Best Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in Oakland

Intimate, busy but not loud- great wait staff, food and wine! - feels like the favorite neighborhood joint that you want to keep secret! PS get the crispy artichokes!!!

Went there for "date night" with my wife last night. Was surprised we got a reservation with only 2 hrs notice. The parking lot was packed so that was a good sign that people were going there and that the last minute reservation wasn't because of it being unpopular. I hadn't been to the restaurant in like 7 years and noticed the inside had changed, and all for the better. The food, drinks and service were good. It was a bit loud, but I guess that's expected for the place being packed. We liked the idea of the cigar bar / lounge for after dinner. But when we went down, it was a bit smoky for our liking, but expected. We decided to have another drink and dessert at the bar upstairs and that was equally enjoyable. All in all, we'd definitely go again. It is pricey, but what steakhouse these days aren't? It won't be our regular date night destination, but we were both very happy and satisfied with our night out at Black Bull.

We had a delicious meal at Benares. I loved the Chicken Tikka Masala. The samosas are always good. My family enjoyed spicier dishes of goat and lamb. We celebrated my birthday with a chocolate lava cake and rose water ice cream. Our servers were excellent.

We are frequent diners at this restaurant and the prices just keep going up. It’s a bit concerning

Great turkish kababs- good portions, nicely cooked, great flavors and overall very good service, ambience and great value for money.