Comal

I like this place more and more. The star is the back patio — fireplace, casual seating, and easy to walk into most nights. We need more spots where you can wander in, meet some friends, and eat some snacks or get a full meal. I’ve been here a few times just to nibble on some Sikil Pak (this dip is really, really good) and the salsas and they’re happy to have me. It’s a nice meetup place before the Freight & Salvage or Berkeley Rep, or a great place to come for food afterwards. I also went to a friend’s birthday party here and they brought out some great dishes — I’d like to try more of their 2 – 3 person roasts, but they’re not in the casual spirit I’m usually here. I don’t really like many of the other ‘fine dining’ options downtown — Five is okay, Revival has let me down a few times, Gather is good but reservations are challening — but this place is great.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for some time and the opportunity came along with an invite to a Berkeley Rep performance. Glad we had called for reservations. After a brief wait in line, we were seated right away. I was impressed iimmediately by the service… quick and friendly. We ordered some starters: jicama/​cucumber salad and guacamole. Generous portions. The complimentary chips and 3 salsas were another starter. Our margaritas arrived quickly. They were perfectly sweet and tart and salted just right. I ordered the Chile relleno and my friend had the chicken mole tamal. They were both perfectly seasoned and made with care. My Chile relleno was very flavorful and well-​seasoned without being overly spicy or greasy. I can’t wait to go back and try other things on the menu. A great dining experience. Not inexpensive but we’ll worth it as an occasional treat.

After two recent visits this is my favorite premium Mexican food restaurant in the East Bay. I will gladly drive from Walnut Creek to enjoy their cocktails, tacos, guacamole and tamales. The service is excellent with an attentive staff. I’ll be back.

Good cocktail. Good fries. But they automatically added a 20% service charge to the bill. WTF! I can’t begin to say how much I hate that. This is the last time Comal will see me as a customer.

I’ve been here many times, primarily to enjoy the outdoor space…
Unfortunately they will not allow a party of 5 or more to sit outside as a RULE (even on a slow Monday)…
So instead of pulling up a chair OR allowing our group split in two smaller groups — they turned away our business.
Attitude duly noted — I’d recommend dinner in an alley with a garbage fire before I would send someone to experience this unapologetic nonsense.

Ambiance: Great open and modern space. They have seating indoors and outdoors so wherever you sit you’ll be surrounded by great décor and a lively scene. It gets pretty packed around dinner so be sure to get there early if you don’t have a reservations!
I heard drinks are the thing to get here but I wasn’t in the mood so I just got the chips/​salsa and albondigas. The chips and salsa were delish and ranged in spiciness. The main dish I got was smaller than expected but they were very flavorful and paired well with the side I ordered.
Realized that when it got more packed the level of service did decline though which is why I took away a star.

My partner came here just for drinks and dessert and were disappointed.
1. Two tiny desserts and two drinks added up to over fifty bucks.
2. Our waiter actually brought neither drinks nor dessert to our table, treated us like crap, and then still got a $ 10 tip automatically added into the cost of our meal by the restaurant. When I put $ 70 on the table, he finally visited our table and did that thing. That unsubtle waiter thing. You know that thing? Where they reach out for the cash and say: «I’ll bring you back *pregnant pause* …chaaaaAAANGE?» Yeah, dude. You’ll bring us back change. You’re not getting a $ 20 tip for… whatever just happened.
3. The drink was extremely weak. And it tasted like Tang. And it was very expensive.
4. The desserts were meh.
Not going back.

I just don’t understand all the hype about this place.
Maybe if you’re just going for drinks and chips & salsa yes, 5 stars all the way.
But for dinner with friends on a weekday? No thanks. 30 minute wait turned into almost an hour wait and that was after we hawked the communal table and took it over.
Not a fan of restaurants that don’t allow you to alter items on the menu. I wanted chicken added the enchiladas and the chef said no. Ummmm WHY NOT?! ended up ordering the chicken tacos and didn’t even eat them all. Like how in the world do you mess up a freaking taco!!! Just trying to hard if you ask me.
Pros– chips & salsa & arroz con leche.

I was really hoping for a much better experience here. It seems like a super popular place and everyone loves it, but I didn’t like it that much.
Drinks I ordered the palomaesque. I’ve noticed I’m on a grapefruit kick right now. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s just been an interesting thing. Mostly because it makes it easier for friends to know what I’m going to order.
We started off with some chips and guacamole. These weren’t bad, and I did enjoy the chunks of avocado in the guacamole. Some of the chunks were definitely a little bit too big — like a whole slice of avocado that wasn’t smooshed. The salsa was good too. A bit too spicy for me, but good.
We also ordered the cod tacos and chicken tamale to share. The cod tacos were pretty good. I enjoyed the fish and the pickled cabbage included. It brought this nice acidic note needed with the fish. The chicken tamale was good too — not as good though. I think the tamale was a bit cold and I just feel like it needed more filling rather than the masa.
In addition, we had ordered the ceviche and it never came. I was super disappointed. At least we didn’t get charged for it. It would have been a bit too much food, but I love ceviche and would have loved to try it.
I think overall I just didn’t love the service I was getting (especially with the mix up). The food was decent, but not that amazing — unless we’ve just been ordering the wrong things.
protip: get there early, and apparently your entire party has to be there to get a place on the waitlist. How lame.

I thought I had reviewed Comal before, guess not. It had been at the top of my list of gourmet Mexican restaurants if you don’t mind the cost so much. The food made it worth it, but not this time. I was greatly disappointed tonight which must have been my 5^th or 6^th time here.
First off, I do not like the mandatory 20% tip. Many people don’t notice it before they get the bill and no one tells you. I usually tip 20% but I want it to go for good service. What if the service isn’t good? Besides the money goes to management. How do I know whether anyone working there gets the money? How do I know this is not a way around the Berkeley minimum wage?
They do have a delicious chile relleno, but it did not have the menu advertised herb epazote. I know epazote. This was chopped romaine lettuce. The tomato sauce on top was delicious, but no epzaote. Don’t feign sophistication to justify high prices.
I usually always order the enchiladas each time I come. I love the chile coloradito described for these turkey enchiladas. I have had that there before, but the guy next to me at the bar ordered it and I noticed when his order came it was dry and almost completely lacking of the chile coloradito sauce.
I skipped the enchiladas because of this in favor of the tamale with pork (picatta?) filling. It was to have a guajillo sauce but it was pretty much lacking in flavor. I’ve never had guajillo chile sauce lacking in flavor before. How did they do that? It had one item in the filling that was not mentioned in the menu — that was potatoes. This was the main filling. I’m not against potatoes, but come on, if you’re proud of it put it in your very descriptive menu. I guess they know potato tamales will not sell that well.
Last I had the rock cod tacos that were described in the menu as with marinated spicy cabbage. Not really! It was a mayonnaise based cole slaw that was not the least bit spicy. I had to push the cole slaw aside to find a very small filling of fish — definitely more cole slaw than fish. By the way, the fish was cold under the cold cole slaw.
After 20 reservations at Open Table, I had a $ 20 certificate. Even with that discount my bill was $ 50 for one person. 1 Chile Relleno — $ 10; 2 fish tacos $ 13; 1 tamale $ 10. — of course, no rice and no beans and no chips and no salsa. 2 house margaritas $ 20. plus tax, plus 20% forced gratuity, minus $ 20 open table certificate = $ 50?
All in all, I was very disappointed. I’m also suspicious as to whether the food was made to order. I ordered each item, one by one. Almost as soon as I ordered — the food was in front of me. I’m thinking maybe 3 to 5 minutes from order to arrival. That’s what you expect at Taco Bell, not in a gourmet place like this.
It’s a very nice facility and I’m sure their rent is sky high, but it will be long time before I come back to this overly pretentious place with duplicitous menu descriptions. I’ll be sticking with Nopalito’s or Nido’s when I want gourmet Mexican.

A truly beautiful place, highly recommended by my dear friend SG Danny (as I will lovingly refer to him throughout my Unilocal career, lol). Interior is gorgeous, atmosphere is incredibly warm and inviting, bathroom are gorgeous and clean, as is the bar area and entire seating space! What a great place for Downtown Berkeley :)
The food was… really good, but generally didn’t meet up to my expectations. Having dined within the past month at a comparable SoCal vehicle (see: Vaca, in Costa Mesa, CA), I was hoping for a lot more that I didn’t receive: flavor combinations were so-​so, temperature and presentation was average, and although I enjoyed the hell out of my tacos and quesadilla, everything still needed a small sprinkling of salt.
The cocktails were impeccable. I thought in general they were a bit on the sweet side, but let’s not nitpick — those were what I ordered, lol.
Aside from the slightly above average mediocrity of the food, and the delightful yet predictable nature of the drinks, 20% was automatically added to our bill. This is why I disagree with this practice:
– I requested extra chips twice. Never received them.
– Our server seemed more annoyed that we were even there, until near the end when he finally cracked a smile/​somewhat of a joke. In other words, if I’m paying you 20% of my total way overpriced bill, you better at least have some humanity in your eyes when you halfheartedly ask me how things are.
– No offense to SG Danny, but… well, I’m a full-​functioning, fully employed adult. Not everyone who comes in here is a college kid, so you don’t need to be so abrupt or mildly condescending.
I really enjoyed the overall time we had at Comal, but I think that mainly had to do with the fact that I was super enjoying SG Danny’s company more than anything else :) Comal is A-​OK, but I don’t really foresee myself returning on a regular basis OR recommending this to other folks, just on principle alone for that mandatory 20%.

4 stars ONLY for their drinks, relaxing back patio and lovely fire pit.
Perfect place to end a date night with romantic fire and lighting. Lol
Yes drinks are way overpriced and I wasn’t a fan of the automatic 20% gratuity. No restaurants or businesses should be allowed to make that mandatory. Maybe 10% and customers tip on top of that if service was great.
Haven’t tried the food and no desire to.

4.5 stars.
We love coming here and sit at the Chef’s table. The fire grill is right in front of the table to keep one warm in this open and spacious restaurant.
The food is excellent but keep away from raw seafood crudo. We had the hamachi crudo and scallop crudo — both are fishy.
Must haves:
— spring chicories. The salad here is super fresh and I love this one because the chicories taste like it comes straight from the local farm and the vinaigrette perfectly elevates the flavor of the greens to make this a perfect starter.
Chicken taco — the marinated chicken is super juicy. The carrot and garnishes are a bit spicy to give it a bit of kick.
Solid:
Cucumber and jicama salad — usually I don’t love jicama since it’s a bit bland. But it totally works in this dish with a bit of lime juice and Mexican spices.
Wine by the glass and cocktails are quite good here too!

Comal was a pleasant surprise for dinner on a Sunday night. We strolled in at 8 pm and were seated immediately.
Drinks are great, and I’d recommend the Swizzle with mezcal or the Quince Essential. The former is a tropical fruit blast with a mezcal swish at the end, and the quince is a more laidback and subtle sipping cocktail.
The appetizers were solid, and their chicharones are great drenched in hot sauce. The chips come out piping hot, and the three salsas are all fresh though not that spicy.
We split the mole pork enchiladas and the rajas tamales. Both were well-​flavored and looked great in presentation.
Try their chocolate budin if you love pudding. Not too sweet and the bitterness shines through.

4 star cocktails, 2 star food.
Ordered a Comal Swizzle at the bar. On top of just being a really pretty cocktail to look at, it tasted great while not being overly sweet or skimping on the alcohol content. Tried sips of my friends’ drinks, and they were consistently good also. If only the food was as good as the cocktails.
The chips and guacamole as an appetizer were great, particularly because the tortilla chips were super fresh and crispy. But that was the highlight of the entire meal… which is pretty sad for a Mexican restaurant.
I ordered the chicken tamale with mole, and the mole was pretty flavorless, even though I usually love mole. The masa in the tamale was also dry, and what I expected to be a generous filling for a $ 10 tamale was a few shreds of chicken. A few of my friends ordered tacos, which were not on par with any average taqueria, and were extremely overpriced at $ 12-​$ 13 for two tacos.
Of course, I understand that some restaurants charge a premium for ambience and service, and I admit that Comal is a beautiful restaurant. But the food was far below average, and service was lacking.
If I’m back, it’ll only be for the cocktails and the chips & guacamole.

I had a total misconception of Comal. I pictured overpriced, bougie, subpar Mexican food in a trendy setting. Although it isn’t your average taqueria prices, Comal is still serving up some tasty, a wee bit more upscale and pricey Mexican. Some dishes are a homerun, while others lacking. I don’t think I’d come here for the food alone, but for the vibe, the atmosphere and with a group that involves some margs, yep. And, can we talk about their back space? Come sunny, warm temps, that is the place to be!
Cocktail lists runs ya about $ 10-​$ 12 for a margarita and other. With the addition of the mandatory 20% service charge, it gets pricy.
The chips, guac and salsa is a must, but do ask for more chips. That homemade salsa is terrific and you really can’t go wrong with the bright, fresh, creamy guac.
The tacos. I’d say this was the most frustrating part of the meal. This is where the overpriced Mexican comes in. $ 12 for 2 small tacos is crazy. Were the meats well flavored and seasoned? Yes, but ’twas mini tacos. I’d also like to highlight that I was most excited for the grilled fish and those were my least favorite. No flavor explosions, served at room temp, they were a let down. Tacos are a pass.
However, I enjoyed the chile relleno, the tamales and the enchiladas. Again, this isn’t your taqueria prices and portions, so manage those expectations and you’ll enjoy.
Overall, Comal is convenient. The real winner is the great space and vibe, but they offer up solid food at prices that do add up. Keep that in mind, and I’ll think you’ll be all good!

Wow, I was really surprised to see people lashing out on Unilocal about the automatic 20% tip — I was planning on praising the new movement! In my opinion, tipping is a hassle and other countries automatically include gratuity in the cost of the food so why shouldn’t we? It’s better for the employees but I also like being spared of having to do the math at the end of my meal, especially after a drink or two!
But onto the food… We got the chips and salsa, which were really tasty. The chips were freshly fried and crispy, and my favorite salsa was the spicy chipotle one. I then ordered the rabbit quesedilla with pea shoots ($ 13) and it was excellent. It was flavorful and surprisingly dense and filling. I also had a cocktail with quince and mezcal — refreshing, spicy, and a little smokey, served up. It was a nice twist on the classic mezcal citrus and spicy drink. Overall, 4 stars to good food and good drinks.

I have no complaints for Comal. Been here a couple times and have been pretty satisfied with the food, service and ambiance. I most recently came here for restaurant week and was surprised to find a table immediately for two on a Friday night around 6:30, especially when the restaurant already looked almost packed.
We ordered the chips and guac/​salsa appetizer, black beans, brussel sprouts, and mushroom quesadilla. The chips were so fresh (with generous refills), the salsas were divine, and I loved that the brussel sprouts were prepared with sunflower seeds (I think they were sunflower seeds?) The tortilla for the quesadilla was a black bean one, which was a nice change. We topped it all off with a chocolate boudin, and while I didn’t know what a boudin was before we ate it I was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t think Comal is trying to serve «authentic» Mexican food, it’s clearly serving a modernized interpretation of mexican cuisine. So people who want really authentic Mexican food should understand that’s not what Comal is and should go somewhere else.
While Comal isn’t the cheapest dinner option, I can understand the prices given the quality and upscale environment. I’ve come here for a birthday and date night and have found it to be a cool location for both occasions.

If you’re looking for a pretty looking, obnoxious, overhyped «mexican» restaurant that overcharges for subpar meals come here.
First of all there are very limited vegetarian options, which is really annoying. I opted for the mushroom quesadilla, which at first was really interesting, but I couldn’t eat more than a piece. It just tasted really odd with an awkward yet overpowering combination of flavors. My friend had the chicken tamale which she thought was horrible.
The automatic 20% gratuity is the nail in the coffin. I truly felt ripped off coming here, and I will not be returning.

This place has a huge outdoor space as well as a nice dining area. My friend and I split the watermelon spice salad which was refreshing for a warm summer evening. I ordered a tamale and my friend ordered the quesadilla and an adult beverage. The tamale was filling and tasty with mole sauce. I had a few bites of the quesadilla which was also quite tasty.
They have a good selection of drinks so if you’re looking for a place with a lot of drink options this is a good place to visit. They’re not far from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. My friend said she’d probably go back here for drinks. Another friend of mine went here twice in a week. You be the judge.