Town Fare by Chef Michele McQueen

Hidden gem on an unlikely neighborhood. My Shrimp & Grits were delicious & authentic. Every dish looked unique & interesting. Casual setting. Best in Oakland. And reasonable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My family and I dined at the Town Fare on Father’s Day and I lost my bag. I called the establishment many times, emailed and showed up multiple times to talk to someone. All I got was one response from the manager there who said they would check and get back to me. They never did despite the many follow ups. I had all my cards and IDs in my bag and simply needed a response so I knew what I needed to replace. Jordan only cared to respond when my husband noted we would not return and would advise our friends to do the same. I’m shocked at the complete absence of accountability on how they handled the situation and based on his response we were right to decide never to go back. There isn’t a dish in the world good enough to put up with this type of customer service and to be honest, the only reason I considered going back is to support a black woman not because the food was that good.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

We came to Town Fare for the first time after finding out about the restaurant from the Bay Area KQED check please show. We were thrilled to try their chicken sandwich which came with breast meat and some coleslaw. The meat was very tender, cooked to perfection, the coleslaw had really nice flavors, and the buns were good too. The mac and cheese was also very good; the cheese had good flavor. The restaurant has a very open, clean, organic modern atmosphere. Many seating options inside and outside. The staff were nice. They have street parking around the museum and a museum parking garage. 10/10 Recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went on a little date with my lady to this place. We saw it on Bay Areas Check Please. The fried chicken sammich caught our eyes. Went on at about 2,….maybe? Was busy but was seated fairly quickly. We check out the menu while in line so knew what we were gettin. Noah, I believe, was the waiter fella(the reason I didn’t give that fifth star was cause after he took our order, we didn’t see him again). He was food came out not soon after we ordered. Hella quick. I got the chicken(breast/wing) and waffle with sweet potato butter. FIRE!!!. My lady got the chicken sandwich. MORE FIRE! To wash it down I got the brown sugar lemonade. JOHN BLAZE FIRE!!! Also there was a live dj spinnin on the 1’s and 2’s. Kind of a neo soulish vibe. Overall, it’s a dope spot. Nah’mean?!?! Forgot to mention that we shared the shrimp ‘n grits. My lady loved it. Once I dabbed a bit of Chrystal’s hot sauce on it, it became……FIRE!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

The food is amazing and the atmosphere is awesome. The live DJ and service was great.

The pork chops and grits meal was awesome great music, atmosphere, and service wonderful. Will be back soon.

I went here for the 1st time yesterday and we ordered the deviled eggs, gumbo over rice, and fried pork chop w/greens & Mac and cheese and let me tell you…the food was AMAZING! Not overly seasoned nor spicy. Whoever they got in that kitchen is doing #’s! Everything was HELLA good and the wait time for our food was not long at all. Literally got our food within 15mins of sitting down. And shoutout to the lady that took our order her name was Danye, she was patient and very hospitable. I’ll be back! ❤️

Went for a coffee and dessert in the afternoon. Ordered a peach cobbler that the fruit mixture was delicious but the crust was completely raw. I mentioned to the person at the cashier register and she informed me she would tell the chef, but no apologies….. sad.

Food and service was great. I recommend and will be going back.

Our server was Ramah. She was amazing. Knowledgeable and patient. The hostess was nice. The food was good and came out quickly and was fresh. I got the chicken and waffles. Waffle was thin like a waffle House which I loved. Also, the DJ had nice music playing. Highly recommend going to check it out. Deviled eggs were good!

I had high hopes for this restaurant, but unfortunately, the service was a big letdown. Our waiter was inattentive, rude, and seemed completely uninterested in providing good service. We waited far too long for our drinks, had to ask multiple times for basic things like silverware and refills, and when we did get their attention, they were dismissive.

The food itself was decent, but the poor service made it hard to enjoy the meal. Hopefully, this was just an off night, but based on this experience, I wouldn’t be in a rush to return.

Also, after speaking to the manager I was not going to leave a review as she seemed very sincere and gave us a 10% discount, than one of my friends stated that the waiters were in a hindle looking at us. I proceeded to turn around and they were talking looking directly at us. I waved at them and they dispersed. How unprofessional and disrespectful. I'm all for Black owned businesses and support them as much as possible but I will not support mediocre and unprofessional behavior. I have a nephew and a sister that are waiters in Georgia so I not only tip everywhere I go but I over tip this is the first time in my 46 years that I didn't leave at least a $20 tip. I still tipped because it was is a pull tip but if it wasn't he deserved NOTHING. I never received my drink and when I asked to change my ordered within three minutes he told me it was to late which it was not. He just had to walk over and change it which eventually he did.

Chicken and waffles wasn't that great but coming from the south I might be expecting too much in California.

Ramah and the staff provided excellent care! The service was fast, efficient, and exceeded our expectations. Truly a great experience!
They employed young black males and I love to see it.

Hello,

I want to first start by saying this review is based on SERVICE , not the food.

On February 2 I had a surprise 50th gathering set up for my brother. I stop at the venue three times asking questions and informing the workers that I will anticipate 30 people. I was informed to get there early to get at least the booth and the other tables are for first come first serve no reservation.

Now I was there along with my best friend before anyone. There was even a party on the other side to take place and there were table reserved for that party. What's good for that goose should have been good for my geese.

My dilemma was that a few tables could have been reserved for my party. I did ask for the two round tables that seat 2 which assuming the owner was resistant to do so. I asked again if I could get the 6 table right in front of us and I was shut down. As soon as she said that all 30 folks showed up.

Now my cousin arrived to tell me that they told her to put her name on the waitlist. We been there a whole hour and no one told us about a waitlist. I could have done that. So by this time the waitlist is wait time 30 mins to an hour which I put my name on the list now we have folks from the party sitting far away.

Next breaking news I told you I been up there a number of times. Now assuming the owner comes to me and says there is a time limit at the booth ( 2 hour ), but I was told by my family she gave a time limit for the tables as well. That was alarming because I been there a number of times and stayed almost 3 hours. The waiter never stop taking our orders. but we needed to move.

We spent $1100.00 and would have spent more. I honestly thought we may have been over charged. My nephew was waiting for his food for 30 minutes to find they ran out the blackened fish, waiter never said anything and we ordered another Mimosa tower and was still being asked to move to the wait area. Not okay. And even moving from the booth to the table we had they came over and said you have to move from here two while we are trying to pack it up.

I wanted to have this gathering mainly to support black business and the food is wonderful for my family to see what I was boasting about. Every one love the food but said they will not be back because of the service.

Moving forward to my birthday we go to M2 another husband and wife black owned business. Superb Customer Service and Food. We were able reserve a section for 13 people. They constantly checked on us cleared the tables. The owners even set up a tv in our section so we did not have to move were the tvs are set ups. The gave me a complimentary drink and guess what we was there from noon until 5 pm no pressure and that was super bowl night so very crowded.

You could have the best food in the world but if you lack Customer Service that could hinder growth I will not be back and will not refer.

Hopefully this review will encourage to restructure the CS and maybe add in making reservation with a 5 minute show before reservation is gone.

Best to you.

Great burgers.