Taste of Joy

closed

I love this place, which serves up comfort food that has an interesting twist. The meat portions are generously sized, as are the side dishes, all of which are exquisitely seasoned.
There is quite a bit of activity in this establishment. There is a bar area, where I usually am forced to eat because the restaurant is too busy to accommodate me when I drop in without a reservation. There is also a club where you can dine while listening to live music, which seems always to be rocking. The only drawback to this restaurant is that the dining room and bar area are not sound insulated from the club so it is difficult to talk to table mates while eating dinner. This is no big deal if you know this going in since you are probably selecting this restaurant because you want to grove to music while you dine.
I consider this to be one of the best of Oakland’s new crop of restaurants.

I was going to rate Taste of Joy with 4 stars, but what’s with this «restaurant closed, catering and private dining only» business!!!
I have been here multiple times and I absolutely loved the food, service, and overall restaurant experience, but now I guess I’ll have to wait to have a party where at minimum people will pay $ 27 each? This sucks!
I hope this doesn’t have to do with losing customers. .. if that’s the case, I will personally go out and advertise for Taste of Joy myself just to open it back up for restaurant dining!

I was in the mood for some fried chicken tonight, so my boyfriend took me here. Overall, I’m giving this place four stars. Seeing as how I grew up eating soul food and cook it myself, I have to be careful that I don’t judge soul food restaurants too critically. That said, the food was good in it’s own right. Here’s what we had…
Beef Brisket sliders: Absolutely succulent. Would order again and again.
Fried Chicken wings: Nice and crisp, but the meat was dry.
Mac and Cheese: The green onions give it a unique twist.
Candied Yams: A little too much nutmeg for my taste.
Chocolate Cake: I think the waitress misspoke, because what I received was yellow cake with chocolate icing. Had i known this is what they were serving I would have opted for the pecan pie. That said, it was okay.
The ambience was nice as were the staff. Our waitress was nice and attentive. Next time I go, I’ll stay away from the fried chicken and try more bbq.

I was really bummed they didn’t make it to Unilocal Prom and it just so happened I was in Oakland one random night. We decided to stop in and try their BBQ and ended up pleasantly surprised. Taste of Joy is quite delightful — the staff are friendly and helpful, the ambiance is pleasant and the food is tasty. We even got a complimentary glass of house wine for their grand reopening with our meal! I had so much food, I ended up bringing most of it home. The ribs had an amazing BBQ sauce on it. My Southern fried chicken was also quite tasty. I would definitely recommend stopping in here again.

If you are in the east bay & like soul food, please make a trip to Taste of Joy’s. Cozy and warm hearted restaurant. Very attentive and food served fast. There is even a small bar with a fire place to hang out in a seperate room. Cost of food is average. I’m a fan of their BBQ spare ribs, enough said! Check out my photos!

Great service, good food and comfortable atmosphere. Outdoor patio has potential on a sunny day. All they need now is a chocolate & wine event with Cocoa Divas Chocolate Bar!

Went to Taste of Joy last night for a friend’s birthday celebration with a group of 9. We were led upstairs to a large room, where a long table was laid out. It felt essentially like a private dining room, and it was great to be able to hear each other so easily. The menu we received was quite abbreviated, though our very friendly waiter explained that it was due to a big event they had hosted a few days ago, not because we were a larger party. I thought that was too bad, as there were items that were missing that I might have been interested in (the brisket, catfish, etc.) Entrees are in the $ 15 – 20 range and most come with two sides. The vast majority of our table ordered the baby back ribs.
After our waiter took our orders, he brought up baskets of cornbread. They didn’t come with any butter to slather on, but it wasn’t necessary. The individual muffins of cornbread were plenty moist and honeyed on their own. He also brought up two complimentary jugs of Kool Aid and sweet tea because we had waited quite awhile for him to come upstairs and take our orders. The sweet tea was really good; it actually tasted strongly of tea and wasn’t sugar water.
The entrees were all enormous, difficult to finish on one’s own. My baby back ribs plate came with five (maybe six?) big ribs, individual bowls of my two sides (mac n cheese, potato salad), and an additional piece of cornbread. The ribs were drenched in good bbq sauce, and the meat came off easily. I still like Angeline’s ribs a bit more (my favorite), but these were a close contender. I loved that the macaroni in the mac n cheese was cooked quite al dente, with a nice bite. The potato salad was fine. We were all far too full to contemplate having dessert.
Taste of Joy isn’t very upscale, but I think it has nice enough atmosphere for a casually nice birthday dinner or group meal, especially because of the nice private upstairs area. We all loved our waiter, who was funny and enthusiastic. The rest of the restaurant looked a little empty as we were leaving, so I hope they get more business!

We got takeout from Taste of Joy for my cousin’s birthday party. I’m usually at a loss for a restaurant with great meat AND sides, but Taste of Joy got it right.
Of the things we sampled (well, no, I gorged myself, others sampled), the cornbread was my absolute favorite. Even though it wasn’t drenched in butter and honey like my former favorite at T-​Rex, I couldn’t stop eating those cute little muffins. They went straight to the muffin top on me but were well worth it.
I wouldn’t say that Taste of Joy is by far the best BBQ/​Soulfood place I’ve been to, but generally speaking, across the board they are the most consistently good in comparison to Brick Pig’s House and EJ’s. I find that Brick Pig’s ribs tend to be a bit chewy, but their brisket is out of this world, while EJ’s ribs are out of this world and the brisket is just so-​so. Taste of Joy is very good for both but not quite as amazing as EJ’s sauce/​ribs or Brick Pig’s brisket.
I did love, though, their mac and cheese, greens, and yams. The yams tasted like they had been grown in butter, the greens were spicy and flavorful, and the mac and cheese was addictively delicious. They use real cheese, and the noodles are nicely cooked.
BBQ is one of those food genres where everyone’s favorite part of the meal is different. Taste of Joy is a great place to go that will please everyone. The meat lovers will be ecstatic, sides fanatics will be in heaven, and the vegetarians? Well, who really cares.

Went here to celebrate a birthday. We thought it may be a little too upscale when we got there but, it was a pleasant surprise once we got our food. The portions weren’t too small and we were all super full by the end of the meal.
I had the spicy meatloaf with potato salad and mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was NOT great, but the potato salad and meatloaf made up for it though. I had my left overs last night and it was even better. The catfish is phenomenal. And the complimentary peach cobbler (for the birthday guy) was hella too sweet (excused, cause we all know southern style is sweet) but good.
It was nice to go in the middle of the week. Not a lot of people but enough to know people have heard about the place and you feel good about that. I would like to go on the weekend when they have live music though.
The service was good but I didn’t really understand why it took so long for our food to come once she took our order. All in all the food was so good that we want to go back. I guess thats all that counts.

YUM!
After Southern Café closed on Fruitvale and Macarthur I got tired of going to Nellie’s Soulfood and wished there was a place closer to home for some decent soul food! I always wished for a soul food restarant to deliver as well!
Welp this is what we got! Taste of Joy is a great great place to eat!
I called on a random night when they opened to ask for delivery and was warmly greeted by who I think was the owner. He took our order and everyything over the phone and made some kind small talk.
Then we waited for our food to show up! Oh boy!
We ordered the ribs and link combo with mac n cheese, red beans and rice and potato salad and a small greens.
Ohhh, why didnt someone warn us that this food was this great! When the food go there, it was nice and hot and in huge containers for the sides! We didnt get your KFC mini sides, oh no, we got huge sides so big that we had seconds the next day!!!
The ribs were huge! I was expecting those small ribs you see at the chain restaurants but oh no, we were met with the biggest ribs I ever had from takeout or a restaurant. I felt like I had taken home food from a family cookout!
The place is a bit pricey but whats to expect for good soul food.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants a good meal. I have yet to sit inside and order but I know I will have the chance soon!

I tasted joy, and it tastes like thinly sliced brisket smoked for 10 hours («and you can taste every one of them») smothered in sweet BBQ sauce served up with creamy but not too creamy mac and cheese, candied yams drenched in syrupy awesomness, excellent red beans and rice, dense buttery cornbread, cajun meatloaf, and super salty mustard greens. Oh — and a carafe of kool-​aid («in the best flavor on earth, RED»).
The dishes above are listed in descending order of excellency in my opinion, save for the kool-​aid — that’s obviously higher than last. I went here with a friend last night and we decided to cover the menu and split everything so we got to try a lot of food. Sharing is caring, after all.
The service here was great, too. The doorman, in a snazzy dark suit and stylish hat, was quick to open the door when I walked up the stairs and greeted me with a, «Good evening, young lady. Watch your step.» Damn, this place oozed class from the beginning! Our server was cracking jokes with us the whole night, from the presentation of our kool-​aid carafe («this is our best vintage») to the secrets of the BBQ sauce («Well, it starts with brown sugar and I can’t tell you the rest.» «Because you’d have to kill us?» Yeah, thanks for finishing that for me. I can’t talk about killing people at work — it’s so 90’s.”)
We ate slowly because we didn’t want to finish the delicious food in front of us and were reluctant to leave. But leaving meant that we would have another interaction with the snazzy doorman, so I looked forward to it a little bit. :)

It’s back and it’s good! Ate so much last night we’re still full.
The new location is way better than the first one. Way more space and an expanded menu! The Brisket Sliders are awesome. Must go back and try everything else on the menu.

Excited about this place and really wanna love it since I love creole/​southern food. What a disappointment! We only had gumbo and cornbread for dinner. I so do not like the consistency of the gumbo. The seafood and chicken in it was fine but the roux didn’t seem right to me. I’ve made roux before as well as gumbo and I’ve had authentic gumbo in NOLA. This is not worth what they are charging for. (and I am not cheap!) Having good ingredients is one thing, execution is although a totally different thing!
Service was really slow but I need to throw a shut-​out to the door dude — you are hella cool and my 2 stars here are for you, my man!

LOVED IT!!!
Man, o man… where to start! This place was really good!!!
So my partner and I decided to eat here a few nights ago, we had been debating going for the last few weeks but finally decided to make a move on it. To be honest I was really skeptical about this place because most places that claim to do southern/​soul food are usually a disappointment in the bay or lukewarm. But I was not ready for Taste of Joy.
I ordered the pork Spair Ribs, my partner ordered the Cajun Meatloaf, while we waited I had a glass of sangria which was delicious. When our food arrived, mine specifically I was blown away! I was originally expecting to get 2 or maybe 3 skinny bitch ribs but I got four full meaty and juicy ribs!!!
I really didn’t know what to do for the first few minutes, I hadn’t eaten real ribs in quit a while, but after a moment I dug in and was greeted by tender, succulent, perfectly cooked spare rib. In addition the Mac&Cheese as well as the greens were really good and complimented the meal perfectly.
My partners dish was the Meatloaf, I had a piece and I was blown away!!, I don’t like meatloaf but this my friends was really good!
So my wrap up is Taste of Joy is a definite winner in my book. I just hope they can maintain the good food!!!
LOVED IT!!!

If I could have a plate of cornbread, I’d be the happiest girl in the world.
my friends and I had our christmas party here, it was very awesome how they gave us the entire top floor, private room and everything, they even added some decorations for us. the service was very good and attentive. the food was delicious! we ordered the seafood gumbo, the pork ribs, sweet potatoe fries, mac n cheese, and of couse a lot of cornbread. great food, very cute little restaurant with great outdoor seating, I love how they decorated the outside area. cant wait to eat here again!

I really wanted to give this place a lower rating because of the service we got but the food was just too good to rate it any lower than a 3…
The story…
As we sat down (around 7pm… not too late into dinner) the waitress came up to us to inform us that they ran out of gumbo and brisket. I was a bit disappointed but figured… hey, those are the more popular dishes… it happens…
About 5 – 10 minutes later, I overheard a lady next to our table order gumbo. It came in a huge bowl. It looked great… I figured maybe that was the LAST bowl of the gumbo, they literally must have scraped the bottom of the pot for that last bowl.
For our order we ordered the fried chicken wings and a half order of baby back ribs.
The BBQ sauce was amazing and the ribs were tender, not quite «fall off the bone» but just about. The fried chicken wings had the perfect crust and the meat was juicy. I loved how flakey the crust was and it tasted like something your mom would make if she was from the South (I have no way of knowing how fried chicken tastes from the South but I can imagine it would be something like this.)
I was a bit underwhelmed by the sides — Most of them seemed a bit under seasoned. But the better ones were the Mac and Cheese and the Potato Salad.
So after the meal we were waiting for the bill and I overheard a couple a few tables from us order the Brisket. Now we left before they got the order so who knows if they really got it in the end but I’m assuming if the chef told one waiter/​waitresses about an order running out then all the waiter/​waitresses would know about it. How in the world were we the only ones in the entire restaurant told that there was no more Brisket and Gumbo? And how was it that after they were «out» of these items people kept ordering them? (Another question you may ask is: Why do you keep listening in on other people’s conversation?! but thats a whole different topic…)
Frankly I was a bit peeved when we left…
Food: 4 stars — I was very satisfied with the meal.
Service: 2.5 stars.

The restaurant is cute. Don’t be intimidated if it doesn’t look like there’s anyone in the restaurant. It’s kind of a long and narrow set up, so rest assured there are people inside!
The photos on the Unilocal site are pretty awesome, BUT they’re made for pictures. Meaning some of the food doesn’t quite look like this, but is definitely delicious!
Ribs were awesome. Order more than 1 macaroni and cheese especially if you’re going to have to share. I also enjoyed the gumbo as well. It could have been hotter and the shrimp could have been fresher. Be prepared to bust out the crab cracker to get into this soup! I’m also a fan of the corn bread. Perfect amount of corn meal and sweetness to make it delish.
Also — props to chef Brian for making the rounds to each one of the tables. It’s always nice to meet the chef!

Their new location is open!!! Now, onto the good stuff:
Have you ever wanted to stand up and *clap* after taking your first bite at a restaurant, with nary a thought to social norms and protocol? Have you ever had food that was so good that it really touched your soul? (I had no idea what ‘soul food’ meant until last night.) Have you ever wanted to high five the chef and owner who is so dedicated and committed to his passion and who actually takes the time to come out and personally say hello and share his vision and his dreams that made his restaurant into reality? Have you ever just looked at the presentation and sighed that eating the food would disturb the carefully thought out and well placed presentation?
If so, then by all means, GO HERE!
The Cajun meatloaf was phenomenal and deserved the clapping mentioned above. The ribs were perfectly seasoned, cooked, and presented. And don’t get me started on the sides — mustard greens, sweet potato fries, and let’s not forget the mac and cheese to die for.
Just when I was thinking the food couldn’t be any better, the chocolate cake arrived. I have no idea what they put in it, but it was one of those stop-​you-​in-​your-​tracks savor every morsel types of experiences.
The prices were right, the servings were generous (leftovers for days — hurray!), and the food… oh, now how I understand how food can truly get to your soul.
The ambiance and décor were also spot on. Great bar/​lounge, nice dining area, and an outdoor patio to boot.
A round of applause to Brian, chef and owner, for his vision, food, and bringing the neighborhood a sublime new restaurant.
We’ll definitely be back!

I just got back from the grand opening at the new (and beautifully appointed) 3909 Grand Ave location. I have eaten ribs at almost every BBQ joint in the East Bay and I have to say I think this place is my new #1. From the beautiful plate arrangement to the super friendly and helpful service, the experience is top notch. The ribs were perfect. The sauce is caramelized just right and it is sweet and not overly spicy. The meat is smoked just enough and not over-​smoked which is just right by me. The potato salad was really very good. The greens were on the «healthier» side and not full of pork but still flavorful. Seating on the patio is a huge plus as well, though the interior is really quite elegant. And they have a nice beer and wine list too. Great start for these guys in the new digs. I will be back soon!