Outstanding food in a smart setting with a great staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexander Stern
Friendly staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Safi R
Authentic food with a modern twist. Atmosphere and service were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elly Lin
Fun date spot! Food is pretty good. We mostly got bar bites and 3 cocktails. + 1 skewer and rice. Spent ~$125 before tax.
I really enjoyed the bites we got: croquettes and triangles. Green chutney was really good. The eggplant dip was not that memorable.
Cocktails: Mosaic and the tequila & pistachio one were good but def on the sweet side. I didn’t like the sparkles (lychee, vodka, chia seeds) one.
Skewers and rice were not hot when served (warm at best) and didn’t come together, which was disappointing! Wagyu skewer was 4 pieces of beef 🥲 The rice flavor wasn’t as strong as we hoped and the candied orange on top was good but too sweet for me (pieces too big?)
They really pushed the vegan saffron coconut ice cream when I asked about it. It was unique and good but I wouldn’t get it again - too sweet. Tasted better with mint leaves from my cocktail that I tore up and sprinkled on top. $9 for a cocktail glass of it (it was a lot of ice cream for 2)
Service: We sat at the bar and the bartender was really attentive and helpful. But took a star away because of food temperature.
They have a happy hour where drinks are a few bucks cheaper 5-6:30!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Neyha Rajan
Had an okay experience last night. Inside decor was lovely as was the ambiance. Service was strange. Attentive to ordering but then the items we selected came out randomly and unevenly. We thought they’d forgotten about half of our order because they brought only half and we finished those before the other items came out. Made for an unsatisfying meal and experience. The food was fine. It felt like they were doing too much. They said the chicken skewers were spicy (they were not). The eggplant tasted good but was so tough it was hard to cut. The mushrooms were tasty but pretty oily instead of light and crisp. The cocktails were pretty but not particularly tasty. The hostess knew our dinner was for a birthday but our server acted like he didn’t know. We mentioned it as he was asking if we were all done and then he said “oh yeah it’s a birthday.” Disappointed overall for a special birthday. Seemed like maybe it was more for a trendy Instagram vibe which is not what we were looking for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Salim Shariff
Wow, insanely good food, lovely service, great interior & atmosphere, great cocktails. Not sure what else you'd want in a restaurant??? Loved it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Cohen
A beautiful space
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Shank, Saffron Ice Cream
Rainna Lim
y'all by the menu alone I was not super hyped on this place BUT I believe someone with even the highest of expectations would also leave with an excellent impression of Jaji--really good flavors, beautiful presentation (which I don't really care about but maybe you do), and unparalleled service. We ordered the octopus and they gave it to us for free because they only had a single baby octopus left and they even cut it into 4 pieces, which was hilarious and appreciated. Our server was so attentive and helpful and deserves the world! Get the tempura mushroom and pistachio chocolate cake but also anything else on the menu because it's all pretty great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
TJ Rocky
Excellent range of food options and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lorenzo Goodwin
Perfect spot for a date or larger parties. Upscale mellow vibe, solid cocktail program, delicious food and desserts. Staff are always great, one of my favorite places in Oakland.
Really enjoyed ourselves here, food is upscale and really tasty. I thought the prices were fair.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Valerieanne Delacruz
Very cute date night ambiance, tikka wagyu labobs are so tasty. We got the trout dish and it was nicely cooked. Service was amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Bent Spork
Tiny portions don't make food fancy even if it is expensive. Presentation is precious here but isn't better quality than the halal cart in front of my office, and I never leave the halal cart hungry. The Mama's Daal was fine, if slightly stingy, I like lentils and eat them a lot--colorful presentation. Shola-Gorooti Croquettes was fine, started a curious trend of things being served in threes--this was a somewhat expensive dinner and the kitchen is being stingy with a cheap rice ball dish that is hard to split between two people. The Wagyu skewers were in a pomegranate sauce that we were ready to lick off the plate, but the beef was ordinary quality and tiny portions. You could spend $90+ for one person without a cocktail and leave slightly hungry, with lentils and skewers, and lamb shank--nothing against small plates as a concept but that is expensive to leave slightly hungry. The lamb shank was particularly good, but not a lot of bites of meat for $58. Why doesn't the lamb shank come on a pile of seasoned rice? I hate this menu concept so much, it's the worst. We watched the table next to us struggle to eat a ridiculous dessert with spoons--the pastry was too dry and crunchy and jumped around on the plate as they tried to share it between them. The service feels more like being swarmed by flies than good service. At the start, three waiters apparently had different (and increasing) ideas of how full a glass of water should be and kept filling up my glass within as many minutes. And waiters swarmed one after the next to remove a plate that we repeatedly said we weren't done with. A swarm of quiet polite attention isn't service, it's a weird zombie army.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
A A
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the food really surprised me — it’s different, but still feels close to what I grew up with. You can tell they care about the flavors, and they’ve put their own spin on it without losing the roots. Za bolani hit in a familiar way, just a little more refined. It’s not exactly like home cooking, but it made me think of home. Worth trying if you're curious to see what Afghan food can look like in modern America.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John O
I expect the days of easily getting a reservation. Here are going to be short-lived. The entire experience was spectacular. Space is high ceiling artistically decorated and laid out. Just a great vibe. Overall service was impeccable absolutely stellar, cocktails, beautiful stemware, innovative options, and wonderful classics. I like to see like the Gibson on the menu they made perhaps the best Vesper I’ve ever had. The food was a take on Afghani cuisine, wonderful spices, interesting meats like a lamb shank, but we were told the chef is Venezuelan so had some unexpected flare to it. All of it exuded love as it was placed upon the table. Make sure to get the croquettes and bolanis as you’ll likely want. Three more servings of the sauce comes with for the rest of your food because it was incredible. Chapli kebabs another star. A + I love this neighborhood and it’s wonderful to have such a great restaurant added to the area.
Outstanding food in a smart setting with a great staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Friendly staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Authentic food with a modern twist. Atmosphere and service were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fun date spot! Food is pretty good. We mostly got bar bites and 3 cocktails. + 1 skewer and rice. Spent ~$125 before tax.
I really enjoyed the bites we got: croquettes and triangles. Green chutney was really good. The eggplant dip was not that memorable.
Cocktails: Mosaic and the tequila & pistachio one were good but def on the sweet side. I didn’t like the sparkles (lychee, vodka, chia seeds) one.
Skewers and rice were not hot when served (warm at best) and didn’t come together, which was disappointing! Wagyu skewer was 4 pieces of beef 🥲 The rice flavor wasn’t as strong as we hoped and the candied orange on top was good but too sweet for me (pieces too big?)
They really pushed the vegan saffron coconut ice cream when I asked about it. It was unique and good but I wouldn’t get it again - too sweet. Tasted better with mint leaves from my cocktail that I tore up and sprinkled on top. $9 for a cocktail glass of it (it was a lot of ice cream for 2)
Service: We sat at the bar and the bartender was really attentive and helpful. But took a star away because of food temperature.
They have a happy hour where drinks are a few bucks cheaper 5-6:30!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Had an okay experience last night. Inside decor was lovely as was the ambiance. Service was strange. Attentive to ordering but then the items we selected came out randomly and unevenly. We thought they’d forgotten about half of our order because they brought only half and we finished those before the other items came out. Made for an unsatisfying meal and experience. The food was fine. It felt like they were doing too much. They said the chicken skewers were spicy (they were not). The eggplant tasted good but was so tough it was hard to cut. The mushrooms were tasty but pretty oily instead of light and crisp. The cocktails were pretty but not particularly tasty. The hostess knew our dinner was for a birthday but our server acted like he didn’t know. We mentioned it as he was asking if we were all done and then he said “oh yeah it’s a birthday.” Disappointed overall for a special birthday. Seemed like maybe it was more for a trendy Instagram vibe which is not what we were looking for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Wow, insanely good food, lovely service, great interior & atmosphere, great cocktails. Not sure what else you'd want in a restaurant??? Loved it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A beautiful space
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Shank, Saffron Ice Cream
y'all by the menu alone I was not super hyped on this place BUT I believe someone with even the highest of expectations would also leave with an excellent impression of Jaji--really good flavors, beautiful presentation (which I don't really care about but maybe you do), and unparalleled service. We ordered the octopus and they gave it to us for free because they only had a single baby octopus left and they even cut it into 4 pieces, which was hilarious and appreciated. Our server was so attentive and helpful and deserves the world! Get the tempura mushroom and pistachio chocolate cake but also anything else on the menu because it's all pretty great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent range of food options and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perfect spot for a date or larger parties. Upscale mellow vibe, solid cocktail program, delicious food and desserts. Staff are always great, one of my favorite places in Oakland.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Really enjoyed ourselves here, food is upscale and really tasty. I thought the prices were fair.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very cute date night ambiance, tikka wagyu labobs are so tasty. We got the trout dish and it was nicely cooked. Service was amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tiny portions don't make food fancy even if it is expensive. Presentation is precious here but isn't better quality than the halal cart in front of my office, and I never leave the halal cart hungry. The Mama's Daal was fine, if slightly stingy, I like lentils and eat them a lot--colorful presentation. Shola-Gorooti Croquettes was fine, started a curious trend of things being served in threes--this was a somewhat expensive dinner and the kitchen is being stingy with a cheap rice ball dish that is hard to split between two people. The Wagyu skewers were in a pomegranate sauce that we were ready to lick off the plate, but the beef was ordinary quality and tiny portions. You could spend $90+ for one person without a cocktail and leave slightly hungry, with lentils and skewers, and lamb shank--nothing against small plates as a concept but that is expensive to leave slightly hungry. The lamb shank was particularly good, but not a lot of bites of meat for $58. Why doesn't the lamb shank come on a pile of seasoned rice? I hate this menu concept so much, it's the worst. We watched the table next to us struggle to eat a ridiculous dessert with spoons--the pastry was too dry and crunchy and jumped around on the plate as they tried to share it between them. The service feels more like being swarmed by flies than good service. At the start, three waiters apparently had different (and increasing) ideas of how full a glass of water should be and kept filling up my glass within as many minutes. And waiters swarmed one after the next to remove a plate that we repeatedly said we weren't done with. A swarm of quiet polite attention isn't service, it's a weird zombie army.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the food really surprised me — it’s different, but still feels close to what I grew up with. You can tell they care about the flavors, and they’ve put their own spin on it without losing the roots. Za bolani hit in a familiar way, just a little more refined. It’s not exactly like home cooking, but it made me think of home. Worth trying if you're curious to see what Afghan food can look like in modern America.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I expect the days of easily getting a reservation. Here are going to be short-lived. The entire experience was spectacular. Space is high ceiling artistically decorated and laid out. Just a great vibe. Overall service was impeccable absolutely stellar, cocktails, beautiful stemware, innovative options, and wonderful classics. I like to see like the Gibson on the menu they made perhaps the best Vesper I’ve ever had. The food was a take on Afghani cuisine, wonderful spices, interesting meats like a lamb shank, but we were told the chef is Venezuelan so had some unexpected flare to it. All of it exuded love as it was placed upon the table. Make sure to get the croquettes and bolanis as you’ll likely want. Three more servings of the sauce comes with for the rest of your food because it was incredible. Chapli kebabs another star. A + I love this neighborhood and it’s wonderful to have such a great restaurant added to the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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