Came in to celebrate my birthday on a Friday with a party of 9, so the poor staff already had the deck stacked against them. Our server could not have been more accommodating, and was so patient with us as we got our cocktail and antipasti orders together. She also let us sample a few different wines, before making our final selections. The food was pretty standard Italian fare, but all tasted great, and satisfied everyone (and all their specific dietary needs) at our table. We sampled liberally from the antipasti and pizza menus, so I can't comment on the primi and secondi dishes, but would love to come back and give them a whirl. The food and drinks all arrived promptly, and at no point did we feel rushed during the meal. If you're looking for an intimate experience, this may not be at the top of your list, but it was perfect for our occasion, and again, the staff was superb. read more

Met some friends at A16 in Oakland and had a pretty good dinner overall good ambiance kind noisy but really good service. The panzanella salad was really good. The burrata with prosciutto was okay, but a little small and honestly I've had better. We tried two pizzas. The Vesuvio was definitely the winner--really flavorful and we all enjoyed it. The Funghi was good, but if you're doing a mushroom pizza, the mushrooms need to be the star, and they just weren't. My only real disappointment was the crust. It was pretty chewy and couldn't hold up to the toppings. If you like a crispy crust like I do, this probably isn't your style of pizza. Cocktails were great though! I had the Old Fashioned and my wife had the La Passion Margarita and loved it. Overall, good food, great drinks and a fun night with friends. I'd give it 3.5 stars. read more

I have a bit of restaurant-phobia because I get very overstimulated by noise and really stressed when I can't hear who I'm talking to but my boyfriend is trying to help me, little by little. I wasn't always this way. Anyway, we went to A16 for a date. I got all dressed up, made reservations and everything. The hostess was on the phone for what seemed like forever before she acknowledged us. There were a couple ahead of us and then some guy just walked in front of us like we weren't even there which says nothing about the restaurant but it was a theme throughout the night. the hostess sat us at a high table outside that was barely large enough for our food. It was too loud inside but I really wanted a booth. I don't like sitting on a stool unless I'm at a bar. There was no back to the chair. So I'm already annoyed and just want to leave but I know my bf would have been really bummed out. Our server was fine. It was Saturday night, so it was busy. I have nothing particular to note about her, but, there was a homeless guy just standing there watching us eat which sucked and totally stressed me out. And then when I went to the bathroom, I was waiting because I thought both stalls were taken and then the f*cking hostess came in and just went in the other stall. The door was closed and there was someone waiting when I came in so I just assumed but rather than ask when she saw it was open she just went in. Needless to say, she was a bitch and just put me off the whole place. So yeah, that's my review. read more

Food was okay, not the best. Pretty $$$ for quality of food. Booked a reservation here because it had openings for a large party. It was fully filled and busy, but food was underwhelming. read more

We love this quant little neighborhood spot but tonight's dinner might be a turning point for us. Sat at the bar, with extremely slow service. Ordered a pizza which came out luke warm and burnt?! For this price it should be great. read more

Small, intimate location. Food was great. Service was attentive. Would definitely come back if in the area read more

See all

I got the most perfect fried olives I've tried, they're delightful, paired with bubbles you can't go wrong with them. And because i already had a burger nearby, i got a Vesuvio puzza home. Service is outstanding, the host was kind, but the manager, Karlo, was the best, attentive and so warm, that made my experience even better. The rest pf the staff was kind as well. This is one the best places in Oakland to visit, By the way, their pork chops are amazing! read more

A16 - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

I ate here yesterday with my husband for the first time and it was very tasty. We marked close by in the neighborhood. It was easy for us to find. I'm not sure what people are referring to when talking about windows getting smashed in a parking lot? But I did see broken glass in the library's parking lot next door? FYI. The food though was excellent. We got the fried olives, beet salad, pork chop, pasta dish (with crab and shrimp), tiramisu, and vanilla gelato. My favorite was the beet salad (so refreshing!), any of their house made pasta looks amazing, and the tiramisu was excellent. Definitely would come again. Maybe next time I will consider doing their Oakland Restaurant deal which looked amazing but I couldn't resist trying their pasta with the seafood :) read more

A16 - Cavatelli - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

A nice place, overall. Better for a date night or solo diner, although there were kids in the restaurant and there are kid friendly item on the menu. Service was great, you can tell our server was passionate about the menu. Everything is made in house. There's plenty of indoor seating and a fair amount of outdoor (curbside) dining tables. Street parking can be difficult depending on time of day. I'll say where A16 falls a bit short was the wine and pacing out of food order. THE FOOD Pizza: nah...too chard, but more importantly lacked flavor with the sauce and toppings pieces were too big Fried Olives: yes please! Hella good. Perfect about of salty, nice and crunchy. Mushroom gnocchi: c'mon now! I was expecting a cream sauce, but it was a mushroom broth to accompany these handyman's gnocchi noodles. Really tasty meal. Well balanced. Ribeye: Yes and Yes! I'm not much of a meat eater, but that ribeye was delicious and the (maybe pesto) sauce was a great combination with the meat. Roasted Cauliflower: okay, I was not expecting it to be something so tasty. Lightly roasted with a red based sauce at the bottom, garlicky and nutty. Beet Salad: absolutely! Chucks of red and golden beet, strawberries, and shaved cheese. Very very good. read more

See all

Fun spot. Pretty vibrant crowd. Service was so-so until they were closing when it became very attentive. The pizza was pretty tasty and I enjoyed the wine as well. Was very pleased with the fried olives and the olive plate nothing was too overpowered flavor wise. Lots of variety and fun combinations for the pizza toppings. The deserts were mostly good. The tiramisu was pretty tasty but could have had more coffee flavor. The apple and cranberry pie was very nice and topped with vanilla gelato, super yummy. The chocolate tart with the mousse was not my favorite the tart was a bit dry and just didn't hit the spot. Giving three stars only because the value vs spend is not quite there $24-26 per pizza and the service as inconsistent but over all a nice spot. read more

See all

Dawn was a very attentive server and calm when the Calabrian chili oil accidentally spilled. We ordered the happy hour olives. Margherita pizza, squid ink seafood pasta, and panna cotta. The red wine for happy hour called Primativo was great. Cocktail Tonnato was good too. Had to ask for bread with olive oil because they don't give it automatically and it's not on the menu. Surcharge for marinara side was $2 which isn't bad. The panna cotta is on the smaller side but flavorful. Place is clean and it's a nice dinner and date spot. read more

See all

The service was serviceable until the kitchen backed up at which point the server disappeared for so long we had to ask the busser about the food. The food was worse. The arugula salad was good but the bursts plate, the pasta and the chicken were bland at best and the pasta was a bad joke. You'd think a short menu would mean they'd nailed everything down. Second time disappointed here. Shame on me I guess. read more

By looking at some of the previous reviews, my expectations of this place was that it was mainly pizza However, to my surprise, there was lots of other options that were extremely delicious and really should be highlighted The staff is extremely friendly and very kind and their service is extremely fast The restaurant itself is very clean and aesthetically pleasing highly recommend this place for date nights or accompanied by friends read more

See all

Beautiful and intimate ambiance with soft lighting, string lights hung up which makes you feel like you're at a friend's backyard. Walking in without a reservation on Saturday night is a breeze. Lovely wait staff and friendly service. Montanara pizza is the way to go. On first glance might sound like a basic pizza but do not let the ingredients fool you. Fried dough thin and crispy. Complex smoky tomato sauce balances well with the creamy melty mozzarella cheese dollops. Succulent melon salad with the impossibly sweet watermelon along with honey dew and cantaloupe. Excellent to be paired with a side of prosciutto. Delightful all around. read more

My boyfriend and I had an 8:30 pm. reservation on Valentine's Day, but we weren't seated until close to 9:00 pm. The wait felt excessive, and at one point we spoke with the hostess with long black hair to ask what was going on. Her response was, "Everyone here has a reservation," referring to the other couples waiting at the entrance. While I understand it was likely a stressful and busy evening, the response felt dismissive, and it seemed like the host stand may not have been managing table assignments very efficiently. After some time, the same hostess approached us and asked if we wanted to sit at the bar or at one of the circular high-top tables, which appeared to be extra bar seating. Since there were other couples with reservations around the same time as ours, we were unsure why we were being offered those options instead of a regular dining table. This was quite upsetting as guests with reservations shouldn't be asked to take those seats. It seemed like those spots would be more appropriate for walk-ins. We told her we preferred a regular table, and although she hesitated at first, she eventually seated us at one. The food was fine but it was quite expensive given the fixed menu. But our server Gigi was the sweetest and service was excellent. She was super attentive and accommodating which helped improve the rest of our experience. The only reason I give three stars is because of her. read more

Valentine's Day was like a bad TV show. We had 6:30 reservations and weren't sat until 7:10. There were easily 16 other people in our same position, waiting well past their reservation time looking super angry and upset. The host was not friendly and acted bothered by our mere existence. We were led to a table in an ugly back room that felt like we were in a conference room, no vibe at all. We waited 20 mins before a server finally approached us. The pre fixe menu options were terrible, we had to ask for a drink menu, and the bread course that was supposed to come out never did. We had to ask, and the server grabbed it from some back room and we nearly cried/laughed- two microscopic pieces of bread thrown on a plate with radishes. It had now been well over an hour since our reservation time, we were starving. We asked for more. The appetizer course was disgusting and smelled like a dish rag. The caviar was flavorless. We were too sketched out to try the oysters. First course was cold, like it was slapped together in a rush , so we were over it and told the server we wanted to leave. She barely acknowledged how awful the experience must have been for us to leave mid meal before even getting our mains. She did come back and thankfully only charged us for the drinks, but wow. It truly ruined our night. I almost cried I was so overly hungry and disappointed. Every single thing that could have gone wrong did. This was a multi level failure but management and staff on a night that was supposed to be special for their customers. Truly the worst dining/service industry experience of my life. We had been to A16 before and it was great. It's now ruined for us and we will NEVER be back. read more

A16 - "Bread course" after waiting an hour. - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

Want out for special valentine menu With 645 reservation time. Was seated at 730 , almost a mob scene with people waiting for overdue reservations . 1st course was decent, we had a wine paring which arrived early with no explanation of what it was. We asked server for recommendation for 2nd course , her advice was do not order the Lasagne, too many complaints, we both had pasta which was Cold when it arrived, we were hungry so just ate, was very so so, Third course was duck for me, was cold and tasted nasty , one bite was enough, my friend had some sort of seafood stew, also quite nasty. Last course was desert which decent. I doubt we will ever return Only 400 spent.. read more

The menu is in Italian, so it was difficult to fully understand. They have a cozy atmosphere with nice, big bathrooms with lit-up candles! We got the salsiccia pizza, and it was nice and warm. The dough was soft, and the meat was very flavorful. It was smaller than expected, but the quality made it worth the price. We also got sausage and broccoli pasta. You could tell that the pasta was homemade, and the sauce was flavorful. You can tell this dish was high quality. If you are looking for a high-quality Italian place in SF that is not too overpriced, this is your place! read more

A16 - broccoli sausage pasta - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

So bummed they changed the vibe. It went from cozy and interesting to white warehouse, and I think removing all the art from the walls made it much louder as well. Death of a college Avenue staple. read more

The service was excellent by our server. She was very attentive and provided us with first-class service. I took my friend for a birthday dinner, and she made him really happy by serving us dessert with a beautiful birthday message on the plate and a candle. The food is always high quality, and the ambiance is very dreamy. Definitely worth every penny. read more

A16 - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

Lovely restaurant. The server was kind to seat up 10 minutes before closer. We are very grateful for that :) Burrata as an appetizer - delish. The cheese was nice and creamy. Small gem salad - appreciated real anchovies in the flavor. My drink - the spritzer with grapefruit - it's a bitter! If you are not used to vermouth and similar dark / bitter liqueurs - you will hate it but personally I love a nice apperitife. Rib eye - great. Ox tale pasta - solid. Will come back. read more

Everything we ordered was thoroughly mediocre. Meatballs needed seasoning, pork chop was fatty and overcooked, cavatelli was very underwhelming, and pizza was fine. Cauliflower was the only standout of the meal. Many, many better options in this area. read more

We've been to A16 four times. Service has always been excellent and the food has been delicious. We've had both pastas and pizzas. Each have been great. We also had fabulous wines. Only later did I learn that to owner has been recognized for her wine list. I'm exited to go back to explore different options. The ambiance is lively and engaging. Parking in the area can be tough, so plan ahead. A16 is a go-to place with family and friends; highly recommended. read more

Quaint Italian spot in Oakland. Tried the fried olives and two pizzas to share. All the food was delicious. Each pizza was good for about two people size wise and had soft crust. Service was good but a little bit fast. We hadn't made much progress on the appetizer before the pizzas arrived. Overall an enjoyable meal. read more

See all

I always love A 16's food, so when the opportunity came up to host my husband's surprise 40th birthday, I JUMPED at it! I worked with Angela before the event to customize both the menu options (can't go wrong) and the custom printed menus! Angela also helped with advice on best way to structure the table and answering all my peskering questions (no one has ever accused me of being low matinenance). On the day of the event, the staff practiced the surprise with our friends a couple times (without being prompted!! and loved that little touch) and casually took my husband and I back to the room. Fortunately, he is so aloof he didn't realize what was happening until the very end! Our server (apologies, I am blanking on his name right now) was amazing! attentive and proactive! Overall, the food was obviously delicious as usually, the venue was intimate but not crowded and nicely decorated. Even the tables had arrangements that complimented the decor. And frankly, it was decently priced and flexible because the food and beverage minimum was reasonable. Just a win-win all around! read more

Had a reservation on Valentine's Day 2/14/2026, right when they opened at 5:00pm. We were, I think fourth, in line and were seated a little after 5. The couple in front of us didn't have a reservation but were seated at the bar, seemed like no big deal but more on that later. We were seated right next to the front door by four other tables, odd spot for an empty restaurant but we didn't make a fuss. A couple that came in just after us was seated 2 tables down, and asked if they could switch to one further from the door (it was pretty chilly) the hostess politely but sternly turned them down - seemed like they had a system for seating which is fine if that helps the back of the house. For the night they had a mandatory pre fixe menu, $132 per person with 2 fixed courses of appetizers, followed by 2 entrees you choose, and a dessert you split. After we were seated, our server was quick to take our order and the first three courses came out within 25 minutes. The lasagna my wife had (first course after appetizers) came out cold, pizza I had seemed burnt and still under cooked/flimsy, like the oven temp was too high. Despite this, still both fairly tasty dishes I should note. This is where the dinner started to fall apart. By this point the rest of the restaurant had filled up. Someone came by to box our pizza and clean the table. Our server came to put down new silverware and then left for the next 30 minutes. When she came back she took off our silverware and put down dessert spoons, which we had to point out to her we hadn't had our primary course yet. She apologized and then disappeared for another 15 minutes. At this point it was approaching 90 minutes into the dinner and about an hour since we had our last course. We had other plans for the night so we told the waitress to just box our remaining courses and take the check. She was kind and apologized for the night, but clearly the kitchen was very backed up. The couple next to us got their first appetizer and from what we saw nothing after that. The other couple who sat two tables down when we did, also never received their mains. Our final check of two diners, one drink, came out to about $350. When they got around to boxing and taking care of the check we were about an hour and 45 minutes into the dinner. To top it all off, once we got home we noticed they left out the dessert. Get that it's Valentine's Day and you should expect restaurants to be slammed, but really they needed to do a better job of managing the reservations and seating walk-ins especially if they aren't able to turn tables at that capacity. Really ruined the night for us and the others around us. read more

Valentines Day 2026 Review Okay let's start with the Pros - beautiful space, very friendly staff, good overall ambiance. Cons - the preset menu was okay, The bread in the beginning was great, after that downhill. The bean dip was meh, and the caviar was bland. Then my wife and I's main course came out and both were extremely cold, like it was sitting out near a window. We did not ask for reheat due to how busy it was. Then we both got the fried ricotta wraps over mushrooms and that was weird all together. Dessert came out and that was a winner!! But we got the wine pairings and that was a nightmare. We never got the right wine on time when the dishes came out. Again, staff was hustling but there may have been too many tables happening at the same time. Regardless, the cold food ruined my experience and then to get a $500 bill for just us 2, with this level of food issues was beyond unacceptable. I paid a lot for a few glasses of wine and some shared bread and a shared dessert. All in all, lessons learned. read more

An enjoyable meal that was more affordable than expected; it would be a great first few dates spot. The place is often busy, serving Italian classics (the pizza was great). Dessert was the one miss - I was just indifferent to the heavy chocolates. read more

We are here on Valentine's Day. We had a reservation for 7pm and were seated relatively quickly in the outside parklet area. The menu that night was prix fixe and we ordered wine pairings. And the place was slammed. I assume that all the people standing around had reservations, because who's going to risk it on Valentine's Day? But they were out the door, around the parklet, etc. which made the wait staff's job even harder trying to get in and out the door. I don't know if they had overbooked and everyone showed up or if they were woefully understaffed, but in combination with the would-be diners milling around, the pacing was terrible. The first wines arrived mid-course. Primi wines also arrived late, secondi wines arrived after we had pretty much finished the course. The wines themselves were quite good. The food was, for the most part, tasty enough. The pacing here was on par with the wine pacing (bad). The pizza was on the cold side, etc. I really don't know how to rate this. I hope and expect the food and overall experience would be better on a less hectic night. On the other hand, the chaos was of A16's making, unless all those people standing around were walk-ins. read more

Very creative menu and delicious pizza. The deep fried olives are good, the asparagus appetizer very good and the Nduja pizza was excellent. I'm not sure about the drinks, the Old Fashioned I ordered was nothing special. read more

See all

Valentine's Day pre fix 2026. A MESS. 3 hour dinner, never got entree, said they'd give them to us to go, nope - no main course. Hostess was blatantly rude. Tables around us got their orders messed up and never got entrees either. Food was mid, drinks super mid. read more

Valentine's Day 2026 Reservation 8:45; we were seated at the bar at 9:20 (if not at the bar we would have waited 30 more minutes) No explanations, apologies, and wait staff very rude. Don't have to try the food to know I'm not coming back. read more

We ate there last night.Was prepared for the worst but was mildly surprised.Our server was great,food timing was perfect.My dirty martini was smooth & wonderful.Next came the beet salad,5 stars! The oxtail pasta was good but the seafood pasta was disappointing.There was maybe one small piece of crab & 3 tiny pieces of shrimp for $34? Sad. read more

Food was cold, salad dressing was not edible, pizza was too spicy! Would never recommend this overly priced pizza restaurant. This was a takeout order. read more

Overall the experience was sub par. My party and I arrived early to get drinks at the bar, which were great. We were there for a birthday, and had indicated as such on the reservation. However, when it came time to sit down, she placed us next to a family with multiple small children in the corner of the back room, which was windowless with hideous wallpaper. We quickly and politely asked to be seated in the main room because it was a special occasion. Given the restaurant was mostly empty, we didn't think this would be a problem. Her tone and body language, however, very obviously indicated she was annoyed. Eventually, after conversing with another hostess, who appeared to also be the manager, we worked out a table in the main room. The manager (not our original hostess) subsequently brought us champagne which was nice considering the hassle of getting the table. In terms of the food, the drinks and starters were very good. 4/5 of us ordered pasta and it was extremely al dente. I love al dente pasta, but it was way too much even for me. The salmon was good. Overall our experience was not great. We won't be back anytime soon. read more

The inside is pretty, open and big. They have some outdoor seating as well. We came with no reservation on a Saturday evening and seated right away. We had pasta with beef short ribs, pasta with pancetta and salad. Salad tasted fine. The beef short ribs were good but unfortunately the pasta seemed liquidy and the pancetta was undercooked. It seemed more like German stroganoff vs and Italian pasta. It was not what we expected. They didn't charge us for the pasta with pancetta because my husband didn't eat it. Maybe we'll come back for the pizza. Service was friendly and attentive. read more

See all

I ordered a variety of salads and small plates because I was craving a fresh, healthy dinner. Granted, delivery is never as good as dining in, but every dish I ordered was unusually lackluster, if not, downright terrible. Let's start with the fennel, pea, fava bean, and grapefruit salad. Despite the nice vinaigrette, the salad was flavorless and the fennel had been sliced inconsistently and coarsely. A few simple tweaks (use a mandolin to shave the fennel very thin) and this salad could have been serviceable, but as was, it was a bit like chewing on burlap covered in dressing. On to the polenta: It takes a special kind of talent to screw up polenta, but they did. The dish came with some bitter garnish and the polenta itself was the wrong consistency (too soupy) and relatively flavorless. The next disappointment was the little gem salad. This came with somewhat wilted pieces of lettuce (hardly gems) and about a thimble-full of dressing that tasted good, but wasn't enough to cover more than a single leaf. Finally, I got the chocolate tart with ganache. The tart was so dry, I'm convinced it instantly de-humidified my kitchen when I opened the container by sucking all the moisture out of the air. The ganache was unoffensive, but only served to highlight how dry and overcooked the tart was. Many years ago, I had a decent meal here, but this experience was shockingly bad and in stark contrast to the gorgeous beet and avocado salad I had at Pizzaiola recently (along with the perfectly prepared Margarita pizza and solid vodka gimlet). For the price, there are dozens of other options that are so much better--Pizzaiola, Southies, Belotti. I honestly don't know how A16 stays in business. read more

Went there tonight for the Christmas Eve "Feast of the Seven Fishes" Just ok; way overpriced for value and taste. This was a real miss for me. $500 for 2 people and simply not worth it. read more

I had a private event for my husbands birthday and the experience was top tier! The service was great and the food was wonderful. Tina was a wonderful host and made sure we didn't miss a thing! We had a little bit of everything so it was hard to decide which was our favorite. I can't wait to come again. read more

See all

Cozy, small intimate setting. Wait staff were kind but I did not particularly care for their leisure- service was kind of slow. Food was delicious. Squid ink pasta was wonderful but the marinated olive plate was not my cup of tea- the olives were too mushy for my liking. Pizza was yummy. read more

See all