The dish I had here was so bad that I am writing a review. I had chilaquiles. The dish was primarily composed of cold, sodden chips soaked in mole sauce. Very little else except several avocado slices and some queso cheese. Horrible. The service was indifferent and inattentive to us, a party of seven and the only party in the restaurant. Ambiance is fine; it has the air of a bistro, country inn. Very nice, except for the food and service. read more

Ordered the In The Wood burger to go--and it was amazing! I will be back to try the other food.

Ordered delivery of pepperoni pizza via DoorDash. The pizza was greasy, cheesy, saucy yummyness. I enjoyed the pizza greatly. There was about a 45 minute delay in making the pizza so I am giving 4 stars. read more

In The Wood - Pepperoni Pizza - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Disappointing evening - so so service . Bad food burnt fires dried chicken and soggy salmon sandwich - it is wrap

A real life "Kitchen Nightmare". The Beyond Burger was just a grain-based patty likely from Costco, and their gourmet 1/2 lb burgers looked like the burgers from elementary school. Two burgers were cold, and after sending it back the chef simply put the entire plate in the broiler - hello hot bun and plate, but the burger was still cold. The owner came over to our table to check on the order, and that's when I mentioned the Beyond Burger didn't seem legit. This is when he told me everyone loves it and even, and I quote, "Mr. Beyond" stopped by and even had one of his burgers at the restaurant. He lost all credibility at this point. The right move would be to remake the cold burgers, and to apologize for not serving a beyond burger. Instead he basically challenged me at the table....lame. The fish and chips were good, as well as the seafood pasta. The service was friendly. read more

In The Wood - A "Beyond Burger" - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

First time in Berkley seeing my babygirl as she's just completed her first year in college. The young lady at the bar with the colored hair, Katy, had amazing customer service. One of the kindest and sweetest bartenders I've ever met. The food was fantastic, the tacos were great. Becca and Briana noticed I was eating alone and created an amazing home feel for me. We shared many stories and "good vibes." Would come back just for them. And to the sweet old Australian man, let's keep the personal stories to a minimum next time :) #bringbackroberto read more

Lol I ordered a beyond burger (my husband ordered fish & chips and my son Mac n cheese). Everyone's food arrives quick, but kind of cold. I open up my burger and it's... lettuce and tomato and sauce. No burger. They didn't call or message or say they were out of beyond burgers. No. They just sent a $17 lettuce and tomato sandwich. We tried to reach out to them, call them, and no answer numerous times. Did I mention I'm 40 weeks pregnant? What a joke. read more

In The Wood - $17 "beyond" burger - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

The food and drinks are really good. Katie is a great server and bartender. She makes great drinks, my favorite is the Strawberry Lemon Drop. She is always so nice and accommodating. Thumbs up to In the Wood! read more

Friendly service, and a very refreshing salad. I'll be back for a burger for sure. I look forward to trying the chicken wings, also. read more

In The Wood - Prosciutto and melon salad with burrata. - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

I was on my way to get some ice cream a few doors down when I saw this place with outdoor alley seating. I decided to go in and check out the menu. They have a nice mix of gastropub/American. I couldn't just eat ice cream again for my lunch, so I decided to go with a semi-healthy steak salad lol. After ordering the salad, I saw a pizza go out to another customer that looked amazing, so I went ahead and ordered a pepperoni one. You have to have priorities in life! The pizza surprised me in a delightful way. The dough really stood out, with nice flavor and a light crisp. Quality cheese and pepperoni + just the right amount of sauce. I peeped inside and spotted the dedicated wood-fired pizza oven, which explains it. I ended up taking the salad to go, which was also great. The steak was cooked as requested to medium paired with fresh mixed greens and loads of gorgonzola cheese topped with a balsamic vinaigrette. I'd love to come back next time and enjoy some drinks with friends. Parking: There's a decent-sized parking lot on the backside of the restaurant, otherwise good luck hunting for paid meter off college st. read more

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My husband and I decided to stop in for some food after shopping. The atmosphere is cozy and has the " Cheers" feel to it. The server was nice and friendly. But.....the food was AWFUL!!! My husband ordered a pepperoni pizza, and it was burnt, and I ordered fish and chips, which was inedible. It was likely frozen and over-fried. The French fries were terrible. I couldn't eat them, which is rare for me. It's a shame because I could have seen this as a nice spot to visit regularly if the food was good. read more

The Hey The Best Pizza In The SF Bay Area I'll Be Back! Great Service And Staff! 6 Stars If I Could!

** The following review reflects my delivery experience DURING the shelter-in-place order currently in effect. ** Sondheim anyone? That was my first thought (of course), but I think the name is a play on "in the 'hood" only it's Elmwood - so it's In The Wood. Got it? It's yet another restaurant that I had never heard of much less visited. It's a gastropub with a wood-fire pizza oven, so I suspect it was a popular family gathering spot. But as with all my recent COVID-19-induced experiences, I discovered it on a takeout app, Caviar this time. We had dinner delivered to Jamie W. and me recently, and it turned out to be another nice Berkeley find. Jamie chose the $21 Grilled Salmon Filet, a hearty slab of tender fish accompanied by rosemary potatoes and sautéed seasonal vegetables (photo: https://bit.ly/3eH5oSX). Very nicely prepared. I went for the $17 Seared Tuna Salad, which was not a scoop of mayo-saturated fish flakes out of a tin can but rather slices of poppyseed-crusted yellowfin tuna. They were layered over mixed greens, red onion, cherry tomatoes, bacon, avocado, and lemon dijon vinaigrette (photo: https://bit.ly/2WzT2pz). It was a highly robust mix of fresh flavors in a box. To get more of our vegetables in for the day, we shared $5 orders of Sautéed Cauliflower, a rainbow of tasty florets (photo: https://bit.ly/32uUc9x), and Sautéed Green Beans, which could have been a bit more plentiful (photo: https://bit.ly/3eGvGov). All in all, it was a grand gastropub find...in the privacy of our home. FOOD - 4 stars...genuinely tasty dishes from a local gastropub AMBIANCE - n/a...I picture something cozy but alas, this was a delivery SERVICE - 4 stars...well prepared, well packaged, no complaints TOTAL - 4 stars...name sounds more like a Sondheim musical RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2CbVh8u read more

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I haven't eaten here in a while, so I came here with friends. Our server was excellent, and the food arrived promptly, and it was fresh. In the search for the perfect fried chicken sandwich, I tried theirs. Totally it did not make the grade. So far,Bake Sale Betty's is #1 followed by Fat Apples. read more

Good location. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Came here for hubbies birthday at his request. Server was super friendly and attentive. Food was mostly good. My salad and chicken wings were just something regular so tasted fine. Husband had the steak which he said tasted fine. Kids and cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizza, which they ate it all so that's a good sign. Overall it all tasted good. Seems like a good place to hang with friends and have good "bar food" and pizza. I'd come back. read more

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I'll be honest, one of the weirdest meals I've had in a while. It wasn't the worst, but was so strange. I can only describe it like an alien came down to earth and put together the food how they think humans eat. The mushroom pizza has tomato sauce, big chunks of onion, fresh parsley, chipotle sauce all over it, bland mushrooms, and is just strange somehow. The salmon tacos have coleslaw (like the kind you get as a side with bbq), chunks of mango, huge slices of jalapeños, and a tortilla that has been heated up in a way it hardens by the time it gets to the table. The dishes have ingredients that don't quite go together or complement each other. I couldn't get past it. It's also not cheap. The sangria is $8, pretty small glass, and a bit cloudy and citrus heavy. Service was pretty good. It's a nice location with a little outdoor alley seating and spacious interior, but they definitely need to re-work the menu and food. I don't think I'll give it a go again to be real. read more

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While their prices seem to go up about another $1 or $2 per selection every 6 months, the food continues to be pretty good, and servers are generally friendly. This past visit I had the salmon sandwich ($19), my husband had the beet salad ($16.50), and two friends each had a 12" pizza ($22.50 each). Toppings on the pizzas were substantial. I always have them put the tartar sauce for the sandwich on the side - otherwise it kind of overwhelms the salmon. Ditto for salad dressings. We like to sit outside on the patio when weather permits. Price increases definitely mean we come less often than we used to. read more

Love this place! Great local spot. The food is wonderful and so is the service. Shoutout to Barbara and Simone who went above and beyond! read more

In The Wood - Grilled Salmon Sandwich - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Kind and caring staff. Busy for lunch. My husband loved his omelette. I was disappointed with the caprese croissant. Mozerella not melted. Came deconstructed land the prosciutto was terrible. Nice effort. Just didn't come to fruition. read more

In The Wood - Caprese croissant. - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food was bland. Had a seared ahi salad and there was little to no Vingrette or seasoning. It looked good but did not taste how it looked. Had the truffle fries and those were really good. Also we got sat outside and they refused to move an umbrella for us. My friend who I was eating shortened our lunch since it was so hot under the sun. Tough experience at In the Wood! read more

In The Wood - Seared Tuna Salad - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Update: I really want to like this place, came today for a second-chance visit. I won't be back. Visited on a Friday at around 4PM. The bathroom was filthy - dried pee spray on the toilet seat, balled-up damp paper towels & TP on the floor. If it was 10PM on a weekend, then sure, that's what bathrooms look like for spots with a full bar - but 4PM on a weekday? I ordered the seared tuna salad with no onions and no bacon. It took awhile to come out - for me, it seemed like a very long time given how many diners were in the restaurant and on the patio. When it did come out, it had onions. The tuna was too old to be served. It had old-fish smell and taste. As before, the servers were lovely ... the servers seem to be the best thing about this place. read more

I really wanted to give less stars for service. Now, I can tell when a place is short staffed, a little eye contact, be right there... cool. No big deal, times are weird. Yet, they had at least 3 people that looked like servers actively ignoring me. Seemed they couldn't decide who was next to serve the new table. It was nearly empty otherwise. Foods great. read more

In The Wood - El 'Nando - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

I like this place for burgers and beers, but tonight I made the mistake of ordering one of their margarita pizzas. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the pizza a 1. It was almost inedible. It was loaded with so much garlic that the garlic flavor overpowered everything and almost made me sick. I tried to pick it off with not much success. I think they must have a jar of chopped garlic, and they just took a spoon and threw it all over the pizza. No basil on the pizza either. Too much cheese. Very imbalanced. Yeeech. read more

The food was great and the restaurant is the perfect place for a Friday night with friends! The pizza was definitely a the highlight with the peaches adding a lot of flavor to the pizza! The salad was also great with plenty of toppings. read more

In The Wood - Onions rings, Baby Kale Salad, The New Benito Pizza - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ordered on Uber Eats, the app says the food is ready but when we arrived they didn't receive the order at all. So I get to wait 30 minutes with a hungry kid who just wants her pizza. The manager tells me there's an error with their Point of Service machine but doesn't bother apologizing or make a single effort to make it right. The Margherita pizza was not a Margherita. It was flatbread with bland sauce, grainy cheese, and far too many sliced tomatoes on top. The crust was oily and burned on the edges. My daughter will devour horrible frozen pizza but she couldn't have more than two bites of this stuff. read more

The service at this establishment is horrendous. I received a dirty glass and the server Alex inspected it as if she didn't believe me. The food was lousy and Alex refused to remake it saying she would charge. Ambiance is mid. Go elsewhere and save your money and the aggravation. read more

Came here early evening with a friend for the first time after shopping college ave., and we were looking for a bite and cocktail. It was the perfect choice with a Local, friendly vibe, not too big or noisy, and the right menu selections. Prices were realistic for quality of food and location. We shared a lamb burger cooked as requested at medium along with fries - it was very good. The cocktail menu options were plenty- I had an amazing Mezcal cocktail followed by a nice Pinot with my burger. Lastly, the staff , including Aidan at the bar, and friendly owner Robert?just made our whol experience really nice, I'd describe it as a 'visit' at someone's place. Everyone , seemed friendly, checked on how we were doing, and appeared to enjoy being there as much as we did. read more

Hands down one of the best hamburgers I have ever had. I'd recommend this to all my friends and family. I the wait we're friendly. Overall very good place. read more

Such a surprise! This place has some of the BEST pizza I've ever had! A friend and I split the cheese pizza and it was fabulous. Our friends had the salmon sandwich on an Acme roll, which she enjoyed, and another had the salmon tacos. We all were very impressed and will be back! Also, we had a great server. It helps to be near UC Berkeley and be able to hire some very clever, intelligent people to serve.... makes a big difference. read more

We stopped by In The Woods for a quick dinner. The wood fired pizzas caught our interest but we found the Calabrese a bit plain despite the mix of flavorful toppings. The kale salad was fine but not memorable and was overpowered by red onions. Service was not as attentive as it could be but they were also busy. Overall I really wanted to like this place but somehow the non-descript internal ambience, menu with variety but lacking theme, and service style made it feel like it hasn't quite come together. read more

Great little spot in the Elmwood district of Berkeley. I've been coming here for years and they recently added a full liquor bar! I highly recommend their burger, pizzas and their tacos. Ice cold beer on tap with great service and inviting atmosphere. Must try! read more

In The Wood - Margherita Pizza and Ice Cold IPA. - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

A lovely neighborhood spot. The menu has enough options that everyone can find something to eat (they also make stuff for kids that's not directly on the menu). Crispy Chicken sandwich and the El Gordito Pizza are my go-to's. read more

In The Wood - El Gordito Pizza - Gastropubs Near Me - Berkeley, California

So I order a pizza from Zachary's and wings from In The Wood (hey, it's Thursday night football) Pick up the pizza and as always, ready on time and staff is super welcoming and nice. Go to in the Wood, foods not ready so a server says "you're going to have to wait". Sit down, 5 mins later some dude with a British accent who seemed to be the manager of owner tells a couple "Hey this guys just sitting here I don't know why but you can have this table then asks me to move. Yea, F this place. Plenty of other spots. Going from Zachs to this place within 5 mins showed me "night vs day" in terms of etiquette and good customer service. read more

The food itself was good, but the service was so bad that our meal was unpleasant. A few service highlights: 1. Our water glass had a lipstick imprint on it. When we asked for it to be replaced, the server swapped it with a glass an another table. I guess she figured the next guest would be okay with a lipstick print on her glassware? 2. The dessert was oddly small, particularly at the price. The server said it was small because they ran out. But not to worry - she has told her manager about the problem and in the future, it would be the correct size. But for now, she refused to adjust the price. 3. The medium well-done burger we requested was not cooked. I don't mean it was rare. I mean it was actually raw on the inside. When we discussed these problems with the server, she said it was because Mondays are so busy, so they couldn't help it. read more

Ate here today and had the in the wood burger. It was so delicious! It wasn't overloaded with stuff, but the patty was fat, juicy, and packed with flavor! The owner delivered our food, and was super friendly. Didn't order a pizza, but the guy next to us did and it looked perfect! Definitely recommend if you're in the area. Great place with a cool outdoor patio in the alley. Inside dining had a great vibe as well, with great people watching views from the windows. read more

We stopped by the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon for brunch and were seated immediately. The atmosphere was great, not too loud. We ordered the waffle & fruits and the In the Wood Omelet. Both of the items were very tasty but the portion size was a bit small for the price. Overall, I think its a pretty ordinary place, but the quality of ingredients they used felt very fresh. read more

Found this place while getting a little holiday shopping done on a sunny but brisk afternoon. We had my girlfriend's dog with us and weren't finding as many outdoor eating options as we might have hoped for on College Ave. Luckily, we spotted In The Wood. The menu on the sandwich board out front was only so inspiring, but Yelpers had given ITW four stars, so we gave it a shot. Great idea we had - we found a legit 4-star gastropub. FUC me - Yelp makes livin' large by the Bay easy breezy. I'm not making it out to be the greatest restaurant in the entire neighborhood. But for a place with rotating taps, tall windows and a decent decor, the food was delicious. Our server, Molly I think, was super sweet. She charmed us in part because she was eager to get along with our usually not so friendly pup, who came around after a couple of visits. Turning this gastropub to the brews, I love that they had Sierra's Celebration Ale on tap. It's perfect for the holidays, with notes of spice to go with a robust flavor. The also have Sierra's Hazy IPA, a Dust Bowl and a Drakes as their standard taps along with a rotating amber and an oatmeal stout. My gf's avocado toast was OK, but lacking the touch of olive oil that would have made it pop. However, the salmon sandwich, which our server recommended, was downright delicious. Wild salmon on an ACME bun. I'd be happy to eat this anywhere, let alone at a chill pub with a sunny patio. It came with a mixed green salad that was pretty good. Though the fries were gorgeous and appeared to be fresh cut, they were lacking a crisp. Do these guys know about soaking them to remove the starch before cutting and frying? They're seriously just one step away from having absolutely killer fries. I'm curious to try out the kale salad, fish tacos, burger and chicken sandwich. They have a real wood-fired oven, offering the potential for amazing pizza. So I'll be back. Other deets. Plenty of seating inside. About seven tables outside. A couple of TVs with sports on in. A quiet alleyway off the street out. One, unisex bathroom. All the servers were friendly. This is a new-in-2018 business worth checking out in the Elmwood. Does anyone remember the name of the Italian place that was here before? *Toni said Trattoria, and I'm pretty sure that's true.* Regardless, this is an upgrade! read more

The food is good, they have a great menu, a solid little outdoor patio and a nice interior, I'd say the only critique I have is that for portion size it was pricey. We sat outside on a glorious sunny day and enjoyed the baby kale salad (2) and an order of fish tacos. Both were quite tasty, but neither dish were a meal in itself (although the fish tacos were listed on the app portion). As I mentioned before, it wasn't cheap either. While we spent what we thought was more than enough on lunch ($40, with a beer), we left hungry. I think next time the move is to order the burger or sandwich; an item typically more filling to get a bit more value! Definitely stop by and check it out! read more

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The food was good but took wayyyy too long! They were out of the item we ordered. Then forgot another other for part of the party.

My daughter and I were working down the street on a Saturday and took our lunch break here. We ordered the Benito pizza to split. It was delicious. She liked it more than I did, a little dry with a crispy crust but still very good. Inside was clean and elegant and our server was very attentive and kind to our needs to be quick and speedy. Recommend!! read more