Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. The openings and closings for each month are then compiled into a round-up. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here.
Alameda restaurant openings
Dim Sum Best Of Taste
10.01.24: Alamedans are welcoming a new dumpling purveyor to their neck of the woods. Dim Sum of Best Taste recently opened on Webster, promising traditional Cantonese dim sum offerings — think dumplings, stir-fries, egg tarts and pork buns — plus bubble tea for a post-meal sweet treat. Dim Sum Best of Taste, 1540 Webster St., Alameda — Cecilia Seiter
Berkeley restaurant openings
Azure Hot Pot
09.17.24: North Shattuck has a new hot pot restaurant in Shattuck Avenue’s former Thai Delight space (more on that coming in this week’s closings article), and the bold blue, yellow and red accented dining room with modern hot pot stoves on each table is attracting curious diners, especially students. The menu includes AYCE (“all you can eat”) hot pot, Thai tapas, beer, sake and soju, and more, from the team behind San Francisco’s Zajang Grill. Azure Hot Pot, 1700 Shattuck Ave. (between Virginia and Francisco streets), Berkeley
Delirama Jr. at Olfactory Berkeley
09.12.24: PSA (Pastrami Service Announcement): Popular pastrami-meister Delirama Jr. (née Delirama), will pop-up this month and next at Olfactory Brewing, cooking up pastrami-topped thin-crust pizzas, grilled sandwiches, and even vegan fare, all meant to be paired with the Olfactory tap room’s craft brews. Nosh speaks from experience when we say the match is a good one. The pop-up runs through Oct. 13. Delirama Jr. at Olfactory Brewing, 2055 Center St. (between Milvia and Shattuck), Berkeley
Itani Sushi Epicurious Garden
09.17.24: Reviews are trickling in for Itani Sushi inside the Epicurious Garden in North Shattuck, the new grab-and-go sushi kiosk from chef Kyle Itani (Hopscotch, Itani Ramen, Yonsei Handrolls) after the August departure of Kirala 2. The restaurant, which officially opened Sept. 20, features grab-and-go prepared sushi as well as made-to-order nigiri, maki, classic and specialty sushi rolls, and rice bowls. The menu also includes popular items from Itani’s other restaurants including house-made yuzu lemonade along with new additions, like toasted nori snacks. Itani Sushi inside the Epicurious Garden, 1511 Shattuck Ave. (at Vine St.), Berkeley
Overlook at Tilden
09.25.24: The new restaurant at the Tilden Golf Course celebrated its grand opening on Monday, Sept. 23. The restaurant features indoor and outdoor seating areas, including a batch of adirondack chairs surrounding a fire pit. The hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily with happy hour Monday through Thursday from 3-5 p.m. The menu includes a breakfast sandwich and burrito, crispy brussel sprouts, Korean fried chicken sliders, and the “grizzly burger,” a patty made from a blend of brisket and chuck and topped with provolone cheese, crispy haystack onions, maple bacon jam, house blackberry BBQ sauce. Overlook at Tilden, 10 Golf Course Drive, Berkeley — Tovin Lapan
Castro Valley restaurant opening
Slice House by Tony Gemignani (Castro Valley)
09.12.24: High-end food market Castro Valley Marketplace is the latest site for Tony Gemignani’s rapidly growing fast-casual concept Slice House, featuring four styles of the pizza that made the award-winning pizzaiolo famous at world pizza events and at his flagship restaurants in San Francisco’s North Beach. According to the long list of upcoming Slice House locations in development across the country, it appears that Berkeley, Emeryville and Livermore might be next. The Castro Valley Marketplace Slice House pizza kiosk officially opens on Sept. 14. Slice House at the Castro Valley Marketplace, 3295 Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley
Oakland restaurant openings
51 & Tel
09.12.24: With its great name and alluring vibe, new Temescal nightlife spot 51 & Tel opened Sept. 11. Check out first reports from Nosh on this new Oakland cocktail bar from the sons of the owners of the Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant next door, Asmara. The bar features a stylish indoor bar and dog-friendly outdoor patio. 51 & Tel, 5018 Telegraph Ave. (at 51st), Oakland
Bad Walter’s Ice Cream
09.04.24: Bad Walter’s, Sydney Arkin’s popular pandemic-era ice cream pop-up known for mixing “maximalist” flavors with creamy, lactose-free dietary sensibility, opened its first brick-and-mortar scoop shop Saturday, Sept. 7, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. East Bay ice cream fans have been watching and waiting for months for this former “bootleg” business to open inside Rockridge’s former Smitten Ice Cream shop. Expect bright, colorful decor, exciting new flavor combinations, house-made ice creams, cones and mix-ins, and a fridge filled with pints to take home. Bad Walter’s Ice Cream, 5800 College Ave. (at Birch Court), Oakland
Coco Noir
10.01.24: After taking a brief hiatus in August, wine bar Coco Noir is pouring again in downtown Oakland, per SF Eater and CBS. Owner Alicia Kidd temporarily closed the bar as sales and foot traffic dipped over the summer, but she’s back with a new business model and a smaller wine list to keep costs at a minimum. September and October’s drink offerings will focus on South African wines; you’ll also find bites like gumbo drip fries and charcuterie on the menu, with bigger plates like chicken and waffles available for brunch on Sundays. Coco Noir, 360 13th St. (corner of 13th and Webster streets), Oakland — Cecilia Seiter
Huang Cheng Potsticker
10.01.24: Huang Cheng Potsticker debuted in Old Oakland last Tuesday, Sept. 24, joining its sister restaurant, Huang Cheng Noodle House, at Swan’s Market. The menu is small but mighty, offering classic Chinese comfort food in the form of pillowy potstickers and dumplings stuffed with either cabbage, shrimp or pork. There’s also an appetizer of hot chili oil cucumbers and, if you need a bigger bite for lunch, a curry chicken dish. Huang Cheng Potsticker, 907 H Washington St., (Swan’s Market), Oakland — Cecilia Seiter
June’s Pizza
09.25.24: Craig Murli opened June’s Pizza in March 2020 and, likely with some thanks to early pandemic chaos, the unpermitted business operated for more than a year before being shut down by Alameda County officials. It was more than enough time for Murli to win a following for his wood-fired pizzas made with naturally leavened sourdough crust. Now, June’s Pizza is back and full above board. Murli officially opened his new West Oakland brick-and-mortar space on Sept. 20, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported. June’s Pizza, 2408 Mandela Parkway, Oakland. — Tovin Lapan
Laughing Buddha Vegetarian Bistro
09.12.24: Piedmont Avenue’s former Bamboo restaurant space has reopened as Laughing Buddha, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant with “secret patio dining” and a welcoming, bistro feel. The menu features vegetarian stir fry, dumplings, fried rice and tofu dishes, with a focus on seasonal ingredients. Laughing Buddha Vegetarian Bistro, 3766 Piedmont Ave. (between Yosemite Avenue and West MacArthur Boulevard), Oakland
Mile Limit
09.12.24: Mile Limit, the new West Berkeley wine tasting bar and bottle shop from the team behind Spanish restaurant La Marcha, just a couple of doors down, has opened at last for sipping and shopping. La Marcha is known as much for its strong wine list (and, soon, a new cocktail program) as its tapas and paella, and the new, neighboring wine shop draws on the vast industry knowledge of owners Sergio Monleon and Emily Sarlatte. Referencing the old “mile limit law” of 1876, forbidding the purchase or consumption of alcohol within a mile of UC Berkeley’s campus (the shop is just outside the radius), Mile Limit features an array of bottles from domestic and local winemakers, as well as an intriguing mix of global imports and varietals (including, of course, from Spain) worth walking a mile for. The grand opening is Thursday, Sept. 12. Mile Limit, 2040 San Pablo Ave. (between University Avenue and Addison Street), Berkeley
Oh G Burger
09.25.24: Montclair’s newest burger spot, in the same location as the shuttered Flippers Gourmet Burgers, celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 22. Oh G Burger is from the same people beyond Ohgane Korean BBQ in Oakland. The menu mixes the smashburger trend with Korean flavors, and the signature Oh G sauce is a kimchi-infused thousand island dressing. The restaurant serves six signature burgers, including an option for an Impossible burger, and sides include French fries, onion rings and tater tots. Oh G Burger, 2062 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. — Tovin Lapan
Open Test Kitchen
09.04.24: Find a variety of new and familiar multicultural food and beverage vendors at the public-facing shared restaurant, bar and cafe space OTK, or Open Test Kitchen, an immigrant- and refugee-supporting incubator kitchen from nonprofit Oakland Bloom. Since launching, the shared Oakland space are women-owned Cafe con Carino’s Chilean, El Salvadoran and Mexican-inflected coffee drinks and cafe fare; Palestinian-Cuban fusion cuisine from Asukar; and That Hausa Vegan’s northern-Nigerian vegan dinner and brunch. Open Test Kitchen, 528 8th St. (between Clay and Washington streets), Oakland
Walnut Creek restaurant openings
Annie’s Ice Cream Italian Gelato
09.17.24: Walnut Creek’s newest gelato shop includes rich Italian gelato classics such as stracciatella, tiramisu and caffe, as well as sugar- and dairy-free options. Thanks to Beyond The Creek for first alerting folks to the opening. Annie’s Ice Cream Italian Gelato, 1320 Locust St., Walnut Creek
Koin Coffee
09.17.24: Named for “koinonia,” a spiritual term meaning “fellowship,” new Koin Coffee in Walnut Creek serves a menu of coffee drinks and toasts (including “fairy bread” for the littlest cafe diners). Koin Coffee, 325 N Wiget Ln., Walnut Creek
