Comments on: Chez Panisse Cafe, Berkeley CA

By: caitlin

caitlin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:47:32 +0000

just ate here today for the first time – my whole family was underwhelmed. everything, especially my squid, was swimming in oil. and the pricetag was ridiculous

By: David

David — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:19:00 +0000

Your comments are spot on and very similiar to my very last visit there. I interend in the kitchen, a small nightmare to say the least.

Love at First Bite?? Talk about bad service. I'm happy yours may have been better.
Davdi

By: Sal Vanilla (chowhound)

Sal Vanilla (chowhound) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Thank you for that thorough and thoughtful review. I am getting ready to go to SF and was considering a trip out to CPC for lunch. I went to Chowhound looking for thoughts on lunch and there you were.

I love that auntie and mom are featured heavily in your reviewed meals!

By: Max

Max — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Sorry to read of your negative experiences. I've had many meals there and never seen anything like that, nor have others reported any to me, so I believe your experience to be atypical, and would bet real money that you'd find it so too if you were to follow up. I've had too much experience with situations like that myself the last 30 years to take for granted that a single experience is representative.

The automatic gratuity can be annoying. Most restaurants in the area are now doing it with parties above a certain size and a few do it with all diners, especially as around Berkeley it saves awkwardness with the many diners from different countries, some staying only briefly, unacclimated to US tipping customs which as you know are very different elsewhere.

Note that the restaurant, which is downstairs and is the main reason CP is known, has completely different kitchen, servers, menu, and approach -- even the basic cooking methods are different -- though not everyone realizes it.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:15:00 +0000

Funny, I walked by Chez Panisse Cafe that day and thought the pizza with squid sounded pretty nice. Almost stopped in to have it. Sorry to hear you had such a disappointing meal.
I know you went to Love at First Bite, but please tell me you went to the Cheese Board, too, across the street from CP.
I knew you were going to the French Laundry, but I wish I'd have known you were headed to Berkeley. The Cheese Board is a must! I live a five minute walk away from there and CP.