Guide to Berkeley’s new summer food spots
The restaurant scene in Berkeley is always evolving and we at the Clog wanted to make sure that you’re all keeping up. So here’s the Clog’s guide to new eateries in Berkeley this summer.
Famous Bao
Taking the place of Dot Island Grill, this new Xi’an inspired Chinese style restaurant is an affordable new lunch spot located just inside Sather Lane on Durant Avenue. It has a four-star yelp rating and 27 reviews, most of which are enthusiastic about their first experience at the restaurant. Some popular menu items include the Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger, the Stewed Oxtail Hand-Pulled Noodles, the Braised Pork Belly and the Imperial Hot Pot.
Uji Time
This cute new dessert spot is now sharing a building space with Vampire Penguin down on Telegraph Avenue and Parker Street. It currently has five stars and 12 reviews on Yelp, and it’s an obvious hit. It sells Japanese fusion desserts including 12 flavors of mochi ice cream, four unique flavors of soft serve ice cream, soft serve ice cream parfaits and Taiyaki (fish shaped cake with red bean filling). The desserts are tasty, refreshing and, most importantly, photo-worthy.
Tea1
Joining Berkeley’s wide selection of boba places, this new spot on Telegraph Avenue between Durant Avenue and Channing Way is a convenient place to grab a drink on your way to or from campus. It has four stars and 30 reviews on Yelp so far. Some favorites include the Jade Mojitea, the Ice Cream Milk Tea, Oreo Milk Tea and the Fresh Cucumber Green Tea with Aloe. The teas are affordable, ranging from $3.50 to $4 and their Tea1 glass jars are available for only $1.50 extra.
Ike’s Place
This new spot on Shattuck Avenue right next to the BART station serves unique sandwiches everyone can enjoy. It has 3.5 stars and 25 reviews on Yelp so far and offers meat, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options ranging from $7 to $9. Some favorites at Ike’s include the Nacho Boy (roast beef, swiss, mushrooms and avocado), the Menage a Trois (halal chicken, cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, honey, honey mustard and barbecue sauce) and the Matt Cain (salami, roast beef, turkey, provolone and godfather sauce).
Halal Guys
Though it hasn’t officially opened yet, this highly anticipated restaurant is one of the several new franchise locations of New York City’s popular halal food cart of the same name. It will be located on Center Street in Downtown Berkeley and will offer chicken, gyro and falafel sandwiches and plates. Although the new Halal Guys location hasn’t released its opening date, it already has nearly 5,000 likes on Facebook and is likely to be a trendy new spot in Berkeley, especially among students.
Eat up, Bears, and enjoy!
Contact Jasmine Tatah at jtatah@dailycal.org.