Celebrated my nephew's high school graduation last month. My sister picked the spot and it was a good spot. It is a classy-looking joint in a hotel. I'll skip to the chase: everything we ordered was good. It was first time so I let others drive. No problem there because it was a fun ride. Our server was attentive and helpful--a plus with my family. We tend to take a long time ordering and ask a lot of questions. He was patient and knowledgeable. He also advised us our order was more than enough to feed our hungry party of seven, even though it didn't seem like it. He was correct. Okay, now for your viewing pleasure. read more

See all

My boyfriend and I stopped in on a Wednesday evening for a pre show dinner. He had onion soup, and we shared the hearts of romain salad, the falafel canapes, and the arancini. The falafel were light and hit the spot. We will return the next time we have a show nearby. read more

My friend and I were relieved and overjoyed to find a relatively close spot to where I had been staying over the holiday weekend to dine on Thanksgiving night. I was especially surprised to see that ZINO is located inside of Hotel Shattuck, a quaint Downtown Berkeley hotel with much character that transports you to another period of time, but after arriving and seeing the long line up at 6PM for the buffet dinner - I quickly understood why I had not noticed ZINO before. It seems that the restaurant is combined with the Hotel Shattuck bar area, which is easy to spot to the right, upon entering the front door. The buffet itself was served in the Crystal Ball Room, all the way in the back past the regular bar seating area. ZINO offered us poor Thanksgiving stragglers without family yet still wanted a traditional Thanksgiving meal a place to dine. I had made reservations for the two of us at 6 PM, and we arrived by 5:55. We were not brought to our table by the host (mandatory to wait until seated by the staff) until about 6:10, which all things considered like dining on a holiday with loads of people in front of us, I did not think was a bad wait time. What was disappointing to me was the lack of service at the tables as it was hard to flag waiters down for drinks or for the check as well as the disappointing spread at prime dinner time (6:15 PM) on the buffet. Most of the food was lukewarm at best, and cold at worst. The most disappointing aspect of the dinner was that the staff did not refill a lot of the sauces like the gravy or cranberry sauce by the turkey and hot plates. Despite the lack of warmth in the food, the flavor was all there. The turkey was a bit more dry than I would have liked, but with all of the other shortcomings, I was just glad I scrounged up a handful of turkey slices with some flavorful stuff to make up for the lack of gravy and appropriate sauces. It's bizarre that the buffet was set to wrap up and end at 7 PM, which is still considered prime dinner time in most cities and countries, but perhaps they wanted the staff to go home as early as possible to celebrate with their loved ones Regardless of the optimistic speculation, the service and experience were fairly subpar, especially for $69 per person for the buffet that night. It might have been the closest and most inexpensive dining option for us, but if I had my car, I would have gladly driven out of the Bay to experience a heartier and hotter plate of Thanksgiving food. In addition to the entire experience as described above, as a recently immunocompromised individual, I did not feel super comfortable with how they set up the buffet so openly (no glass or sneeze guards, no masked bartenders or servers, etc). There were definitely guests in questionable health sneezing at their tables or with constant, productive (aka wet) coughs in the buffet line for the scant amounts of food...... I am wondering if I caught my most recent respiratory bug from this event at ZINO. I definitely am not returning for Thanksgiving dinner or any kind of buffet. read more

See all

Never in my life have I had a vegetable omelette like this! I've dined all over the country and internationally, but this experience was disappointing. First off, the waitress seemed stressed, incompetent and unhelpful. After waiting over 40 minutes for the food, I had to ask about the delay, only to be told there was a mix-up, and they were trying to make it as quickly as possible. Not once did the waitress apologize for the mistake. Instead, another woman, who appeared to be in charge, offered an apology. When the omelette finally arrived, I was shocked. It looked like a stinking mess, veggie omelette looked like vomit! The avocado toast was just cold toast with sliced avocado and some greens thrown on top - no effort at all. Additionally, there was no salt or pepper on the table, and no sauces were provided. We had to ask for hot sauce, and the ketchup arrived just as I was finishing my potatoes. I didn't even touch the omelette, and the hostess was kind enough not to charge me for the inedible meal. Despite the issues, I left no tip because the service and food quality were far below expectations. It's a shame, as this place has potential, but I won't be returning anytime soon.AVOID! I dined at La Note near by for brunch and that is where you need to eat! Stay away from this one! Never in my life have I had a vegetable omelette like this! I've dined all over the country and internationally, but this experience was disappointing. First off, the waitress seemed stressed, incompetent and unhelpful. After waiting over 40 minutes for the food, I had to ask about the delay, only to be told there was a mix-up, and they were trying to make it as quickly as possible. Not once did the waitress apologize for the mistake. Instead, another woman, who appeared to be in charge, offered an apology. When the omelette finally arrived, I was shocked. It looked like a stinking mess, veggie omelette looked like vomit! The avocado toast was just cold toast with sliced avocado and some greens thrown on top - no effort at all. Additionally, there was no salt or pepper on the table, and no sauces were provided. We had to ask for hot sauce, and the ketchup arrived just as I was finishing my potatoes. I didn't even touch the omelette, and the hostess was kind enough not to charge me for the inedible meal. Despite the issues, I left no tip because the service and food quality were far below expectations. It's a shame, as this place has potential, but I won't be returning anytime soon.AVOID! I dined at La Note near by for brunch and that is where you need to eat! Stay away from this one! read more

ZINO - Supposed to be a Vegetable Omelette - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Everyone from the valet to the bar tenders and our server, Leu, were professional, attentive , and friendly which set the tone for the most delightful meal in a nice, quiet, beautiful restaurant The food was innovative and so delicious! My husband and I can't wait to return. We are 67 years old and appreciate not shouting our conversation over loud music and a disco ball spinning in our eyes. Thank you so much for a lovely evening read more

Came here after my daughter's graduation. The interior is so elegant and spacious. Service was great and friendly. There was a live music for jazzy vibes. The beef rib eye was the star of the show! 5/5 Highly recommend. We also got the whole fish and lamb chops which were both good. 4/5 Overall great place! read more

See all

Service was fine. For was not good except the pita bread and doing sauce foie the calamari. Lens ribs were great and tasteless. Calamari was tasteless. Zatar bread overcooked. Falafel overcooked on the outside and not cooked inside. Given the setting this should be a fine dining experience. The prices were way out of alignment with the quality which was pretty poor. It's really too bad it's downtown Berkeley could use more good restaurants. read more

Lovely venue surprisingly quiet. Food and service incredible! Only reason for 4 stars is that we went during time when number of study groups occupied multiple tables. Risk of being so close to campus. read more

ZINO - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Thank you Daniel! Warmth from the wait-staff makes a meal memorable!! That's hospitality. Menu offered a good array, meal was delicious, and what an enjoyable room! Spacious & light, it's why we save historic architecture. Last week I had lunch at a famous Berkeley resto, and Zino was better on all counts: service, choice, sound level, and the dining itself. It suited us well. read more

Ate at Zino w/ 3 other couples before Berkeley Rep. on 12/6/25. we had a 6:00 reservation & 8:00 Theater time. We had an Unpleasant waiter, probably because he seemed to be the only one. We finally received our food at 7:25-7:30 after making a couple of inquiries. We asked for a bill before we received the food to expedite our departure time. When the food arrived, it was awful! There was no time to send it back. Plus, we all waited so long we were hungry. (We barely made it to the theater in time.). The salmons were requested, medium rare and they were both well done, the vegetable inedible, the paparadelle had no spinach in it. The octopus was so tough that the 3 people who ordered it look like they barely touched it. I asked to speak to the manager. I was told she was not there. I called back on Sunday and they said to call Monday. Talk to the manager on Monday morning. She said she would look into it. Lila, the manager, said she would call me back later that day or Tuesday...never heard back so called her on Thursday Not there, left a message. Called back several more times she never picked up never called me back. Just a couple days ago I called again. I was told she was just walking into a meeting gave them all my information and still never heard back from her. Don't bother going to Zino's, the food is awful, understaffed and a cold atmosphere. They don't have the courtesy to call back or do the right thing. Save yourself money and go to one of so many other good restaurants in Berkeley. read more

Brought a client here for a weekday lunch. It was pretty empty. The server was super nice. I wish I could remember the appetizer we had because it was good. I ordered a chicken entree for my main, which was a dish the server recommended. Reminded me of the "rubber chicken" line from old comedies. It really was that bad. What's funny is that I was super hungry and tried to get through it, but just couldn't. That bad. I told the server just to share that with the chef and making clear that I didn't want a discount or anything, just wanted to let them know - - and maybe challenge the chef to eat it , but she graciously discounted it anyway. That's my only experience with this place. The website made it look way more interesting. There are way too many better places in Berkeley to eat for me to rush back here any time soon. read more

I went here today and this place is a disaster. Service is the worst I have had in the previous 10 years of life. It took the server 10 minutes to recognize I was sitting at the bar, another 10 minutes to get me glass of water (which I asked for twice), and my meal took about 20 minutes to come out. The waitress mentioned understaffing and a large group that departed prior to my arrival. Additionally, my food was cold (steak and eggs) and marginal at best. This is my second time at Zino and the first time may have been three stars. Today was a complete disappointment and nightmare. Clearly no pride in customer service and only a product of location. If this place was not centrally located it would not stay in business. read more

A very nice dining room but the chef decided the falafel needed lots of hot spices. I found it inedible. My friend took it home. His dish was super hot too but he didn't mind. This Is not cooking. Fortunately, I found something in the fridge when I got home. read more

I saw this restaurant after walking back at a gelato parlor with some friends last week. We decided to give it a shot. The restaurant is located inside the Hotel Shattuck with street parking available. Menu was quite small and the indoor seating made it seem like the food was good. Although our meals were savory, I think the menu should have some changes. Service was going well until we got served our appetizer, calamari. Very unusual but our waiter took our plates and utensils, came back to give us replacements when you know we're still eating the food. We thought the main course was coming but no it was weird for that to happen. To end the night, we are glad that we had a healthy dinner. I enjoyed the rigatoni primavera a lot. Overall, I'd probably not come back with how the menu doesn't relate to the Mediterranean culture. Could be better imo. read more

Stayed at Hotel Shattuck and ended up getting hungry so I stopped here to eat. The staff was amazing and the vegan pasta was so good, it bright me back to life after a long day of walking the city! read more

ZINO - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Nice fit out. Good service. Nice atmosphere. Very, very disappointing food. I ordered the Creekstone Farms New York Steak, Manchego potato croquettes, caulilini & kale, red wine espagnole sauce ($46). At this price, I was looking forward to something special. I was asked how I would like my steak done and ordered "medium", expecting mostly pink and juicy, with a hint of red in the center. I received a thoroughly overdone slab - grey throughout and dry. The caulilini was completely devoid of florets (which is presumably why it was carefully hidden under the steak). The kale was MIA. Croquettes were overdone and stodgy. Red wine espagnole sauce was uneventfully tasteless. One in the party ordered the trout and was similarly underwhelmed. Two ordered the Duck & Guanciale Ragu and were served a bowl of cavatelli pasta, barely discolored by the Ragu, and topped with a blob of smoked ricotta. There are many great restaurants in Berkeley. This is not one of them. read more

Zeno is such a beautiful restaurant with kind staff and a lovely atmosphere--but it's strange that they use harsh cleaning chemicals. I'm sitting here enjoying a meal, and they're spraying strong chemicals on the floor, which immediately gives me a headache. It's concerning because those toxins end up in our food and the environment. It's so important to avoid using harsh products when something as simple as vinegar or essential oils could do the job just as well. read more

Such a beautiful space to eat and drink in. The bar is spacious and well stocked. Comfortable chairs and strong drinks. We didn't have reservations so we were seated at a comfortable table between the bar and the dining room. The staff was 110% attentive-so nice! The food was tasty and leaned a little more towards the comfort food than I expected. We had the penne with pork & beef ragu and the vegetarian tangine. Definitely pop in if you'd like a nice drink or a tasty meal. read more

See all

Fantastic food. I can taste the passion and love the executive chef Brandon Hicks, who used to work at a Michelin starred restaurant, has for food. The olive oil cooked with omelette adds a nice healthy, Mediterranean taste. Food is fresh and creative. I got the omelette with everything, including feta cheese, mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes, spinach, avocado, onions, Friendly, attentive customer service. read more

See all

Came here for brunch and it the experience was very disappointing. -there were only four tables seated, but we had to wait 10 minutes to be sat at a table "because the kitchen is backed up" (for brunch) -they were out of two of the ten brunch options - including French toast (how?) -no spoon or stirrer provided for coffee. Really just the icing on the cake at this point Definitely a let down. OJ was good though. read more

Four of us for dinner on Saturday, 7/20. The bar area is beautiful and we loved the decor. But the service and food in the restaurant was sub-standard at best. None of us thought the food was great. I ordered the battered shrimp and a salad. Couldn't eat much salad, as it had nothing but lettuce and a few nuts and dressing was awful. Shrimp was very greasy. My husband had the pasta, which being Italian, he should not have ordered as it did not live up to any standards he was expecting. No flavor. My son ordered the salmon. It was served with cut up veggies in little squares that were over cooked and no presentation at all. While he said the salmon was good he felt it was way overpriced for what he got. His girlfriend had the vegetarian stew with chickpeas and she was so disappointed. Again the flavor was poor. Service in the restaurant was terrible! They were not busy as tables were empty. I decided to give the feedback to the manager on Monday. He asked what we had and I was honest. His response was the chef was changing the menu this week and none of these items are on the new menu! Interesting. He apologized and said he would like us to return to enjoy the new menu. I said not without some sort of credit issued. He said he would have the manager of restaurant contact me. Nothing so far. read more

This place made for a very dismal Christmas Eve indeed. We were literally the only ones in the restaurant at 6:30pm, and this is a hotel restaurant open when few other places were. There was a live band playing to an empty house--very awkward. A $19 glass of pinot noir deserves a full pour, but we were shorted, and the food was universally stingy, bland, ham-handed, underseasoned, and uninspired. All of it--the fideua, the tagine, the squash pasta, and the flatbread with spread. The Prosecco was all right and decent value--the only good thing about the meal. The server, alas, seemed like a nice person but was unendingly inept at her job. She couldn't answer any questions about the food or beverage choices and spoke in a mousy whisper that none of us could hear. We tipped her generously because it's Christmas and we felt sorry for her, but her talents clearly lie elsewhere. The decor is gorgeous, but the place is empty for a reason and is in dire need of a complete changing of the guard in the kitchen. Terrible value; stingy portions; bland, poorly executed food. If you're looking for decent Mediterranean food, go to Zaytoon's in Albany. read more

Great place to go if you want to spend a lot of money and still have to apologize to everyone in your party (for the food, service and ambiance). read more

When we came here around brunch there was hardly anyone around. No one really. Not a bad thing, but it was a little confusing for a restaurant that looked very fancy. The food, although good, was a little mediocre for my palette. The sausage on my breakfast egg plate came out as a patty, which I haven't seen in many places. My eggs didn't have too much flavor; I didn't find it very well salted/peppered/garnished, etc. The potatoes were sadly the bigger disappointment. A little over softened and not spiced enough. The panna cotta was quite good though! I hadn't tried this particular dish before so I was quite surprised by how delicious it was. Ambiance here was quite classy, and I will give this place credit for this. read more

ZINO - Zino Breakfast - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

ZINO replaced FIVE a little while back, and at least for a post-Berkeley Rep drink and nosh, both Gayle and I think that there has been a notable improvement. Specifically, the bar area has been expanded a bit to accommodate stuffed chair and table seating, and the service has been a lot better. The food and drink bar menu has changed somewhat and still has a good selection of medium bites and beer, wine, and cocktails. There's still the 10% discount if you show your theater tickets. Regardless of this price break, the happy hour pricing is very good and we've found our choices to be very tasty. Best of all, it's really nice to sit at a comfortable table by the window and catch up on the play. It's also an easy walk from the Theater and the Allston Way Garage. read more

Well we came for Mediterranean and found out there is a new chef that is turning the menu over to American. Too bad because the menu previous was delicious. Nothing appealed to us so we went to another place. Don't call yourself a Mediterranean restaurant and don't even serve things like dolmas, babaganoush, etc. very dissatisfied. read more

Service and ambiance was great! We came for brunch and dinner. The french toast with apricot jelly was the best french toast I've ever had. The only pitfall was at dinner -- the food came out almost immediately after ordering, which was fine except it just made me feel kind of like it wasn't cooked fresh or something. Also, this is a hotel restaurant so expect higher than average prices for sure. read more

Some of the worst restaurant food I've ever had in Berkeley. We ordered fries and a tomato salad. Fries were soggy and sad. The tomato salad was so unappetizing, not attractive, and extremely vinegary. Just gross. The atmosphere is very nice, so it could be a nice place for a drink, but service was also not great. read more

ZINO - Soggy gross fries and disgusting tomato salad - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

I joined a birthday party dinner at Zino's on Saturday, my first time there. I ordered just a non-alcoholic drink and the crabcake appetizer. The birthday celebrant, who had ordered the crabcake as a main meal along with a salad, and I were both shocked when the tiniest crabcake I have ever seen appeared, lukewarm in the middle of a huge plate with some orange sauce dribbled around. I should have sent it back as did the person at the opposite end of the dinner table with a pomegranate salad that was honestly pathetic-looking. The other party goers, who had also ordered main meals, seemed pleased with their larger plates. That was the worst $40. expenditure in some time. Could not recommend this restaurant. So sorry as the wait staff person was plenty nice. read more

Came here for Christmas with the family. The restaurant was held as a wonderful place to dine with your family on Christmas day, unfortunately we showed up to a cold buffet with Smashy dry food. There was one and I mean one dish that was satisfactory (the white turkey meat). The service was great, our server was very presentable, nice, and attentive. Everything about the restaurants serving team was a grade a, unfortunately you cannot eat the service. Overprice for Golden corral food! read more

I have been to this place before, in another iteration. The layout is the same, which I like. It reminds me of an old scene from the 60's. A grand bar in the middle of the restaurant, with seats all around. I met old co-workers for happy hour here. They were seated in a couch seating area on the far side of the bar. It was a cozy environment. I decided to try one of the house specialty drinks from the menu. Our server was attentive, but it did take a while for my drink to come. The drink was refreshing, and helped ease me into to the mood, after a long work day. It was not too sweet from the description. And I liked that it was served in the old fashion champagne glass. read more

Reasonably priced, and I'm not just saying that because it's a hotel bar. Around here it's the best you're gonna get. The bartender working when I came through had chops. Atmosphere was amazing, but I drink alone so take that with a barrel of salt. Nice interior design though. Only complaint was that I tried to buy a round for the bar but Dave wouldn't let me. I wasn't cut off or anything, it's just not that kinda place I guess? He was nice about it and all, it's still gonna be my after work spot, but that's the first time I've heard that one. Who doesn't like tequila shots? Anyhow, if you see me there say wassup I'll get you tequila shots. read more

The food is good, a bit salty. The drinks are always made strong. Out of the three times I've been, each one seemed as if a new bartender was mixing them. In reality, you are going to pay for the atmosphere, not the quality. read more

ZINO - Lost Enchantment and Fora Flor de Vida - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

We chose Zino's for the right ambiance to host a family celebratory dinner for 20 people. The food was excellent and the service was superb. The wait staff was more than friendly and efficient: the made us feel like they were entertaining favorite friends. We strongly recommend this for similar events. read more

We ordered the steak and lamb. The lamb was juicy and well prepared. Steak was good too.

Had a yummy brunch on Sunday, here! The food was fast, everything looked and tasted great. Drinks are delicious and the bar is impressive! Everything seemed very clean and well-taken care of. read more

I love stopping in Zino when I'm in Berkeley, great cocktails made from Marlon & his crew & amazing eats from Chef Chris. They have their feature "old fashion" & a great wine list, with my favorite Wine from Byington. Keep up the great service... read more

Best French toast ever! We have been staying in the hotel, and I have been looking at the picture of the frech toast that the have in the elevator for days. Looked amazing. I finally ate at Zino today. I ordered the French toast, and it was every bit as good as it looked. Crunchy bottom. Slathered with a citrus sauce and berries. Our server, Julio, was great too. Patient, kind and attentive. I love the ambience here. High ceilings, huge open space, and a seat by the window, watching the rain outside. Quiet, so you can converse easily. I will be back on my next visit to Berkeley. read more

Hands down, the best French toast I've ever had! The servers were attentive and checked in several times to make sure I was enjoying my breakfast. read more

ZINO - French Toast - Mediterranean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Such missed opportunity. I frequent the hotel in which this place is located. They recently hung up a curtain and rearranged tables them changed the name. Same marginal food. Chorizo and eggs served in what can only described as a little dog bowl. Good news, it was hit and the flavors were fine. But the presentation was a big turnoff as was the portion size for the price. Why the heck keep serving 1 piece of toast with breakfast? I understand food cost issues but it feels cheap and conveys a message that they are worried about saving every dime. OK, but you're missing what it says to customers. Service was great. However to not remove the three place settings on the table I wasn't using again feels tacky. Leave JG me to push all of the setups and glassware to one side of the table. So, it's just "ok" but these same issues existed under the prior name...which also had zero customers most of the time. Huge missed opportunity with such a great loca It's the little things, people! Wow...just keeps getting worse! Just "tried" to eat the single worst sandwich I have ever had. I'm not even goi g to justify the time to describe...just absolutely pathetic and inedible. RUN away! read more