The food was delicious. We had Mixiote de pollo (Chicken leg and thigh, potatoes, nopales, ancho chile salsa, $21), Quesadillas (Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, epazote, habanero salsa, $15), and for desert, Oaxacan chocolate budin ($10). The service was wonderful. The server gave us ample time to place our order while we were catching up with each other.
David Baker
The food is fantastic and the servers seem exceedingly hard-working. However, the place is just so busy, cramped, and noisy, it's difficult to truly enjoy the experience. If you need something from a server, it might be 20 minutes before you can get their attention.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 3
Ali Sadat
Great place. The food is good, service is great. Nice feel / atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Reba
We had an evening reservation and the restaurant after taking our order informed us one main course was no longer available. 5 minutes later we were notified our second order was no longer available. Not the culinary experience we were anticipating.
BillatCA
Our second dinner at to Comal, and still very positive, though the food was variable in quality. Butternut squash soup was amazingly good, very flavorful. The chiles rellenos were a little bland but still good. The Oaxacan chocolate budin was not a budin de pan, I don't think, but rather a thick, buttery chocolate that was OK. And of course it's hard to stop eating the chips and sauces. We'll be back.
jfbnyla
Food and drinks, always delicious. Great experience. Service is okay. Parking is tough. But it's all worth it. Great place. Excellent bartenders.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ginny
We were slightly disappointed with last night's dinner. The pork chop came with a huge amount of kale (not a big fan). My husband ordered an empanada-type dish which turned out to be dry and overcooked. I had the chilli relleno which was delicious as was the chicken livers on skewers. This is the first time we've been to Comal in a long time. We've always thoroughly enjoyed the food so this experience wasn't what we hoped it would be.
LindaT
Hadn't been here since before the pandemic. Food and cocktails have stayed delightfully excellent and creative. Service was exemplary. Only downside was that the sound level in the covered "atrium" is still over the top. Had to raise your voice to be heard and then your neighbors would hear too. Other than that, still hope to go again.
Plato Lover
Food good, if very expensive for what you get. Service was atrocious, with waitress taking my order/request and then ignoring me for so long, I had to ask for other help. They automatically add 20% as tip on the bill. I give them an extra star because the final waiter took it off and even insisted I keep the cash when I asked to only put 15% (which was generous given the horrible service).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
Hannah
We had a 9:15 rez for 7 and last call was at 9:45 for food and drinks. We rushed to order and barely started eating and they turned on these bright lights and turned off the music, making us feel rushed and really unwelcome. Why allow a reservation that late for a larger party if you expect them to leave 45 min later? We were hosting our of town guests and hardly got to talk as we were just rushing to order and get everything down th whole time.
Delicious new dish, tequila-cured salmon tostada was chefs homage to his heritage - bagel and lox. We had a 7 pm reservation, and already they were out of empanadas that sounded fantastic - maybe next time. Vegetarian tamales were good, too.
Nick Hawley
We were exceptionally impressed with Comal. The staff was amazing. The food was even better and the drinks were best of all. I highly recommend you make a reservation here ASAP.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips with Three Salsas, Jack Satan, Fresh Tortilla Chips
DarrylA
The food was delightful and flavorful. Recommend the guacamole that comes with savory choices of salsa to enjoy. Also great was a quesadilla with hen of the woods mushrooms. Kudos to the chef.
Julf
Our indoor server was not very attentive, had to call on him each time we needed another drink. Our outdoor experiences in the past have all been good. Never checked if we needed anything or how we were doing. Otherwise, nice options on menu. Margaritas were great as always.
Michelle Bernier-Toth
Delicious food, amazing service. Wish I lived in Berkeley and could come often. Oh yes - and the cocktails and wine were first class.
The food was delicious. We had Mixiote de pollo (Chicken leg and thigh, potatoes, nopales, ancho chile salsa, $21), Quesadillas (Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, epazote, habanero salsa, $15), and for desert, Oaxacan chocolate budin ($10). The service was wonderful. The server gave us ample time to place our order while we were catching up with each other.
The food is fantastic and the servers seem exceedingly hard-working. However, the place is just so busy, cramped, and noisy, it's difficult to truly enjoy the experience. If you need something from a server, it might be 20 minutes before you can get their attention.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 3
Great place. The food is good, service is great. Nice feel / atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had an evening reservation and the restaurant after taking our order informed us one main course was no longer available. 5 minutes later we were notified our second order was no longer available. Not the culinary experience we were anticipating.
Our second dinner at to Comal, and still very positive, though the food was variable in quality. Butternut squash soup was amazingly good, very flavorful. The chiles rellenos were a little bland but still good. The Oaxacan chocolate budin was not a budin de pan, I don't think, but rather a thick, buttery chocolate that was OK. And of course it's hard to stop eating the chips and sauces. We'll be back.
Food and drinks, always delicious. Great experience. Service is okay. Parking is tough. But it's all worth it. Great place. Excellent bartenders.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
We were slightly disappointed with last night's dinner. The pork chop came with a huge amount of kale (not a big fan). My husband ordered an empanada-type dish which turned out to be dry and overcooked. I had the chilli relleno which was delicious as was the chicken livers on skewers. This is the first time we've been to Comal in a long time. We've always thoroughly enjoyed the food so this experience wasn't what we hoped it would be.
Hadn't been here since before the pandemic. Food and cocktails have stayed delightfully excellent and creative. Service was exemplary. Only downside was that the sound level in the covered "atrium" is still over the top. Had to raise your voice to be heard and then your neighbors would hear too. Other than that, still hope to go again.
Food good, if very expensive for what you get. Service was atrocious, with waitress taking my order/request and then ignoring me for so long, I had to ask for other help. They automatically add 20% as tip on the bill. I give them an extra star because the final waiter took it off and even insisted I keep the cash when I asked to only put 15% (which was generous given the horrible service).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
We had a 9:15 rez for 7 and last call was at 9:45 for food and drinks. We rushed to order and barely started eating and they turned on these bright lights and turned off the music, making us feel rushed and really unwelcome. Why allow a reservation that late for a larger party if you expect them to leave 45 min later? We were hosting our of town guests and hardly got to talk as we were just rushing to order and get everything down th whole time.
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious new dish, tequila-cured salmon tostada was chefs homage to his heritage - bagel and lox. We had a 7 pm reservation, and already they were out of empanadas that sounded fantastic - maybe next time. Vegetarian tamales were good, too.
We were exceptionally impressed with Comal. The staff was amazing. The food was even better and the drinks were best of all. I highly recommend you make a reservation here ASAP.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips with Three Salsas, Jack Satan, Fresh Tortilla Chips
The food was delightful and flavorful. Recommend the guacamole that comes with savory choices of salsa to enjoy. Also great was a quesadilla with hen of the woods mushrooms. Kudos to the chef.
Our indoor server was not very attentive, had to call on him each time we needed another drink. Our outdoor experiences in the past have all been good. Never checked if we needed anything or how we were doing. Otherwise, nice options on menu. Margaritas were great as always.
Delicious food, amazing service. Wish I lived in Berkeley and could come often. Oh yes - and the cocktails and wine were first class.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ensalada Picada, Albondigas, Chile Relleno