Way too overpriced. The two of us ordered 4 dishes and 2 glasses, paid $180 and walked out hungrier.Food is ok, not amazing. Portion is TINY. $25 for half a squash plus 20% mandatory service charge. I can tell that they are trying to be creative but a bit too much. Some dishes I can cook at home. “Main dishes” took very long to come.Service is ok, they charge 20% regardless.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
D. Jasper Stephens
Highly recommend the veggie dishes! Everything was excellent, the brisket was the only thing I wouldn't order again.
Robert McKay
Uber hip but unpretentious; crisp execution on everything silenced my usual grumbling about "SaaS-like gross margins" on hip Bay eats. Also they seem to treat the staff well, giving back some of those margins on OpEx, including gratuity and covering health care, etc. The cutely lo-fi menu even reminds you to use they/them pronouns with the Zoomer staff, so bring your conservative parents to trigger them and have a laugh. Deeply appreciated the lack of choices on the wine list, cutting my cognitive load, and the curation did not disappoint. After I praised the place to the skies, the server even closed the deal by inviting me to leave this review, which made me wonder if the staff gets equity or just has mad hustle. Either way, respect. Go here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ashley Horne
Great food, but for $100/pp can’t recommend this place. We had a reservation for the bar. The bar was such an awkward height, my husband and I both felt like we were reaching up for our food. It was also cramped. The napkins were paper, flatware was cheap and seemed cobbled together from a thrift store. Two of the wines by the glass were interesting but the other two were not drinkable. I looked up the white by the glass online, and the bottle retails for $10 in Europe. For this price, there are many better options in the area (like Rendezvous and Pizzaiolo). Or for 15% more go to Pomet and they’ll knock your socks off. Won’t be back.
John Ossenfort
Some of the most interesting plates I've had in a long time! Every dish is turned on its head with Finn's unconventional twist on flavors, adding complex sauces and sides that have me wondering exactly what I'm tasting... Not to mention the best focaccia on the
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ashley Camille Brown
Posting this after my second experience here. The food is perfectly fine but nothing stood out. Shared the cod, focaccia, and miso pasta. Again not bad, but forgettable. Service was suuuuper slow both times. Asked for butter with the house bread since the oil served with it just wasn’t working for us. We were told “they don’t serve butter”. It’s not a unique request but…ok.All in all, the vibes are cute and the space is great. But there are better $100 dinners out there.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Emmett Stern
Daytrip is incredible, and the people there are amazing too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ellen Gardin
This is the one restaurant in Oakland I come back to again and again. I go every time I have friends in town. The food is excellent, the vibe is very casual/unpretentious, and staff is great. Their celery salad and miso butter pasta get a lot of hype, but I am also always blown away by their crudo and tartare. Definitely come with a few people and share plates!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Zoë Sinner
I moved away from the bay so now whenever I am back I make sure to come! The menu is always changing meaning every trip is different which I love. Everything is so good. Go with friends and get the whole menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sam Kirschner
Such a let down. We live in the neighborhood and we’re excited to try this place given the hype. It felt like a Snail Bar dupe that was extremely mid and poorly executed.Plates and utensils seemed like they hobbled a bunch of stuff together from a thrift store. Decor and vibe was better from the curb. Service was slow and subpar (and of course there’s an automatic 20% gratuity for it).You’d hope the food would be redeeming but nothing stood out as great despite some interesting pairing of flavors. Portions were smaller than you’d hope for too. The wine was good which was indeed a positive.By halfway through the meal my partner and I decided we’d never be back. Genuinely wish them well but there’s many other places you can spend $150 for a meal in east bay I’d encourage others to explore first.
The good: the food is unique, zesty and memorable. I would happily get takeout for 30% off the dine in prices.The not so good: everything else.We dined in for a special occasion. Given the hype and the price point, we expected top notch service. The restaurant was empty yet we waited as the host hurried around and ignored us upon entry and then seemed confused when we weren’t walk ins. How dare we have a reservation!I’d describe the scene as a poorly retrofitted garage trying too hard to emulate the 70s with decor pulled from a smattering of midwestern garage sales. We had two disabled folks with us with chronic pain disorders and the seating was so uncomfortable we had to leave early. The walls were adorned with nauseating multicolored projections and the menus were intentionally confusing and printed on scrunched up pieces of yellow paper folded (middle school note style) tossed in the middle of the table. Even the plates were all mismatched - a fun(?) idea but came off as: I bought all the plates at a thrift store and I’m going to charge you $30 per dish becuse this is my first lemonade stand - yeah, not cute.The server seemed to be on whatever the wall projection was having. Here you have this innovative menu and the server didn’t explain anything or guide us through the menu and gruffly and begrudgingly offered some suggestions when prompted in the form of ‘well the brisket is pretty good’.They have a bottle shop full of ‘different for the sake of being different’ over priced bottles, which the server knew nothing about, eliminating the fun of exploring non mainstream labels and grapes. So much potential, wildly poor execution.The service was clunky. At one point I had three sets of hands an inch from my face setting down and picking up various dishes. Given the experience, I was tempted to take a bite more than once.Last but not least. The server brings our bill, which is on a QR code, which they then spent a minute describing how to use and that a 20% plus 5% service charge was included to pay for employee healthcare and wages. At over a hundred dollars per person, let’s not pretend to be a beer garden - take the check and run it, it would take as much time as explaining how to use the QR code. Second, pay your staff a fair living wage, add 25% to your menu prices instead of pinning the living part of their wage on them to explain to guests. I’m all for baking tips into prices and paying fair wages, I think it’s disgusting to make staff explain a surcharge that allows them to make ends meet. It’s either 1) performative to draw attention to the fact that they are paying their staff a living wage (yay?) or 2) designed to shift any resentment towards non food spending onto the staff. Both are uncool.The place has good food; if they want to honor the food they’re making, dispense with the poorly executed window dressing and turn the place into a food truck with seating and lower prices by 50%. If you’re going to continue charging what you’re charge, grow up, train your staff, buy some plates and put some non nauseating art on the wall.TLDR: a restaurant that has tried to cooly pull off a ‘Less is more’ vibe, but falls on its face via inversion. In day trip’s case, more is less. Try less hard.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 2
Andrew Hawn
It is great to see this neighborhood so much cooler than it was when I was a kid. Daytrip is definitely unique. The food was surprisingly good and inventive. We had the focaccia, honey nut squash, black cod, and brisket. Each dish had a memorable flavor combination that really worked. Not sure why I was surprised but I was. The service felt like my college roommates were trying out for a job but it was earnest and homey. The plates came out a bit higgeldy-piggeldy but we had lovely dinner. There is no bar so don’t look for it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Julie R.
Amazing food and great service! The ambiance was very cool, I loved all the green We had had the focaccia which is super fluffy and very unique! We also had the hen of the woods, which we loved, and the squash, which may be one of the best things I've ever eaten.To top it off, we finished with the celery salad which left us feeling fresh and happy heading home.We will definitely be coming back!
Jenny W.
3.5 starsI'd been dying to try Daytrip for a long time - everything about it was up my alley, small plates, creative ferments / flavors, sake along with wine. Plus the critics loved it.Unfortunately, didn't blow me away as much as the hype would have led to me believe. Surprisingly, their most renowned dishes (celery salad and miso pasta) ended up being the most disappointing for me. I found the cheese flavor overwhelming in the celery salad, and the miso pasta was too al dente for me - I wanted it to be a softer noodle. My boyfriend also didn't love the acidity of the pasta though I didn't mind it. The star of the night was the beef tartare - I loved the black vinegar flavor paired with the beef tartare and the textual contrast of the broccoli. The black cod was good as well - tender with nice flavor from the sunchoke almond skordalia (shoutout to the sunchoke chips). Focaccia bread was nice and soft and warm, and I liked that I couldn't actually taste the sourdough flavor. Meal was pacing was a bit off - we'd sometimes finish a dish and wait 10-20 minutes for the next one. Great option though if you live in the neighborhood, they have a small tight menu so I imagine it would be nice to come back and try new things.
Veronica L.
Post from a March date night. Sat at the window and liked the iridescent sheen. Service was friendly and pretty fast (when you're paying a babysitter a hefty sum per hour you can always remember even 9 mos later if the service was slow or not). Food come out quickly and we enjoyed the focaccia with the green dipping oil, celery salad (this dish was really fresh tasting and unique), miso butter pasta, mussels (these were not memorable), and we later ordered the shoyu dark chocolate dessert, which was okay. They automatically add 20% tip so be aware of this. I don't think the server told us this so some patrons might not notice it on their check.
Way too overpriced. The two of us ordered 4 dishes and 2 glasses, paid $180 and walked out hungrier.Food is ok, not amazing. Portion is TINY. $25 for half a squash plus 20% mandatory service charge. I can tell that they are trying to be creative but a bit too much. Some dishes I can cook at home. “Main dishes” took very long to come.Service is ok, they charge 20% regardless.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Highly recommend the veggie dishes! Everything was excellent, the brisket was the only thing I wouldn't order again.
Uber hip but unpretentious; crisp execution on everything silenced my usual grumbling about "SaaS-like gross margins" on hip Bay eats. Also they seem to treat the staff well, giving back some of those margins on OpEx, including gratuity and covering health care, etc. The cutely lo-fi menu even reminds you to use they/them pronouns with the Zoomer staff, so bring your conservative parents to trigger them and have a laugh. Deeply appreciated the lack of choices on the wine list, cutting my cognitive load, and the curation did not disappoint. After I praised the place to the skies, the server even closed the deal by inviting me to leave this review, which made me wonder if the staff gets equity or just has mad hustle. Either way, respect. Go here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, but for $100/pp can’t recommend this place. We had a reservation for the bar. The bar was such an awkward height, my husband and I both felt like we were reaching up for our food. It was also cramped. The napkins were paper, flatware was cheap and seemed cobbled together from a thrift store. Two of the wines by the glass were interesting but the other two were not drinkable. I looked up the white by the glass online, and the bottle retails for $10 in Europe. For this price, there are many better options in the area (like Rendezvous and Pizzaiolo). Or for 15% more go to Pomet and they’ll knock your socks off. Won’t be back.
Some of the most interesting plates I've had in a long time! Every dish is turned on its head with Finn's unconventional twist on flavors, adding complex sauces and sides that have me wondering exactly what I'm tasting... Not to mention the best focaccia on the
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Posting this after my second experience here. The food is perfectly fine but nothing stood out. Shared the cod, focaccia, and miso pasta. Again not bad, but forgettable. Service was suuuuper slow both times. Asked for butter with the house bread since the oil served with it just wasn’t working for us. We were told “they don’t serve butter”. It’s not a unique request but…ok.All in all, the vibes are cute and the space is great. But there are better $100 dinners out there.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Daytrip is incredible, and the people there are amazing too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is the one restaurant in Oakland I come back to again and again. I go every time I have friends in town. The food is excellent, the vibe is very casual/unpretentious, and staff is great. Their celery salad and miso butter pasta get a lot of hype, but I am also always blown away by their crudo and tartare. Definitely come with a few people and share plates!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I moved away from the bay so now whenever I am back I make sure to come! The menu is always changing meaning every trip is different which I love. Everything is so good. Go with friends and get the whole menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a let down. We live in the neighborhood and we’re excited to try this place given the hype. It felt like a Snail Bar dupe that was extremely mid and poorly executed.Plates and utensils seemed like they hobbled a bunch of stuff together from a thrift store. Decor and vibe was better from the curb. Service was slow and subpar (and of course there’s an automatic 20% gratuity for it).You’d hope the food would be redeeming but nothing stood out as great despite some interesting pairing of flavors. Portions were smaller than you’d hope for too. The wine was good which was indeed a positive.By halfway through the meal my partner and I decided we’d never be back. Genuinely wish them well but there’s many other places you can spend $150 for a meal in east bay I’d encourage others to explore first.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
The good: the food is unique, zesty and memorable. I would happily get takeout for 30% off the dine in prices.The not so good: everything else.We dined in for a special occasion. Given the hype and the price point, we expected top notch service. The restaurant was empty yet we waited as the host hurried around and ignored us upon entry and then seemed confused when we weren’t walk ins. How dare we have a reservation!I’d describe the scene as a poorly retrofitted garage trying too hard to emulate the 70s with decor pulled from a smattering of midwestern garage sales. We had two disabled folks with us with chronic pain disorders and the seating was so uncomfortable we had to leave early. The walls were adorned with nauseating multicolored projections and the menus were intentionally confusing and printed on scrunched up pieces of yellow paper folded (middle school note style) tossed in the middle of the table. Even the plates were all mismatched - a fun(?) idea but came off as: I bought all the plates at a thrift store and I’m going to charge you $30 per dish becuse this is my first lemonade stand - yeah, not cute.The server seemed to be on whatever the wall projection was having. Here you have this innovative menu and the server didn’t explain anything or guide us through the menu and gruffly and begrudgingly offered some suggestions when prompted in the form of ‘well the brisket is pretty good’.They have a bottle shop full of ‘different for the sake of being different’ over priced bottles, which the server knew nothing about, eliminating the fun of exploring non mainstream labels and grapes. So much potential, wildly poor execution.The service was clunky. At one point I had three sets of hands an inch from my face setting down and picking up various dishes. Given the experience, I was tempted to take a bite more than once.Last but not least. The server brings our bill, which is on a QR code, which they then spent a minute describing how to use and that a 20% plus 5% service charge was included to pay for employee healthcare and wages. At over a hundred dollars per person, let’s not pretend to be a beer garden - take the check and run it, it would take as much time as explaining how to use the QR code. Second, pay your staff a fair living wage, add 25% to your menu prices instead of pinning the living part of their wage on them to explain to guests. I’m all for baking tips into prices and paying fair wages, I think it’s disgusting to make staff explain a surcharge that allows them to make ends meet. It’s either 1) performative to draw attention to the fact that they are paying their staff a living wage (yay?) or 2) designed to shift any resentment towards non food spending onto the staff. Both are uncool.The place has good food; if they want to honor the food they’re making, dispense with the poorly executed window dressing and turn the place into a food truck with seating and lower prices by 50%. If you’re going to continue charging what you’re charge, grow up, train your staff, buy some plates and put some non nauseating art on the wall.TLDR: a restaurant that has tried to cooly pull off a ‘Less is more’ vibe, but falls on its face via inversion. In day trip’s case, more is less. Try less hard.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 2
It is great to see this neighborhood so much cooler than it was when I was a kid. Daytrip is definitely unique. The food was surprisingly good and inventive. We had the focaccia, honey nut squash, black cod, and brisket. Each dish had a memorable flavor combination that really worked. Not sure why I was surprised but I was. The service felt like my college roommates were trying out for a job but it was earnest and homey. The plates came out a bit higgeldy-piggeldy but we had lovely dinner. There is no bar so don’t look for it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Amazing food and great service! The ambiance was very cool, I loved all the green We had had the focaccia which is super fluffy and very unique! We also had the hen of the woods, which we loved, and the squash, which may be one of the best things I've ever eaten.To top it off, we finished with the celery salad which left us feeling fresh and happy heading home.We will definitely be coming back!
3.5 starsI'd been dying to try Daytrip for a long time - everything about it was up my alley, small plates, creative ferments / flavors, sake along with wine. Plus the critics loved it.Unfortunately, didn't blow me away as much as the hype would have led to me believe. Surprisingly, their most renowned dishes (celery salad and miso pasta) ended up being the most disappointing for me. I found the cheese flavor overwhelming in the celery salad, and the miso pasta was too al dente for me - I wanted it to be a softer noodle. My boyfriend also didn't love the acidity of the pasta though I didn't mind it. The star of the night was the beef tartare - I loved the black vinegar flavor paired with the beef tartare and the textual contrast of the broccoli. The black cod was good as well - tender with nice flavor from the sunchoke almond skordalia (shoutout to the sunchoke chips). Focaccia bread was nice and soft and warm, and I liked that I couldn't actually taste the sourdough flavor. Meal was pacing was a bit off - we'd sometimes finish a dish and wait 10-20 minutes for the next one. Great option though if you live in the neighborhood, they have a small tight menu so I imagine it would be nice to come back and try new things.
Post from a March date night. Sat at the window and liked the iridescent sheen. Service was friendly and pretty fast (when you're paying a babysitter a hefty sum per hour you can always remember even 9 mos later if the service was slow or not). Food come out quickly and we enjoyed the focaccia with the green dipping oil, celery salad (this dish was really fresh tasting and unique), miso butter pasta, mussels (these were not memorable), and we later ordered the shoyu dark chocolate dessert, which was okay. They automatically add 20% tip so be aware of this. I don't think the server told us this so some patrons might not notice it on their check.