Standard Fare

Basically, if you want to treat yourself to food that is the best of the best of the best in the East Bay… go here. This is a treasure that I want to keep all for myself — but it’s just too good, that if you love food, you must go here. So much love is put into everything, every detail, every pickled vegetable. The food is visually gorgeous and the taste? Well, orgasmic is a word that comes to mind. Everytime I buy my lunch from Standard Fare the entire lunch is dominated by us talking about the food. We can’t talk about anything else because it is so exceptional. Best ingredients, best chefs, best people. They don’t do plastic. I love everything Kelsie is doing– her food is so delicious it might just make you cry.

I initially learned about this place because a speaker panel I attended at UC Berkeley were catering their lunch bags. I couldn’t forget how amazing the butternut squash sandwich was. I finally had the chance to visit the actual store.
Everything about this place is just so… beautiful. I love their concept, the way they have a huge open kitchen with food cooking right in front of your eyes (except for the sight of naked chicken piled in a box…), the dishes that they use are stunning (and this isn’t a word I use to describe dishes very often), and the overall ambience of this place is just amazing. This is the kind of place I want to grow old in.
They use really fresh ingredients and combine them in really unique ways that really bring out their natural goodness & flavor. I had the half sandwich and green salad combination with their beetroot & cod sandwich (unfortunately they didn’t have the sandwich I had initially). I love the sandwiches here — the bread is really special, chewy but also quite thin which allows you to enjoy the fillings. The vinaigrette they used really tied everything together and the cod was soft and perfect. I wish I had gotten the half soup combo instead because the garden green salad was basically a bunch of greens and an olive oil dressing. I had a sip of my sister’s soup and I just wanted to swim in it forever — it was so flavorful without feeling like they put in too many ingredients.
My only wish is that their location was closer, and that they had more seating indoors. My friend told me that during lunch hours everyone grabs the food in their dishes to eat outside, but when it’s rainy and cold outside like the day that we went, having more than 6 seats might be best. Now that I’ve learned their location is near my property manager’s (which is a pain in the ass to get to), I have something to look forward to every time I have to make a trip down there.

I’m creating a list of the best lunches in West Berkeley for the sole purpose of putting Standard Fare at the top of the list.
Standard Fare is anything but «standard». Hidden away on a sunny corner in what was not-​so-​long-​ago a warehouse neighborhood, lies the best little-​known lunch spot in the East Bay.
I feel like I’m part of a secret club of folks that love the freshest, healthiest, and ripest ingredients, prepared simply – and in discovering Standard Fare I have gained access to a higher level of lunch.
Every time I come in and pick up a lovingly and carefully prepared and wrapped sandwich, salad, or soup, I know that my tastebuds and my body will rejoice. Every single visit I’ve experienced exceptional ingredients, perfectly spiced and seasoned, and prepared in the most mmmm-​inducing manner possible. I’ve also been introduced to some ingredients I’ve never tried, like muffins with perfect crunchy millet pearls, or nduja sausage that is spicy and spreadable, or even a baked Feta that is better than any feta I’ve ever known.
Standard Fare need not be a secret. Owner and Chef Kelsey Kerr has clearly earned her pedigree. The cookbook she co-​authored with Alice Waters is available for sale in the corner next to the good olive oil. Her mastery in all things delicious is evident in every single thing that this little kitchen pumps out.
Standard Fare deserves wild success, and I can’t wait to see what will come next. I expect big things in the coming year.
Thank you so much Kelsie! I’m sorry it took me so long to post this. Your food took my breath away.

OK. I’ve been here twice in the last six days for lunch. Both times I got the half sandwich half soup combo, and have been blown away each time. First time I got the roasted chicken sandwich with the vegetable soup and added a poached egg and croutons (1.50 extra? totally worth it). Second time I got the Coppa sandwich with the butternut squash soup.
Roasted chicken sandwich was really good. Chicken was mostly breast meat, and was moist, flavorful… delicious. The sandwich has homemade foccacia bread, and tons of great vegetables (beets, celery root, kale). The soup was divine. I have a rule that if any place offers to put an egg on top of whatever you’re ordering, don’t think, just do it. The egg and surprisingly, the garlic croutons, totally changed the flavor profile of the soup making it creamier, stronger flavor (garlic croutons), and added texture.
Coppa sandwich was again surprisingly delicious. No filler, only quality ingredients and vegetables. Everything is healthy, and even the pickled carrots and radish were good. I generally hate butternut squash, but this soup was good. Creamy, balanced, sweet, just savory enough, and plated with a touch of spices and oil (couldn’t tell what). Delicious.
I generally hate vegetables. But this place has me coming back for more.
Standard Fare is primarily a catering company with limited hours for breakfast (coffee, pastries, etc), and lunch. There is a small counter virtually inside the kitchen, and concrete benches outside. If it’s a nice day, then bring your dog and sit outside. If it’s not, then try to nab a seat at the 7 or so seat counter, or just get it to go and maybe skip the soup.

This is actually a catering company, so I guess this review might not be entirely representative since we just stopped in for a quick bite. It’s a quick stop-​in kind of place where you place an order at the cashier and there’s only one table to eat. We actually decided to eat here after encountering a seemingly never-​ending line at 900 Grayson.
We tried three items:
1) Butternut squash biscuit sandwich — bacon, soft boiled egg, roasted squash, onion marmalade, arugula salad and a roasted red pepper sauce — practically foodgasmic!
2) Bacon-​beet sandwich with a chicory salad on focaccia. Good, but not as good as the sandwich of the day!
3) Persimmon muffin: may be one of the best muffins I’ve ever had, and I don’t even like muffins all that much. This muffin wasn’t that buttery, and almost healthy tasting, but it had a great crunch from the millet sprinkled throughout. The best part was the chunks of persimmon in the muffin — I’m talking big, moist chunks! I don’t know how they managed to keep the persimmon so moist and fresh in the muffin that was relatively dry. The combination was just SO good though! And I didn’t feel heavy with oily hands after eating it. Just what a muffin should be.

My favorite go to for healthy and yummy lunch. Going there is like a surprise because they change their sandwiches daily. The salads are so fresh, you will never eat salad from a bag again. The chocolate chip cookies are crispy and chocolatey.

Farm fresh local food doesn’t even begin to describe it. Kelsie is a Flavor Master. Everything is fresh and homemade. But that doesn’t describe your dining experience. The way Kelsie combines flavors. acidity, spices, etc. makes you go OMG! You want to eat the food so fast because it tastes so good, yet you want to take your time to savor every delicious bite. Don’t believe me? Just stand inside the shop and I guarantee you will hear at least two different people say, «Oh my God that tastes sooooo… good.» within 2 minutes.
I have ordered the lunch time sandwiches and they have all been awesome. The other day I got a roasted cauliflower with egg, my friend the meatball sandwich — both amazing! If you do not want the bread they will make a salad with the insides of the sandwich on it. Salads are made with tender gem lettuces. The combos are always interesting, like ham and celery root or chicken with Moroccan carrot purée. The sandwiches are always served with a yummy little pickled something (green beans, carrots, etc.).
A perfect ending to your lunch meal is the little cookie packages. Can’t go wrong with the chocolate chip cookies or the coconut macaroons.

I eat here everyday, sometimes twice a day – my office is nearby. At first it was just lunch – the best meatball sandwich I’ve ever had (and I grew up in ny), exquisite soups that change weekly, new foods I’ve never heard of (hello freekah!) the best We’ve all had a ton of, like a chicken sandwich, except that this chik sando was one of the best I’ve ever had – black and green olives, homemade bread and aioli and some other yummy green sauce – all of it fantastic, all of it enough to make me Unilocal,which I have never done. Then they started serving breakfast, at 1^st just scones and muffins, really good old fashioned drip coffee, and then they came out with this breakfast sandwich – soft boiled egg with slow-​roasted baby tomatoes, herb butter and arugula on a made-​that-​morning biscuit – that is now the first thing I think about when I get up. It’s $ 6, which I think is perfectly reasonable given the quality; I’ve paid more for a bad burrito. But this food is heaven. And everyone is friendly. This place is it. I can’t believe it isn’t mobbed everyday. And now they are open Saturday, last sat they had a bahn mi. It was DELICIOUS. All restaurants should be this good.

Curiosity brought me here and all the other Unilocal reviews hasn’t been very helpful on informing me about what Standard Fare is. Let’s put it this way — it’s an open kitchen concept that has pre made sandwiches, soup, breads, and coffee. However, don’t let the idea of ‘pre made’ sandwiches get the best of you.
I ordered a Biscuit sandwich: herbed butter, roasted tomatoes, soft boiled egg, greens, and bacon with a Butternut Squash Soup. So let’s make that the introductory of my meal. It was the best I’ve ever had. It’s nothing like boxed or canned Butternut Squash Soup. It’s like silky, flavorful, and bold tasting. I loved every bit of it and the thought of it just reassures myself that I’ll be going back next week for another cup of soup.
So, to the sandwich, Biscuit sandwich: herbed butter, roasted tomatoes, soft boiled egg, greens with bacon … I broke my diet’s NUMBER ONE cardinal rule on this one: no breads. But this sin was worth it. The flavors were so delicious, I swear I thought I was a food critic. I actually SAVORED the biscuit sandwich… Who the hell does that!!! You guys, that sandwich was amazing.
Let’s not forget that there is only one table that may seat up to four in the whole kitchen. As an introvert, feeling like I’m in the way of something is the bane of my existence. Fortunately, the owner told me that they planned on adding a larger table). I felt like a nuisance being so close to the kitchen and being the only one at that large table while others walked in and made their orders to go.
So here’s the hard part… not telling my coworkers about this place. lol jk I already told them and we’re stopping by next Wednesday.

Lovely food, setting, and people. Good coffee, too. I’ve only been there to get some breakfast, so far, but I’m looking forward to coming back for lunch or to get something to take home for dinner. I loved eating at the one table, which is pretty much right in the kitchen. There’s outdoor seating, too, but just seating (no tables).

This is by far the best lunch time option in West Berkeley! The food isn’t exotic or complicated it is very simple food very eloquently and carefully executed. Today I had a carrot purée soup from Standard Fare, it tasted amazing! I don’t know why it tasted so good, but it was simple and very well crafted. Everything I’ve had from Standard Fare has been that way, simple and amazing!
The space is great too, lots of out door seating out front. Cool funky part of Berkeley with lots of artists, small businesses and start-​ups.
Worth the visit!

Just found Standard Fare while out on an early morning bike ride on a misty moisty Berkeley morning. Cup of coffee and ginger scone deliciously fortified me for the ride home. I will be back for other treats, including their beautiful pickles!

I just tried my first grain salad today since it was too hot for
much else. The first bite and I was in heaven. I couldn’t believe
wheat berries and chick peas could taste so good, but Kelsie
and her crew have a way with herbs and dressings that raises
food to an incredible level. I’ve always loved their sandwiches,
soups, sweets and coffee, but now I’m raving about their
grain salad too.

This food service is amazing in every way. The model is unique and wonderfully practical in a «sure, let’s be a sustainable business and serve outrageously good food for people to eat in the comfort of their own homes» kind of way.
Kelsey is a gifted chef. She and her crew put together the best meal my partner and I have had in years. There’s such perfect harmony of flavors, clearly no short-​cuts taken in in the kitchen or with the ingredients, and a beautiful presentation, which the latter is extra impressive, considering it’s take-​out.
Also, as a bonus, Kelsey was extremely warm and enthusiastic as she took my order. She even sent me home with a free best-​ever millet muffin packed with fresh apricots as a gift as a first-​time customer.
Tonight we had a summertime romantic meal that was better quality than Chez Panisse or Oliveto in our lovely backyard, all thanks to Kelsey’s brilliant brainchild.

So. Very. (As in very, very.) Good. That’s really all that needs to be said about Standard Fare.
But it’s SO good, that I can’t help but elaborate. I’ve had three of their lunch offerings so far, and each one was so delicious, they made me want to eat slowly and mindfully savor every bite. My first stellar experience was last week. I had a grilled summer squash sandwich with pesto, pickled fennel, arugula and a red wine onion marmalade on perfect foccacia. It featured baked ricotta, too, but I’m vegan, so they made it for me without the cheese… and they were very nice about it, which I appreciated. It was seriously the best sandwich I’d had in a very long time. Like, by far. I hope it’s a regular on their menu… I’ve been dreaming about having another one! Good size for the price, too.
And then today, I popped over and got the farro and lentil salad and the hummus mezze plate for lunch. Again, both had balanced and nuanced flavors and just the right salt. The hummus came with freshly baked crackers that I would absolutely buy just on their own they were so good, and there was a side of crudite featuring carrots, fennel & radishes. Yum.
My only criticism (but not a big enough deal to give them fewer stars), is that the farro & lentil salad portion was skimpy. It looked like a measuring cup’s worth in to-​go container that could have held at least another half a cup. Of course I wanted more, because it was so darned good… but also because, had that been all I ordered (for $ 7.50), I would have still been hungry. And, well, $ 16.50, including the hummus, is on the pricey side for a to-​go lunch for 1 person.
So, not the cheapest lunch in town, but easily one of the BEST lunches in town. My compliments to the chefs! An amazing addition to the neighborhood!

Currently eating half of an omnivore sandwich (currently coppa, egg, kale and kohlrabi slaw, and marjoram-​caper aioli) and some carrot soup at my desk and wondering why I haven’t tried this place until now. The real answer is that Unilocal never showed it to me until I found it on Caviar when I was looking for new lunch options. And I’m so glad I finally found it.
The sandwiches are premade, and I’m normally very picky about what goes on my sandwiches, but I decided to just go for it. Zero regrets. This is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had.
I have a lot of vegetarian coworkers, so it’s nice to see that they have a veggie option everyday.

My mother, who lives alone, loves the dinners by Standard Fare! She is the world’s most critical gourmet eater, and very few restaurants reach her high standards. She used to be an incredible home cook, but now she has reached the age where she needs somebody else to cook for her. So you can imagine how happy and relieved I am that she likes Standard Fare’s cooking. She tells me how fresh and tasty everything is. She usually is not too fond of fish, but the Roasted Petrale sole with basil salsa verde was one of her favorites. I arrange to have 2 or 3 meals delivered to her house per week. Many meals are big enough to last for 2 nights (for a Senior’s appetite). I have also enjoyed the freedom from preparing casseroles for her and bringing them from my house. Whew!
Just one question… why is it called Standard Fare? The food is anything but standard!

I just enjoyed the best sandwich in many months, their feta frittata with caramelized onions and arugula. Now looking forward to trying everything else on the menu. I knew they were open for catering, but only recently noticed they were also open for walk-​in and take out lunch.
This area of West Berkeley has been starving for better/​different lunch options, and Standard Fare fills the void with aplomb. Plus it smells delicious inside! Wishing them great success, for many years.

Believe the reviews! We received a $ 50 gift certificate and went hog wild. Way more food than 2 people need in a sitting, so we had leftovers for sure. Should have stretched it out because this place is seriously yummy. Food is great and well prepared and I love the clay pots & high quality ingredients. I will definitely go back and look to them for catering.
Below is what we had and I would recommend it all–
Escarole salad with shaved fennel, marinated beets, San Andreas cheese, and sherry vinaigrette
Quinoa and lentil salad with roasted rutabagas, fried sage, preserved lemon, and parsley
Roasted Lingcod with Meyer lemon-​celery seed butter
Farro cannelloni with Jersey ricotta and wild mushrooms
Orange-​olive oil cake

The best of the best take out food in the East Bay! The food is tasty, healthy, locally grown and eco friendly. The lunch soup and sandwich is probably the best ones I’ve ever had… Everything is perfect, a must!