First visit to Oakland and this small brightly colored clean open layout restaurant, reserved on…read moreOT, great full window views of street, paid parking in front, and both lunch and dinner menus. 5/5 Paul the Great, both Host and Waiter, made me feel right at home explained specials on menu and recommended some great Oakland places to visit. 10/10. Please ask for Paul when you visit. The delicious reasonably priced entrees cooked by the owner/chef included Dominican salad and Pico Pollo served with little wait.5/5. I will definitely visit again!!

We had an absolutely exceptional experience at alaMar Dominican Kitchen in Oakland! From the…read moreincredible food and delicious drinks to the warm, attentive service, everything was truly outstanding to the ambiance and creative decor brought authenticity and warm welcoming . My husband complimented Chef Nelson on the amazing food, and we were so pleasantly surprised when Chef Nelson came out to greet us personally. He was incredibly kind and gracious, and even treated us to a special creation of his own. That personal touch made an already wonderful experience even more memorable. You can truly taste the passion, creativity, and love that goes into every dish. The flavors were incredible, the drinks were fantastic, and the hospitality was top-notch. We're already looking forward to bringing our folks from Brentwood, Pittsburg, and Antioch to alaMar so they can taste and experience it for themselves. Oakland has a real gem here! Thank you, Chef Nelson, and the entire alaMar team, for such an amazing experience. We'll definitely be back!

Located in Au, two establishments are run here for Chef Smelly's and the bar. So orders at the bar…read moreare separate. It was quite crowded and I just sat on the counters looking out onto the street, which was fine. It kind of took awhile to get the food, but it was worth it. Platters were big and sharable. Got the combo plate with fried chicken, fish, fried oysters, and Garlic noodles. All really good, seasoned well, and not too salty. Service was friendly. I hear the oxtails on the weekend are really good. Will try to come back then.

Enjoyed an early dinner here with the hubby. FOOD was pretty good on the flavor. Every dish came…read moreout pipping hot and very well seasoned. My favorite sides were the garlic bread and the mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes were !! Buffalo wings were good too. I didn't love the Crack n cheese to "rue" y for my taste and not as cheesy as expected..IMO. I had the blackened salmon topped with crab meat with garlic noodles. Ctab meat was good, but i wiahwd there was more. Salmon was decent nothi g special. Garlic noodles tasted good, but were a bit dry. Hubby said the lamb chops were cool, but not spectacular. Yams were . Service was great no complaints here. Really enjoyed our server (cant recall his name, light complexion brother with braids) Now this is were they loose points. For the price point I waa expecting a better vibe. Something a bit more upscale. It gives a diner or neighborhood bar vibe. The paper table clothes and overall decor, from the bathroom to the kitchen entry area could use a quick spruce up. Parking also is a bit hard to find, but that's Oakland, so cant fault them for that. Definitely recommend you go and try it for yourself.

We came as a party of 7. Great ambiance for happy hour!! $1 oysters and fun drinks (but we didn't…read moretry this time). Note that there is a limit to 30 oysters per table. I really like how they let you build your seafood experience exactly how you want it, from the type of seafood to the seasoning and spice level. The only thing was I think the spice level could've been kicked up a notch. Our table ordered a mix of oysters, garlic noodles, Cajun fries, shrimp, crawfish, mussels, which came with corn, potatoes, sausage and hard boiled egg! The seafood was fresh and the sauce coated everything nicely without being overwhelmingly salty, and the corn and potatoes soaked up all the seasoning. All for a very reasonable price if you get the combo, which comes in 3 different tiers! The oysters were a standout--fresh, briny & I loved all the different sauces like horse radish and cocktail on the side. I do wish the fries were a bit more crispy and could've gone heavier with the Cajun seasoning, but that's personal preference. The atmosphere is casual, lively, and perfect for big groups. If you're looking for a customizable seafood boil with fresh oysters, fun drinks, and plenty of options to build your ideal meal, Rockin Crawfish is definitely worth a visit

I was very disappointed with my recent takeout order. Before placing my order, I specifically asked…read morewhether the crawfish were live, and the waitress told me they were available. Based on that conversation, I expected fresh live crawfish, which was available Tuesday when I ordered from DoorDash the previous time. After I got home and opened my order this time. it was clear that the crawfish had been frozen. If the restaurant serves frozen crawfish, that's fine, but customers should be given accurate information when they ask directly about the product right? I feel misled because I relied on what I was told when making my purchase. Transparency is important, and I hope the restaurant does a better job communicating with customers about whether their crawfish are live or previously frozen. VERY DISHONEST BUSINESS SMH.

Chef Smelly's delivered on the one thing that matters most: the food…read more My wife ordered the fried corn, collard greens, mac and cheese, half crab, and blackened shrimp. I had the salmon, fried prawns, mac and cheese, and cabbage. Everything we tried was flavorful, fresh, and cooked with care. The standout items were the blackened shrimp and the crab. The butter sauce covering the crab was absolutely delicious and packed with flavor. The salmon was cooked exactly the way salmon should be--moist, flaky, and tender. Too many restaurants overcook salmon and dry it out in the center, but Chef Smelly's got it right. The fried prawns paired perfectly with their sweet chili sauce, which was a nice change from the usual tartar sauce. The sides held their own. The mac and cheese was creamy with great texture, and while I won't call it the best I've ever had, it was very good. The cabbage was excellent, but the collard greens were the real surprise. They reminded me of my mother's homemade greens, and that's not a compliment I give lightly. If you're from the South, you know how hard it is to find greens that taste like they came from someone's family kitchen. The service was attentive, friendly, and hospitable throughout the meal. More importantly, the food was consistently good from start to finish. Bottom line: Chef Smelly's is worth the visit. Great flavor, quality ingredients, and food that feels like it was made with pride. We'll definitely be back and would gladly recommend it to others.

Came here for lunch after a recommendation from someone. We're not from here, drove here from…read moreSonoma County on a Friday afternoon. It was a little hard to find because the bldg had a sign that says "AU" and not the actual name of the restaurant. We were greeted as soon as we got to the front and were seated right away. The ambiance was nice. The place was clean. We opted to get the hot honey chili prawns for an appetizer and it was pretty good. Hubby got his fried catfish w/ collard greens and yams. I got the fried red snapper w/ the mac n cheese and yams for our main entree. The food came pretty fast and hot. Pretty big servings also which made it ok since they priced each at $31. The fish tasted great, the only problem was they switched our fish. The yams were good and collards were ok. Mac n cheese we didn't really care for. Excellent service and I would say the food was ok. **I ordered the red snapper w/ mac n cheese n yams and my husband ordered catfish w/ collards n yams. I ended up w/ the catfish and he was given the snapper. We were halfway w/ our meal when he said I think u have my catfish. Not saying anything bad about the restaurant, it's just our fish was not with the correct sides and we had it mixed up. ** Both fish were cooked to perfection and tasted great. Just the sides were just ok.

The Food Game never disappoints! The best decision I made was when I decided to meal prep with…read moreAnanda. Her food is tasteful, healthy and never boring. You get a variety of different flavors and authentic dishes. All the ingredients are healthy and fresh. Since meal prepping with The Food Game I've continued to lose weight and my energy level is high. Healthy comfort dishes, you can't go wrong!

Ananda is amazing and her food is out of this world!!! My favorite item is the Asian Cajun Seafood…read moreBoil which I first had at FoodieLand. It was so good I ordered 2 pans of it for Thanksgiving and not a single shrimp or potato was left! I also LOVE the weekly meal prep and I have lost almost 4 pounds in 1 week. This woman is the truth and her clean eating meal prep has helped me tremendously in my everyday life as well as aid to my overall physical health! Don't miss out!!!

I've been here twice in the last month (March 2026) and everything has been excellent: the food,…read morethe service, the vibe inside, from the artwork to the music to the comfy couches along the side where you can just chill over dinner with a friend or a lover;-). The bar is substantial if you are alone and just hanging out. We had a party of 7 people last week - celebrating the sale of my sister's Oakland condo - and had to reconfigure our seating for the friend who came last minute, which was done cheerfully. The set up of Calabash allows for large groups easily. We came early (5:30pm) so we had the place to ourselves for the first half hour. Their specialty cocktails are very nice. Unfortunately the wine selection is limited (I think they'd run out of some and hadn't restocked) but we were happy with the cocktails, which include non-alcoholic options. For Vegans, there are a few great items: there's a roasted brussel sprouts & cauliflower combo that is delicious (might be a little spicy for some, but not for me!); plantain; rice & peas. And for non-meat eaters, the salmon dish and the shrimp dish (an appetizer) are both excellent. I can already tell that Calabash will be my go-to spot in Oakland. I live in San Francisco, which has no authentic Caribbean dining spot, unless you count Meski (Warriors' Draymon Green's new spot), which technically is "Ethiopian-Dominican fusion". Also the price point of Calabash is much more budget-friendly than Meski. One final note is that it is black-owned, so if you care about supporting our community of Black-owned businesses, this is a no-brainer. I'm just sayin'...

Tuesday night was my first time dining at Calabash . And I must say I definitely enjoyed the food ,…read moreambience, and the poetry was outstanding. I've definitely expected to share my experience with many friends. I highly recommend calabash.

I drive past this place all the time and kept noticing the $5 biscuit sandwich display, so today…read morewas finally the day to try it. The service was great. The gentleman at the counter suggested the sausage biscuit, and the guy who brought my food out was so upbeat and friendly. The biscuit is buttery, soft, and absolutely delicious, and the pepper jelly added a really nice flavor. Did I mention the biscuit is buttery and soft?! Omg, so good. Not the biggest breakfast sandwich, but for $6 out the door I have zero complaints. I will be back!

Brenda's has been well-known for decades, the first location is in San Francisco. I've gotten…read moretakeout from them before but this was the first time I've dined in at Brenda's Oakland. My wife and I were trying to be strategic with our choices: She got the Fried Chicken wings, I got one of the dinner entrees (the Jambalaya) which came with three sides. For the sides, I'm a potato salad lover so I felt compelled to order the Creole Potato Salad which was mayo-based but not too heavy; Mac and Cheese was pretty good for a side, not the best I've ever had: and their Cornbread was a healthy size for a size, I was expecting a small muffin type side. Their Jimbalaya was good, it was thick and solid as opposed to those that are more soup/stew consistency but it was pretty flavorful. The Fried Chicken wings were solid (my wife doesn't believe in boneless, which I've come around on as well). The fried chicken was not too salty for being fried chicken and the wings were a good size. It came with fries and a small side of cole slaw. We were stuffed from dinner otherwise we would've tried dessert, I've had their peach cobbler as takeout. Pretty good experience, we'll come back again. Brenda's lives up to the hype.

Overcooked fish, expensive, and long wait…read more Spotted this place while nearby and decided to try it. I was very disappointed. The fish n chips were BAD. The fish was rubbery and thin.. The fries were okay and extra sauce was an extra cost. Not coming back.

Total rip off they super skimped out on the catfish nuggets, I paid $18 for fish batter. It's…read morefriggin catfish not like it's a super pricey fish especially nugget form. Never coming back here no wonder it wasn't busy.

Grabbed a Tuesday lunch outside the home office today in the Haus of Chefs…read more Went for the burrito bowl with the blackened chicken. Great salad, better chicken. Very flavorful! The beans and rice are red beans and rice, so good. Also, they really fill the bottom of the bowl with them so if you don't finish the bowl you've got another meal side to go! Can't wait to try another dish.

Omg!!! If you haven't been to Jusla for Soul Food Taco Tuesday, you're seriously missing out…read more Chef's creations are super creative, bold, and absolutely worth the hype. Here's the Vibe * We had the grilled oysters to start (YES), and I went for the fried lobster tacos--yummmm. Perfect balance of crispy, creamy, spicy, and fresh. * Sadly, they were out of their popular oxtail and spicy short rib tacos (thanks to that graduation crowd), but that just gives me a reason to go back. * I love that this spot supports pop-up chefs and local Black-owned businesses--you can feel the passion in every bite. Logistics & Details * Located inside Haus of Chefs (they're open Saturdays and Tuesdays only). * The bar is run separately by the owner, and it's fire--solid cocktails like the Creamy Espresso Martini or California Dreamin' round out the meal. * Don't miss the full dinner menu--Salt & Pepper Bronzino and the Jambalaya Rigatoni are next on my list. If you're in Oakland and want something soulful, flavorful, and full of love, this is your go-to Taco Tuesday move.

Still my daughter's favorite Cajun restaurant…read more Quality/Quantity - Today we got the following: Cajun Wings - 10 pieces. Love me some deep fried wings! Glad we got the larger order. I think I ate most of the wings. Fried perfectly and each wing was of good size. Combo #1 - Crawfish, mussels, and shrimp (head off for $2 extra) with mild Cajun sauce. We also added 1 extra corn. Garlic Noodles - Regular size. How can you NOT like butter and garlic! We should have ordered a large...? But actually it was more than enough. Crawfish Fried Rice - This was actually better than expected and of generous size. Atmosphere - This was a brother/sister shared location. But now it seems like it is one business...? The sister owns the Bucket of Crawfish and the brother owns Pho Anh Dao. But today they seated all of us on the Pho side. Fairly large space. Still very few customers here even for a Saturday when we visit, so good for us. In the past, it was hard to find parking, but it is not a problem now. Plenty of street parking and I think they share a private lot with the motel next door...? Open 6 days a week, from noon until 9pm; closed Mondays. Service - Good/excellent; 5 stars as usual. We also like supporting the locals and family run businesses. We have supported this business since the "shooting." Optional bibs. This is a finger food type restaurant. Price - $99 + tip. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 2014 at this location and since 2010 in Utah.

It's a great place to eat. Very good food and service I would recommend eating thereread more