In each Berkeley Neighborhoods Council eNEWS edition, our reviewer will always be anonymous, and in the vast majority of reviews, a resident of Berkeley. Occasionally we will rely on a non-Berkeley resident reviewer. This is one of those occasions.
The 2015 list of restaurants receiving Michelin stars and recognition was announced in late October. This annual list added two new three-star restaurants in Northern California, both in San Francisco, and is said to be the first time in history that San Francisco has housed one three-star restaurant let alone two!
Just for fun we’ve listed the four three-star restaurants on that list (this year’s additions are starred) along with what is listed as their “starting” prices — which we believe to be the cost of a meal for one:
Benu*, San Francisco, $195
French Laundry, Yountville, $295
Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, $225
Saison*, San Francisco, $248
Well to get back down to earth, while there are no Michelin one or two-star Berkeley restaurants, we now have eight restaurants that received Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition for their excellent food. Bib Gourmand means the restaurant serves “moderately priced” great food specifically defined as two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 a person or less, before tax or tip.
Five of the eight are in Downtown Berkeley. Of the remaining three, one is on Fourth Street in West Berkeley, one is in the North Shattuck area, and the other is on Solano Ave in North Berkeley. We list all of them alphabetically below with comments about their food taken from their websites. Again, new additions to the list are starred:
Comal, 2020 Shattuck Ave, 510-926-6300
Modern interpretations of Mexican dishes and an “all Mexican” list of craft cocktails.
Corso Trattoria, 1788 Shattuck Ave, 510-704-8004
Tuscan classics, modern take on Italian, run by the folks who own Rivoli — see below.
FIVE, 2086 Allston Way (in Hotel Shattuck Plaza), 510-225-6055
Modern American menu that changes weekly, familiar favorites reinvented in a stylish setting.
Gather, 2200 Oxford St (in Brower Center), 510-809-0400
Menu changes daily. They partner with Lindencroft Farm and source only sustainable ingredients.
Great China*, 2190 Bancroft Way, 510-843-7996
They serve lunch and dinner, but since they are building a new website we couldn’t get much more information.
Ippuku, 2130 Center St, 510-665-1969
They have a really interesting website which gives the impression of entering the restaurant. They list Yakitori hours and also Teuchi Sobe hours when only a limited Yakitori menu is available.
Iyasare*, 1830 Fourth St, 510-845-8100
Comforting food, faraway flavors and traditional Japanese cooking techniques.
Rivoli, 1539 Solano, 510-526-2542
This restaurant has been included in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants Food Guide each year since 1996. Seasonal, local and fresh menu changes every 3 weeks.
BNC admits we haven’t reviewed most of these restaurants. We did review Rivoli in our Issue No. 4, November/December 2013, and since then our reviewer has been back several times — always with the same report — the food and service there are excellent.
We invite our readers to review other restaurants on this list and also any others in Berkeley that might be of interest and submit a review. It doesn’t have to even be a restaurant — we’d also like to hear about delis (including in grocery stores), bakeries, food delivery services, food trucks, etc. We’d like to hear the good and the bad about what you specifically ordered, the prices, the service, whether you went there more than once, and whether the time and day you went there might have affected your opinion.
When you send in your review, please include your name and phone number so we can reach you if there are any questions. That information will not be included when your review is published. Please send reviews to: newsletter@berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com.