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Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhoods: North Berkeley, Gourmet GhettoMon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
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Alice Waters! I'm there.
My bf made reservations a month in advance and I believe we were able to get a 8pm seating.
Ms. Waters, if you're reading this, I dined at your restaurant and I had a pleasant experience. Your slow food movement notion is now forever ingrained in my memory. We had the fixed price menu at $70-$80ish per person. The food was absolutely delicious, although, small portioned.
The service was superb. I think they have a waiter/waitress for every couple of tables at your disposal.
The overall ambiance was nice and romantic. I did take notice that we were significantly younger (we're in our early 20's) than the other diners. But don't be intimidated, it's definitely a dinner worth experiencing.
The problem with restaurants like Chez Panisse / Michelin starred places is that oftentimes I feel wrong in giving them anything less than a 4. Because in context, the food tends to be very, very good and oftentimes 3 (or lower) starred places have food that's just "eh." or "wtf."
But I realized that's not really fair. So, in context of other similar restaurants, I'm really sad to have to say that I wasn't as excited or jumping up and down in food euphoria as I had thought I'd be after my trip to THE Chez Panisse.
The service was good but not as high caliber as it should be.
The food was incredibly fresh and well cooked but it just wasn't that amazing -- I think the only thing that really stood out were the leeks and one another component that was actually a side for the duck.
And the sides shouldn't be what I remember.
I say, definitely do try Chez Panisse at least once and make the judgment for yourself because for me it just wasn't that special (though the company was).
Like others, I think this place is pretty over-rated & way too expensive. For the price, go to effing Gary Danko where you can choose your dishes & the food is much, much better. However, I'm not opposed to dropping by just to have the experience & to be able to tell people that I've tried it.
I visited on a Monday night & had beef cheek as the main course. The beef cheek was very tender & bathing in some very delicious broth w/ handmade pasta. Very well prepared. However, it didn't really blow me away.
I also visited for the cafe upstairs, which includes a prix fixe menu that is relatively cheap ($24). But -- this is where the restaurant really failed me & became a disappointment. I ordered the prix fixe & in my first salad course, I found a live worm squirming around. It was disgusting & the waiter apologized, saying that it sometimes happens with organic food. WHAT? I don't give a shit if it was organic, your famed restaurant should still clean salads properly!
The waiter offers to make a substitution for me, but I'm not interested, as I have a whole 2 other courses to get through & he assures me that he will "figure something out." After some pretty good pasta, he figures out how to make up for my ~tainted~ first course by .... GIVING MY DINING PARTNER A FREE DESSERT & telling me "Oh, this is for our little organic friend earlier." What the hell???? I was really shocked & didn't really have a reaction, but now -- I'm pretty pissed. Honestly, I should have just been comped for that salad & I don't really understand how Chez Panisse got away with just serving my dining partner a free dessert to make up for the dirty food they served me. The service is usually good, but this shady behavior just really turns me off & I'm not likely to go back.
Having to set up a reservation a few weeks in advance, I was eager to dine at the famous Chez Panisse. Overall it was a disappointment. The service was excellent but the food was bland.
The host was polite, suave and efficient. The waiter was impeccable and smooth. I marveled at the graceful service staff. I had a flavorful raspberry? soda. Amazing. We even had a beautiful artsy takehome menu of the evening's course.
Then the food came. Admittedly it was Monday night's prix-fixe. It was German style sausages and some other forgettable stuff. Blah. Not terrible but not good either. I'd pay $10 for food like that at some roadside diner in Jersey and not complain.
Well maybe I should revisit Chez Panisse on a non-Monday night. I hear they experiment with Monday's menu. Or perhaps try the cafe where the menu is not set. But I'm not in a rush to return to Chez Panisse either.
I had very very high expectations. However, I was not wowed! All in all, it was pretty good.
P.S. I had the Linguine with Clams
Three stars for a restaurant with a five-star reputation. In other words, way overrated.
Interior is dowdy and dated. Oddly enough, the less expensive Cafe, which is upstairs, had a better design and feel.
It's a prix fixe menu that changes regularly, so maybe we just caught the place on an off night, but the squab was uninspired, and the soup was a lukewarm concoction of seasonal vegetables that seemed inferior to the typical fare at Whole Foods.
Maybe it was simply a matter of great expectations, but this famed restaurant did not live up to its billing. If I happen to be in Berkeley again, I'd be tempted to give it another try -- maybe via the Cafe -- but wld not recommend a trip across the Bay just for this experience.
Restaurants don't become legendary without the consistent flow of customers who love the food sand rave about it.
This place is nothing short of the rumors.
I once heard Bill Clinton ate here back in my college days and that's when I decided I must try it.
Thanks to my main squeeze we did:)
This place is everything it was expected to be. It's a tight squeeze-though. We were sitting so close to the other couple, it was a bit uncomfortable.
However, we came to dine and that we did.
The menu changes, so you're not always getting the same thing. The combination of food and sides are wonderful you can't go wrong whatever you order.
On a side note, The cafe is more affordable than the restaurant. But you're still getting the same service and food quality.
Taste: 4.5
Value: 4.5
Service: 5
I haven't been back here in 10 years, and I still rank it as one of my top restaurants. The do so many things right, that it's hard to fault them, even when there are mistakes. Here's my ranking of the dishes we had.
1. Cannard Farm rocket with marinated beets, mint, and green olive vinaigrette. The rocket was mildly bitter but paired perfectly with the other ingredients. There were two types of beets, both of which gave a unique taste to the salad. Mostly mild with bursts of flavor that make it exceptional.
1. Sierra Beauty apple tart with wildflower honey-citrus cream. Yes. That's another #1. They were equally fantastic. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this dish. The tart was flavorful and homemade. The crust was flaky and broke under light pressure from the fork. Moist, but not buttery. The cream was a sublime. Looks and tastes heavy, but leaves a soft mouth feel. I could eat this every day for the next year.
2. Hog Island clams and rockfish cooked in the wood oven with saffron, chickpeas, rapini, and aïoli. The stew came out warm, which is too cold for my preferences. It didn't have the stew consistency that I was hoping for. The flavor was strong and didn't match the watery texture. The clams, rockfish were great with the aïoli.
2. Soul Food Farm chicken. The bread salad that came with the dish that was perfect. Unfortunately, the chicken was too salty to eat by itself, but cooked better than I could in a dozen tries. Mixed with the bread salad and vegetables, it was excellent. I'm just a little disappointed that it wouldn't work by itself.
As a whole, the meal was exceptional, and stood out from a weekend of indulgence. I won't be back there for a year or more, but the memory will stay with me for years.
For my first Yelp review, I want to start off with one of my favorite dining experiences of all time. Sure, it was a long time ago, and I have eaten at a fair share of fine dining restaurants since then, but none of them have been as memorable as Chez Panisse.
We were dirt broke because it was our last semester in college, and the boy surprised me with a Monday night dinner (the cheapest option for those of you looking to save a few bucks.) We look young, so it was painfully obvious that we were two college kids on a special outing. Normally we get some attitude when servers see that we could pass for fifteen year olds, but the waiter was so nice to us and treated us with great respect. He was patient and explained all of the courses to us with great warmth and hospitality and didn't have a snooty demeanor after we opted not to order any wine (remember, dirt broke, special dinner.)
This is also where I learned that I love beets. I LOVE beets, I go crazy over them if I find them in a salad these days. I never knew vegetables could taste the way they did until I ate at Chez Panisse. If a restaurant makes me feel like I'm at home and introduces something as marvelous as beets to me, that's 5 stars in my book.
Here's to many more Yelp reviews. Chez Panisse, thank you for such a memorable night.
I'm Just Not That Into You, no offense.
I have figured out that I am not a fan of Soul Farm chicken. . . or any other organic raised chicken. I guess I'm just used to the hormones. But the chicken was rubbery and I tasted no flavor. Maybe you shouldn't order chicken, because chicken is chicken.
My BF's Lamb on the other hand was perfect and delicious. The fried cardoons and salsa verde were a perfect pair with it.
I guess the only thing I loved was the D'arbo natural soda, and I had the Elderflower which was awesome, i wish I could have had an extra large glass of it.
The bread and butter that they served while you waited for your food was cold and slightly stale because we came in practically at the end of the night.
Next time I think i'll just come in for coffee and dessert, i had my eye on that chocolate pave.
The service was OKAY, I've had 5 star service in 3 star countries.
This is the very first restaurant I ever stepped all four feet into, and I was a little nervous. Two of the six humans I live with are culinary school graduates, and I've heard then say the name "Alice Waters" with the same kind of reverence I'd use for GDB's Blondie or our very own Armstrong at D4D. But I had on my service dog coat, I was brushed within an inch of my life, and my monkey lead me in with as much confidence as she could muster.
I was greeted with a warm smile, and did not detect a single eyebrow raise, mouth twitch, or furtive glance toward an undesirable seating area the whole time we were there. We went upstairs, where I was invited to settle in under a heavy wood table while my humans took the surrounding chairs. My space was spacious and clean, which my monkey insists is very good, even though I sometimes prefer the places with lots of crumbs on the floor.
As warm bread arrived on the table for the humans, my monkey was asked if the wait staff could bring me a bowl of water. She declined, because it's not a good idea to let me drink too much before asking me to sit under the table for a long meal, but I could tell she was very pleased to be asked.
I didn't get to taste any of the food, but my monkey still talks about the fresh flavor combinations and brilliant use of locally resourced, seasonal ingredients. I smelled a lot of fresh vegetables, but also some savory soups and meats and a very fine wine. I have to say, from my canine point of view, it was not nearly as challenging a restaurant as a steak house or burger joint. My mouth only watered once, but the humans seemed happy. I did notice, though, that we didn't go out to lunch again for quite awhile after that, which makes me think it set the monkeys back a few bones.
As for me, I would happily return, and was very pleased and gratified to have my first dining-out experience at such a disability-law knowledgeable and service canine-friendly establishment.
Of special interest to my canine pals: Chez Panisse is about a fifteen minute walk away from Berkeley's very own Ohlone; a lovely little patch of shady play space designated as the world's very first dog park!
Chez Panisse is très fantastique. For the fiscally conservative like me, opt for a lunch reservation instead of dinner. My sister and I tried the prix fixe menu (see photos). Everything was wonderful - balanced flavors, perfectly salted, clean-tasting, and not oily.
new potatoes and beets in mustard vinaigrette
garden greens
baked farmer's eggs over chard and spicy lentils
duck leg confit with escarole and squash
almonds, barhi dates and candied tangerine peel
I am a big fan of Alice Waters. I think she is one of the most important figures for healthy and whole food cooking. The wife and I made the trek to Berkeley (birthday celebration) to check it out. I was eagerly anticipating this meal. I have been wanting to come for years now.
The service was really top notch. We were sitting downstairs in the surprisingly small dining area. You are sitting very close to the other tables, which is a little awkward though not terrible. We were served from the prix fixe menu, and the food was very wholesome. Definitely good and actually pretty filling, but not exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking that there would be more exotic textures and flavors, but instead it is clean, crisp and healthy menu.
We came on a Tuesday, so the prices were a little lower than for the weekends. Even with the Tuesday speical, the meal was quite expensive. I understand the cafe upstairs has a little different setup and pricing, so I can't comment on how that differs.
I think that Chez Panisse is unique and have very good food, but the pricing and expectations were too high relative to the entire dining experience for our night out. So a good meal when an exceptional feast was expected if that makes any sense.
I would still recommend Chez Panisse as a good place to go, but with a disclaimer that there are many other fine dining restaurants that may provide a more exciting dining experience.
A worthy, insightful experience into the institution of sustainable, green, slow cooking.
Alice is an institution. Despite Alice not being there, I suspect the chef de cuisine may have been out the evening my coworkers and I went for a meeting? That's probably too harsh, but I was slightly surprised at the less than flawless tastes. I chalk it up to an off day or the meeting.
The wine selection is quite robust.
we enjoyed my mom and brother's birthdays as well as mother's day celebration all in one dinner. we booked at chez panisse exactly one month in advance. alice waters' restaurant serves only sustainable and organicly grown ingredients, who knew this would make such a world of difference.
we were served roasted salted almonds and an aperitif of sparkling wine with tangerine syrup. it was bubbly, refreshing, sweet, and buzzworthy.
the artichoke and green olive salad with meyer lemon and mint was the freshest, lightest, tastiest salad i've ever had. this blows every other salad known to man out of the water. the fresh ricotta on crostini was creamy with a sweet aftertaste. i came into this meal skeptical, thinking how much better could organic ingredients possibly taste. i was floored and beyond impressed.
the pan seared eastern sea scallops in green coriander broth blew my expectations out of the water since i am not a fan of coriander. the scallops were tender and well seasoned. the broth tasted much better than it sounded. it had a slight kick and was tangy and full of flavor.
the grilled sonoma liberty duck breast with moroccan spices, couscous, and spring vegetables was truly spectacular. it could be cut with a butter knife and just melted in my mouth. the asparagus, fava beans, and turnips seem to have been picked right before they were cooked. it was fresh as fresh can be and the flavors were phenomenal. the couscous (which i am also normally not a fan of) was fluffy and speckled with sweet golden plump raisins and nuts.
for dessert, we had the semolina crepe with ras el hanout ice cream and honey. the crepe was more like a pancake. i didn't care too much for the spice in the ice cream. but the strawberries were the sweetest, most fragrant, and perfectly ripened berries i've ever had.
at the end of it all, a dainty plate of candied orange peel and mint leaves on chocolate was laid on the table. it was eh and eck. then we got to take a mini tour of the kitchen which was so homey.
truly one of the top restaurants in the area. i didn't think i'd be able to appreciate or distinguish the difference in the freshness of the ingredients used, but everyone was surprised at the instant recognition in the standard and quality. it was really one of the best meals i've ever had.
the reason i'm giving 4 stars is due to the inconsistancy. the second time i visited chez panisse, our dinner was only worthy of a 3 star rating and what we were served could have easily been outdone if we were to buy something to-go from whole foods. therefore, chez panisse receives an average overall rating of 4 stars.
I finally managed to get in for dinner at Chez Panisse itself, not the cafe, the downstairs restaurant. With two exceptions my meal was exceptional. I presented myself to the host 10 minutes before my reservation time and was told to wait, take a walk or go to the upstairs bar. Not an especially warm welcome (although I did see the host helping to get food to tables later in the evening). Once at table I was presented some warm almonds. Some were crunchy, some a bit mushy. Perhaps they were too warm.
OK onto the meal itself, all glitches aside. The food was lovely and the service top tier. A warm endive salad with artichoke, farm egg and panetta was all the a salad could and should be. Perfect balance amongst perfect components. Next al dente spaghetti with pristine clams and just enough garlic to flavor but not overwhelm the rest of the plate.
Grilled dexter (the type of cow) beef with a zinfandel sauce was sided by mashed potato and some perfect winter greens. The beef loin was tasty and the accompaniments perfect.
Dessert of an apple tartlet with vanilla ice cream was very nice. But to tell you the truth, the salad was so nice I would have liked another for dessert.
The room has a stylish supper club feel and you feel grand dining here.
Somehow I snagged a reservation for one at the upstairs cafe. On Open table. For a Saturday… Read more »
We celebrate the turn of the decade with Alice Waters...she was actually in the restaurant, in the cafe, and in the kitchen. She came by our table and wished us a Happy New Year and thanked us for being there.
The New Year Eve's menu was a four course prix fix: smoked Bolinas cod salad with salmon caviar and chicory lettuce; Dungeness crab (and uni) consomme with wild mushrooms and green garlic; Roulade of Paine Farm squab breast with black truffles, Pommes Anna, and grilled Chino Ranch veggies; and Chocolate souffle Rothchild. There was an amuse bouche and the additional dessert at the end of the meal. The hearty bread lay on the Prette linen table cloth. A special pear and champagne aperitif was served before the meal.
The wine was a Margaux 2000, nice nose, long legs and really smooth and silky.
The decor was homey and warm. The holiday greens were festive. The fresh whole fruits and flowers in serving platters & vases were placed throughout the restaurant. What was really cool was the custom water carafe and water glasses.
It was a special night. Prior to the strike of midnight, the wait staff passed out the noise makers, hats, and champagne filled flutes. It was a memorable night. The live jazz quartet provided the music all night.
The food was fresh, delicious and simple; and the service friendly and unpretentious. A definite special occasion place.
BTW, they passed our napkin test. I left the table, and when I returned, the napkin was folded.
My boyfriend and I came in on a Monday Night for our one year anniversary. I happened to spoil the surprise but I tried to keep my excitement down to not over hype the experience and have it possibly crash and burn. I did happen to look up the menu for the night, however, beforehand..
Chilled tomato and cucumber soup with anise hyssop
Petti di pollo alla milanese: Soul Food Farm chicken breast pan-fried in breadcrumbs with salsa rossa
White wine poached pear with nocciola ice cream and brutti ma buoni
It was a $60 3-course frix menu. Didn't seem that spectacular.. a little bit disappointing, chicken??.. but still going with the flow..
Arrived early Monday night and were ushered upstairs to wait as they prepared our table. There was a crowded room of people waiting to be seated upstairs in the cafe but we didn't have to wait long before we were ushered back downstairs to our seats. It was a little odd however that we had to wait at all...
We were promptly seated and nicely greeted by our waiter. He introduced our meal/menu for the night, drinks, etc etc. Then came the food.
- Chilled tomato and cucumber soup -- It was surprisingly refreshing and minty. However couldn't really finish it all with its overly tangyness, but it was like a breath of fresh air in a consumable form!
- Chicken breast pan-fried in breadcrumbs with salsa rossa -- The dish was simple: pan-fried chicken in breadcrumbs with some salsa and string beans. Yet, the first bite put me in Heaven. I'm not a huge fan of chicken but Alice Waters got this down perfectly. The chicken was moist and perfectly cooked, it just melted in my mouth. The chicken was by far the star of the night, no need for the salsa or sides of greens. And the portions were more than enough.
- Poached pear with nocciola ice cream and brutti ma buoni -- just as stated. It was poached pear, nicciola ice cream, and some 'ugly but good cookies'. The cookies were good, I kid you not! But the ice cream and the pear.. a little bit simple and underachieving? I could have found similar else where and for less.
So overall, the experience was worthwhile and left me and my boyfriend pleased. A wonderful piece of work by Alice Waters. The food was simple and clean, but cooked wonderfully. If I could, I'd give it just about 4.5 stars, but that's not bad!
Solid dishes with clean cut recipe and great ingridients. We are so glad that we have been well trained by Alice Waters in the past 20 years to love great vegetables. The reason why we can enjoy L'Arpege and Coi today.
Still not use to Chez Panisse's four-course dinner. We always had plenty of great bottles of wine to make up for it. The wine and food ratio is so imbalanced that I had to have a whole basket of bread to go with wine.
http://insearchofperfe...
I finally got the chance to come here! So excited! We called a whole month in advance and made reservations for 8 pm. They only had 5 or 8 pm available. CP on Tuesdays is a four course fixed menu for $75. It varies from $60-100, depending on the day of the week you go (Mondays are $60, Saturdays and Sunday go up to $100). I'll start off by saying this was one of, if not THE, best meals of my life, hands down. The dishes are simple but wonderfully flavorful and very, very, amazing (sort of reminded me of the food you see from Kevin on the recent season of Top Chef). I really can't wait to come here again!
- Crabcakes: lumps of real, savory crab meat perfectly crispy on the outside. It also came on a salad tossed with light vinaigrette. After trying this one I can't decide whether this or Oceanaire's (San Diego) is the best.
- Minestrone Soup: not your typical minestrone; it is a clear broth with spinach, beans, potatoes, and some other amazing stuff (I have no idea what it was, I just know it was very, very good).
- Lamb: I'm usually not a big lamb eater because I don't like the smell of it, but I loved the one at CP! It was very flavorful and tender and I couldn't smell it at all. It came with a delicious potato gratin that I couldn't get enough of.
- Lemon Souffle: I don't like lemon desserts but I ate almost all of this one! The BF was very surprised that I ate it. Loved the bits of lemon inside-- it was an interesting touch and it wasn't sour, but on the contrary, very sweet! Very fluffy and creamy.
We also ordered some coffee which was good but not OMG-amazing. The service was good but note that an 18% gratuity tip is included in the bill. Overall, it was an unbelievable experience and I'm really glad I tried this restaurant. Great memories, especially since it was for our anniversary!
I have eaten at Chez Panisse twice, and cannot wait to do so again. I am not even sure I remember what I have eaten, because they have a Prix Fixe menu, and I eat whatever they place before me, happily and with relish. I do remember a delicious squab, and even their palate cleansers were fabulous. The atmosphere is fun and the noise level is bustling, but not overwhelming. Both times we have been there, the staff has offered us a free glass of wine to go with a particular dish, I don't know if we just lucked out, if we just radiated enthusiasm, or if this is a standard gesture. But color me impressed. I cannot wait to go again. Make reservations early!
Delicious! I have to say that there's a reason that Alice Waters is famous.
We went her for our anniversary and everything was delicious. All the food was fresh and very well made. My favorite was the minestrone soup. By far, the best minestrone soup I've ever had.
The service was attentive, but yet unobtrusive and the decor was so relaxing and unpretentious.
the food gets 4 stars but for overall value i give it a two. I took my girlfriend here for her birthday since both of us hadn't been to this profilic bay area icon for a restaurant. The interior decor is warm and the gentleman at the door were great and very welcoming. From there we sat down and our server may have just had a bad night but he treated us with a bit too much "snob". Anyway, we're sort of used to that since we're usually the youngest people eating where ever we're at so we must not "know as much". perhaps i would feel the same way if i were them.
biggest problem though was the food. Yes it was good, but it was much too simpleton. Every dish had about 3 components executed in simple ways, i understand they want to make the produce shine but come on man. In the end, after 6 courses we left hungry. which sucks. I like to go back again and try the cafe upstairs during the day. but thats about it.
I find this place to be over rated and over priced. It's a great place to take someone that is visiting from out of town but really, $400 for dinner for 3? Well, we did have some really good wine. I know, I know, props to the origination of the organic, quality food movement but there is really only so much one can do with roast chicken. I do like the atmosphere and service; exceptional and not at all stuffy. It's one of those places that everyone has to do at least once.
I like Chez Panisse!
Not as a 5 star outstanding place but it fully deserves the 4 stars in my humble opinion.
Service is good, not great, food is good and very simple...straightforward, almost homey; reminds me of my far away home.
I think in the midst of this mass of restaurants trying to be different and taking on different approaches (serving foams, espumas, airs, liquid nitro gelato etc...) there is a place where one can count on a good solid dinner prepared by skilled hands in a non-pretentious atmosphere...Panisse has managed to keep that despite its advancing age and growing competition. Bravi.
This was a while ago but I had the prix fix dinner menu. It was cassoulet de la mar. I thought it was weird to serve cassoulet (casserole) at a fancy restaurant. I thought casserole is a informal dish where you try to make your meals go a long way.
Well, I found no need to return. It is not make a big impression on me that I would feel compelled to spend that kind of money for a mediocre experience. It was more like bistro food than anything.
In a dozen visits, Chez Panisse has never disappointed. It's like having dinner in my living room -- if my living room were a craftsman Julia Morgan attached to a kitchen staffed by some of the sharpest culinary minds in America. Amidst all the hoopla surrounding Chez Panisse, it's a testament to its underlying culture that the staff and food remain unpretentious. Everything from the supple lighting to the Toulouse Lautrec-style posters to the low-slung domestic ceiling is a subtle reminder that this is a restaurant on its own level.
And yet, what makes Chez Panisse special is that an embodies a democratization of good (read: seasonal, local, organic, sustainable) food that Alice Waters has championed in the community, its schools, and the broader gastronomic discourse. A quick glance around the other top kitchens in the Bay Area reminds you that Chez Panisse is the McKinsey of restaurants, graduating its alums to lead its best peer institutions.
A few tips:
- Upstairs (the cafe) is casual.
- Upstairs is not $$$$.
- If getting a table for 2 upstairs, ask for one under the tree.
- Their Chez Panisse Zin is great.
- They have enough no-shows that you can walk in w/o a res on a Friday night and have a 50/50 chance of getting a table for 2. If the stars don't align, you can go next door for tasty tapas at Cesar.
- The garlic bonanza on Bastille Day is fun -- assuming, of course, you like garlic.
- Ask around about the staff parties in the walk-in freezer during the 80s!
Review for the restaurant downstairs only.
Went on a Monday and it was only a 3-course prix fixe dinner.
We started off with a local halibut carpaccio with shaved porcini mushrooms. The carpaccio was pretty good but had sort of a gooey texture. I liked it because it was nothing like I'd ever had before. The mushrooms were a little bitter, which was unfortunate because I love mushrooms and the carpaccio would've been more enhanced with them.
Then the main course was a spit-roasted Peking duck with apricots, quash blossom fritters and turnip greens. The duck was rather mediocre and definitely not the best I've had (if you go to an authentic Chinese restaurant that does Peking duck right, then you know what I mean). However, I must rave about the amazing apricots and turnip greens! They were absolutely fresh, AMAZING, and cooked to perfection. If only all vegetables tasted like that, I'd straight up become a vegetarian in a heartbeat, no kidding. It was when I had the apricots/veggies that I understood why Alice Waters was so famous (because up until that point, I was having serious doubts).
For dessert, there was the almond panna cotta with cardamom and plum coulis. Delish! I love panna cotta and I love almond, so maybe I'm biased with the two of them together in one. A nice bonus was that our server also gave us these complimentary cookie things with chocolate filling, topped with gold flakes and served with sugared ginger snaps.
Other (random) notes:
- The downstairs restaurant area is rather small. If they expanded their area, maybe people wouldn't have to make reservations weeks in advance.
- Don't get their green tea. It's almost $5 and is basically 95% water and 5% tea.
- The server was nice and polite but not to the point where the automatic 20% gratuity was justified.
- The bathrooms are located upstairs and are beyond TINY!! I think there were only 2 stalls for the ladies' room.
- The whole dining experience takes about 2+ hours because they take their time serving the courses, so be prepared to stay there for awhile.
All-in-all, a pretty good experience, but still a tad disappointed because I thought I would be blown away. Maybe going there on a Monday night was the reason? Not sure. Maybe everyone just hyped it up too much. Oh well, maybe one of these days I'll go again but on a Friday/weekend and become an official A. Waters/Chez Panisse worshipper.
This past weekend we did the 4 course tasting menu at Chez Panisse.
The staff was impeccable. The service was wonderful and attentive and we were both very impressed.
We started with an apéritif, then a bottle of wine. After that, the food started coming.
1. Goat cheese tart with a salad of greens and beans. Oh, this was probably my favorite course. The goat cheese just melted in your mouth, and the greens gave each bite a really nice texture. I really loved this course.
2. Scallops in a red pepper sauce. These scallops were a smaller variety, which is nice. I prefer the smaller scallops, myself. The sauce was creamy, rich and had a nice bite of red peppers to it. The scallops were cooked to perfection and weren't grainy/mealy at all. I dipped the bread into the sauce until it was gone.
3. Now, the "normal" third course was squab with roasted wine grapes, liver pate, a toasted brioche, greens and a type of melon. I don't eat meat, so instead of the liver/squab combination I received this exact dish with chanterelle mushrooms.
Now, as a person that doesn't eat meat, I am not a fan of this kind of substitution. This dish was originally balanced around squab and liver pate, and it really didn't mesh with with chanterelle mushrooms. The mushrooms were so earthy that it really overwhelmed a lot of the other flavors going on. I was disappointed that they didn't plan a separate substitution for vegetarians, which has been the case when I've been to other prixe fixe events.
4. I am not recalling the exact name of this last dish, but it tasted like candied apples (almost gooey, they were very sweet) in a crunchy, crispy pastry shell with homemade ice cream. It was a great dessert, but it was so sweet, and I was getting so full that I couldn't finish it.
We really enjoyed our experience at Chez Panisse, but next time we go we will eat at the Cafe instead of getting the prixe fixe meal.
Elegance in a rustic French restaurant.
I liked this place, my mom was in town and saw an advert about it so we went for lunch. If you're scoping this place out make reservations, for lunch or dinner. Without reservations the wait was only 20 minutes so we ordered wine.
We started with a gorgeous beet salad that was hand tossed in a house dressing. She had the pasta with lamb ragu, I chose the parmesan crusted chicken with chanterelle mushrooms and green beans. Turns out her's was better, the chicken was a little on the fatty side but still delicious with a nice stock base. We ended the meal with grape sherbert floating in champagne.
The dinner looks heavenly with a set 6 course meal, definitely a place to go on a date or for a special occasion.
Last night I came home from going into work, and I was rather grumpy and tired and feeling kind of bitter about how much I have been working as of late. If I got paid overtime, man, I would be a billionaire. Never mind though. I came home and my husband announced that he had a surprise, and that to celebrate out one year wedding anniversary, we were heading across the Bay to Chez Panisse!
Despite some negative feelings I harbor towards this place (I had a really unpleasant experience last year with an individual who works under for the Al ice Waters empire), I wanted to see if this place was all that. I was convinced that the staff there was going to be as snooty and gross as the person I had previously encountered.
We got there a bit early, and our table wasn't ready until a bit late, so we went upstairs to cram into the space near the bar. It is an awkward space admittedly, with people standing all smooshed into a wee area where waitstaff needs to rush through with plates of food perched on palms held high above their heads.
Fortunately, we we in this holding tank for only about 15 minutes, and then were seated downstairs. At Chez Panisse, there is a different set menu every evening, so it was exciting to see what we were going to be munching on.
We started with a glass of prosecco mixed with house made fennel syrup. Yum! The bread was really good, and even their house filtered still water was amazing. We had sea scallops with a tomato, pepper, basil, and cucumber salad for our first course. The second course was an onion soup with red wine, followed by half of a spit roasted game hen. Dessert was a meyer lemon ice cream meringue tart. We split a bottle of prosecco, and finished off with Blue Bottle coffee. Overall, it was very, very good. The produce there is truly unbelievable. The atmosphere is super chill, and the staff was actually very nice and very professional.
The whole dining experience there takes about 2 hours and on a Saturday night the menu runs $95 per person. The staff asked if we were there for a special occasion and when we told them it was, so our little cute meringues had elegant little paper adornments with "Happy Anniversary" on them.
Overall a very nice dining experience and wonderful food. When we left I was totally stuffed--go easy on the bread! Dress in layers though, I was uncomfortably warm at some points and would take off my sweater, then the front door would open and the place would suddenly be very cold. Or maybe I am just having hot flashes :-)
David Kamp's very good book, "The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation" talks about Alice Waters and Chez Panisse's role in changing American food values and is a good read.
We had quite a pleasant Monday night at Chez Panisse in the downstairs restaurant. To start, our maitre'd was excellent! He was very attentive and made sure to thoroughly explain each part of our meal and on top of that, really enthusiastic about everything. Love it!
Our pre-fixe meal:
Porc rôti aux coings -light, fresh, crunchy veggies - a nice start and very tasty with our wine pairing which had hints of honey!
Spit-roasted Becker Lane pork loin with quince,
wild mushrooms, and root vegetables - exquisite!! My husband and I were in heaven. The pork was well cooked and balanced so well with our wine pairing. The apricots tasted so elegant with the pork too! This was probably our favorite course!
Chocolate trio bombe - Not sure if that is the official name but I recall it was something to that effect. It was such a wonderful way to end the fabulous meal!! Not too sweet, not too overpowering in chocolate flavor...a delicious medley of ice cream. Everyone loves ice cream!
Service fee is auto added to the bill at 17% but the service is very good and you would probably tip that much at a min anyway.
If I could use a few words to describe Chez Panisse it would be: refined, simple, rustic, non-fussy fresh food.
Can't wait to go back and try the weekend menu!! Chez Panisse is absolutely worthy of their Michelin star!! Alice Waters is a genius!
My favorite restaurant in the world. Every dish, every bite blows me away.
I'd give it 6 stars if i could.
It's the kind of place where you eat an ingredient and you swear you've never even eaten the ingredient before. Or maybe you were living in a purgatory-like existence and then entered heaven where everything tastes so much better. It looks like a lettuce leaf, smells like one, but tastes like it's from heaven.
I can't believe why people fall for this place, I left here feeling completely conned.
I have two theories:
One is the old "King New Clothes" theory that no one wants to be called out as an ignoramus and everyone is pretending that the real basic food they charge a fortune for here, is actually gourmet.
The other (and please don't be offended, American friends) is that 90% of of the people that eat here have never been to France or eaten in a real French restaurant, so think this is worth all this the money to eat in a "French Restaurant".
Believe me everyone, and I speak as a European guy who has family in Paris who is often in France, this has as much in common with even an average Paris restaurant as the imitation Paris in Las Vegas has with the real Paris.
Whoever runs this place seems to think that if you give a restaurant a French name, have some waiters with European accents, make your guests wait forever between courses (in genuine French restaurants you never have to wait this long) that equals a French restaurant, and this allows them to mark up their really poor food by huge amounts. Well, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you are not fooling me.
The service was slow as a glacier, we arrived bang on time for our 6pm table, but it was not ready, so were told we had to wait in the bar. The staff then forgot about us, so at around 6.15 we had to ask them what was going on and were told our table was ready.
After about a ten minute wait, they brought olives, after about another ten minutes they brought bread. It took around another 30 minutes for a really basic starter to arrive. Then unbelievably around an hour for the main course.
Now here was where the biggest disappointment was. Before the main course arrived I was still slightly buying the line that if you wait a long time you get something special. Boy was I wrong! I'm a vegetarian, and was promised a "vegetarian dish". What I got was exactly the same as what my wife got, but minus the chicken and plus more chickpeas. It was actually some vegetables, chickpeas in warm water! I could have done better myself! It was at that point that I wished we had just gone to the really excellent Claremont Diner and paid $20 for their great food.
Towards the end of the evening I was beginning to laugh out loud at the nerve of the people that run this place to perpetrate such a huge con. Our final bill was over $180! For this we got the pleasure of spending around 2 hours waiting around for food and when it came it was chickpeas in warm water!
Now I know there are those of you out there thinking now that I am just a poor ignoramus who does not appreciate good food and the French ambiance. Let me say again I know France, have been there many times, had many great meals there.
I left the restaurant singing The "Who"s "Won't get fooled again" under my breath. Need I say more?
If one dines in the restaurant at Chez Panisse, then he/she is seeing high quality ingredients at their best. My parents, sister and I just completed four amazing courses. Here's the prix-fixe menu rundown:
Apéritif of sparking wine and orange syrup
First course: house made mozzarella wrapped around fresh ricotta and basil, with heirloom tomatoes and greens
Second course: Venetian risotto with spot prawn, clams and scallop
Third Course: grilled rack and loin of pasture-raised grass fed veal with wild chantrelle mushrooms, pancetta, and canellini beans
Fourth Course: Hazelnut and Caramel ice cream profiteroles with shaved chocolate
The Mozzarella: pleasing soft and with an alluring briny flavor that went very well the the sweet flavorful heirloom tomatoes
The Risotto: only criticism was that I had more than one prawn because they were OUT OF THIS world. No other shrimp will compare now that I've tasted this beauty. The risotto itself was delicious, heavy on the flavor but not on the palette.
The Veal: their veal was pasture-raised and grass-fed in comparison to the veal you would find in the markets, which is milk-fed and not sent out to pasture. Therefore, it was quite reminiscent of beef with a slight gamey flavor, though it did nothing to subtract to how delicious it was mixed the jus and the pancetta.
The dessert: Ice cream + profiteroles = crispy shell, flavorful hazelnut ice cream, shaved chocolate. Enough said.
The black currant and sour cherry sodas as well as the hot tea and french- pressed coffee were all tops as well as the friendly and attentive service. What was cool was that at the end of the meal we were allowed to walk through and take a tour of the kitchen and prep areas--definitely not something you get to do everyday at a restaurant!
So, the final verdict? The amazing meal/experience was well worth the inevitable hit the credit card bill is going to take.
baaankkkk!!
Liked it so much, took my wife there for our last Bay Area meal, before we moved back. Fresh, detailed, inventive.
Some nights, and menus, can be better than others. I don't mean it to be a disclaimer to say this for a restaurant that changes its menu every day. How good can they be, in fact, with the menu changing every day, and what is it that they say about themselves by doing so?
I've never met Alice Waters, but hear that she's at Chez Panisse pretty often having dinner. I've only been once, for dinner downstairs, and the impression worth mentioning is a tremendous amount can be done with wonderful sauces and great ingredients. I marvel at the simplicity and creativity, with no pretense for this restaurant that's pushing towards 30 years. Perhaps that's what she's always wanted to do.
Our dinner, on a Saturday was after 9 pm, by the windows in the soft-lighted downstairs. The wooden space is small, four tables in a covered veranda overlooking the entrance and others that seat possibly 30 more in the room connected to the kitchen. Conversations, loud or soft, carry through the space along with the dinner preps from the kitchen. The head waiter, hearing it's a birthday, ushers us to tour the kitchen. We say hi to the head chef, pastry, and he leaves us to look and speak until we feel like returning.
Dinner is a four course, prix fixe, with gratuity included, ninety-five and seventeen percent respectively. The first is a local lincod wrapped in cabbage, with leeks and steelhead caviar. My favourite dish, relished the pops of caviar and the wonderful sauce, no leftovers as bread was used to finish the job. The second is a garlic and artichoke risotto with parmesan and pancetta. Again, wonderfully light with a great sauce removed from the plate by bread. The third is a goose confit and sausage with chicory salad and vegetables. Good, but a little heavy, salty, and much after the first two dishes. Dessert is ile flottante with pears, so perfect and tasty. They have a decent wine list, and service for us was excellent. A wonderful birthday dinner, thank you.
My visit to Chez Panisse was most memorable for the wonderful food, and only slightly less so for the service. Our party of 3 waited an inordinate amount of time for our table, despite reservations that had been made weeks in advance. We brought our own wine, had it uncorked, but decanting was not offered- I had to ask.
Once settled, however, the courses delighted the senses.... particularly the veal. I am not a huge carnivore, and get kind of weepy at the thought of consuming baby animals, but this veal was a dish that provoked audible moans from our party. Outstanding. I commend Alice W. for not only her wonderful restaurants, but also for her profound work in the slow , organic food movement and work with the school food service in Berkeley. Thanks for a great dining experience!
Took my girlfriend here to celebrate her birthday. Since her birthday was on Tuesday, we decided to come here the night of her birthday. We had the four course meal for the day:
Catalan antipasto with tomato toasts, almonds, and country ham
Vegetable paella with all-i-oli
Rack, loin, and leg of Cattail Creek Ranch lamb with chorizo, potatoes, and peppers
Caramel flan with Frog Hollow Farm peaches
The menu is fixed and doesn't come out until the week of your reservation. If you don't like what's on the menu you don't have a choice because that's all the kitchen is serving. My girlfriend isn't a fan of lamb, but that's what ended up on the menu the night we went. Luckily, it was prepared well and she ate it.
We enjoyed the food and the service. We also walked through the kitchen after our meal. Unfortunately most of the cooking staff was not at the kitchen at the time, because they were eating their dinner between seatings. There are typically two seatings, and we happened to walk through the kitchen during the between time.
$20 dollar Lobster Dinner
Neighborhood: Montclair Village
Sundays & Mondays NFL Ticket
Neighborhood: Old Oakland
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: French
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: Local Services
Berkeley, CA
Category: American (New)
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