Dining in Oakland.
 

My wife has to travel to Oakland for work for a few weeks this summer and I'd like to have some places for her to try. She is staying at the Marriott in City Center, so anything close by would be great. She will most likely be dining solo.

Any must hits nearby? I'm sure she will go to SF, it just depends on her schedule.

Thanks!

Within a 10 block walk in any direction (and in many cases, much less), there's a cornucopia of great food and drink, much of which is good for solo dining. I'll provide some highlights, with solo dining in mind: (Note that she's "Downtown" at about 12th St. "Uptown" starts at some amorphous place near 15th or so.)

1) Swan's Market - it is basically a small food hall with also some restaurants on the outside. Cosecha is well-regarded for Mexican, B-Dama for Japanese. On the outside of the building is Delage - the omikase place from B-Dama and it is excellent and worth a splurge (and needs a reservation but you can sit at the counter with a reservation). Other part of the outside is Miss Ollie's, and Rosamunde Sausage. I also like the Cook and Her Farmer (inside).

2) Punchdown (Wine Bar) - "Uptown" on Broadway closer to 17th. Natural wines, some great, some odd, with a substantial light (and more substantial) bites menu. Good for a nice beverage and bite alone.

3) Agave - "Uptown" - On Broadway near approx. 22nd. Respectable Oaxacan food with a bar good for dining alone (which I did recently).

4) Downtown Wine Merchants - Decent wine and snacks (haven't eaten there, can't comment on the bar food).

5) Luka's Tap Lounge - Broadway @ West Grand - Great burgers and other comforty-foodstuffs. Decent bar for dining alone.

6) Drake's Dealership - Broadway a couple blocks up from Grand - Beer and food garden.

7) Brown Sugar Kitchen - Broadway @ 23rd. The best waffles you can ever eat. I haven't been there since it moved / reopened at this location.

8) Flora - Telegraph (one block west of Broadway) at about 19th. Good upscale but not super fancy restaurant. Nice bar to dine alone.

I could go on but I've just listed my faves "off the top of my head."

Note that there's also Jack London Square with plenty of dining options - about 10 blocks away, opposite "uptown" (a few blocks by the freeway underpass not very savory, but not dangerous) down Broadway, with lots of stuff, and also the hotel is right at Chinatown, with plenty of options (but none on my particular radar). RIght across from JLS is Yoshi's, a very popular music club and restaurant (they are separate) - there's a bar where you can order food (good if you're solo), and the food I've had there is very good.

Awesome. Thanks!

Plenty of good options above. Swan's is basically across the street from the backside of the hotel so it's a must visit if you're staying there. For the JLS or Uptown/Grand spots, if she's not the kind of person who likes walking 10-15 city blocks (in an unfamiliar city) there is a free green shuttle bus that runs up and down Broadway.

And Le Cheval for high end Vietnamese
 

If she wants to try Chinese dim sum (or regular dining), check out the Peony Seafood Restaurant. 2 blocks away from Marriott (Franklin @9th). Around that complex, there are several other Asian restaurants.
As in any city, be aware of surroundings, especially at night.

I would suggest your wife staying in the hotel as much as possible.

Oakland Downtown isn't really tourist friendly in the dark.

I won't risk it for the sake of safety.

This area is one of the most lively nightlife / dining areas in the Bay Area. Uptown, JLS, Old Oakland - I'm down that way a few times a month. At night.

Walking concerns? Weekdays there's the free B bus https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/free-broadway-shuttle
If the B isn't running, there's the 72/72M/72R buses which will cost about $2.50 (or take a different bus if heading up Broadway past 20th).
If the B or the paid bus isn't your thing, there's this newfangled stuff on a mobile phone where you hit the screen and tap your destination. I think they're called Ooboor and Lifte.

Or there's Marriott Room Service. mmm mmm good.

Hey I am from there and I just tagged this post to try some of those places. I've been away too long. It looks fantastic!
But you guys have been delinquent in mentioning one of Oakland's all-time great places to eat, Everett & Jones BBQ and they are right there in the JLS neighborhood too. Some of the best BBQ in the entire country let alone Oakland.
https://eandjbbq.com/

What, you are going to stay at the Marriott and order a BLT? :o Although as I've not had one, who am I to judge.

Forget a great restaurant experience, or an evening of superb jazz at Yoshi's, this is really the way to live (and die young)!

That menu is available for 45 minutes each evening. :D and, it is a TBLAT.

I was curious what Heidi had to say. I didn't know it would be Heidi, but here goes:

Having just come from a conference at the conference center attached to the hotel, we spent three days eating at Iron & Oak. Bottom line, when the food is good, it's really good and when it's bad, well.... It was an overall inconsistent experience. The steak tacos when eaten in the restaurant, were delicious! When ordered from room service, not so hot, but still better than the grilled cheese, which was horribly under toasted and totally cold. Yuck. The fish and chips were yummy and I so wanted to love the burgers. My husband's was quite good, but mine was a charred hockey puck. So disappointed! The blue cheese sauce is outstanding. How do you balance out your experience? Order Kiwan's tropical martini!!! It is not overly sweet in spite of containing pineapple juice, peach schnapps and simple syrup and it is one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time! Don't leave without trying one!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/iron-and-oa...t_by=date_desc

And then there's Brad, who either ate too much, or didn't order correctly.

Stay away. The food was worse than mediocre. It was severely overpriced. The service was spotty at best. This is probably the biggest waste of $200 I've ever spent. Save yourself your money, time and tastebuds.

So this is all in good fun but let’s keep the topic at hand
 

New Top 100 list from the Chronicle. Miss Ollie's rightfully takes a spot (9th and Washington, one block from Marriott). https://projects.sfchronicle.com/top-100-restaurants/

Miss Ollie’s !