eVe

My friend and I came here as a treat to ourselves while we were in school. I was surprised to hear that they had closed, but I guess the couple is working on opening up another concept at this spot sometime in the near future.
My friend started with the dr. pepper braised slab bacon and I had the squid ink risotto. We both followed up with the butcher’s steak. Then he finished with a cheese course while I finished with a pandan cake and chocolate.
Everything was flavorful yet somehow remained light despite the 3 course menu. Sad to hear that eVe is no longer there, but I’m sure the next restaurant will be a winner as well

I’m not sure I understand the disappointment of some other reviewers. eVe is a restaurant for those who wish to broaden their palate and explore some new taste ideas. My family of four went to eVe for New Year’s Eve. It was $ 80 prix fixe five course meal plus $ 25 for the wine pairing. Right around the beginning of the fourth course I knew we had easily gotten our money’s worth.
The scallops and duck were particular standouts but generally each item arrived perfectly done with real thoughtfulness and care to every ingredient. Generally I leave a restaurant feeling that they did a better job of cooking something I could have pulled together at home given the time and energy. eVe went beyond that with dishes and combinations I would not have thought of and done in a way that would be simply hard to reproduce.
Chez Panisse was, by comparison, a bitter disappointment at twice the price and has been a sore point with my family ever since. If you’re looking for something new and fresh executed to a very high standard eVe is your destination of choice.

Sometimes I am not in the mood to try new things but my husband dragged me to eVe telling me it would be special. Lucky for both of us it was!
Everything from the warm potato bread with melting butter and sea salt to the unique and artistic entrees was executed flawlessly. The servers were gracious and not at all pretentious and everything we tasted was revelatory! This is a special spot and I would highly recommend it. Bravo!

Places like this make me crazy. I love new foods, but that does not mean that I want every bite of my food to be an «experience.»
We got the tasting menu and were so disappointed with the consistently unbalanced flavors in almost every dish. If you like clean food, don’t go here.
What looked like beautiful sea bass was covered in an interesting but not particularly good aji pepper sauce. There were pickled things in dishes that shocked the tongue unpleasantly. A tomato soda, while unusual, simply does not taste good. The ahi was very good, but was almost ruined by the insanely salty seabean I bit into. The curry in the cannoli was, again, interesting, but not particularly good… Most of it was left on the plate and it was shared amongst 3 people. So frustrating.
By the time the meal was over I was glad… And that NEVER happens. But they gave us one more cookie — a chocolate macaroon. Unfortunately, the damned celery seed in the macaroon was the flavor that stayed in my mouth and between my teeth for the next hour. Such a frustrating meal.
Of the many disappointing dishes presented, the gazpacho was delightful. There was a pleasant surprise of a grape-​like berry that worked very well with the rest of the dish. Our whole table responded positively to every bite. It was interesting AND balanced.
So if you are not hungry, planning on spending a lot of money on a small amount of food and, just like the capital V in the name, it makes you want to ask «why would they put that in there?» all night, welcome to eVe.

Came here with 2 friends to enjoy the ultimate dining experience.
This place definitely opened our minds to trying different items we would normally not order.
Ill have to give credit to our waitress who was very patient and knowledgeable on all the items… it was hard for us to decide since they offered the grand tasting menu which included about 12 items on the menu for 2 @ $ 110…of course, there was 3 of us, along with the not so appealing sounding items (tongue and gazpacho) so we pondered over what to do for about 20 minutes. Our waitress assured us we would not be disappointed and decided to get the grand tasting for 2 in addition to fixed menu for 1… this worked out perfectly
There were some hit and misses but there was definitely art on our plates… well presented for sure. Ill just say our least favorite item was the ‘vegetable soda’…tasted like green tomatoes with seltzer water… either way, it was ‘ok’
Oddly, the kobe beef tongue was not bad despite our reservations. It was sliced thinly and almost tasted like pastrami… and the strawberry gazpacho had a good flavor and not like a smoothie as we had anticipated.
Overall, i think our favorite dish was probably the sea bass and filet of beef. I’m glad we came here to experience the variety of flavors and highly recommend. I don’t think i will be coming back any time soon since there are so many other restaurants to explore.

eVe is a small restaurant, but I didn’t feel cramped with good spacing between tables. I love modern décor, so I really enjoyed the space. The servers were friendly and informative. We decided to go with the tasting menu, which gave us a taste of almost the entire regular menu. Each dish of the tasting menu came out on a single plate, so I had to share with my dining partner. People often complain about leaving a restaurant hungry with tasting menu. You definitely won’t get this problem at eVe. Good portions for two people.
I really appreciate the theme of light and fresh flavors without being bland. There were some very solid dishes, and my favorite was the salmon. Nicely cooked salmon and it went really well with the coconut flavor. I think eVe has good potential, but there were a few shortcomings. The shrimp risotto had nicely and properly cooked risotto, but the shrimp fell a little short. Not very impress with any of the dessert we had that night. They weren’t bad, but not worthy of three Unilocal stars.

Not gonna lie, I thought it was way too expensive for way too little food. My date and I went to Trader Joes for seconds. Yeah, it was good. But maybe just not for a student’s budget. When you only make $ 10 an hour, it’s just not that good.
But the bathroom. I’m glad noone posted pictures of it yet, because you should go see it yourself! It’s pretty cool. Buy a drink or something, and just go check out the bathroom. Think of it as a field trip, not a gastronomical experience.

I hope eVe starts a new dining trend like Chez Panisse did decades before. Not sure if it has a name but I’m calling it relaxed fine dining and it should have the following characteristics:
— Seasonal Prix Fixe menu with freedom of choice.
— Unpretentious atmosphere.
— Knowledgeable and friendly staff.
— Intimate setting. More of a neighborhood restaurant and not a massive fine dining factory that can seat hundreds and has a wine book instead of a wine list.
— Artistically prepared dishes highlighting good ingredients.
We first went in December of 2010 and the menu that time had a Japanese feel to it. Not that it was Japanese cuisine by any means but there were little touches like nori in the amouse-​bouche or Japanese influenced plates. Kicking myself for not taking a photo of the menu.
We also went for their Chocolate-​inspired Valentine’s Day menu. The chefs had just been to Peru so this meal had a South American feel to it, especially the duck with dark chocolate chili sauce. The dishes overall were excellent. There was only one course I felt the chocolate didn’t enhance the dish.
A couple of «bests» in this dinner. The scallion tasted amazing. Kind of a mild pungency that spreads over your mouth. Oxymoron, yes, but don’t know how else to explain it. Also the best malt ice cream I’ve ever had. Better than the malt ice cream I had at Ici, and that’s saying a lot.

Thursday, 6:30PM. Reservations.
Restaurants in the Bay Area make a point to acknowledge and promote the provenance of ingredients on their menus (necessary obeisance to Alice Waters, holla!). eVe upholds this standard, playing on the gastronomy trend while keeping the mood casual.
Quickie:
+Chefs start your meal with an amuse-​bouche (and it’s good!)
+Friendly service
+Laid-​back atmosphere (uncommon for this type of high quality food)
*Small venue
And then???
Affordable bourgie food. Be sure to make reservations. Can’t wait for Round Two!
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Amuse-​bouche: crab and kale
+Fresh bite, same consistency
2. Risotto
+Embedded, savory broth with a hint of sweetness from the squid
ink
3. Fava leaf soup
+Almond butter over ‘normal’ butter, makes the soup lighter
4. Potato
+Olives are a nice ‘salty’ contrast to the milder veggies
5. Butcher’s Steak
++Flavorful, crisp exterior
+Citrus sauce adds zest to succulent interior

eVe is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Berkeley.
I always drink champagne when I dine here.
Their Sturgeon dish with White Chocolate, Vodka, Crème Fraiche, & Potatoes was my favorite.
Their Macarons and desserts are always delicious.
I have always been satisfied with their food.
I Love eVe.

I really wanted to like eVe, especially since we definitely need more fine dining in Berkeley. But I’m not sure if I’ll be going back a second time.
My main complaint is that the food seems more about show and technique than about the flavors. There are a lot of «deconstructed”-type dishes where the components just don’t taste very good by themselves. The biggest «miss» dish for me was the poached egg in a soupy broth. I love poached eggs more than just about anything, but as soon as you broke into the egg it was immediately swallowed by the broth so you couldn’t really taste it. Also, the steak was very much oversalted.
One minor complaint was that our server seemed a little inexperienced and somehow off-​putting. I know everyone has to start sometime, but I don’t necessarily expect it from a place of this caliber. We brought a 1983 Lynch Bages, and he looked really scared when we warned him that the cork might be in bad shape. I don’t need a really stuffy server, but service matters when you’re trying to be a nice restaurant.
One nice thing is the dining and kitchen space is indeed very cute, as several Unilocalers have mentioned.
I don’t mind paying for good food, but for the same price you could do better at Gather or even better by making the trip up to Ad Hoc.

I made reservations to eVe in Berkeley on OpenTable, that was easy. Took Bart to Downtown Berkeley and walked about 2 blocks up on Shattuck, Left on University about 3 blocks. Easy.
Small place and can get warm in there. Was too early for reservations so didn’t get window seating, bummed.
2 courses prix fixe meal $ 25, additional courses $ 11. You can get any dishes you want on the menu, even 2 desserts.
I got:
FREE filtered tap water — Berkeley’s finest.
FREE amuse-​bouche — tiny shot glass size soup — tasty.
FREE potato roll — served temperature hot. Soft butter on the side. Tasted ok. Got a 2^nd roll to eat with my meal.
Risotto — saffron, crab, fennel, blood orange, delicata squash. I thought it was a salty, but it was ok overall.
Lamb — oats, turnips, dates, charterelle mushrooms, brussels sprouts. Medium rare was nice, small size. Dish was ok.
FREE 2 tiny macarons — nice.
One unisex bathroom in the back. There’s a small patio in the very back.
Glad I tried it. Credit cards taken.

I am really shocked this place has so many great reviews. My family and I had quite a disappointing experience here.
The meal started off with some kind of fruit purée/​jelly thing. It tasted very bland. I am also not a huge fan of having fruits in my savory dishes– in this case there was a vegetable on my fruit dish.
Next, we waited for our bread. Our waitress excitedly told us it was homemade. Unfortunately, it tasted like it was made a 4 year old. In fact it was probably better suited to be fed to dolls having a tea party. I should have taken this as a bad omen.
This is a restaurant that combines foods that just should not be mixed. I felt like every dish was an experiment– way too many distinct flavors, sweet with savory, dinner with breakfast items– and sadly, the experiment failed. I love lamb so I went for it despite the sad sides it went over (hazelnuts? oats? dates? what the heck?). I also had the equally disappointing ling cod. Almost every dish is topped with some fruit that just should not be there. The ONLY dish that we had that was decent was the Risotto, probably because of the Thai curry (unfortunately it had apples in it).
The most aggravating thing about this meal is not the price, but the fact that the waitress explained the ingredients of every dish and how it was prepared. Heres a tip: if it doesn’t taste good, who cares what is inside of it.
The entire dinner conversation centered on how unimpressive the food here was. After the meal, we all felt bad for being food snobs, but after all, we do have a lot of experience eating out.
This restaurant is good if you don’t know what good food is and you want to have a dining experience that makes you FEEL like you are eating a chez panisse, without the price.

eVe represents a movement in food that I’m a fan of. The evolution of haute cuisine in a more casual environment. To quote Michael Mina in his recent interview on his latest SF ventures:
«I don’t think fine dining will ever go away, but it’s „look and feel“ will change. I see today’s fine dining as guests looking for upscale menus and dishes, knowledgeable service, great wine menus — but in a much more relaxed, comfortable environment.»
Don’t get me wrong, I like to hit end places and contrary to popular belief, I do like to get dressed up every once in a blue moon. However I prefer to be able to where whatever the hell I want and still have an amazing, mind blowing meal. I think we should take our cues from Spain. Every single 3 star Michelin place I went to there had some dude in a t-​shirt and jeans, sitting with the rest of the suits.
Eve’s ambiance, service and food is definitely a step towards what Mina is hinting at. The husband/​wife tandem have done stints at Georges Blanc/​Charlie Trotter’s/Everest, which are all very well regarded restaurants. However when you walked into the small twentysomething seat, railroad car space, there’s a confluence of slightly upscale but comfortable at the same time. We’re greeted by one of the two servers who places us at one of the window seats where we can watch the sun set, the bustle of Berkeley pedestrians and a Volvo backing into a Lexus three times before finally squeezing into a parallel parking spot. We’re taken through the menu which is $ 25 for two courses and $ 11 for everything after. You could conceivably have a ten course meal for $ 113 dollars, consisting of everything on the menu! However we decided to go three course of the following:
–Pork Belly
Cauliflower, Peppers, Garbanzo Beans, Cilantro, Peaches
–Butcher’s Steak
Swiss Chard, Chanterelles, Apricots, Horseradish
–Strawberry
Ginger, Cherries, Coconut, Olive Oil
Now with the ingredients listed as they are, it’s a surprise as to the juxtaposition of how the ingredients are put together or how they’re presented. This makes for a very interesting taste/​texture experience. For instance in the steak entrée, the horseradish was in a crème fraîche and in crisp shavings, while the apricot was both in a purée and in small poached slices. It’s little things like that which show the creativity of the cuisine and also make what maybe straight forward ingredients, a new experience/​perspective.
Service was very friendly and comfortable, with everyone (including the chefs) pitching in as needed. How often do you see the executive chef of a nice place come out and help adjust and set the tables in the front of the house? They were mindful of our time limitation (catching a show up at the Greek) and fired our courses in a well paced manner. We were well taken care of.
Overall, Eve is an exciting new piece in what seems to be a new culinary revolution happening in Berkeley. I think it was time that Alice Waters passed on the torch to the next generation. If you like somewhat cerebral/​experimentation with your dining, you should definitely give this place a try. The experience you get for the price point is definitely worth checking out. I look forward to seeing the evolution.

Really charming tiny place w/​nicely executed food & reasonable rates.
2 courses for $ 25 and any additional $ 11. Felt like I was at a high end Friday’s.
5 savory courses
1 cheese
3 glasses of wine
+
Tip & Tax = $ 144.63
There was a delightfully fresh avocado mousse to start and little macarons to end. I particularly enjoyed the pork belly, frisee salad w/​poached egg & the delicate ling cod.
Overall a satisfying meal with casual service, but just one too many courses had too much going on including drizzles of sweetness I didn’t love.

Six months after their debut on the Berkeley food scene, eVe is stronger than ever. Evident in the choice and quality of their ingredients, they’ve located the top purveyors and refined their techniques, and the results are astounding.
From my first bite of the amuse bouche, a red pepper mousse with asian pear and micro cilantro green, to the sous-​vide lamb flavored with mint, yogurt and apricot sauces atop Israeli cous cous cooked in mint tea accompanied by pea shoots, shitake mushrooms and a shot of green pea gazpacho, to the goats milk panna cotta with poached apricots brightened by lemon thyme sauce and studded with pistachios, the journey was plate after plate of delight. Phew! I am determined to take all my foodies friends here.
Though it’s no longer BYOB and corkage is a Jackson, all but two of the bottles are under forty dollars. Cheers to an excellent meal, folks!

eVe is the ambitious new restaurant in town that shoots for the (Michelin) stars! The service was welcoming, refreshingly friendly, and attentive. Given those two qualities (ambition and genuine kindness), my rating of eVe is – A VERY ENTHUSIASTIC TWO THUMBS UP :)
You can’t go wrong with the FARM EGG with ham hock, kale, chanterelles, and parmesan biscuit. The PORK TENDERLOIN with acai, yuca, plaintain, chayote, and cilantro was delicious. The POTATO with black trumpets, sage, gruyère, king oyster mushrooms, and broccolini was a gustatory delight and adventure for the funghi-​lover. The BRANZINO (fish), udon, swiss chard, lemongrass, water chestnuts, and shiso was not as interesting or complex as it could be. The RISOTTO with morels, english peas, spinach, white truffle, and cippolini onion was darn tasty. The ASPARAGUS SOUP with almonds, watercress, honey, and pancetta was solid.
The server recommended 3 dishes for a good sized meal, and 4 if you are a hearty eater. I have to say that 3 dishes each had us stuffed — the bread dish is replenished often with piping hot bread so it’s easy to fill up. The table next to us got dessert and it looked divine — We will be back to see what eVe cooks up next time. Maybe if we got two dishes instead of three, we’ll have room for dessert!

Ate at eVe on the eve of New Year’s Eve (are you sick of me now?).
Eve-​n (not done yet!) though I had been starving 3 hours earlier, I was surprisingly satiated after the 3 course meal. (Probably due to eating small portions with slow and intentional deliberation — the food at eVe is best consumed this way. Either that, or my stomach had already shrunken from hunger.).
Noteworthy were the delightfully, savory scallops surrounding the creamy, flavorful risotto
(I’d go for this as a main, double or triple in size) and the dark choco mousse with peanut butter ice cream dessert. Celery root soup, short ribs, goat cheese ravioli, and coconut rice dessert were also presented with care and thoroughly interesting to try, if more experimental in taste, rather than seasoned winners. In the end, my stomach was happily coated, if not overly stuffed.
I appreciated all the little touches presented by this young chef couple — the amuse bouche, dark chocolate squares, and individually-​wrapped thank you cookie biscuits to go.
eVe is a nice addition of much-​needed upscale eats in downtown Berkeley, just blocks from BART & right next to Chocolatier Blue.
Promising start for eVe and for the new year to come.

5 courses + a bottle of sparkling wine + a pretty gal to enjoy it with = a damn good night.
This place has only been open 3 weeks. The service was solid, friendly, perceptive, and capable. The chefs and owners walk the floor to check in on you, and are pleasant and engaging.
Food is good, especially considering the extras and the price. The short ribs and bay scallops w risotto were the standouts this evening. They thew in complimentary amuse bouche, free chocolates at the end, and we walked out with complimentary cupcakes or cakes of some sort.
If they can maintain this value, quality and level of service with a full house it will be very impressive.

eVe was her 2012.
Sometimes you do what He wants to do.
Sometimes you do what She wants to do.
At times
It’s a win.
At times
It’s a fail.
All times
It is fun.
He wanted to see the movie 2012.
They went.
It disappointed.
He apologized.
She wanted to check out eVe.
They went.
Elegant modern décor
Black white green
Gorgeous orchid in the bathroom.
Front door
Refused to stay shut
Freezing air
Uncomfortable.
One server
A couple larger parties
And our two top
Almost completely ignored.
Disjointed.
Itty bitty warm rolls
Mahi-​mahi ceviche amuse bouche
Wanted more.
3 dishes
Times 11 dollars
Times 2 people.
Nuances of
Celery Soup
Rock Cod
Slices of Short Rib
Thoroughly explained.
The Artistic Presentation
Left a Strong Impression
On the Eyes.
But
Did not leave a Lasting Impression
On the Stomach
Nor the Tongue.
The Portions
Rather Small.
The Flavors
Understated.
Except for
The wonderful Risotto with
Bits of Scallop.
Inspired.
For dessert
They tried
The Coconut Rice Pudding
The Dark Chocolate Mousse
But actually
The Best Dessert
Was the airy, chewy Candy Cane Meringue
That sugar coated
The tastebuds
But not
The bill.
When they got home
She cooked him
A bowl of pasta with
Garlic
Tomatoes
And a generous sprinkling of
Mea Culpa.