Namie's catered a dinner for 112 people at a neighborhood social club. The salad was 2 limp leaves of lettuce and 3 thin, brown tasteless slices of pear. The salmon was so over-done it was near powdered. The spile of savory grains was good, but the vegetable was near raw. I left before dessert. read more

We had another catered lunch at work (we have it every Wednesday - should I Yelp where I work?). Today was from Namie's kitchen, which is why I don't have pictures. It would be just a compostable plate with food on it, or a bunch of metal trays. Lots of veggie options for me today! If you order from them, you'll see it's an "Asian fusion" menu, but today we had Thai inspired entrees. Of course, I had the tofu green curry with coconut white rice, and it was really good! It had a spicy bite, not overwhelming yet not ignorable, and the tofu was cooked to just the right tenderness. We also had sweet garlic soy tofu, with pieces of tofu about the size of a domino, with grill-like marks. Again, cooked just right, and the sweetness complemented my curry very well. Plenty of veggie sides, including both broccoli and green bean dishes, with plenty of garlic cloves. There was also a black bean, edamame & grilled corn salad with basil lime tomato vinaigrette that was nice and tangy. Glancing at their online menu, I see Japanese and Indian inspired dishes that I'd love to try. I hope my workplace orders from them again! read more

My company catered lunch from here and it was okay. Everyone else seemed to like it, but for "American Chinese" food, I think Panda express is probably better. Yes, that's how "meh" I feel about this. As the name suggests, the "Sweet Garlic Ginger Grilled Chicken" was overly sweet. Surprisingly, the Curry Spiced Beef was sweet too. The Asian Garden Salad was normal.. but I mean, how do you screw up a salad? I did enjoy the Garlic Ginger Soy Braised Tofu and the Broccoli with Sea Salt and Roasted Garlic.... Looks like they only got their vegetables right. read more

Namie's Kitchen's description is Asian European fusion, but honestly is just a hodge podge of food. Our company received catered food from there recently and the swedish meatballs in gravy were good, but so salty. The agro-dolce chicken was really dry and lacking in flavor. The cilantro lime shrimps were probably the highlight of the meal to be honest. The strawberry salad was pretty good but so random. I did not like the flavorless rice pilaf. The vegan polenta and vegan vegetable and beans cakes were both pretty dry and flavorless. I have definitely had better. I think that they have a lot to work on, first thing would be to figure out a specific cuisine that they want to present themselves as. read more

People of catering world rejoice! Namie and her kitchen bring the best! I have to feed groups of ravenous office employees that usually amount to 250 mouths, and let me tell you, a lot can go wrong. In these situations, you can organize and micromanage all you want, but it all comes down to the caterer, their execution, and their food. I had a great experience with Namie, and she left all of those 250 mouths happy. After the hoards plowed through the buffet, I made a straight beeline for the mac n cheese. Believe it or not, mac and cheese is a world full of subtlety; it can easily go awry. However, this mac and cheese will fill your craving full of perfectly cooked noodles, generous amounts of cheese, and excellent flavor. If you have a second home in catering land, you know that mac n cheese is a crowd pleaser, so go ahead and make yourself look awesome by ordering up some of this stuff. I can also speak for the habanero chicken breast (perfectly cooked, generously sliced, and uniquely flavored), and the vegan polenta with vegetable ratatouille (so much health yet so much delicious). Being a resident of catering world also means that it's of course not 100% about the food. You need a chef/caterer that is logistically together. You need someone who has about 10 "Most Organized" awards sitting on a shelving unit in their kitchen. (All perfectly polished of course). You need someone who has excellent staff to help cook the stuff, pack the stuff, drive the stuff, deliver the stuff, set up the stuff, label the stuff, and they have to do it all on freaking time. Namie lived up to and surpassed all of the nitty gritties with aplomb, and I can't thank her and her staff enough. Basically, thank you for making my group happy, and thank you for making me look good. Trust the catering muscles. read more

I work in the Hollis business complex, which always reminds we of Scranton Business Park, except WE have Naimie's Kitchen. This place serves homemade lunches of all different style and origin, from salads and sandwiches to burgers, lasagna, Swedish meatballs, pasta bar, Korean BBQ chicken, taco salads, etc. Let your imagination run wild. Just today I had their grilled Cuban sandwich with a side of broccoli, which was magnificent. A typical meal (entree, side, can of soda), runs between $7 and $8.50. read more

As far as lunch catering goes, Namie's is pretty good. There's always a good mix of hot entrees with sandwiches and salads. Even if you tend to not eat meat, there is always an option or two for the vegetarians - whether it's the tofu teriyaki or a really scrumptious pesto, tomato, fresh mozzarella panini sandwich. If you drop by the building for lunch at 6401 Hollis St. in Emeryville, Thursday is the day you want to eat here. It's Taco Salad day! Served with your choice of chicken or beef + black beans, lettuce, seasoned rice and a scoop of guac with the free options to add as much or as little sour cream, cheese, salsa and pickled jalapeno peppers as your soon to be triple bypassed heart desires. Simple food that is so delicious. *With the exception of Valentine's day this year - they dyed the taco salad rice hot pink. Perhaps they were cracked out from Cupid's arrow. Thankfully, I will say that strange occurrence has not recently been duplicated. Other regular notable offerings: -Pulled pork sandwich -Turkey meatloaf -Beef lasagna Tip: If you eat here on a regular basis and spend more than $5.00 on your lunch (which isn't hard to do) - ask for a Namie's Kitchen card. After 10 lunches punched on the card, you earn a free lunch. Ok, I have food coma now. Zzz. read more

The strawberry salad with goat cheese was my favorite. The grilled mint-lime habanero chicken breast, tofu green curry with jasmine rice was very good too. read more

I can usually find something that I want to eat; menu varies. It's convenient as I work in the building. Prices are a bit high; I'd rather have smaller portions and save a couple bucks. But as is, portions are generous. Favorites: Korean BBQ chicken, banh mi sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, meatloaf read more

I have yet to have a good experience at Namie. The food is okay but I'm given the cold shoulder EVERY TIME I order something. Today it was a raw hamburger. For some reason I'm not a welcomed customer. read more

Ladies are there really nice. The taco salad served on Thursdays is a must have, they pile a huge shell with beef, rice and lettuce then you can take it to the side "salsa bar" and they have cheese, sour cream, guac and three different kinds of salsa. Pretty good deal with so much food. I tried their tuna melt before and it was meh, I'll stick to their specials next time instead. read more

Lovely Namie runs a breakfast and lunch service in the building where I work. She prepares and serves some of the best food in the East Bay-- comfort food such as Swedish meatballs over noodles (to die for! the key ingredient is grainy mustard), tofu and veggie teriyaki over brown rice, Korean barbecue, taco salads, breakfast sandwiches, and so forth-- she and her friendly staff do it all really well. For those of you who don't have the luxury of Namie's Kitchen at your beck and call each workday, they cater events around the Bay Area! Check out their website and give Namie a call. read more

2.5 but I rounded up to 3 because everyone at my company loved it. This is basically Chinese food made by White people. I had the Sweet Garlic Ginger Grilled Chicken, Garlic Ginger Soy Braised Tofu, Steamed Brown Rice, Sake and Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplants, and Broccoli with Sea Salt and Roasted Garlic. The chicken was overcooked and a bit dry. The brown rice and tofu was quite good. The broccoli was way overcooked; it was pretty much just steamed. The eggplants were undercooked and had to be cut with a knife to be eaten. read more