Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly safe parts of Oakland, especially areas with nice restaurants and bars. She's really going to be in danger going out at night in Rockridge

You obviously don't live here or watch the nightly news! Sure there might be a few nice areas but in general it's not safe and crime is literally a hundred times higher then Marin or the Walnut Creek area.

Yes I live here, and in general the areas OP is thinking about going are perfectly safe. You should never ever go into San Francisco, NYC, or any other large city if that is your standard for safety

Is someone really going to drive to Marin when staying in the East Bay just to go out for dinner when there are tons of excellent options in Berkeley and Oakland, that is, well ridiculous. I go to Oakland every day for work, I must be living on the edge!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly safe parts of Oakland, especially areas with nice restaurants and bars. She's really going to be in danger going out at night in Rockridge

You obviously don't live here or watch the nightly news! Sure there might be a few nice areas but in general it's not safe and crime is literally a hundred times higher then Marin or the Walnut Creek area.

Anonymous wrote:Some of my favorites:
--Burma Superstar in Temescal
--Bocanova and Jack London Square (Pan Latin American)
--Hopscotch in Uptown (Japanese bar food/Western fusion)
--Millennium in Rockridge (All vegan tasting menu that is actually good for omnivores)
--Ippuku in Downtown Berkeley (Yakatori)
--Kiraku in Downtown Berkeley (Japanese)
--Caesar in the Gourmet Ghetto area of North Berkeley near Chez Panisse (Tapas)

+1 burma Superstar and Millennium.

On the Oakland lunch run:
-Bakesale Betty's for friend chicken sandwiches
-Saul's Jewish deli (a couple doors down from Chez Panisse)
-Zachary's Chicago Pizza
-Swan's Market food hall (maybe like Union Market) http://swansmarket.com

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, Wood Tavern at Oakland/Berkeley border is one of the best restaurants in Oakland: http://www.woodtavern.net/

A very different vibe is the marina area at Jack London Square. If you're into views, that would be my top recommendation. Bocanova was opened by Alice Waters's first sous-chef, and it can be quite good. The fish restaurants there are old-school seafood (Scott's and Kincaid's), but they have amazing views.

I love Bocanova

+2 Bocanova. One of my favorite meals on my last trip. We went for lunch. It was wonderful.

Some of my favorites:
--Burma Superstar in Temescal
--Bocanova and Jack London Square (Pan Latin American)
--Hopscotch in Uptown (Japanese bar food/Western fusion)
--Millennium in Rockridge (All vegan tasting menu that is actually good for omnivores)
--Ippuku in Downtown Berkeley (Yakatori)
--Kiraku in Downtown Berkeley (Japanese)
--Caesar in the Gourmet Ghetto area of North Berkeley near Chez Panisse (Tapas)

Anonymous wrote:Oh, Wood Tavern at Oakland/Berkeley border is one of the best restaurants in Oakland: http://www.woodtavern.net/

A very different vibe is the marina area at Jack London Square. If you're into views, that would be my top recommendation. Bocanova was opened by Alice Waters's first sous-chef, and it can be quite good. The fish restaurants there are old-school seafood (Scott's and Kincaid's), but they have amazing views.

I love Bocanova

Oh, Wood Tavern at Oakland/Berkeley border is one of the best restaurants in Oakland: http://www.woodtavern.net/

A very different vibe is the marina area at Jack London Square. If you're into views, that would be my top recommendation. Bocanova was opened by Alice Waters's first sous-chef, and it can be quite good. The fish restaurants there are old-school seafood (Scott's and Kincaid's), but they have amazing views.

Anonymous wrote:Our family will be visiting relatives in the East Bay Area. DH and I are hoping to hand off the kids to family members for an overnight away. Any recommendations for a place in Berkely or Oakland? I know both those cities have great and not-so-great areas... someplace we could get dinner, walk around etc.?

Depending on your preferences, the 19th St area of Oakland is really up-and-coming and interesting. I really like Flora there. Agave is also good. For Flora, it's a good idea to make reservations in advance.

Rockridge
Lake Merritt
Temescal
Piedmont Ave - small but has a couple of great restaurants - you can also book a massage and outdoor hot tub at Piedmont Springs - it's the best!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly safe parts of Oakland, especially areas with nice restaurants and bars. She's really going to be in danger going out at night in Rockridge

I have friends who live in a nice Oakland neighborhood with professional careers and two kids and they have been broke into twice.

Surely you are smart enough to see the difference between walking around at night to restaurants and a home being burgled. Not sure why you feel sharing that your friend's home was burgled adds to the conversation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly safe parts of Oakland, especially areas with nice restaurants and bars. She's really going to be in danger going out at night in Rockridge

I have friends who live in a nice Oakland neighborhood with professional careers and two kids and they have been broke into twice.

Anonymous wrote:I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly safe parts of Oakland, especially areas with nice restaurants and bars. She's really going to be in danger going out at night in Rockridge

+1,000

I live here in the Bay Atea and would never walk around Oakland, especially at night. Yes, it's that bad. Just stay in Berkerly or maybe drive the 20 minutes into Marin for a guaranteed safe night out. Many great places in Marin, Sausalito or Tiburon would be about 30 minutes away and right on the water.

Our family will be visiting relatives in the East Bay Area. DH and I are hoping to hand off the kids to family members for an overnight away. Any recommendations for a place in Berkely or Oakland? I know both those cities have great and not-so-great areas... someplace we could get dinner, walk around etc.?