O Chamé

Had 2 delicious lunches here. The staff is very accomodating about making dishes vegan and will tell you if there is fish in the sauce or egg in the tempura batter, etc. Japanese root veggies excellent. The atmosphere (as described perfectly in Nique’s 8÷13÷13 review) is soothing. Ideal place for relaxed, fresh, satisfying meal — I hope to see O Chame reincarnated again — soon.

They have closed. Not sure where/​if/​when they are moving but while the food and overall atmosphere were good, this spot was a little strange.
We never really wanted to come back because the experience was a little bizarre. why? maybe not worth going into. But: the fish we had was delish and it hit the spot in a cold winters night.
Rents must be very high on 4^th St.

4.5
Too bad this place is closing. The space is adorable. The service is great. The food is delicious! I really hope the owner decides to re-​open in a new location.

Went last night for a farewell dinner. R.I.P. you will be missed!

I bookmarked this place to try after seeing their menu having served with fish broth. I made it out here late yesterday afternoon prior to a lengthy hike at Tilden Park and Wildcat Canyon.
This charm has its charms: nice interior and outdoor seating for those who enjoy that. Unfortunately, for the latter, those outdoor tables (apparently built with boulders or the like) can make for uncomfortable seating because the base is solid and I was constantly bumping my knee to it.
As for the food, a bowl of udon for over $ 14 is rather pricey. The sardine udon I ordered I haven’t had before and it was good, but whether it’s $ 14+ good to the point where I’ll crave to come back regularly is up for my debate.
Now the staff. The Asian hostess who greeted me was friendly. However, service for me was handed over to one of Caucasuan lady, and she and the other one working there at the time shows signs of snootiness. Still, okay experience overall.

We enjoyed a lovely Father’s Day lunch outside on the patio area of O Chame. It was our first meal there, and we will surely be back asap, as we are frequently visiting this area of Berkeley.
The location is in the middle of the busy little 4^th Street shopping district, almost across from the Apple Store. The inside seemed a bit packed, but there was plenty of space for us (and our baby & gear) outside, and we enjoyed he nice weather and atmosphere. The tables are nicely set with rocks used for decoration and as chopstick settings.
O Chame has a very diverse menu, but the soba and udon dishes seemed to be the focus from my perspective, although my wife was delighted with her tonkatsu bento.
My prawn tempura soba was fantastic, the best I have had outside of Japan actually, and it will lure me back to the restaurant for sure. We also tried a rib appetizer and the seared hamachi, and enjoyed them very much as well.
Anyways, in the ‘moderate’ price range, this is a fabulous Japanese option for lunches and dinners, and it doesn’t get much better in this price range. We were impressed with the assembly and flavor of each of the 4 dishes we ordered, and we were very happy with our service as well. Thanks for a GREAT Father’s Day meal and see you again very soon, O Chame!

Cute little restaurant. The owner was very friendly.
I thought the food was over priced and it just tasted okay. Nothing spectacular. I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here again.

Since when does Udon noodles cost $ 15 plus tax and tip? You’ll spend $ 20 for that bowl of noodle soup. Is it worth it?
The soup is good, I’ll give ‘em that. The price, not so good, but I guess everything is expensive nowadays.
Service was ok. Nothing to complain about but also nothing to get excited about either.
Entrée items cost over $ 20 ea.
Parking is a pain in this area. There is a lot in the back that is almost always full.

I like the space with simple decorations and murals carved into the plaster of the walls.
We started with the arugula and beet salad with salted egg (
) which tasted like a regular boiled egg :(
I had the Smoked Trout Soba with Spinach and Enoki Mushrooms (
). Flavorful broth. Generous amount of very smoky trout (7 pieces). The noodles somewhat mushy & overcooked.
Grilled Salmon with Broccoli-​Rabe, Wakame Seaweed and Enoki Mushrooms (
). Nicely cooked to rare/​med-​rare, but the fish itself did not have any seasoning so definitely needed the sauces.
Nit: seemed like cheap stemware for their entrée prices in the upper $ 20’s (
).

Best Braised Beef Udon in the bay area.
Service is very friendly and the environment is extremely relaxing. The ambience and warm food make it a great place to relax.

I have fallen for Fourth Street.
It’s 5:30pm on a warm autumn night, the sun is setting, and the fog is safely on the other side of the bay. The leaves are yellow and red — are you sure we’re in California? — and crunch underfoot. Twinkling lights adorn the restaurant patios. Kids are dressed up in capes («It’s a CLOAK!!!») in anticipation of Halloween.
On this enchanted evening, we stepped into O Chame to dine. The minimalist décor is calming, all wood and clean lines and dim lighting. The candles add to the romantic, cozy ambiance. More importantly, the food is delicious. We started with plum wine, which could have easily been dessert. All of the soups looked appetizing; after a long debate, I went for the Udon noodle soup with smoked trout, spinach and Enoki mushrooms. The smoked fish was salty and perfect with the mild broth and vegetables. My friend had Udon noodle soup (the alternative is Soba noodles) with duck, spinach and takuan, which he inhaled.
If you find yourself hungry on Fourth Street and want something savory and substantive, the soup here is delicious. The prices are steep, so I recommend skipping the appetizers and alcohol and going straight for the main course.

The food here is really excellent. Some of the dishes may come off as a little plain at first, but the way they pair them with certain sauces or the use of unusual ingredients is certainly appealing.
For example, the green onion and corn pancakes… They’re great, right? But something about them also says you can make them yourself at home pretty easily. That is, until you try the accompanying sauce. It’s a really great dish executed beautifully.
The crab and yukon gold potato croquettes are similar. They’re really really tasty, but also not overly complicated. The sauce pairing really puts them over the top, though.
The first time I dined at O Chamé, I had a main course. Last night we all ended up ordering the soups. I got the Duck with Udon noodles and it was phenomenal. The duck seemed to get more tender as it sat longer in the broth. Lots of flavor there. My dad got the chicken and Udon, and his wife got the Duck and Soba combination. They were all great in their own right.
The service was friendly, but as others have said, they’re not overly social unless you know them personally. The first time I was taken here it was by a friend who knew the owners. They’re very nice people!
Overall, I highly recommend this place!

O Chamé! What a shamé that I didn’t discover you sooner!
I never knew how sexy noodle soup could be until slurping up my bowl of buckwheat soba, smoked trout, spinach, and enoki mushroom broth in O Chamé’s soothing, earth-​toned dining room. The whole place emits a warm glow, with lots of organic materials that give it a simple elegance. Whatever feng shui is, O Chamé has it down. This place makes you feel calm and euphoric the moment you walk in.
Or, on a (rare) balmy evening, sitting on the tranquil, twinkle-​lit outdoor patio with burly carved wood tables would be pretty amazing.
The service was pleasant and prompt, just like you want on date night. The noodle bowls, while seemingly pricey, were filling and uniquely delicious (though, the smoked trout was too salty for my taste). There’s a small menu of beer, wine, and sake to round out your experience. High-​end Japanese perfection.
O Chamé is one of those spots I’d be excited to return to, and would reserve those visits for special friends and special occasions. You should too.

Food — Yummy! BUT luke warm when it arrived.
Ambiance — Perfect
Service — So-​so, the server didn’t recommend anything or go out of his way to be genuine. He did exactly what was needed to wait on our table.
MAKE RESERVATIONS or you don’t get in before 8:30pm. A lot of people were using the Groupon coupon when we went. I’m not sure if that played into how packed the restaurant was that night.
The food would’ve been good had it not come out LUKE WARM. Did it sit under a lamp for a while? Not sure… the fish was succulent, the hamachi that came with the salad was fresh. The flavor was definitely there, but not necessarily the service.
DESSERT: Came with the Groupon. Their most expensive dessert is the poached pear with a glaze and strawberries. I was unimpressed. Pay me $ 8 and I I could’ve done that.
They also have a ginormous plant sitting in the middle of a table where more people can be seated. There was an awkward couple where the dad was standing as the mother fed her son while sitting in front of the plant. I thought that was a little awkward. I would switch this out for 3 smaller tables if you’re having trouble fitting people in the restaurant already. Is that plant’s spot really worth the $$ you’d be getting from having a 3^rd table in the entrance/​center of the room? I’d rather have a shorter wait time than to look at a plant.
The walls are beautifully decorated with hand carvings into the wall, as if someone had just poured concrete on the wall and made a design in the concrete. LOVE the art in the restaurant.
LOVE the location.

Blown away by the service of OC:
*our server pointed out I could throw in the hamachi on the green salad, even though it would cost OC more, b/​c I had a prepaid Groupon
*stellar service, same as other tables w/​o Groupons, some restos are not the kindest when you whip out a coupon
*after some perusing on 4^th, I needed to use the ladie’s room, I was welcomed back with open arms
The food was expertly prepped, well executed and quite good. From the light tempura batter, to the lush salmon, a very nice lunch and ambiance to boot.

The food at O Chame is very flavorful and delicious.
For our starter, we shared a mixed green with yellow tail sashimi. The sashimi’s freshness was very evident. For our entrees, we had the roasted wagyu bavette steak with chard, edaname, and mushrooms. It was ordered medium-​rare, but it came out more towards the medium side. The other entrée was the roasted black cod over broccoli rabe, seaweed and mushrooms. This cod was perfectly prepared with excellent flavors. For dessert, we had the caramel, balsamic gelato, which was very good.
Besides the eight udon items, there are only three entrees on the menu. Our entrees were $ 28.50 and $ 26.50, which I think are a little pricey.
The restaurant has a nice décor and the service was attentive. We were there on a Friday evening and had reservations, which is advisable since there was a slight waiting time for some patrons.

I don’t know why the reviews are so low here. Yes, it’s expensive but you get what you pay for. We had the Groupon which enabled us to try four items today. The yellow tail was the tastiest I’ve had. 7 fresh pieces of yellow tail melted in my mouth– they had a sweet mayonnaise sauce drizzled on top and were presented on a bed of delicious leeks.
My salmon came in two large fillets. The salmon was moist. The broccoli rabe, seaweed, and mushrooms underneath the salmon was fresh and sweet. A small bowl of hot white rice came with it. My husband enjoyed his curried lamb shoulder. The lamb came in a giant bowl where many chunks of super tender lamb swam in a sweet curry miso flavored broth. There were generous amounts of spinach and mushrooms in his lamb bowl. It is a comforting dish.
The dessert with poached pears had big pieces of fresh strawberries in it. It was a simple but elegant dessert. I would make this at home. Pear and strawberries go really well together. With the Groupon, this meal still cost 50 dollars but I thought it was worth it because the quality and quantity was there. I’m definitely coming back. It’s a nice quiet restaurant where a quality conversation can be had even with a full house. Highly recommended for dinner.

This review has been skewed by my Groupon coupon. You have been be warned.
i thought this place was going to be empty at 7pm but the entire restaurant was filled. I didn’t have reservations, so I thought I was going to have to wait forever but there just happened to be a table for two in the back. Before ordered, I carefully read the groupon conditions and decided to maximize the value by ordering the most expensive dishes I could.
Mixed baby salad greens with yellowtail sashimi for appetizer, grilled wagyu steak and panko crusted deep fried swordfish for entrees and the yuzu mango granita with vanilla ice cream for dessert. First, I must mention O Chamé provides a nice helping of veggies. Normally, I don’t eat veggies when I eat out. Terrible I know but I can’t imagine spending more than $ 5 on a salad.
The mixed baby green salad was not special. Just some greens tossed in a vinaigrette on top of six pieces of yellowtail. After this appetizer, I was expecting the meal to go downhill but the entrees won me over. The flavor taste so light and refreshing, no heavy cream or fatty sauces here. Wagyu was cooked very nicely. The green chard, edamame beans, and chanterelles went well with the beef. The panko swordfish had a great dipping sauce. Poured the sauce on top of my rice to give it flavor. And I ate the endives and eggplant was sides. As for dessert, the vanilla ice cream was good.
Without the Groupon, I would have rated O Chamé lowered because the entrees are very pricey for the amount of food you get. I would have probably gotten udon instead to save a few bucks. But with a Groupon, O Chamé was fantastic.
What I recommend:
— Grilled Wagyu Bavette Steak with Green Chard, Edamame Beans and Chanterelles

Dang!

Me and my roommate really wanted some japanese food. So we Unilocaled a place and this was the closest place to our apartment. We saw the pictures of tonkatsu and we were already running out the door.
But FYI — this place has a set menu that I believe changes everyday. We went on a day where the main dish was either soba or udon. Needless to say, we didn’t get a chance to try the tonkatsu.
Service:
This is the only place where I would dock off a star. Would a smile hurt?! The staff seem friendly by their actions, but they also seemed depressed and unhappy. But they were attentive and professional. But a smile would make my dinner so much more lively!
Food:
Roasted Duck with Soba — Delicious! The duck was cooked to perfection. The soup was flavorful (although it’s msg soup, but at least they didn’t put too much)
Smoked Fish with Udon — Absolutely delightful! I didn’t care too much for the fish, but my roommate loved it and she’s a big fish eater.
Overall:
O’Chame is a little pricey, but I would definitely recommend at least trying this place at least once.