I love this place Best music, the best chai I've ever had in my life and good people always in and…read morearound. How good it is

Strolling through the neighborhood on my way to a meeting and I had some time to kill. The…read morestorefront caught my eye and when I saw vinyl I had to look. So glad I stopped in. The vibe is very relaxed. A great place for a mental break. Gabriel the bartender greeted me warmly. The music was good. Vinyl selection is The wine selection is exemplary. I had enough time for lunch and opted for the Cheese sandwich ( I do not recall the menu name) upon Gabriel's recommendation. I was not disappointed. Warm beef with melted cheese and accompaniments on a sandwich roll. It was reminiscent of my youth when my friends mother would make lunch for us. It was just sloppy enough to make it delicious without it splattered on my shirt. My new go to spot for a mental break and smiles.

Oh my goodness I needed some food stopped on my way home grabbed me their grilled cheese it was…read moredelicious . The service was so nice too! The ambiance was quiet and no weird drunk vibes just people eating food and heading on their way. What a hidden find definitely like the calm there.

I use the words "Neighborhood dive bar" in only the best possible way. Walkable with the dog and…read moreincredibly dog friendly, this place is the epitome of a neighborhood gathering place. On top of that, the food's really good! Their tacos are tasty, and the sleeper on the menu is the spicy tuna melt. *chef's kiss* from any of our friend group who've had it. The nachos, pretzel, and soups of the day also bring something homey. You can walk in and see island folks you know, or quickly start getting to know a friendly new someone. We love it here. Goose especially.

It was my first solo date night as a brand spanking new bay area resident and after a few drinks, I…read morewas ready for a nice dinner. Alley&Vine was the first recommendation via yelp, so off I went. Arrived at around 8pm and was greeted by the wonderful Janet. She was super kind, warm, and welcoming and gave me the option to sit at a table or the bar. Being a solo traveller, I opted for the bar which was honestly great. To Start, I had a Singapore sling. Its rare I see these on the menu so I had to try. It was strong and delicious! So happy with my choice. For food, I had so much meat. The lamb chops to start were incredible. This was served with a little mozzarella + tomato salad with all of the balsamic glaze. Super yummy and perfectly medium rare. Next time, I can just have this on its own. Definitely a star. Next, I had the duck breast which sat on a bed of spinach risotto. Very delicious and also cooked perfectly. Being Taylor, I had to finish out the dinner with another cocktail (lemon drop) that was great and finally I had a little glass of port as my dessert. All in al a great little dinner at Alley & Vine. Thanks again to Janet and the team for some excellent service and incredible food.

My friend and I had stopped in here many moons ago for a dessert, but upon seeing the menu, we…read morevowed to come back, and we finally did! We came on a Friday and we were both starving! We were greeted warmly and we each ordered a drink to start. I got the blood orange sour, which was tasty, and my friend got the strawberry margarita, which she enjoyed. I ordered the seafood pasta, while my friend got the spinach seafood risotto. I will state the obvious, these are just about the two most expensive dishes on the menu, but man, they had heaps of seafood and were absolutely delicious! When I say heaps, I mean the shrimp and scallops were giant, there were mussels and clams and crab meat. 100% worth it! We finished the meal with the tiramisu and that was ok. Honorable mention to our server who was attentive without being overbearing. I would absolutely come back and would highly recommend!

Forbidden Island is one of those rare neighborhood gems that somehow manages to feel both special…read moreand effortlessly welcoming. It's a longtime local favorite of mine and my go-to spot for meeting up with friends--equal parts escape and comfort. The cocktail menu is impressively deep, full of beautifully crafted, fancy tiki drinks that practically beg to be explored, and so far every single one I've tried has been delicious (dangerously so). Inside, the bar nails the classic tiki vibe--warm, immersive, and transportive--while the outdoor patio offers a lovely, relaxed option with plenty of extra seating on warm days. It's the kind of place where you can linger, laugh, and lose track of time. The staff deserve a special shout-out: genuinely friendly, attentive, and accommodating, which only adds to the overall experience. A quick pro tip: if you're planning to stop by during popular after-work hours, definitely make a reservation--it fills up for good reason. The food menu is on the smaller side, but the bites are tasty and thoughtfully done, perfect for sharing alongside a round (or two) of cocktails. All in all, Forbidden Island is a standout spot that keeps me coming back again and again.

Forbidden Island is a usual pitstop for us after the Antique Fair in Alameda. The drinks are solid…read moreand the interior decor is fun, but fall short of its neighbors in the surrounding area. It's got a hybrid dive bar with dollar bills on the ceiling, mixed with Tiki. I have tried the Grog, Rum Barrel, and Sunday Special, all of which were solid, but not out of this world.

Came here to celebrate my friends divorced and it was awesome ! Our server was amazing and the…read moredrinks here were tasty !! Love the vibes here ! Definitely would come back again!

Went to Lemon Drop on a Saturday night for a girls' night out. The decor is really cute and I loved…read morethe ambiance--it has a fun, inviting vibe. We sat outside by the fire pit, which made it even better. The bartender had great energy and was definitely a highlight of the night. There were a few birthday celebrations going on, and he kept the energy up and made it feel lively. We ordered two rounds of the "Man at the Garden." The drink is aesthetically pleasing, but the taste was just okay--nothing special. The servers were nice, but service was a bit slow. We were left unattended long enough for the ice in our second round to melt, which was a little disappointing. We wanted to try another drink, but after waiting so long, we ended up just being ready to leave. Overall, I'd still give Lemon Drop another chance because the vibe and atmosphere were really nice.

The food and service was fabulous! We were there for brunch. I'm definitely going back for dinner!…read moreI'm a Pescatarian. It looks like they have several very interesting fish dishes. Can't wait! Cindy

Loved this place so much. We didn't have reservations but a party didn't show up for their reserved…read moreseats at the bar. This is the first time I've heard of a place reserving bar seating. I guess it's that popular. It was pretty tight seating at the bar, no wiggle room at all. Be prepared to wait to order and get your food when it's full. We had to wait to order drinks and we were at the bar! Lol Staff is very friendly and helpful. What we ordered: -Asado de Mamita: Short ribs, aji panca sauce, green mashed potato -Aji de Gallina: A Peruvian classic reinvented. Shredded chicken in creamy aji amarillo, gnocchi, white rice -Empanadas de la Casa: mushroom [VEG] We sampled each others plates and were not disappointed. Everything was so flavorful! The only downsides are the place is small and there is only one bathroom. People that are waiting to use the bathroom are standing in the way of servers and in the smaller section near the entrance. We'll definitely come back.

This place was literally empty when we came here for lunch…read more Like it looked like it was abandoned kind of empty. Like haunted restaurant kind of empty. Thankfully the server was nice and the food we had was surprisingly good. I say this because we honestly weren't sure if their seafood cioppino would be any good given the majority of their menu featured Vietnamese dishes. Interesting combination. Like Fisherman's Wharf merged with a Pho restaurant. You can get your oysters and deviled eggs and bahn mi sandwiches here. For realz, look at the menu. Anyways I liked my cioppino. Didn't have a lot of seafood but the flavor profile was spot on and the garlic bread was decent. That's why I never want to judge a Vietnamese Fisherman's Restaurant based solely on their menu--because the food just may surprise you! My coworker liked her bahn mi sandwich and the view of the boats and the nice weather made this a great place to catch up on old times.

Food was delicious and the main courses are also very beautiful to look at, great presentation. The…read moremenu is basically Vietnamese + Classic American fusion, heavy on the seafood. It's trying to be fancier than it actually is. A mix of wonderful scratch made elements (delecate, interesting sauces, perfectly cooked fish, lovely fresh asparagus) and some elements I think are frozen/pre-made stuff (fries, ravioli, mashed potatoes, seaweed salad). We went on a weekday at 2pm. We sat on the upstairs balcony. It was very quiet and peaceful, which is honestly such a rare win for any restaurant in the Bay, I might go back just for this. The view is heavenly, completely gorgeous. I would like to see how they deliver on the raw oysters ($4 each) and Cesar salad. Pricing is definitely too high for the quality of the food but not more so than any other East Bay restaurant with a waterfront view, and this view is better than any other I know. Service was... Kind of ridiculous... Only one person working the entire front of the restaurant - no greeter at the entrance, no bartender, no busser, and that person simply does not have enough command of the English language to do the job well. Could not effectively answer any of our questions about the menu. Could not understand we wanted the appetizer dishes cleared away to make room for the very large main course dishes. Disappeared for so long we had to get up and go find them to ask for our check. Never asked if we wanted drinks or dessert. Said some surprisingly rude phrases but I'm sure it was an ESL issue, I genuinely don't think they intended to be rude. They certainly did not catch it or notice At All what was happening when one of our group was briefly rude back by responding in kind (before realizing it was accidental). We had to ask more than once to bring us knives even though there are foods in our main dishes that can't be cut with the side of a fork. And on, and on, etc. Oh one good thing was we asked to each paid separately and they let us do that without any trouble, and got our individual items correct immediately.

Very tasty, Southern inspired foods. I loved the spicy chicken sandwich and their cornbread. There…read morewas a wait list on a Saturday morning, but the text to let us know our table was ready came fairly quickly. Our server was very prompt and kind. The restaurant is beautiful, with a full bar and view of their grand oven. Highly recommend to make a reservation here for brunch.

Came here for lunch with a friend at 1 PM on a Saturday. We came 15 minutes late after our…read morereservation because of parking and they were understanding of it. As soon as you walk in, you're hit with the smell of a campfire from the oven. The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous with an Art Deco design. The ambiance is cozy but elevated. Benedict (buttermilk biscuit, dungeness crab cakes, marinated swiss chard & beet greens, herbed hollandaise, poached eggs & mixed greens): I'm not a huge benedict person because they can feel heavy, but this one was fantastic. I loved the textures and flavors of the crab cakes pairing with the greens and vegetables. It felt balanced and not too creamy or exhausting to eat. It definitely stands out from the run-of-the-mill brunch benedict. Vegetable Hash (roasted sweet potatoes, garnet yams, sunchokes, cauliflower, cremini mushrooms, celery root & onion, savoy spinach & poached eggs): This was also delicious and also set itself apart from the standard brunch hash. I loved the different vegetables in it besides being just potatoes and onions. The mushrooms and root vegetables worked really well together. Everything was well-seasoned. I'm glad we ended up choosing these dishes even though neither were my original top choices (I decided on the menu with my friend). It made me feel like you can choose anything and it'd be a banger. We were quite full from these dishes, and we forget we also ordered beignets to come out last. They were fluffy and mostly air (but not in a bad way). The service throughout the meal was good. We were checked on from time-to-time and our waters were refilled, although I wish the water glasses were a little bigger. One small thing to note was that we were given the check while we were still eating, even though the restaurant was still seating people despite it being close to closing time. Unsure if/why we were rushed like this. Overall, this was a memorable brunch spots I've been to in the Bay (dare I say one of the best?). We left smelling like a campfire. I would recommend it.

I stopped by here for happy hour and had a really pleasant experience! They offer $10 classic…read morecocktails and discounts on appetizers like chips and salsa and guac, French fries, nachos, and other bites. I ordered a classic martini with a twist, it wasn't my favorite drink ever but it was made well, just not my usual. After that I ordered a classic margarita which was super good and came with a black salt rim and dehydrated lime. The margarita was super tasty and both drinks were made right away! For food, I ordered the chips and salsa and guac. The guac was very good, it tasted fresh and was a good size portion. The salsa was really good, it was chipotle tasting but had a lime tanginess to it that was unique and refreshing. They were generous with the portion of chips and the chips were thick and crispy and seasoned well with just a little bit of salt. I also ordered the impossible taquitos which came with guac, sour cream, and salsa on top. The presentation was beautiful and the food came out fast but the taste was a bit weird, it wasn't bad but it just tasted like burger meat in a taquito. I really appreciate that they offered a meat alternative but wish it tasted better, like maybe use potatoes instead of fake meat, or use fake chorizo over a burger seasoning. It would also be nice if there was a vegan version not just a vegetarian version. Despite my critiques of the food, I have no critiques for the service and atmosphere! My server was phenomenal and attentive and checked in often! I had a great experience and look forward to coming back but would definitely be more eager to come back if they updated with more vegan options!

Favorite place to grab a drink on the island!…read more I love grabbing a spot by the windows to people watch while sipping on a well made cocktail. If you want to grab a bite, my go-to is the sliders with tater tots.

Dive bar in the front, expansive backyard and gardens in the back. (But the backyard area…read morefaithfully maintains the dive bar vibe, with various old mismatched tables and chairs.) There is also a horseshoe pit! Staff is very friendly, and prices are reasonable. Highly recommended!

Friendly staff. Convenient location. Nice outdoor patio in back. Awesome bartenders!…read moreGreat place to hang out or just watch a game.