this place is sooo cute. i wish we had more local food halls like this in the bay area. the food…read morewas good too and the staff was nice :)

This market sells all kinds of things- produce, spices, fresh meat/ seafood, a wine shop, cheese,…read morerefrigerated already made food, and a bakery. Pretty pricey though. Bought some sausages from the butcher and it was $13 for a little package of 4. At the bakery, we bought a slice of chocolate mousse cake, a slice of princess cake, a slice of lemon cheesecake, mini fruit tart, a loaf of sourdough bread, and challah bread- total was a little over $50+. The service was amazing. My husband was inquiring about how an almond cookie tasted like and they took one out of the case and cut it so we could taste it. Everything else we ordered though was delicious. Cheesecake was rich and creamy, the princess cake was moist, the mini fruit tart was fresh, and the chocolate mousse was rich. The challah bread was soft and you can't taste the good quality olive oil that was used. Added bonus is there is a free parking lot in the back. Free parking in Oakland?!? Heck yea!

A cute gem! Came across this spot after having dinner in the area. I loved looking at all the…read moreceramic pieces and trinkets, it reminded me of being in Japan! There's a sake bar at the end of the store, and my friend and I had such a good time trying the sake flight and cocktails. They had a variety of sake, cocktail, and whiskey choices. There's limited seating, but we were able to grab a seat at the bar around 7pm. I'd love to come here again!

An excellent selection of sakes: fancy ones like kirinsan, Dasai, Den Sake (local and awesome),…read morecanned sakes in seasonal metals or porcelain and fun and random impressive tengu shapes. This is also a place to get Japanese condiments, new year ceremonial items (decorative wooden arrows), cocktail bar ware (brass, glass), even pine wood mats and tea pots. They also regularly hosts festival mini markets, sake shoju tasting, especially for their sake gumi members. They get to meet famous chefs and local sake makers. They can also learn and taste from the bar.

Only four stars because this place, like any corner store, stocks everyday items with too great of…read morea markup ($8 bag of chips??!?!). However, I still go visit their deli counter regularly because their sandwiches are bangin'. The sandwiches are huge, delicious, out fast, and made with high quality ingredients - on par with Yellow Door, and a significant cut above the Boar's Head counter at Safeway. Reading the rest of the reviews, it sounds like the hot sandwiches could be a bit of a miss, but I've enjoyed everything on the cold side of the house, Coach Roy (no mayo) being my favorite. Just walk in, go to the deli counter to the right, and don't buy anything else if you value sticking to a budget.

After a walk around Piedmont Park, I stopped in Mulberry's Market for lunch. I was surprised to see…read morea great variety of products from cleaning supplies to treats, baking items to pet food, and fresh produce. They had cold and hot sandwiches, numerous prepared foods, and snacks (corn dogs, empanadas, potato chips, cookies, and salads). The sandwich order of 6 was prepared relatively quickly. Our party was able to eat outside and join another family on the patio. There are also two benches for a street view. The Royanne (warm pastrami) sandwich was simple and delicious. The Dijon mustard and spicy coleslaw with jalapeño amped up the flavor without overpowering the briny pastrami. Other sandwiches in our order (the Denis and South of the Border) were not as loved, but the corn dog was satisfying.

I love this market! It's sophisticated with it's selection, but has an old school small town vibe…read more The wine/liquor section is well curated, the meats are top notch, the produce is fresh and well maintained, and they offer organic fruits and vegetables as well. Looking for cheese? There is a hidden nook across from the meat case that offers an amazing, well curated selection of cheeses. Prices in some areas are a little bit higher than somewhere like WF, but they are not a massive corporation, so it is understandable. The staff works like a friendly cohesive team offering great customer service. The market was full of customers, but they did a fantastic job at not allowing lines to form. I plan on making Piedmont Grocery one of my regular stops!

Let me just start off with this is no Safeway or Raley's. This is a specialty grocer. Thus saying…read moreit's pricy and high quality. They have their own butcher counter that looks fabulous. So many good looking meats and varieties of sausages. I wish we could shop here more often, but it's totally out of our price range. We came here on a whim. We were in town for a couple of days and needed lunch later that day without having time to go out. We looked at their inhouse prepackaged refrigerated meals and picked out some eggplant parmesan and went to the prepared food table and took home a half a quart of butternut squash soup. Lunch was warm and filling on a nice chilly day. I was happily surprised that the eggplant parmesan came out so well. It was nicely breaded and wasn't soggy and was very flavorful and not mushy. It was just like a restaurant, other then we had to heat it up ourselves in our toaster oven. The dishes come in tin containers. This is not a place I can shop in regularly, but when I can it's a treat.

I LOVED the Berkeley location! But they closed :( this location seems a bit larger and in a more…read moretransit area next to bart. Still offers same high end food and snacks. A variety of groceries and prepared food are both found here and you can't go wrong. No pets allowed either. Fun place to buy Christmas gifts. The Berkeley staff was super friendly, I can't say I know the Oakland staff but I'm assuming some of the same people transferred over which means same friendly staff as always.

I Love going here for their hot foods and their bakerey!…read more They have a small parkinglot that has security but you can park on the street. It can get packed at times but think the food here is solid and such a great place to shop. It can be a bit pricey but it better than whole foods!

You'll know you're right at home as soon as you walk through the door. For anybody that's wondered…read morerows of disorganized shelves of stuff all over the place or spots that are less than well kept, look no further. Oaktown Spice Shop is immaculate, well organized, and staffed with folks that are quite passionate about the goods! Also helps that it smells amazing, but it really speaks to the quality of their stuff. If you had any doubts about them, put that to rest and just visit or use their online store! Any foodie worth their salt (hah get it) will be able to appreciate what this place has to offer.

Oaktown Spice Shop is my to-go shop for keeping my spice drawer fully stocked with everyday spices…read more(ie. Vietnamese Cinnamon, Whole Nutmeg, Aleppo Chile Pepper) as well as new-to-me spices to try, like Vadouvan and Mahlab. Today I needed to refill my Vadouvan because I want to make an aromatic soup from their website. I found out about Mahlab from their blog and must make the cereal that Samin Nosrat shared! The staff are knowledgeable and helpful. In addition to a beautiful array of spices, they sell amazing cookbooks and a few small gift items.

So delicious and quite different from everything else I have eaten. It's choose your own level of…read moresweetness with the honey and the Nigella seeds on top we're a great balance. All in all, Sharing the 18" version was a delightful addition to the party we brought it to.

This place is incredible. Delicious flaky beautiful sabaya for a reasonable price. You can't find…read moreanything like it anywhere else in the bay area. Don't hesitate. Buy a sabaya and everyone at the dinner table will love you.

My wife and I stopped by Amphora Nueva after grabbing lunch at The Station nearby to replenish our…read moredwindling supply of aged dark balsamic. Like most artisanal olive oil and vinegar stores, this one allowed for sampling of nearly all their products. There are so many interesting oil blends and flavored balsamic vinegars, I would encourage you to take your time to try out anything that piques your curiosity before making a purchase. We ultimately picked up a bottle of their 25 year old aged, Denissimo balsamic. This balsamic had a wonderful sweetness to it and was beautifully viscous. I can't wait to drizzle this on top of a tomato burrata appetizer when summer comes around, or on some vanilla ice cream. Another balsamic I really enjoyed trying out -- that would also go lovely with vanilla ice cream, was the espresso flavored balsamic. I would definitely recommend checking out Amphora Nueva for all our olive oil and balsamic needs.

We first tried their product at a party--just a splash over sparkling water--and it was delicious…read more From that moment, we were hooked. Now it's in regular rotation at our house as we work our way through all the new flavors in the store. BB