Tangerine Food Bar
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: North Berkeley1707 Solano Avenue
(between Ensenada Ave & Tulare Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 558-9898
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
13 reviews
Richmond, CA
"I love this place! The food is so tasty and the prices are very reasonable (especially at lunch time). The atmosphere is pretty and the…" read more »
23 Reviews for Tangerine Food Bar
This is why I love living near Solano Ave. Owner run small place that provides character to the neighborhood. You walk in and choose from about 8 salads behind a glass counter. Salmon, chicken and pasta are choices as well. I got the Chicken of the Day, a mustard chicken which had a curry, tumeric flavored sauce over rice. Got a tasty broccoli and pesto salad with it - all for $8.50! Everything was fresh and delicious.
There is no place to sit - only one table in there so you may need to plan on where you're going to eat. Great if you're looking for food to go.
AMAZING!!!!
Chicken of the day:-
Mustard sauce Chicken, that curry flavor but not spicy. Chicken cook to perfection, not bone dry.
Side dishes:-
Mango with oregano, sweet mango goes well with the bitterness of the oregano.
Tuna salad, all meat with celery, no fillers.
Generous portion that fills me up, but don't feel stuffed.
All that for under 10 bucks!
I would like to take a picture to show you but all I got to show is an empty box!
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CHICKEN OF THE DAY...wowza!
this stuff is good. the salads are so fresh and yummy...the guy, i'm guessing he's the owner, was so freakin nice! he was in the middle of finishing up his lentil soup when we walked in. i swear he only took maybe 3-4 minutes to finish...but he felt so bad that he gave us our drinks on the house!!!
the service here is awesome! the prices are very reasonable...and i was pretty darn full after i licked my to go box clean. next time, i've gotta try that hibiscus lemonade and the frittattas.
I just went once, today, and can say that:
The owner is incredibly pleasant and helpful.
And, about the food: it was nice to see so many fresh vegetable options in one place. He had about 8 salads deli-style to choose from. A cool option was the "get three salads" deal, which is kind of like a TV Dinner-esque pairng (tripling?) of a few salads that you want, but of course, healthier and fresher-tasting. This ran about $7. I got, fruit salad + tomato salad + greens/avocado/walnut, and it had a good balsamic dressing on it. I was happy with it.
And he sells Pellegrino, which always earns you kudos, in my book.
Downsides: its a small place, so this is pretty much just take-out (there is a little bench out front, though, and table with three chairs inside). But that makes this place perfect for grabbing food for the office lunch break or packing for a picnic. (No need for the pricey and not as loveable Andronico's up the street!)
I wouldn't say that my mind was blown culinarily, but the integrity of the ingrediants and the focus on raw and fresh really earns this place its gold medal--it can be so hard to find even just this basic healthy food on any restaurant row.
Damn good sandwiches!
Hibiscus Lemon-Aid was awesome!
Try the chicken its HOT-DAMN Good !
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FRESH!
That's what I like about Tangerine. It is the closest thing to home cooking I can get eating lunch out. It feels healthy...and when you work on Solano and have the option of calorie-packing coconut curries at your fingertips daily, finally, you realize that at least once a day, just salmon and a variety of salads (much better than I prepare at home) are the right thing to do.
I also really love the different stewed chicken dishes Robert makes - pomegranate, mango, all kinds of savory goodies.
It is a cool atmosphere where I've met & had conversation with people of all ages over lunch.
My only regret is that I didn't start eating here sooner (like 10 pounds ago)! I had passed the sign (which I love) and I think it looked fancy. Now I know it's just plain good. And fresh.
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Nice selection of salads, with a few entree options. Great fresh food at a reasonable price, and a happy silly man that runs the show. Great coffee too!
In a world of Subway's & Togo's, sometimes you want a place that serves fresh food, without the corporate feel. Tangerine Food bar is that place, and the guy behind the counter obviously likes what he does.
This place has no real seating arrangements, but then again Albany had great weather that day, and we found a bench outside. It was gorgeous outside, and the food was a perfect complement. Sunny weather with sunny food.
What you see on the menu is a guilt-free, low-priced, fresh assortment of sandwiches & salads. Greek, Fruit, Tomato, and a Pasta salad, among others. It's great. May Robert never open up another branch, because this place should be an Albany trademark.
He can thank Yelp, yet again, because it was because of the site that I even showed up. I mentioned that to him, and he was appreciative. At this point, why advertise anyways, let the food do the talking, and the customers'll do the walking.
Speaking of food, it's refreshing. I can eat here guilt-free, and only wish I worked close by so I could stop by more often. I ordered a turkey sandwich that was wrapped with some tasty herb-bread, along with greek and fruit salad. And lemme tell you, those strawberries and pineapple were choice. Low-price, authentic service, and a great location. I even got that Black-Tulip coffee, and he threw in another shot since it was too milky. Lately, I've been getting great service (see my previous review), and I'm reminded from the fakery that you get from your global coffee shop, and the REAL smile you get from somebody who likes what they do. I guess that's the real treat, in the end, that big corporations cannot really get past.
(watch, in two years, starbucks buys him out or something)
You can find parking wherever you can, but I'm not complaining, because walking around Albany is a nice thing in and of itself.
So why the five stars? Because Tangerine Food Bar is a great alternative from the bland Subways & Togo's, and I appreciate having another great stop if I wanted something fresh and new. Put this place down if you wanna get a healthy and fresh menu. It's a cool stop, and I'll be back here again.
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I heart Tangerine. This is my favorite to go restaurant in my neighborhood. Robert the owner is a sweetie pie. His salads are awesome. I always get the salmon with basmati, olive tapanade, and 2 side salads. The portions are generous too. Next time I'm gonna try a sandwich they looked wonderful.
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I loooooooooooove the food hear. I used to work near by this cafe and came to Tangerine at least once a week. The food tasted really fresh and it was quite filling. I would usually get the chicken which is different every day and the two salads. Love that place
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i've been eating here 3 times a week for the past year. i just show up, and robert--the owner--chooses my food. he's dutch, and i've spent a lot of time in amsterdam. tangerine is really a dutch deli: excellent, simple, and clean. it's cheaper to eat here than eat at home.
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I'm so happy I discovered this place! The food is wonderful, great taste without an outrageous price tag. I've only had the salmon/ rice with two salads so far. He let me pick my own piece of fish too! You can have a really filling meal here without feeling unhealthy. I will be back many more times.
Edit:
The chicken is delicious too! I think he changes the spices/flavor. The salmon is always orange glazed.
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Fresh, remarkably good, seasonal food to go. We really like the Wild Salmon with Orange Glaze Served on Basmati Rice, Mixed Field Greens, with 2 Specialty Salads for $10.00. The Mango Salad, which is Field Mixed Greens, Mango Slices, Toasted Pine Nuts with Balsamic Vinaigrette is first rate!
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Good stuff!! Husband brought dinner home tonight, for me a lovely piece of grilled wild salmon over basmati rice accompanied by a small Greek salad and a tossed green salad w/ avocado, chopped dried apricots and walnut pieces w/ a balsamic vinaigrette. It had a few slices of red onion that were too hot for me, but I'm a real onion wuss after a very bad experience w/ a nasty piece of onion at a salad bar in the Berkshires 5 years ago. They were fine for him. For himself he brought more of the green salad, one of garbanzo beans and another of broccoli to go w/ the leftover fried chicken breast from Trinity's. We heated up a little bread, added some leftover red cabbage our friend Nina made and some baked beets I made and we had a yummy HVD (high vegetable dinner). No question we'll go back to Tangerine!
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Ok 3 words.....
WOW, WOW, and oh uhhh... WOW
Let me just say, i rarely ever fall in love with a place as much as this, and furthermore im pretty cautious about giving 5 stars to a restaurant that is full of 5 stars on Yelp...but this place is WORTH it.....
This was the first place i ate at in Berkeley and this is by far the standard that i hold all fresh food and salads to anywhere i go.
I cant even begin to describe the greatness that is the food of the place. I thought that the first time i went here, the excellent freshness of the food was just a lucky thing....but oh man, we came here a few more times and EVERY time we come the food just has be best most freshest flavor. You really CANNOT go wrong with anything in this place, i would definitely recommend the salad combo though, choose a salad and choose 2 sides...that is by far the star of the show.
And to make things even better the owner of the establishment is the nicest man in the world. It is very hard to find people behind the counter who is genuinely nice and appreciative and loving of what he does, and it definitely spreads to his food.
Now for an honest review, there have to be a few things about this place that are negative. Mainly its the seating situation...there are NO seats except for one table, and that is always a problem when we go. So make sure u plan to get your food to go and find a good place to eat it. Thats all!
Bottom line, if you haven't been....GO! It is DEFINITELY worth the visit!!!
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If you've been to Tangerine you know Robert...he is the man!...if you haven't been to this fine place, let me just tell you, if you are use to a mom that cooks to profection but she does not live close enough to cook for you anymore...this is the right place for you, Robert is your new mom:)
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Tangerine is a great little carry out. The menu focuses on seasonal fresh foods, and most dishes are healthy. The prices are reasonable and the service very good.
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There are occasional pitfalls to having a powerful word-of-mouth machinery like yelp churning at one's fingertips. One major problem is that of overhype. Sometimes the blame does really fall on past reviewers who overlook many flaws that an institution has over one positive trait, but more often than not, it's my own for formulating grandiose expectations based on a few good reviews and letting those stars take my preliminary impression of a place to a wholly unhealthy dimension.
Tangerine unfortunately fell victim to my overimagniation. After reading the reviews (what eatery is able to maintain a five-star rating?!?!), I was in full manic mode, singing like a canary about the professed wonders of Tangerine so that a certain significant other would kindly drive us over there in order to get me to shut the hell up. We had lunch there today, and even before we entered the restaurant Robert, the proprietor, stepped back behind the counter and prepared to answer our questions and suggest delights from the offerings. I ended up ordering the orange-glazed salmon over basmati rice, and on the side the broccoli salad and the avocado, chopped dried apricots and walnuts on mixed greens, while O. ordered the vegetarian frittata with Greek salad and tomato salad. There were no other customers at the time, so we decided to eat inside the deli, at the one booth facing out the window (which is great for those who parked in front of the building to monitor your meter).
My salmon was plump, juicy and delicious even cold, which was how I ate mine. The fish was served atop some warm basmati rice with a tapenade-eggplant sort of spread on the side, which gave the rice great flavor and color. Normally I don't really like fragrant rice, but the flavors of the basmati went really well with the delicate glaze of the fish which had just the slightest hint of sweetness and helped to mask the potential fishiness of the salmon. My salads were pretty good, too, but I found the salmon to be the highlight of my lunch.
I had read other reviews showering the salads with praise, and I enjoyed them but thought they didn't quite live up to the reviews. I can overlook the avocado salad-- I think the only flaws were that my portion did not have enough apricot in it and that the limited space of the takeout carton prevented me from tossing the vinaigrette evenly into my greens. But I was a little disappointed that the broccoli was a little too soft for my taste and seemed to be lacking in flavor. I noticed that Robert held off on dressing the avocado salad until he plated it in order to prevent wilting and any limpage of the greens (a very smart move on his part), and so I'm wondering if we had just forgotten about the broccoli? Or perhaps it was an off batch, I can't be sure.
O. seemed to enjoy his frittata and his salads. Truthfully, we were both so busy with our own plates that I didn't even get the chance to inspect his stuff, nor he mine (which rarely happens, but I think the presence of salmon in such close proximity to my other items kind of put him off). I regret not having tried some of his tomato salad-- halves of romanita tomatoes tossed with a few greens, some herbs, and tiny slices of lemon(from what I could tell. The tomatoes looked plump and perfectly ripe.
If stars were solely based on service, then Tangerine would, without question, have five big ones staring you down. Robert is friendly, outgoing and funny, and you can tell that he has a deep interest in the food that he makes. We took some time to muse about the wonders of Yelp and how it has made him sharper and more attentive of the quality of the product that he puts out. He carefully explained, with his soft Germanic accent (where exactly is he from? I can't be sure) the ingredients that go into each salad that we were eying and the thought he puts into them. As we were eating inside the deli, he made sure to check in with us and was welcome to whatever feedback we had (which was all positive). Whatever expectations I had of Tangerine that were not met were made up for by this proprietor's intelligent approach to making good, simple food.
Take a lesson from my book and don't go into Tangerine with any expectations other than it will have a few simple items that are true to the freshness of the ingredients. I can't wait to go back to try the baby brie and honey sandwich, as well as their other salads. It's a reasonably priced meal at $7.50 for a combination of 3 salads, or an entree item and two salads (excepting the salmon and their chicken of the day, which, with two salads, run at $10 and $8.50, respectively. I also think their pasta falls under a different pricing scheme). Go for a quick lunch and some quality chitchat.
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BEST SALAD / FRESH FOOD PLACE EVER. PERIOD. Robert, the owner is super nice and always hooks me up with extra portions or a free goodie. He changes the variety of his salads and selections according to the season, but the best part of his food is the Salmon and Chicken! I never can make up my mind, but I love them both. I wish I could give more than 5 stars for this place, but it's probably the best place to have a really healthy meal and not feel guilty about it, but it also tastes so damn good too. Could this be heaven?
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Yay! My jobs lately have me driving all over the city, which means I can't eat at home. And after a few years of being forced to cook all my own meals (grad student budget), I can't stomach most of the cheap to-go food options-- even stuff that I used to like, like Thai. So Tangerine totally rules. It's very fresh food that you can pick up and take home or to work. The salmon is amazing, and the salads are lovely. My only wish is that they'd do some salads with heartier vegetables that won't wilt if I don't eat them immediately. It's family run and the owner seems really sweet.
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Spent a day in the east bay. What a lovely find. The gigantic tangerine-colored banner caught our eye, and the "seasonal, fresh food" made us take a look. The decor and over all feel is not that great. But the food is fantastic! They have a Broccoli vinaigrette salad that was slightly sweet, yet vinegary enough to make you want more! Rice was soft & nicely seasoned! If I lived in the area, I'm sure I would be a regular.
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I can't believe I've lived near Tangerine for over 2 years and have NEVER gone before tonight! It's half a block away! Their salads, as it's already been said, are quite good, and the prices are just right! $7.99 for lemon chicken with basmati rice, a heap of dolma, and greek salad. Yum! Everything tastes and looks fresh. It's so nice to have a little carry out place that's not full of fatty, unhealthy (but oh so indulgent) foods.
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Fresh, local, seasonal. Cheap, fast, and good. Well, not *so* cheap, but close. This is a wonderful lunch spot, heavy on salads and quiche-like dishes. Most items are priced by weight, and you can mix and match. It's small, and the best seating is outside on the bench.
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