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The Terrace Room

3.6 (609 reviews)
Closed • Closed

Services - The Terrace Room

Venue rental

The Terrace Room Photos

THE TERRACE ROOM ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Classy
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - The Terrace Room

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Reviews With Photos

Rudy G.

We recently held a community swearing-in of a newly minted County Judge. What a great experience. Candi and Byron tended to every detail and made sure we were more than prepared. They took time to host us on-site ahead of the event and walk us through options and even offered recommendations when we were in need. The venue is charming and overlooks the lake. The chef and team went above and beyond. Our even involved dignitaries and the facility has a cute and convenient suite/green room off the main area which was a nice addition without any upsale. The venue is truly a gem of Oakland and we are already talking with family about the next event we can host here!

We held our wedding reception at the Terrace Room. It is such a beautiful space, it made it so easy to have a gorgeous wedding without having to spend much on decor. The team was so helpful throughout the entire planning process - Candi and Byron were great and so easy to work with! The food was delicious, the service was amazing, and all of our guests had so many nice things to say about the location. We highly recommend the Terrace Room for a wedding celebration!

We had our wedding at the Terrace Room in March and absolutely loved it. Candi and Byron were great to work with from the start and the whole team on the day of the wedding was friendly and professional. We liked the way the Terrace Room functions like a restaurant, meaning they handle the food and beverage and provide the tables, linens, etc. It was great not to worry about finding an outside caterer, hiring bartenders or dealing with rentals. Candi and Byron had lots of suggestions for how to make everything go smoothly and they coordinated well with our other vendors. The food was delicious and our guests enjoyed the bar. The space is so beautiful it hardly needs any decoration, which was great for us because we did our own flowers and decorations. The view over Lake Merritt is beautiful and we even had a double rainbow appear during our ceremony! Not sure the Terrace Room staff can be expected to make perfectly-timed rainbows happen again, but I recommend this venue anyway!

Smoked Salmon Benedict
Rome L.

Bottomless and Benedict's Bottomless is always a win in my book, and then adding good food to accompany it completes the experience for me. I decided to stray away from my usual and go with the smoked Salmon Benedict, and I was not disappointed. The hollandaise sauce was so good I almost asked for an additional side of it for my potatoes. Can definitely see myself coming back here the next time I'm in the area to enjoy another breakfast/brunch with that great view over looking the lake.

Blood orange margarita. Delicious
Irene G.

Our dear long time friends were celebrating their 26th Anniversary, so we wanted to take them out to dinner. I looked for a place in Oakland with a view, good ratings and feedback. It definitely had a beautiful view, the food was delicious and the band was great. We had a great night full of laughter. The service was good as well. This particular night the bartender made some strong drinks. I ordered a lavender tonic. Really pretty drinks but oh my it was strong. Our friend ordered a drink with elderflower in it. That was the best drink, delicious and refreshing. We were all satisfied with our meals. I definitely want to come back.

2019 Restaurant week: yummy sticky toffee pudding
Mariana D.

Yasss first to enjoy the opening day for 2019 oakland restaurant week . We've been eye stalking this restaurant for a few years - I mean who can deny the awesome view of the newly renovated Lake Merritt, Supper club vibe , and the gorgeous hotel interior. Here's the scoop : - $40 pre fixe menu /// 3- course meal - highly recommend the dungeness crab cake with creole remoulade sauce ( yes , singular , you'll Get 1 but it was delish) - pass on the California yellowtail and the weird polenta cake (Uber dry and tasteless but I loved the creamed spinach) - YASSS to the moist sticky toffee pudding (less sticky and more spongecake-like ) AVOID: - pear Apple walnut crumble with vanilla gelato (tasteless not working the calories) - dry yellowtail and polenta Keep in mind : - street parking is limited - be cautious with your check - our server got real confused with splitting our checks and the calculations were wrong - lots of older people enjoy this place :-) - like music (you may not care for the screeching mic OR the musical genre but c'est la vie - happy Hour only on Wednesday and Thursday All in all- pleasant evening with my friend, enjoyed my cocktail, loved the appetizer, but I'm still on the fence about the entrees - seems like this place could be hit or miss !

Burger and Bloody Mary
Stefanie C.

3.5 stars. My fiancé and I passed by Terrace Room several times on our walks around Lake Merritt. I always remarked how pretty it looks, so on the day he proposed, we went there for lunch! What a fun spot located inside the Lake Merritt hotel. Upon walking in that Sunday morning, there was a pianist playing lovely jazz music. We were seated without reservations. We could see the beautiful Lake Merritt in all it's glorious construction. Service was friendly, though actual production of food was a little slow. I started with a Bloody Mary and asked for it spicy. Not bad! Then I saw they had bottomless mimosas, but it wasn't a mimosa kind of morning. The burger caught both our eyes. It had comte and gruyere cheese, butter lettuce, red onion, cherry tomato, cornichon, dijonnaise and came with a side of potatoes. It was one of the most unique and delicious burgers I've ever had! The patty was juicy and fatty, though it had chunks of what felt like tendon that I had to spit out. But the remaining ingredients were on point. I'm glad my fiancé satisfied my curiosity to come here. It lived up to all my expectations, and I'm relieved I wasn't disappointed. Now when we go on our regular Lake Merritt walks, we'll look at the restaurant with fond memories of a special day. Looking at their calendar, I love that they have music and trivia nights. Sounds like so much fun, whether or not you're staying at the hotel.

Trivia every Wednesday at 7:30 :)
Audrey S.

The ol' neighborhood bar kinda feels like a cliche of the past these days, especially in a big city sorta place like Oakland. Friendly neighborhood vibes are alive and well at Wednesday trivia nights at the Terrace Room though! To be honest, the food is pretty hit or miss. I've ordered the garlic fries a few times and had them come out gross and floppy sometimes, and other times crispy and delicious. The drink offerings are limited but adequate. I can usually find at least one good beer. It seems the beer rotates, so some days are better than others. Whether it's a good day in the kitchen or not, I keep finding myself having a great time here. The employees and the other clientele are friendly and the trivia questions are clever and fun. The old-timey art deco aesthetic and view of the lake are also welcoming. In addition to trivia, they have live music pretty often. Haven't been yet but looking forward to checking it out soon! Just gotta make sure to check their event calendar for cover charges

Irish Coffee: Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Bailey's Irish Cream & Coffee ($9)
Elena N.

So randomly (during a night where maybe quite a bit of drinking was involved), the brunch crew and I talked about doing a bottomless brunch in the East Bay. (Most of us live in SF, but one resides in Oakland.) After looking around, we decided on The Terrace Room. (Partly cuz they take reservations.) I made one through Yelp about two months prior for a party of 8 on Saturday, April 20th at 12 noon. A few of us arrived early around 11:15am, so we started our unlimited bubbly in the bar area. *The Town Breakfast: 2 eggs any style, country potatoes, toast, choice of applewood smoked bacon, country ham, country pork sausage or Canadian bacon ($15) *Summer Scramble: seasonal local vegetables with white cheddar and of salad or country potatoes ($15) *Dungeness Crab Omelet: baby spinach, heirloom cherry tomatoes with salad or country potatoes ($21) x2 *Eggs Florentine: 2 poached eggs, sauteed baby spinach, tomato, English muffin and hollandaise sauce with salad or country potatoes ($15) *Classic Benedict: english muffin, hollandaise, Canadian bacon and choice of salad or country potatoes ($14) *Smoked Salmon Benedict: wild salmon, english muffin, chive hollandaise and choice of salad or country potatoes ($18) *Belgium Style Waffle: mixed berries, chantilly cream, and raspberry sauce ($14) *El Cubano: Smoked ham, roasted pork, Emmental cheese, pickles and American mustard with fries or salad ($12) *The Merritt Burger: with secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onions with fries or salad ($14) *Country Ham ($6) *Chicken Apple Sausage ($6) *Bottomless Mimosas ($15) x5 *Bottomless Bloody Mary's ($15) x2 *Irish Coffee: Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Bailey's Irish Cream & Coffee ($9) For the five of us who were early, we started with the bottomless mimosas and marys, a cubano, and a waffle in the bar area. They were also nice enough to give us complimentary mini muffins which were loved by all. The bar is kinda small and dark since it's away from all the windows, but the servers were very attentive and sweet. Once in the dining room, there are beautiful views of Lake Merritt. I was a pescatarian at the time, so I wasn't able to try the meat dishes. But they have plenty of seafood and veggie breakfast / lunch options, so I wasn't left hungry. All were pretty tasty and satisfied my hunger. Our server was also very good about keeping our drink glasses full which was much appreciated as sometimes bottomless refills can be a little slow. A fun place to grab brunch. And great views. Plus, I can never say no to a bottomless boozy brunch!

Emmalouise B.

I really wanted to love The Terrace Room and give them a glowing review, especially after eyeballing the menu for so long and attending a Yelp event here a couple of months previously. My Husband and I returned for Brunch that I can only describe as a ''Womp womp'' experience. Great views yes but sadly not worth the price tag nor the drive. As it was nearing 1pm and I had just ran 15 miles fueled by just Greek Yogurt and a Banana I was freaking hungry and tempted by the Local Summer Fruit on the menu, described as ''local Apples and Plums, toasted Almonds, Pomegranate, Molasses, Mint'' it sure sounded delicious, what I got: EH. (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-terrace-room-oakland?select=2SEjcUG-nPsEE1AeyyueYg) To give an idea of side that is a SIDE plate it is served on. I'm not sure if I just got shorted or it was just bad Fruit but it all tasted the same.. Like Apple, overripe Apple to be precise. There was no hint of Plum nor the Pomegranate it described whether it be in the Molasses or otherwise, the menu was a little misleading. The Mint was the little sprig decorating it. Sorry, really not worth $8. The Brunch dishes we ordered were of a better size yet still a little pricey. My Husband had the Country Breakfast and asked to add a Sausage - $21 total (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-terrace-room-oakland?select=KCIPe3-hJh1YOlLNkdy2dA) The Muffin came with no Butter or Jam and the Potatoes were overcooked but otherwise my Husband said it was ''ok''. I had the Croque Madame - $16 (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-terrace-room-oakland?select=4R69PJyDdBLsgbONvIk6Kw) with slightly less crispy Potatoes and a huge amount of sauce. The sauce was good albeit overpowered the overall flavor of what should have been the star and I had to scrape half of the sauce to the side. The filling inside was ample yet not evenly distributed simply all pilled in the middle so that half of the Sandwhich was just Bread and Sauce. Service was passable and yes the view is nice but I'm afraid not somewhere I'm likely to return. 2.5/5

The lobby
Shayla B.

Everybody loves a great view, and the Terrace Room has one of the best! Located on the corner of Madison and Lakeside Drive, the Terrace Room provides a stunning view of beautiful Lake Merritt! I came here some months ago for a Champagne tasting event, and while the event itself was fun, the wait staff seemed to be a little disorganized and the bar food was mediocre. The Terrace Room is located inside of the historic Lake Merritt Hotel which was built in 1927. Upon entry, you will easily be swooned by the timeless and elegant decor. It's reminiscent of an old Victorian home from the late 1940's. The interior has been immaculately maintained over the past 90 years! There's a small bar area with a TV and a large dining area that boasts one of the best views of the lake. Our group was a mix of young and older, and all different types of races. Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about the rest of the patrons. I found that most of the other patrons dining there were much older. There isn't anything wrong with this, but it just made me feel like I was in a senior home. Just a tad bit uncomfortable, but I guess with its' history, this place attracts more of an older crowd. Maybe I just came on an off night? Either way, I just made myself fit in accordingly. When I went to the bar, the bartender was kind of pushy and I felt a bit rushed. I eventually ended up moving to a table with the rest of the group and ended up being helped by another server. She was much more pleasant, but she did confuse our orders a few times. To her defense, there were quite a few of us there and some of us still had tabs open at the bar. The happy hour here is really awesome! They have happy hour from 5-10 Monday thru Thursday which is a happy hour lover's dream! I practically live off of happy hour deals, so this immediately drew me in. I ended up having a glass of Pinot Noir while I was there before I started the Champagne tasting. Our group ordered garlic fries, chicken wings, and a shrimp salad. I didn't taste the shrimp salad, but I enjoyed the garlic fries. They weren't overly seasoned, but they weren't anything super extraordinary. The chicken wings were a bit too salty for my taste. They served them with jalapeños which I thought was a bit different, but it did provide a bit of a kick. Aside from regular dining, the Terrace Room often has many different weekly events such as Trivia and live Jazz performances. I haven't yet attended an event here (other than the Champagne tasting), but I would like to in the future. I am looking forward to coming back soon to try them out for brunch and dinner. According to other reviews, it seems like that is where they truly shine. Overall, it was a pretty good experience and I will be coming back again!

Bloody Mary
Wendy C.

EXCELLENT service. We arrived before most of our party so we stared with bottomless mimosas and bloodys. The best part is that you can switch between the two and it's the same price. We had a party of 6, and to be totally honest, the food took almost 45 minutes to arrive. However, our waiter was hustling, he was literally running sometimes. He was super friendly and gave the non-bottomless mimosa drinkers free refills since we had to wait so long. The mimosa was HUGE and not messing around, definitely strong but worth the money for sure. Really good spicy Bloody Mary too! Once the food came it was absolutely delicious. I got the Florentine scramble, it had a huge amount of garlic sautéed spinach, broiled cherry tomatoes, and delicious Hollandaise. The potatoes were also excellent. The lake View was beautiful and the complimentary muffins were really good too! We'll be back if we ever want a nice brunch. It's a little expensive maybe, but good price for great service and beautiful scenery.

Ozzie G.

I have been going over to The Terrace Room for years now, but quite recently feel slight different in the services being provided by the management. Granted the location is great and restaurant is beautiful but restaurant service has been extensively compromised. Last night was halloween night; and according to The Terrace Room, a local band was schedule to play from 7PM to 10PM. It took us half of day running around while looking for costume attributes, and 2 hours to get ready. We left work early and pushed away other plans to be at the Terrace Room and to enjoy the food, drinks, music and dancing. We reserved the table for 7:30PM and arrived on time. Upon arrival, we did notice the restaurant was not too busy but the band was amazing. We enjoyed our dinner and danced a little. In the meantime, the restaurant decided to close the restaurant early and asked band to finish at 9:10PM instead of its scheduled end time of 10PM. I am eye witness of the said incident, and band did confirm that the manage has asked them to end early. Here is how we feel with this whole adhoc based change of plan. A transaction is a mutual agreement between a customer and the business. The business asks for certain payment for the services that they are going to provide and customer pays to receive the services that the business has promised to render. We paid per the listed price on your menu, we also ordered drinks from your menu; We did not bargain down your asked prices, and we also expect you not to serve any less than what you have promised. How is it any of customer's fault if your restaurant turn around was not as anticipated. Upon my request, Manager refused to come outside and listen to my complain. However, we were offered a voucher for a free drink for next visit. Now I will be honest with you; I felt disrespected, where manager did not want to listen to my complain and zip my lips with $10 drink. This was cheap and insulting remedy. At this point, I told the assistant manager that I have a right to raise a complain and voice my opinion, and that I can certainly afford to pay my own drink and I did not come to the Terrace Room to obtain a free drink voucher for my next thrilling experience. We were there to enjoy music till 10PM per what you have promised. Perhaps you should not advertise that the band will play till 10PM. Perhaps you should advertise that band will play till 9:10PM with a possibility to play till 10 depending upon the business need. We feel that the Terrace Room tricked us into coming and failed to keep their end of the bargain. That the Terrace Room failed to listen to our complain, acknowledge their mistake and simply say something like "we will try to make it better next time", but instead a quick, cheap and insulting fix of $10 drink was offered. We also belong to a vast groups of Tango and Swing dance community and have hosted tens of events and brought hundreds of dancers to the Terrace room over the course of past few years. I for one will no longer be going to the Terrace Room events any more and will host our events else where, I will also be discouraging other dancers from hoping a pleasant experience from the Terrace Room. And as for your business strategy, perhaps you should know by now why your restaurant is no longer busy.

5.23.18 - Terrace Burger

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My son's wedding was at the Terrace Room. Fabulous venue!...Great service, excellent food, courteous and friendly staff.

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You've left us to eat Lake Chalet's overpriced Sizzler-esque cuisine. When are you opening again?

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Ask the Community - The Terrace Room

Is this strictly an event venue or are you open to the public as a restaurant?

Thank you for your question! We only host private events. We don't have a public restaurant at this time.

What time does brunch end on Saturday and Sunday?

We close at 1:30pm on Saturdays and 2:30pm on Sundays

Do you guys serve bottomless mimosas during the week?

HI Nancy, unfortunately we do not have bottomless mimosa throughout the week. We have bottomless mimosas and bloody Marry's on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch only.

Will regular dining be available April 21st or is the Easter buffet the only option?

Where do you park your car?

Parking is Street Parking only. There is a small lot on 15th and Madison (pass the Scottish Rite Temple). Most guests find parking within a 2 block radius of our venue.

Do they play live music here during brunch?

We do have a piano player who perlodically plays on Saturdays and Sundays.

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•$$

Homeroom is a popular Mac and Cheese spot. It was indeed, yummy as anticipated. They have a few…read moreoptions on the menu that elevate the classic food. It was filling. Thank you to our server, Anthony.

TLDR: 50 minute wait between sitting down to getting your food. Don't visit thinking this is a…read morequick drop by kind of place. While this visit was in between the lunch and dinner rush, unfortunately I think they are understaffed because at the time we sat down there was only 1 person who was busing tables and taking orders. As a result, it took a while for them to be able to stop by our table and provide water, take our order, etc. There was quite a long wait between sitting down to ordering to actually receiving our food. By the time we had actually received our food, almost an hour had passed. While we were waiting, a few other servers eventually joined, but service was still pretty bare for us and we never received refills on water or plates to eat off of when we received our food. I understand that staffing and a backup in the kitchen are out of the staff's control, but it would've definitely helped for us to know in advance how long to expect to wait to align our expectations and arrange our plans for the day. Would advise giving customers a quick heads up/warning because that on its own would've made a big difference. As for the actual food, we ordered the mac trio with elote mac, chicken pot pie mac, and kogi short rib mac (for an extra fee). The elote mac was the best and most flavorful, the short rib mac was okay but not amazing or worth the extra money, and the chicken pot pie mac was very bland/flavorless and didn't have much chicken in it. The food didn't feel like it warranted the wait time and because of that I would not return.

Photos
Homeroom - Mexican Chorizo Mac & Elote Mac | @allthenummies

Mexican Chorizo Mac & Elote Mac | @allthenummies

Homeroom - Pizza Mac

Pizza Mac

Homeroom

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Oh G Burger

Oh G Burger

4.4(64 reviews)
1.6 mi•North Oakland
•$$

This place might have become my favorite fast-casual burger joint in Oakland…read more Since my first review, I've enjoyed their food three more times -- in person once and DoorDash twice. And it's been satisfying and well worth it all three times. I recommend both dining in and delivery. You cannot go wrong with their double burger. The smashed patties are perfectly cooked and seasoned. The supporting elements are quality and executed spot-on each time: the cheese, grilled onions, and mayo. It's a perfect fast casual burger. I also recently tried the Chopped Beef burger and dang it was amazing. The hearty meat and cheese the and buttery bread texture hit hard. This will be another go-to and I recommend it. For sides I've gotten tator tots, regular fries, and season fries. All fantastic and they're generous with the portions. HOWEVER -- you've gotta get the seasoned fries. Addictive and finger-licking amazing. When dining in staff is always friendly. Area's not too busy and you'll always find parking easily down a side street. And price wise it honestly feels like a steal for me given the care and quality and pure satisfaction. Works for me though -- I'm going to keep ordering from this place. Cannot recommend this gem of a burger joint enough. Fantastic seasoning and execution, solid prices, and absolutely satisfying every time.

All of it... yes! Typical Bay Area prices for delicious smash burgers, fries, and onion rings…read more Service is always great and the vibes are fun/casual. Parking in the ohgane lot next is free if you're there for oh g burger.

Photos
Oh G Burger - Jan 2025

Jan 2025

Oh G Burger - Dining room

Dining room

Oh G Burger - Double Burger

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Double Burger

Grand Lake Kitchen - Lake Merritt - Bowl of Persian Cucumbers

Grand Lake Kitchen - Lake Merritt

4.0(1.5k reviews)
0.7 mi•Lower Hills
•$$

Stopped by Grand Lake Kitchen for brunch this sunny weekend and it really hit the spot. The food…read morewas delicious and it felt like the perfect kind of meal for a relaxed weekend morning. I ordered the turkey club and it was honestly huge. You can see in the photo how big it is compared to my hand. It was stacked and super satisfying, the kind of sandwich that definitely fills you up. We also shared a deviled egg and some fried zucchini to start, which were great little bites before the main dish. The zucchini was crispy and light, and the deviled egg was simple but really good. I paired everything with a mocha latte that was perfectly balanced and honestly superb. Overall it was a ten out of ten brunch moment. Between the sunny weather, good coffee, and really satisfying food, it was exactly what we were looking for. Definitely one of those spots I would come back to for brunch again.

This was me and my husband's first time at the restaurant and the food here was excellent…read moreeverything was very good and flavorful. I gave it to stars because the service was really bad. Our waitress took very long to even acknowledge us, didn't person herself to be very friendly, and lacked any attentiveness to us as customers. We had to ask other people for things like refills on our drinks, condiments, etc. She didn't ever really try to check to see how things were going after the food was served and we had to ask someone else to pay. Unfortunately considering this experience my husband doesn't want to go back and I hate that for us because the food was really good.

Photos
Grand Lake Kitchen - Lake Merritt - Dining room

Dining room

Grand Lake Kitchen - Lake Merritt - Savory French Toast tastes awesome when you break the egg yolk over the toast.

Savory French Toast tastes awesome when you break the egg yolk over the toast.

Grand Lake Kitchen - Lake Merritt - Dozen Donuts, equivalent to four full sized donuts

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Dozen Donuts, equivalent to four full sized donuts

The Terrace Room - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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