Oakland Restaurant Week 2019 + a New Season of Food Tours

Happy New Year! No matter what you celebrate, we hope your holidays were wonderful and your 2019 is full of nothing but good things.

In places far and wide, people are starting this month with promises to eat less, exercise more, and lose weight. If you’re anywhere near Oakland, however, you might want to put those weight-loss plans on hold just a little longer. (Ok, if you’ve been on one of our tours before, you know that we do like to do a little walking to combat those calories.) But even still, the holidays may be over in January, but the fun for foodies is just beginning.

January in Oakland means two things: Oakland Restaurant Week, and a great new season of Oakland Food Tours here at Local Food Adventures.

Oakland Restaurant Week

Oakland Restaurant Week offers the most diverse restaurant week in the region, with options ranging from fresh California cuisine to traditional Bavarian to Asian fusion (and a little bit of everything in between). The fun takes place over two weekends from January 11-20, and there’s something for every taste and budget.

While the sheer number of choices can be a little overwhelming, we’ve included some of our favorites below:

Old Oakland and Jack London Square Progressive Dinners

We’re going to kick this list off with two new Oakland Restaurant Week events that we are so excited to be launching with Visit Oakland this year: Progressive Dinners in the Old Oakland and Jack London Square neighborhoods.

In true progressive dinner-style fashion, Lauren is going to lead two very special evenings of culinary exploration as you enjoy each course of our three-course dinners at different venues while also learning more about the history of the neighborhoods.

Tune into KTVU this Saturday, January 12 at 9:45 am as Lauren will be live in studio to share more about the evenings and what you’ll enjoy.

In the meantime, for more information go to the Visit Oakland website:

Old Oakland Progressive Dinner: Tuesday, January 15 at 7 pm

Jack London Square Progressive Dinner: Thursday, January 17 at 6 pm.

A16 Rockridge

Located in the dynamic Rockridge district and a highlight on our Rockridge Neighborhood Heritage Food Tour, A16 shares a name with the highway that runs from Naples in Campania to Canosa in Puglia. True to its inspiration, it specializes in cuisine from Italy’s soulful and lively south.

For Oakland Restaurant Week, A16 Rockridge is offering a three-course prix fixe tasting menu at $30 featuring a choice of escarole or arugula salad, a margarita or maccaronara pizza, and finishing with a scoop of house made gelato or espresso beverage of your choice.

A16 Rockridge: 5356 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618

Bardo Lounge & Supper Club

Bardo is the newest kid in the Grand Lake neighborhood (and also one of our new favorite places), and they’ve got a great “upscale retro” kind of vibe. If you binged Mad Men and wished for more episodes, this is the place you’ll want to be. They’ll be offering a $50 prix fixe menu with a Mt. Lassen trout taquito; Siete Leguas tequila cocktail with mellow corn, tamarind, ancho reyes, and fresh citrus juices; and pork ragu potato gnocchi with Szechuan peppercorn, peanuts, and cilantro.

In addition to traditional Oakland Restaurant Week prix fixe offerings, Bardo will also be hosting a benefit dinner for the Alameda County Community Food Bank on Monday, January 14. It’s definitely something you won’t want to miss!

Bardo Lounge & Supper Club: 3343 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland, CA 94610

Dyafa

Dyafa is the Arabic word for hospitality, and it fits. Located in Jack London Square, Dyafa offers modern Middle Eastern fare alongside wine, beer, tea, coffee, and cocktails.

For Oakland Restaurant Week, Dyafa will be offering a $20 prix-fixe lunch. It’s also worth noting that because Middle Eastern cuisine relies heavily on plant-based ingredients, you may find it a bit more vegetarian-friendly than some other restaurant week options. The lunch is offered on weekdays from 11:30am-3:30pm, and you’ll get a side fattoush salad, along with your choice of Saj wrap (either chicken kebab or a spiced cauliflower vegetarian option). You’ll also get a Damascus lemonade or Sayid Palmer for your beverage.

Dyafa is also one of the restaurants participating in our Jack London Square Progressive Dinner.

Dyafa: 44 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94607

Duende

Another personal favorite, Duende does classic Spanish cuisine with a modern, casual vibe. Think creative tapas and pintxos, decadent paella, and artisan cocktails to complement all of it.

For Oakland Restaurant Week, Duende is offering an amuse bouche, glass of Cava, ensalada de col, patatas bravas, your choice of paella, and your choice of dessert for $40/person with a minimum of 2 people.

Duende: 468 19th St, Oakland, CA 94612

The Wolf

The Wolf is a delightful neighborhood brasserie that serves “French-forward California cuisine” and is the sister restaurant to Wood Tavern, a fantastic restaurant we discuss during our Rockridge Neighborhood Heritage Food Tour. For Oakland Restaurant Week. The Wolf is offering a $30 lunch special featuring soup or little gem salad, Neiman Ranch burger, grilled cheese sandwich or salmon salad, and finishing with a chocolate mousse and blood orange caramel shortbread crumble.

The Wolf: 3853 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611

Other Participating Restaurants

The restaurants above are a few of our personal favorites, but if none of them strike your fancy, don’t despair! More than 100 different restaurants are getting in on the action, and prix fixe menus range from as little as $10 to as much as $70. There’s truly something for everyone.

You can view the current list of participating restaurants here.

A New Season of Food Tours

Starting on Saturday, January 12th, we open 2019 with the Grand Lake Cultural Cuisine Tour, followed by the Rockridge Neighborhood Heritage Tour on Sunday, January 15th. Plus some exciting news as we announce that Aisle 5 will be joining the Grand Lake Cultural Cuisine Tour this year.

Interested in joining us for an upcoming tour? You can get your tickets at a 20% discount with code 2018ORW20. Book at the links below, or by calling us at 510.604.6546.