Extensive and fascinating menu - loved the cauliflower and the custardy egg dishes we tried. Generous portions too. Want to come back and explore more of the menu. Not a lot of options for vegetarians, but there are some. read more

I came here with a group of friends and we decided to eat family style in order to get to try multiple dishes. Due to being a vegetarian, I only ate the fried rice with egg, stir fried green bean, a choy (not sure exactly what this was listed as on the menu as a friend ordered it), and stir fried Chinese yam with black fungus (the Chinese name for the last one actually translates more to something like "mountain medicine", so it's not like the sweet potato kind of yam). Fried rice: it was pretty savory, a good choice if you like your carbs with a mellow and not heavy flavor. A choy: pretty good - I'm picky about vegetables but I didn't find it too bitter. I'm personally not a huge fan of the slick texture though which is typical for this vegetable. Green beans: I liked these a lot, they're a bit more crunchy, and not spicy - only had one pepper symbol on the menu, so if you can handle mild you'll definitely be fine. Chinese yam with black fungus: this was just okay to me. I didn't particularly like the yam itself but the black fungus was yummy. I'm not sure how I feel about the bell peppers being part of it. They do have bathrooms, but they were admittedly in kind of gross condition when I used them. One thing I wanted to note which I was unsure about whether to dock stars for was that they didn't check vaccination status when we came in, even though we were dining in. I hope that was just a one-time oversight and not the norm... read more

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这是我第二次来这里。第一次是pick up，这次是堂吃。 我在他们开门就来了，order后等了30分钟才上菜。有点慢，因为生意很好，有很多电话订餐。在这个时候，有生意就是好事。 服务也是不错的。小哥很忙，但也很有礼貌。 这家的猪手真的是绝了！咸辣鲜香！酱汁很多，吃完猪手还可以将酱汁带回家做菜，好吃到一点也不要浪费！这道菜如果放在湖南长沙的街头，那就是一道地地道道的街头小吃！超级赞！ 总的来说，这家的味道相当到位。就味道来说我可以打个5分。但是考虑到等候时间，店内装修，停车便利个方面，还是给了4星。 read more

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Easterly Hunan Cuisine has opened on Center Street, swiftly replacing China Center. I believe it's related to the Easterly in Santa Clara. Their menu has a wide range of legit Hunan dishes as well as some "Asian fusion" Americanized Chinese options. Dishes are marked on a spiciness level of 1-3, and some options feature less common ingredients such as pork intestines, tripe, pork tongue, chicken gizzard, and stinky tofu. Prices are on the high side (but still lower than e.g. Great China) but possibly worth it for having such a great option so close to campus. Edit 05/11/2019: After coming back and trying a few more dishes, the food here is definitely legit. However, it is quite pricey, and while many Hunan dishes are by nature oily I found the food here to be more oily and heavy than some other Hunan restaurants I've tried. Personally I like Wojia in Albany more, but Easterly is definitely the best Chinese food in Berkeley. Highly recommended: -A6: Steamed pork rib in sticky rice with corn ($15.99) - super delicious sticky rice that comes in a bamboo steamer with ribs on the bottom. The portion of meat isn't that huge but it imparts an amazing flavor to the sticky rice. -A4. Eggplant with minced pork, garlic, cilantro ($13.99) - delicious, oil-drenched eggplant full of flavor and served with garlic, pork, and cilantro on top. Good: -A1. Steamed cat fish with chopped pepper ($33.99) - very well done. You can taste the flavor of the catfish, and the texture is spot on. However, it's expensive - the bowl is shallow and the portion is smaller than it looks; I believe it was one fish (including the head!). It's also not very spicy. -D1. Braised pork feet with red pepper ($16.99) - very good; great texture (not overcooked) and not greasy. It's only very slightly spicy. It seemed to have a bamboo flavor which I liked. -D4. Stir fried pork with pepper ($12.99) - I got this in a lunch special and it was cooked very well, with tender and not overly greasy meat and a generous amount of peppers. OK: -A12. Griddled bullfrog with pickled pepper ($28.99) - the flavor is delicious but the pieces of frog are very small, and it's mostly filler (not much meat). It is quite greasy, even for this dish (e.g. compared to Wojia's version). It's also expensive - the price is even higher and the amount of frog is lower than at a certain Hunan Slurp in East Village in Manhattan. -C11. Steamed pork with rice flour ($16.99) - I thought this was kind of salty. The rice flour soaked up a lot of fat from the meat, which was decently tender and had an alcohol flavor that my friend liked. If you like fatty meat, you may like this dish, but I preferred the sticky rice with ribs. They also have some boxed lunch "Berkeley specials" ($12.99) that include stir fried pork/beef with pepper, stir fried tripe with Youxian smoked tofu, and stir fried smoked pork with dried radish. They come with rice and sides of mapo tofu, Napa cabbage, and a fried egg. It is expensive for a lunch special (and the meat portion is not very large), but all the components are quality. Servers are friendly but they are very understaffed, especially for how popular they've already become, so be prepared to wait. The interior has not really changed from the previous two restaurants in this location but looks pretty nice, with a few tables for larger groups. Definitely hoping they're here much longer than their predecessor! read more

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The restaurant is in a prime location next to the university in Downtown Berkeley. A nice place to eat something filling before you walk around and enjoy the very unique Berkeley. I ordered the stir fried pork with bamboo shoots. The bamboo could have used more seasoning and more cooking time. The pork was very minimal but it tasted good. It is a chain restaurant so I'll try their location in Santa Clara soon. read more

Easterly Berkeley - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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One of my go-to places for [spicy] Chinese food. 4 to 4.5 stars depending on the dish you order. 3.5 stars for the price :) Pre-COVID 3.5 stars for customer service (probably cause they're just busy with lots of customers) During COVID: outdoor dining I've eaten here many times (before and during COVID) and this is a solid place if you enjoy spicy Chinese (Hunan) cuisine. I've ordered: --*chicken claw w/ pickles --eggplant w/ minced pork, garlic, cilantro --poached fish fillets in sour soup: a little bit on the sour side, decent dish just wasn't for me --stir-fried green bean w/ preserved veggies --braised boned chicken w/ red pepper: expensive dish ($~28 through doordash), delicious but small portions --stir-fried fish fillet w/ chopped pepper: lots of pepper :) --*griddled egg tofu w/ minced pork: MUST-ORDER, super tasty --*youxian smoked tofu: really good tofu --hot and sour soup: meh --among other stuff... ***personal favs read more

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Good service, all the employees were super nice and welcoming. The food was also great, they have lots of options for those who like spicy food and those who don't. Would come back again! read more

I didn't like the food and found the servings both skimpy and expensive. The service was okay, but the ambiance was poor for the price. read more

Very good. Food very big. Food very tasty. Food very spicey. Food make me happy. Will come back.

Great food and good service! Grand opening was just last week and the ambiance is nice. So lively.

Really tasty! We love the coconut chicken! It's a must try! We also love steamed egg which kids friendly and stir beef which is also very good! read more

Amazing new hunan restaurant in Berkeley! Great food & service. We'll be back. Highly recommend!

Great food--everything was delicious and authentic. The ambiance is nice as well. Would come back again.

I was craving a warm bowl of noodle soup so I ordered the beef noodle soup from Easterly! I ordered by phone and it was ready within 10 minutes. Because this time I only tried the noodle soup, I was able to really focus on this item rather than a whole bunch when I shared many items with friends/family. This time, I felt that the noodles and soup was even more flavorful than the last time I had it. The noodles were not too firm and not too soft, and the soup itself was incredibly flavorful with strong beef flavor - what a great beef noodle soup should taste like! The only cons about this would be it is a little more on the oily side and there were only about 2.5 pieces of beef. I also wish that the takeout box was not made from paper because the soup would leak through the box. Other than that, you definitely get a lot of noodles and awesome soup that you can reuse for noodles if you don't finish it in one sitting. read more

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I am actually very impressed. It looks like owner was in restaurant today and he was very attentive and caring. He made sure we knew which ones were spicy and which ones weren't, and he was very nice. Helped us with the menu and everything. Unfortunately I found an egg shell in my steamed eggs but it's okay because mistakes happen. Overall food was pretty good and authentic, family loved it. My favorite was the house made stir fry noodles. I thought it was going to be like Panda Express but it tasted so much better, practically ate the whole thing. read more

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Went here for a friend's birthday. They have a pretty large selection and were able to accommodate our very large party. Since our party was so big we got to order a number of things from the menu and family styled it. The service was really good and they really did their best to keep the food coming out promptly, we're very attentive, and they even brought out birthday noodles on the house for the birthday boy! The food is heavily seasoned and cooked well. I enjoyed most of the dishes. If you're looking for a good cheese place in Berkeley stop by this place to get your fix. read more

I hardly leave any reviews, but only when it's extremely good or extremely bad. Ordered three dishes, one of which is the duck. I understand there's inflation and all but come on, there's NO DUCK! Only duck bones. It has less duck than the duck bones we get after ordering Peking duck at other places. For 26 dollars, you basically get a dish of bones. What makes it worse is that this is too salty for our dog. read more

Easterly Berkeley - I dug and dug for the duck and found none :-( - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I've come here a few times, and it's probably one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the immediate Berkeley area :). Unfortunately, I have a pretty low spice tolerance, so I haven't tried many of their spicier options, but what I've gotten I like! It's kinda pricey, but I don't mind paying because the food is solid (though kinda heavy) and it feels a little bit classier than other places. Mao's braised pork: pretty solid! The meat is pretty tender, and they cut in really huge chunks so you can really see the layers of fat (there's a lot of it). This is super rich and filling, but tasty. Steamed shrimp: pretty good, but the way they cut the shrimp with the shell makes it hard to eat :(. That aside, the noodles are actually super tasty because they're soaked in the seasoning, so I wish they gave more of it. Shrimp is a bit overcooked? I think, but taste pretty fresh. Presentation is really pretty （*´｀*）. Sticky rice: this is my favorite thing here! And I crave it pretty regularly! The sticky rice is well cooked, and underneath it, they give a good amount of yummy, tender ribs: the sauce also soaks into the rice above, so it's flavorful. Corn is nice too! Honestly, I would just get this because I really like sticky rice and I really like meat, so this is everything for me. Deceptively filling. Eggplant: there's so much garlic omg. Pretty pungent and oily, but the flavor is no joke. It comes very pretty with the eggplant underneath :). There's not that much eggplant in my opinion, but it's overloaded with the toppings, making it super flavorful. This is so good when you start eating, but for me, after some bites, it gets overwhelming and too much for me (I'm weak). I don't think we've ever finished this because of how heavy it is, but definitely delicious though -- would get ti with more people. Stinky tofu: I'm weak with spicy, and they put a lot of chilis on top that made me cry :(. Also, I haven't really tried stinky tofu, but my friend said it wasn't too stinky: she liked it though. Also got the dessert with the balls soaked in syrup? It was definitely better than we expected: despite being saturated with syrup, the dough actually wasn't too sweet, and they were nice and soft and chewy. It came slightly warm, which was a plus. All in all, the food's tasty and a bit more upscale, and I've come a few times in the span of like 2 months haha. Would recommend, especially for a gathering where you can split more dishes :). read more

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Menu has great variety. Service is ok. Ambiance is good. High ceiling and no wait time.

nice Chinese food！it is same with what Ieat in China.I like the taste here！！！！！ ！！！！！！！ read more

Easterly Berkeley - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Update: tried three more dishes, and the A4Eggplant with Minced Pork, Garlic & Cilantro Special is so, so good! The eggplant isn't as oily as other eggplant dishes, and you get three distinct textures and aromas -- pork garlic cilantro -- with every bite. We try making it at home as well. Also they played some classic songs by Eason Chan and JJ Lin. read more

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Very authentic Hunan Cuisine. Good service attitude as well. Good environment. Definitely recommend

Food is amazing and service is very quick. I always go with the combination fried rice and it never disappoints. Also recommend eating indoors because the interior is nice and I also like the fried green beans as well. Really garlicky and the chili oil they use to fry the green beans in is tasty. Also recommend the cauliflower and beef tendon! read more

Very delicious Hunan cuisine. Very authentic and great service! Strongly recommend, and will come back again soon!

The food is really delicious. The fish, soup,the original flavor lamb,and the beef dishes are all delicious!

The food was good! I love the stir fried pork with pepper and garlic shrimp with vermicelli!

Food was amazing and presented well! A large menu to choose from and food came out timely as well. Definitely a go to place to bring friends and family visiting Berkeley! read more

Had shrimp, beef, cauliflower. Definitely recommend cauliflower! The service is nice and quick to get food ready. Wide open dining area, enjoy it a lot. Definitely recommend read more

Understated location, but the inside is beyond my expectations. The food is surprisingly authentic even compare to other full fledged Chinese restaurant. read more

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This is a serious Hunan restaurant. Despite its location in the middle of the downtown Berkeley sidewalk-strolling district, it's not designed for Western customers, and indeed I was just about the only such one there at the time, though it's less intimidating that some of its kind down in Silicon Valley. The staffers I encountered all spoke English, the menu - printed on a paper placemat - had English in smaller type underneath the Chinese entries, and my dish did not have strange unidentifiable Things in it. I was given both a fork and plastic chopsticks, plus water - occasionally refilled - but no tea. I ordered stir-fried lamb with steamed rice as a side to cut it. The lamb was a generous quantity, also loaded with the green peppers and cilantro identified as coming with it. But the lamb was extremely lean and the spice (this was a 2-star dish) so strong as to erase any taste sensation that this was lamb I was eating. It was pretty good all around, and not so strongly aromatic as to get up into my nose and cause sneezing, which I appreciated. read more

TL;DR: A solid choice for authentic spicy Hunan dishes in Berkeley. Maybe a bit too spicy...? Thoughts: I would say the food is in general tasty, although most of the dishes my friends and I ordered are a bit too spicy for me, perhaps because I am more used to Cantonese cuisine. I also found that the flavor is a bit monotone; the dishes taste (kind of) similar to each other. Maybe my tongue is not well cultured enough to decipher the flavor of a dish that is too spicy. For me this place is 3 stars (I don't see myself coming here often), but I think if you enjoy spicy food this place is certainly 4 or even 5 stars. This is why I end up giving this place 4 stars. Tips: 1. You order through a tablet. 2. If you are not used to this level of spiciness, be prepared for some bathroom trips. 3. You may want to order rice to balance out the strong flavor of the dishes. read more

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I really wanted to promote this restaurant since it's one of the authentic Chinese Hunan restaurants near Berkeley with good location. But overall I would say it's a mixed experience. The waiter was very nice to hand us the iPad menu with pictures and prices as soon as we arrived at 8:30 pm on a week day. Food was ready super fast: Mao's Pork belly: nice presentation but the portion was on the small side. Taste good and authentic, but nothing special. 3.5 stars Garlic pea sprouts: stringy and old, but the flavor was good. 3 stars Beef soup: there were three noodles options on the menu but we were told we could only choose the expensive handmade one, the other ones were sold out. When they brought the bowl to our table, I asked why the noodles didn't look like handmade. I was told they were bought from outside vendors. I can definitely see it is fresh noodles but not handmade. Also, it's not flavorful- it's spicy but that's it. I realized I liked Sichuan cuisine better than Hunan food because Sichuan's spicy is more flavorful and delicious with different seasonings, more than just spicy. 2 stars Service: no service during the meal, nobody came to check on water, whether the food was good, or whether we needed anything else. Additional information: Credit card is accepted. Parking: I heard they have parking in the back, but couldn't find it. Center street where the restaurant is located is under construction as of - avoid this street. read more

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So happy this place opened up near campus! Very authentic spicy Hunan cuisine. There's always lots of people, but I've never had trouble finding a seat. As for food, I really enjoyed the lamb chops (A7) and the eggplant with minced pork & garlic (A4). Highly recommend the eggplant if you like garlic; this dish comes with a huge amount of raw garlic that you mix together with eggplant, minced pork, and cilantro. The lamb chops are great as well; the meat is seasoned with lots of interesting Chinese spices. Both are super satisfying with a bowl of rice. I also really loved the poached fish fillets (D5). The spice level of this dish is no joke--the first sip of the soup was enough to make me tear up. It's a very generous portion with lots of delicious fish pieces and veggies. Other dishes I enjoyed were the steamed pork rib with sticky rice (A6) and steamed braised pork with taro (C9). I'll definitely keep coming back to try everything :) read more

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Pretty authentic and yummy, I highly recommend if you are aware that panda express is fake Chinese food. One issue is that food is always too salty, but you can leave a comment when ordering read more

Wow! As all the other reviews already fawned, phenomenal Hunan food at pretty reasonable prices. The fried lamb chops were freakin awesome! Crunchy and coated in some awesome dried pepper flakes. The pork belly was okay, extremely heavy and the meat was on the tougher side. All in all, really good flavors and spiciness level (not for the wusses when it comes to spice, they full send it). Will be back for sure! read more

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Wow, most legit Hunan place I've been to! We were on our way to eat elsewhere, but the full tables of Chinese folks speaking Mandarin and big pictures of their dishes led us in. The outside seating was perfect for a warm summer evening. Huge portions, so go in a group and/or be prepared for leftovers. The two of us split: Pork & cabbage dumplings (H6 on the menu): really tasty with the black vinegar, though takes a while Eggplant three ways (A4): amazing silky eggplant strips buried under cilantro, minced pork, and oh so much garlic Poached fish in sour soup (D5): endlessly spicy, it starts with a sour pickled pepper burn and then the lingering mala numbness from the flower peppers. Great with rice! Excited to go back to Easterly to try the Hunan specialties. I'm intrigued by the griddled bullfrog with pickled pepper... read more

This place was packed with hungry college students on a Thursday night, but my friend and I were lucky enough to get bar seats when we arrived. We shared the Poached Fish Fillets in Sour Soup with two bowls of rice after checking out Yelp recommendations. It came on a portable stovetop to keep the soup warm. This thing was SPICY. The first sip got us crying and sniffling! But since the flavors were yummy--savory, sour, clear and not heavy--we powered on by avoiding the chili peppers, refraining from drinking the soup, and turning off the stovetop. If you aren't used to this Hunan spiciness, I'd recommend asking for a milder version or avoiding this one. For a fish lover, though, I think it was worth the pain. Won't be ordering the fish soup again, but might come back for the pork ribs with sticky rice and corn that my friend and I were eyeing. read more

Easterly Berkeley - Poached fish fillets in sour soup - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

If you like spicy food, I mean spicy spicy not American spicy, you will love their "eggplant with preserved egg and green pepper"! I crave this sometimes it's so good. Other than chocolate I crave very few main dish and this is one of them. Try it with white rice. Also the tofu with leek is pretty tasty as well. Love Easterly! read more

TLDR: We don't have a lot of good Chinese places near campus, but Easterly is super authentic and tasty! Definitely get A6 (Steamed pork rib in sticky rice with corn). I'm really excited to try the rest of their menu!! Food: 8/10 The food is SO authentic :) I usually don't expect much from Chinese restaurants around campus, but this was delicious and filling! I came here with a friend after finals and the food really reminded me of a home-cooked meal. We got A4 (Eggplant with minced garlic, pork, and cilantro) and A6 (Steamed pork rib in sticky rice with corn). A4 was really tasty, but a little TOO garlicky for me (I don't like when my food has large chunks of garlic as opposed to finely minced pieces). But, A6 was heavenly! I really recommend this dish, since the sticky rice is really filling and the corn and pork compliment each other well. Price & Portion: 8/10 Our food came with generous portions of meat and we were both stuffed for about $15 a person and leftovers! Not the cheapest Chinese food in Berkeley, but the food quantity and quality are well worth the price. Service: 7/10 We were seated right away and our servers were pretty attentive for the most part! Not stellar, but also no complaints. Ambience: 7/10 Everything about this place is so authentically Chinese including the decor! Overall, it's super clean and well lit. It can get kinda loud when there's a crowd, but it's still quiet enough for a conversation. Not a complaint (just something that made me laugh), but weirdly enough when I went there, the music playing was hardcore edm. read more

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100% authentic. I ordered stir fried little dry fish with 4-chilis badge. A+ Beef noodle with egg is also great, spicy and appetizing. The beef is made from the belly part. It has some fat layer to it. The way they braised it had the moist locked. A+ good. Smelly- tofu is...smelly, as expected. Great, A! read more

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