These East Bay restaurants still have seats available for New Year’s Eve. Leave a comment below if you have other suggestions. Diners: You’ll definitely want to call ahead to confirm availability.
Ajanta, 1888 Solano Ave., Berkeley 94707; 510-526-4373
Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Serving a $27 Chef’s Tasting Menu for dinner with three appetizers and four main dishes plus sides of rice, naan bread, chutneys and pickles. A vegetarian option is offered for $24. The regular menu will also be available.
Bocanova, 55 Webster St., Oakland 94607; 510-444-1233
Seating begins at 6 p.m. Highlights include assorted sausages with house-made condiments and marinated prime rib eye with Argentine red sauce and garlic chips. The final course will feature pumpkin tart tatin with candied cranberries, accompanied by house-made chocolates, and paired with a glass of sparkling Torrontes dessert wine. The New Year’s Eve Argentine “Asado” is priced at $78 per person, and includes food and a glass of sparkling wine.
Borgo Italia, 499 Ninth St., Oakland 94607; 510-251-1008
Open from 8 a.m. to midnight. Serving the regular à la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Plus, for lunch and dinner (kitchen closes at 11 p.m.), they will offer on an à la carte basis a quintessential Italian meal, “Cotechino con Lenticchie e Pure,” with slow-boiled sausage, lentils and potato purée ($18), which is said to bring good luck and riches for the coming year. All day, glasses of Prosecco will be priced at just $5.
Camino, 3917 Grand Ave., Oakland 94610; 510-547-5035
Camino is offering a “festive multi-course feast,” which includes wood oven-baked oysters; Dungeness crab broth with burdock, parsley root and a “grilled crab bundle”; and wood oven-roasted rib eye. A yogurt-sesame pudding will top off the meal, which costs $85 per person. A vegetarian menu is available.
District Oakland, 827 Washington St., Oakland 94607; 510-272-9110
Open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Serving the regular à la carte menu, plus, on a pre-order basis, two different sized seafood plates and a special caviar menu. Highlights of the pre-ordered seafood plates will include oysters, jumbo shrimp cocktail, Dungeness crab claws, Champagne poached mussels, scallop ceviche and Maine lobster. A DJ will provide entertainment from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
FIVE restaurant at Hotel Shattuck, 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley 94704; 510-225-6055
Chef Banks White is serving up a delicious menu of five courses for $70. Some of the items include Marin myagi oysters, grilled Filet Mignon, winter pumpkins soup and Jersusalem artichoke pierogis, and almond olive oil cake with Meyer lemon curd and huckleberry coulis.
Gather, 2200 Oxford St., Berkeley 94704; 510-859-9180
Seating from 5-10 p.m. Serving an $85 four-course prix fixe menu with vegan and omnivore options for each course, and a wine-by-the-glass pairing available for an additional $25. Menu highlights will include crudo offerings with caviar, uni, crab and oysters; a chef’s choice fish entrée; and an aged guinea hen terrine.
Haven, 44 Webster St., Oakland 94607; 510-663-4440
Haven is serving a five-course prix fix menu for $85 ($65 for the vegetarian option).
Joshu-ya Brasserie, 2441 Dwight Way, Berkeley 94704; 510-848-5260
Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. serving their regular à la carte menu. Complimentary hot sake during dinner service.
Lake Chalet, 1520 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 94612; 510-208-5253
Seating from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Serving the regular à la carte menu until 5 p.m. and then a holiday à la carte menu with special entrées including tagliarini with prosecco poached oysters; roasted beef tenderloin with bone marrow crust; garlic-sesame crusted ahi tuna; red wine braised short rib; and Happy Boy Farms baby beet salad. Guests ordering three or more courses from the holiday menu will each receive a complimentary glass of sparkling wine.
Oliveto, 5655 College Ave., Oakland 94618 510-547-5356
Downstairs, diners can drop in for Champagne, cocktails and bar snacks, with music by The John Brothers Piano Co. from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Upstairs, reservations are required. Diners can choose from four to five courses ($95-$115 per person), and dishes offered will include risotto bianco with white truffle butter; and roast duck breast with caramelized sunchokes, rainbow chard and kumquat sugo; as well as desserts such as bittersweet chocolate torte with brandied vanilla bean-chocolate truffle ice cream.
Which other East Bay restaurants have great New Year’s Eve options? Let us know in the comments.
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