes with two pieces of airy French bread for scooping. Enjoy it out on the trellis-covered patio, a popular morning gathering spot for Oakland’s East African community. If it’s a Saturday, pop over to the farmers’ market across the street and explore potentially giftable items like local olive oil, dried fruit and honey. Most of Temescal’s boutiques open at 11 a.m. Definitely check out Temescal Alley, sometimes affectionately called hipster alley, an area once lined with horse stables and carriage houses that now features small indie shops. One of the newest is Old Salt Merchants, which opened this summer with flavored salts (think grassy matcha or spicy habanero), sugars and teas. The outfit also carries a few items from other Bay Area makers, such as whole grain pastas from Oakland’s Community Grains. Then walk down to Preserved, a treasure trove of kitchen supplies for pickling, fermenting, cheese-making and more. Beyond ceramic crocks and sourdough starter kits, Preserved also carries many wonderful artisan pantry products, such as Yume Boshi’s shiso syrup, Diaspora Co.’s single-origin spices and Saba’s seasonal jams.
Address: 5353 Claremont Ave., Oakland
Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to Sunday
Find them online: https://alemscoffee.wixsite.com/site
Or try one of these options:
- States Coffee X Bread This Martinez coffee roaster and bakery is on an expansion tear in the East Bay, opening a tiny Temescal outpost earlier this year. Tuck into a cappuccino or honey-scented latte with a hunk of moist banana bread or coffee cake at one of the outdoor tables in the alley. Consider grabbing a loaf of bread for the road; States uses California grains in its country loaf and stone-ground spelt in its pointy baguettes. 419 40th St., Oakland. http://www.statescoffee.com/
- Brenda’s Oakland The team behind San Francisco brunch favorite Brenda’s French Soul Food opened this Oakland restaurant in late 2019 with a similar menu of New Orleans-style eats. There’s also one very important, only-in-Oakland addition: breakfast sandwiches. These are big, semi-obscene sandwiches with melted cheese and soft scrambled eggs flowing over buttery brioche — plan to sit on the patio instead of walking and eating. The house special features a runny egg and sweet-savory ham jelly, or build your own with options like andouille and pimento cheese. 4045 Broadway, Oakland. https://brendasoakland.com/
Refuel with Malaysian flatbread
Aman Cafe opened this summer with a rare focus: flaky, stretchy Malaysian roti canai. The restaurant comes from Tiyo Shibabaw, who took over the space next door to her popular Burmese restaurant Teni East Kitchen to fulfill demand for a casual, daytime cafe with a mostly vegetarian menu. The short, all-day menu features buttery, layered flatbreads with savory accompaniments like tofu, vegan sausage or vegetables in a rich coconut sauce spiced with berbere from Shibabaw’s native Ethiopia. Each costs about $10 and will leave you light enough for more shopping, though you may want to add a sweet roti to share for dessert, perhaps topped with seasonal fruit and condensed milk. Afterward, walk next door to Umami Mart, a store specializing in Japanese housewares, beverages and snacks that relocated from downtown Oakland in 2019. The selection of sake is particularly impressive, as are the beautiful Japanese ceramics and drinking vessels. Wind back to Telegraph Avenue for more shopping, and take a break at one of Temescal’s breweries. On a sunny afternoon, it’s tough to beat a hazy IPA at Temescal Brewing’s pastel beer garden.
Address: 4021 Broadway, Oakland
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday
Or try one of these options:
- FOB Kitchen Weekend brunch is deservingly popular at this contemporary Filipino restaurant, decked out with tropical wallpaper and house-made Spam. Get that Spam or another tasty pork preparation like lechon, the crispy pork belly, with garlic rice and runny egg for a classic silog experience. But the king of pork goodness here might be the longanisa, a house-made sweet sausage, chopped up into a hash format. 5179 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. https://www.fobkitchen.com/
- Hawking Bird It’s easy to find something for everyone at Hawking Bird, the fast-casual Thai chicken spot from fine dining chef James Syhabout of Commis. In addition to offering a kids’ menu, the restaurant is notably friendly to vegan and gluten-free eaters: The fried tofu and fried chicken are both light, airy and crisp thanks to rice flour, and can be served as rice bowls, salads or sandwiches. 4901 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. https://www.hawkingbird.com/
Wind down with natural wine and inventive small plates
Spoiler: If Snail Bar is open right now, there is probably a long wait for a table. The cozy natural wine bar has been perennially slammed since it opened in the summer, with a line to get in as soon as the doors open at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, it is worth the wait, so put your name in early and plan to walk around. The bar comes from Andres Giraldo Florez, a chef with experience at Michelin-starred restaurants like Saison in San Francisco and a deep love for funky, unusual natural wines made with minimal intervention. His menu changes weekly but relies on seemingly simple small plates, like a cheesy arepa spread with French onion dip or snails bathed in umami-rich miso butter and tart kumquats. Servers are fun and breezy, down to get nerdy about the wine or offer recommendations that avoid feeling pretentious or dumbed down. Most of the seating is outside, but Snail Bar is equipped with tents and heat lamps for any bad weather. It’s also a bottle shop, so you could sample a wine or two with dinner before settling on a gift for someone else.
Address: 4935 Shattuck Ave., Oakland
Hours: 4 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday to Monday
Or try one of these options:
- Daytrip The disco ball, bright colors and funky furniture at recently-opened Daytrip create a 1970s dinner party vibe, but the food feels modern and fresh. The kitchen focuses on fermentation and spice, as seen in bubbly focaccia, miso pasta and celery salad with a surprising hit of habanero. The beverages are an equal draw, with a mix of natural wine, unexpected sakes and nonalcoholic options — and bottles are for sale, too. 4316 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. https://www.thisisdaytrip.com/
- Tacos Oscar Out of pandemic-related safety concerns, Tacos Oscar is only serving takeout. Luckily, tacos are well-suited to eating on the street, standing up, while licking salsa off your hands. Here, the golden handmade tortillas dazzle, as do the vibrant vegan fillings like charred broccoli with peanut salsa and heirloom beans with salsa macha. Meat eaters will also find tacos to love like juicy chile verde. And if there’s a “quesadilla” — essentially an open-face taco with crispy cheese — order it. 420 40th St., Oakland. http://www.tacososcar.com/
Swig back soju with cheesy Korean fare
If you are somehow still hungry, head to one of Temescal’s Korean restaurants, which tend to stay open later than the rest of the neighborhood. One of the most popular late-night options is Azit, where the energy hums until 2 a.m. with ample soju, K-pop and massive portions intended for sharing. Go beyond the sweet-salty classic of corn cheese with other over-the-top cheesy dishes, like the Azit rice, which sees kimchi fried rice studded with bulgogi and Spam, then blanketed with melted cheese. Even better, try the carbonara rice cakes, an Italian-Korean fusion dish that combines chewy tteokbokki with bacon and a rich, slightly spicy cream sauce — plus instant ramen noodles for extra texture.
Address: 4390 Telegraph Ave., Suite A, Oakland
Hours: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly
Find them online: http://places.singleplatform.com/azit/menu?ref=google
Or try one of these options:
- North Light Creativity pulses through this charming cocktail bar, where records provide the background music and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves greet you at the entrance. The cocktails change often but are reliably well-done. If drinks don’t help conversation flow easily, peruse the bookstore, where local authors such as Michael Chabon and Rebecca Solnit select the titles. The food-related books are particularly worth a look, as chosen by Samin Nosrat of “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” fame. 4915 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. https://northlight.bar/
- Kingfish Pub Friendly, laid-back and 99 years old, the Kingfish is one of Oakland’s oldest and most beloved dives. The former bait shop serves stiff, affordable drinks, with a spacious back patio and shuffleboard on offer. 5227 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. https://www.kingfishpub.com/
