Berkeley restaurant openings
Bar Panisse
12.10.25: The team behind the lauded Berkeley bistro Chez Panisse launched offshoot, Bar Panisse, on Thursday, Dec. 11. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the bar will serve small plates, entrees and cocktails, and a draft menu submitted to the City of Berkeley includes snacks like fritto misto, housemade potato chips and duck liver mousse crostini, plus a spin on Chez Panisse’s famous garden lettuce salad. A coy Instagram post announced that Bar Panisse is walk-in only; diners can expect service Thursday through Sunday evenings from 4-10 p.m. Chez Panisse recently won the Nosh Award for Best Restaurant for Special Occasions for the second year in a row.
The bar is in the former location of César. In 2023, when Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters decided to end César’s sublease after 24 years so she could take it over for her own concept, fans of the popular Spanish tapas restaurant protested. Three years have not healed the wounded César champions, either, judging from the emails Nosh receives on a regular basis. Upon Chez Panisse winning the special occasions award on Monday (voted on by Nosh readers), one person emailed:
“Perhaps if Waters hadn’t killed César there would be a different special occasions winner? We’re still grieving and miss it constantly.”
Bar Panisse’s kitchen will be led by chef Amelia Telc, formerly of San Francisco’s Tartine and New York City’s Mission Chinese Food, and the drinks program was developed with Dylan O’Brien of Prizefighter Bar in Emeryville, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Bar Panisse, 1515 Shattuck Ave. (at Vine St.), Berkeley
Li’s Knife Cut Noodle
12.23.25: A new spot serving handmade knife-cut noodles, dumplings and rice dishes has opened in Berkeley, as first reported by the Daily Californian. Li’s Knife Cut Noodle, an offshoot of its original San Mateo location, is your best bet if you’re hungry and craving Chinese comfort food — the restaurant offers unlimited free noodle refills. Li’s Knife Cut Noodle, 2126 Center St., Berkeley
El Sobrante restaurant opening
OLCHI
12.23.25: A new, family-run Korean comfort food restaurant has opened in what used to be Pho Nation in El Sobrante. The family behind OLCHI emigrated from Seoul, where they owned a Korean BBQ restaurant. The menu includes kimchi fried rice, hot pot, seafood pancakes, tofu soups and donkatsu among other dishes. The restaurant, open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, soft opened the first week of December and held a grand opening on Dec. 13. OLCHI, 4068 San Pablo Dam Rd., El Sobrante
Emeryville restaurant opening
Jungdon Katsu
12.03.25: Crispy Japanese pork cutlets have landed in Emeryville after a fire forced the closure of Jungdon Katsu’s Danville location in October. (The restaurant has started a GoFundMe to finance the rebuild.) For a crunchy comfort meal, try the traditional pork tenderloin cutlet (Anshim katsu) or the cheese katsu — mozzarella wrapped in pork tenderloin. There are also plenty of craveable side dishes, like soba noodles with dipping sauce, fried spam and shrimp tempura. Jungdon Katsu, 6485 Hollis St., Emeryville
Oakland restaurant openings
Bread Winners
12.17.25: The lunch crowd in Old Oakland has a new spot for sandwiches and salads in Bread Winners, which opened in Swan’s Market Dec. 8. The menu has options for build-your-own sandwiches in addition to house specials, smoothies, sides and more. Bread Winners, 917 Washington St., Oakland
Cafe da Fonk
12.10.25: Cafe da Fonk, a self-described eco-friendly, Berlin-inspired community café, has opened near the Oakland waterfront. You’ll find coffee and tea alongside breakfast plates like halal turkey spam and eggs over rice and green chile brisket breakfast tacos. But perhaps the most nostalgically German item on the menu is the schorle — fruit juice infused with fizzy water — which this contributor rarely sees stateside. Cafe da Fonk, 465 2nd St. (at Broadway), Oakland
Highwire Coffee
12.10.25: Local coffee chain Highwire is opening up a new location inside Uptown Oakland’s Vespr apartment complex, joining Tarts de Feybesse bakery on the ground floor. Soft opening hours are set to 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. until they gear up to 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Highwire Coffee, 312 24th St., Oakland
Pickle Athletics
12.17.25: There are some places you can have it all, and Pickle Athletics, Oakland’s newest pickleball social club, is serving more than just underhand volleys. It’s outfitted with pickleball courts, a fitness center, a sauna, a kitchen and wine bar — and despite its designation of “social club,” it’s open to the public. Early morning pickleballers can enjoy daily rotating pastries, breakfast sandwiches, egg bites and chia seed puddings; lunch offerings include cold sesame noodles, an umami kale chop salad, tuna and caper on focaccia and Bad Walter’s ice cream for dessert. Beer and wine is also available, and yes, pickles (and pickle dip) are on the menu. No opportunity goes wasted around here. Pickle Athletics, 4000 Telegraph Ave. (between 40th and 41st St.), Oakland
Town Biscuits
12.10.25: There are many wonderful ways to eat a biscuit, and the newly-opened Town Biscuits just might have cooked up every option. There are, of course, plain handmade buttermilk biscuits reminiscent of North Carolina kitchens — but there is also the blueberry jam and goat cheese biscuit, the fried chicken biscuit, the bacon egg and cheese biscuit, and more. The Town Biscuits, 434 25th St., Oakland
Pinole restaurant opening
Sourdough & Co.
12.23.25: Casual deli Sourdough & Co. opened quietly in Pinole last month. You’ll find clam chowder, deli sandwiches (French dip, caprese, and smoked brisket among them), mac and cheese, and salads on the menu. The deli operates in several other Bay Area cities, including Berkeley, San Ramon, Concord, Hayward, Danville and Walnut Creek. Sourdough & Co., 1588 Fitzgerald Dr., Pinole
