Sidebar

Went here for drinks and a light meal. A must order is their deviled eggs which comes with a side salad! YUM ME! bread upon request but I did not fancy it much. Come here if you’re feeling boughie cause each cocktail was like 10 – 13 $… $$$

It’s really unfortunate when a good restaurant is inconsistent. I came here on Saturday night and had an amazing burger, cooked to perfection with a soft bun. It was so good I came back today for lunch only to have a completely different experience. I was basically served a hockey puck like burger on a hard bun. It was awful. If I wasn’t starving I wouldn’t have taken the second and third bite which was about all I could stomach. I would have sent it back but didn’t have time to wait for another one. Thank goodness the server was thoughtful enough to take it off my bill. It would have been even more insulting to pay for that crap. Must have been a different cook than on Saturday. Please please do better. I really want to give you another chance. Sidebar: fries weren’t great either visit.

This is my to go place to unwind after a hard work day. My husband and I love siting in the bar and watching the bar tender shake the heck out of those drinks. It sounds like maracas! The drinks are always good, the apetizers are fresh and creative. The menu is simple but amazing. I was just there this Thursday and had the squash soup that was beyond out of this world, made from scratch and fresh ingridients. We always get the duck liver crostini and my husband absolutely loves the braised chicken thighs in Coconut curry with cashews. It is simply a great little place with unbelieveably good food in an unpretentious place. Good crowd, good food, good service. What else could you ask for?

Good drinks and atmosphere. Didn’t stay for the food but enjoyed the bar and had some great cocktails.

GREAT Stout beer.
Great burger.
Great appetizers.
Interesting wait staff…
Nice bar environment. The bartenders were super cool. I’d go back for a beer I suppose. Ate my burger at the bar like a cool kid. I feel like a real Oaklander now. Haha Not really sure what to make of the restaurant. but I liked the bar.

Great location and cozy atmosphere. Very close to the lake and lots of shops, theater etc.
Only complaint is the waitstaff, especially one waitress in particular «Denise». Wowie what a rude lil girl. BEWARE people of oakland.

Dear owners,
How can you serve both mussels and clams, but your waiters refuse to provide Tabasco sauce to us!!! The bartender at the bar told me this «whoever gave you Tabasco sauce before would be fired if the owner knew»…so bizarre. I love this place bc of the clams and drinks… but I can’t come as often as I like if they’re stingy & selfish on Tabasco sauce. Would have been 5 stars, and I would come weekly if they served Tabasco sauce with the clams.

We are regulars here. Made a reservation for my husband’s birthday and our party of 5 was seated in the bar area (not a real table) with stools for seats. We were fine with that because kids sat at stools but what was really annoying was the undisclosed automatic 18% service charge added to our party of 5. At least let us know in advance and it wasn’t on our menus either (I understand if you’re in the «restaurant» section, those menus have it listed but we were given the bar menu which is the same but doesn’t include this disclosure. I would have likely tipped more than 18% anyways but was just peeved it was on the bill.

This place is terrific. Their craft cocktails are very creative and ever changing. The bartenders who make them truly know their stuff; I’m a bartender too, but these guys were schooling me on all their awesome ingredients.
Just when you though it might just be a hipster joint with weird root vegetable tinctures in unknown foreign liquors, their food slaps the judgmental sass out of you. Their menu has many seasonal, super fresh, and crafty dishes that are made to impress. You won’t be disappointed.

Came here before Tove Lo show, ordered a steak frites which was rib eye and thin fries. Really good. I killed it. They added that butter on top to be all fancy. It was straight out from the fridge so it didn’t melt like you see on tv cook shows. The other half ordered the Scottish salmon with salad. I wished I had ordered this onez. it was really simple, delicious and obviously a healthier dish than the red meat.
The clams looks really good, I shall try it next time!

A nice affordable neighborhood spot. Good salad with provolone and salami, nice servers, cozy environment.

#52
I was picked up by some «crazy» friends doing pretty crazy thangs on Wednesday. Everyone was hungry, or was it hangry, in the car. I had to be the hostess as this in my neighborhood. I said, «Hey, have yall tried Side Bar?» One person in the car said they had, one person in the car said they had not. Well, let’s try it out…
We entered the restaurant/​bar and took a seat at the bar. Eli greeted us and took amazing care of us for our entire stay. I felt, at times, that this might be challenging for Eli, but he never missed a beat!
Laura asked Eli, «What do you recommend?» And, as Eli began to tell her, she cut him off and ordered ‘whatever’ but I thought, «Hmmm…Eli hates us.» I mean, we were together. Meh…
Anyway, Eli was awesome, he could care less if my friend was in an altered state and totally took care of her. And me. And my other guest. YAY Eli!
We had:
Squash soup
Portobello mushroom
Butter lettuce salad
Fish sandwich
Monte Cristo sandwich
Ummmmmm…the soup was delicious. Silky and smooth, pesto décor on top. Then there was the mushroom. Wow! That’s really all I can say. Langstan took his half of the mushroom and made a «bun topping» for half of the fish sandwich. Kinda weird, but kinda good! Lang Bang even said they should think about putting his creation on the menu, but it was not really «his» creation, they made it, he just put it together.
My salad was wonderful, and they made fun of me for cutting it into bite size pieces; however, you need to know that I do not like wearing salad on my face. It was amazing. Big, fresh chunks of bleu cheese atop crisp butter lettuce. The salad comes with bacon; however, I passed in that. It was still delicious!
The fish sandwich was incredible. It is a staple for me when I visit Side Bar, but it was Laura’s first fish sandwich here. My Monte Cristo was crazy good. Buttery, crispy, delicious.
Eli was the best, though, really. I think his service brought expectations to an above par level. Thank you Eli. I hope we made you happy with the tip!
Stephani Smiles for Side Bar ;)

Damn good Pastrami. Damn good cocktails. What else does one need?
Oh yeah, great cuban sandwich, & shoestring potatoes, nice view of lake Merritt on this 90* day. I say check it out.

Sidebar is a wonderful neighborhood bar and restaurant that consistently has great quality food and exceptional service. The Steak Frits is big enough for two to share, so pair it with a salad and your good to go. We are never disappointed when dining out at Sidebar.

I can’t believe that I haven’t reviewed this place. Thanks Unilocal for reminding me.
Anyway, I love the design of the square bar in the middle of the restaurant. It’s different from many other places and I’m a fan of different. I also like bars. I digress…
So I’ve been there a few times. The first time was a late night with a friend of mine who lives #startuplife so the girl was starving. And I can almost always eat. So we walked the mean streets of Grand Avenue until we decided upon side bar.
We waltzed inside and were promptly seated by a friendly hostess at the cute, square shaped bar. We plopped down and immediately required some liquid love known as wine. As we perused the menu, the steak frites stood out immediately. #nailedit and we both ordered it. Oh. Mah. God. It was bombdotcom. The butter. The cook of the meat. The fries. All fantastic.
I’ve also been there on two other occasions for the pear salad and burger. Don’t get me wrong the salad was great since I was trying to be healthy but I love my red meat because moo. I also have to thank their kitchen for not overcooking the meat during my two dinners with red meat. There’s nothing worse than receiving dried out, flavorless meat.
TIP: order paprika oven-​baked fries. It will change your world with the explosion of flavors. All in all, I absolutely recommend this place and I’ll continue to eat there.

Well, hmmm… Let’s start with the good things first (has nothing to do with the food). The ambiance is exceptionally pleasant. The lighting, décor, the view of the Lake, all quite nice. The wait staff is friendly, and prompt. Nice drink list from what I could tell… The two star rating is for the wait staff, not that they were worthy of 2 stars (5 star for sure). The food would have at best 1 star…
HOWEVER, the food is, well, not a good match for the setting. My girlfriend ordered the baked pasta. It was so bland she didn’t even eat it. It looked like a «dish of slop.» I ordered the burger, which came with a giant slab of iceberg lettuce, really, iceberg lettuce??? I ate both dishes so as to not waste the food (and the money, way too expensive for what it was!).
After we left, we went to Trader Joe’s to get my girl something to eat. It was better than the food we ordered at Sidebar. Hate to say it, but the owner (s) should find a new head chef. Sorry.

Burger. Period.
I’ve been here dozens of times and had the burger for the first time last night. It is perfection. As is, no cheese.
I usually sit at the bar, but all the staff is stellar. Yummy, delicious, thoughtful and well balanced cocktails. Yummy wine selection. Awesome veggie offerings. They have appreciation for the chicken thigh, which, in my opinion is the best part of a chicken.
I give it four and not five because sometimes dishes can be over salted or over dressed for my taste… but I am a pain in the butt with that stuff.
Reasonable prices for the neighborhood and fresh ingredients.

We decided to check out this spot around 9PM after seeing the number of reviews on it. We had just finished a movie at Grand Lake Theatre and they were open until 10PM so why not?
Sidebar is really good at first impressions. We walked by and saw graceful and sophisticated décor. It was dark, romantic, and intimate. With a name like «Sidebar» I was assuming that it would be more casual and comfortable with burgers and economical American food. They were playing classical music and there were couples all around. Most of them wearing button ups, dresses, and well put together attire. I was wearing a t-​shirt and jeans while my date was wearing shorts and a sweater. We were a little under dressed.
For me, a good price is if I and my S.O. can drop $ 20 each and expect two entrees and an appetizer or a dessert to share with a drink; this not including tip (that’s pretty reasonable, right?). Anyhow, I was surprised at the prices since MOST of the entrees were $ 14.00 and up.
I got the ITALIAN ROSEMARY CURED HAM & COMTé SANDWICH ($ 12.50) and he ordered the SEASONAL PEAR SALAD ($ 10.50) + GRILLED BABY BOK CHOY W/​LEMON & SOY ($ 8.00). These were the lower priced items for sure. No drinks but water (though I’m glad water was only provided by request +++). My meal came with with some greens, a bed of shoestring fries, and the ‘wich. Nothing really stood out, not to say that it wasn’t «good», but I said, «I can probably make this at home.» It was the fanciest grilled ham and cheese sandwich I’ve had. My date said the same thing about his salad in agreement. So really, it was an underwhelming meal with an overwhelming price.
However, the service was not bad. In fact, most things I can say about this restaurant are «not bad.» I didn’t have a negative experience but I most definitely was not impressed.
This establishment was a little too «refined» for my taste. I don’t see myself coming back again but hats off to them for making an upscale, American cuisine restaurant and bar.

You walk in to this elegant space and immediately you are welcomed in by the host. The food tastes amazing and the specialty drink will surely have you feeling special, the bathrooms were nice and clean and the environment was divine… BUT!!!
So there were a couple of that were very awful =(
We had food floating around in water which tells me that they were not switching the cleaning water properly or they just gave the glasses a quick rinse.
I had a short light brown hair in my baked pasta which was lovely. I looked around the restaurant to see who was cooking without a net or hat and they all had one; however, my lovely chiefs you all have beards and every single on of you except one has a light brown beard.
I will end this review by saying what I said Tuesday when I visited, «Everything was great; however, I wish they kept my food out of my water, and hair out of my food.»
Just please watch out for these things because at your price point and location, it’s not good to miss these things.
Best wishes.

We did not get what we ordered.
My friend asked for cheese on his burger twice.
The waitress asked, «cheese?» And confirmed his order.
And we did not get it.