Friday night date night at Lucuma was a win. We arrived right on time for our reservation and were…read morepromptly seated at the bar, which ended up being one of the highlights of the evening. The mixologists were friendly, professional, and impressive to watch. Everything was done with care - clean, sanitary, efficient, and clearly well-practiced. A lot of places could take notes. The cocktails were vibrant, fresh, creative, and genuinely delicious. The food somehow topped the drinks, everything came out quickly, hot, and packed with flavor. The standout for me was the mushroom empanadas. I still can't stop thinking about them. The mushrooms were incredibly tender and flavorful, and the pastry was perfectly flaky. 10/10 would recommend and can't wait to come back.

** 4 - 4.5 stars ** Visited for lunch and had a nice dining…read moreexperience. Traditional Peruvian with a bit of California-fusion is how I would describe Lacuma Kitchen and Bar. When you walk in, vibrant colors, plenty of greenery and a bright space with friendly and welcoming staff. Even the bathroom has a vibe. This visit I ordered: CEVICHE VERDE with Fish of the Day of rockfish. Fresh, raw white fish with great texture from the choclo (large-kernel Andean corn), toasted cancha (corn nuts), and slices of sweet potato. Dish is served raw, lightly marinated and made to order in a cilantro-based sauce with citrus with a bit of heat from aji limo (Peruvian pepper) - good but a tad salty. Served with plantains but unfortunately, not crispy and more soft and chewy. The trio of empanadas: chicken, beef, mushroom was accompanied with an aioli. Tasty! Friends enjoyed their dishes with no complaints. Lacuma Kitchen & Bar also has creative and quality cocktails/mocktails. Ordered the refreshing cucumber drink (recommendation by our server) as I didn't want anything with alcohol. Bright, fresh with some sweet from sugar and slight sour from the lime juice. Leo, our server was friendly, made suggestions and attentive. A great spot for date night, special dining event and lunch. Located on the corner of 17th/Franklin in Downtown Oakland. Would return to try their entrees.

Came here for the first time and brought my family along. There were six of us, so we arrived right…read morewhen they opened to make sure we could get a table. The restaurant is on the smaller side, and I had heard there can be a wait, but we were seated right away. We had a great experience overall! The service was excellent, the food came out quickly, and everything tasted great. Everyone enjoyed their meal, and we'll definitely be coming back again.

When the place lives up to the hype, it's truly the best feeling. That's what I felt eating my…read moretakeout from Shan Dong. The flavours were bold and strong. The famous sesame paste noodles were deliciously bouncy and al dente, coated with a peanut-adjacent sauce and tender pieces of beef. There is mild spice and some thin veggies. 10/10 The Shan Dong chicken also blew me away, with a hoisin-esque honey garlic sauce covering large chunks of crispy and juicy chicken. Because I got takeout, the chicken was Soft but I can imagine fresh it would be perfectly crunchy. 9/10 I'll definitely be back to try other noodles! Worth going out of your way for

Probably the only cafe that will make me cross the bay bridge just for the taste!…read moreBeautiful, unique fragrants of their wide coffee selections! So far my favourite is the India SLN9! The staff is happy to talk about their bean selection and gave me both a warm mug and an ice cup so I can try them two ways. I like SLN9 chilled, the ice is almost like a prism, reveal and separate floral, light acidic, honey-like notes!! Super refreshing and pleasant! The Columbia washed sweet nectar tastes similarly perfumery but feels stronger when drinking it hot. Love both pastries too. The raspberry one is filled with rich & tart chocolate inside, and the pistachio one has a different chocolate filling is sweeter nuttier and the little crunch is like Dubai chocolate...

The service was amazing, everyone was nice and welcoming! The vibe and interior of the cafe was so…read morecute and I really love the mascot :) I got the Vanilla Cream Iced Latte (oat & nightfall (dark roast I think)) And my friends got the Banana Matcha Iced Latte and a chocolate imperial. I personally don't enjoy sweets so I thought the chocolate imperial was a little bit too sweet for me, but the garnish and preparation of the sweet was so cute! Their drink presentation was really pretty! The vanilla cream iced latte was really good, it had the perfect amount of bitter and I liked the roast that they used!

Mensho is a very popular restaurant. This was my first time visiting, and I had a great experience…read more The food was delicious! The standout dishes for me were the Calamari, Karaage, and Daikon Salad. The Calamari was perfectly fried, and the seasoning was well-balanced. The Karaage was also perfectly fried, and the sauce was flavorful. The Daikon Salad was light and refreshing. I would like to thank our server, Noah, for his helpfulness in choosing our dishes and for the prompt service. I highly recommend it!

Unpopular opinion: wasn't my favorite. But that's all due to personal preference (aside from…read moreservice and a rocky start). The good: fresh, quality ingredients The bad: started with the host/wait list. I accidentally added my name twice for a solo diner. Host thought it was a mistake and completely removed me from the wait list and seated other parties that came in after me. Thoroughly confused - she didn't even call my name to confirm so I had to go up to her and ask. No apology either. Was seated at the counter where solo diners usually sit. Service was non existent. Server came up to me and ask "what would you like to order?" I've never been there before. No "hi my name is ... I'll be your server" nada. They're just a machine - people in people out. The ramen - broth was fine. The squiggly noodles aren't my favorite. Expected to have kernel corn but had corn ribs instead (good thing I'm good with chopsticks!) The charshu was just okay. Enoki topping was just ... aight. The nice touch was that they didn't put it in the ramen and served it on the side to preserve its crunchiness because it definitely needed the texture! It was loud, busy, and nothing spectacular about the dining scene here. $55 dollars later (ramen, 2 additional toppings, one box of sake) ... I sadly don't think it was worth it.

Still one of my favorites. Last time I reviewed RnR was…read moreover 9 years ago so time for an update! I've trekked across the bridge to come here a zillion times now. I have learned which sushi to order and I always get the tempura too. I have recommended this place to a lot of friends who are now regulars. Just saying

RNR chicken teriyaki rice bowl was very good the chicken was moist …read more The sushi's were good too such as the fried Cali roll, lion king roll, etc . Definitely will be back when I'm in the area and craving sushi.