Oscar’s

miss this fuckin’ place!
Blah blah blah. blah blah blah.

From my experience, I have been there several times. The burgers and fries were good.
Is it the best place? nope.

I felt I got the best bang for the buck and the service were consistently personable and professional.
There was no real complaint! …
I am sorry to see it go. Life goes on.

I don’t get the 3 stars… this place makes a perfectly delicious and solid American-​style, working class man’s cheese burger.
I got the double cheese with fries. Burger was a good size, patty was good and proportional, you can see the guy making it in front of you. The fries were mediocre, but decent. Service was barebones acceptable like any fast food joint. Restaurant hygiene was suspect but hey they’re closing soon and I just wanted to get my burger in.
Overall a solid and satisfying cheeseburger.

I now know why they are closing — the place is filthy — the hamburger was so-​so, the milk shake was like a glass of milk and the staff was as disinterested in being there as I should have been…

Sometimes, things don’t work out the way you would imagine they would. For nearly a year comic book icon Erik «the man» Larsen has been promoting this place like it’s the best burger place in the world. That’s what I call a huge endorsement. However, due to this place being located in Berkeley, it’s not exactly a convenience for me to drive my butt over here. However, this past Friday, that all changed.
Apparently Oscar’s is going out of business. Not sure if the owner decided it was time to enjoy life, or it just wasn’t making the money it should be making. Either way, Erik decided to give this place place a little plug with an exclusive limited edition cover for his Savage Dragon book that has Oscar’s on the cover and can only be bought at Oscar’s. Well, you know what that means? I’m driving to Berkeley! I give this place a call and someone answers with some sort of gibberish. I ask, «is this Oscar’s?» and his reply is «Oscar’s!». Hmm… not the most friendly it seems. I ask them if they have the comics in stock and he says they do. So off to Oscar’s I go with the gf and cousin.
About an hour into our journey we nearly get into an accident due to some freak who loses control of his car and merges into us in the carpool lane. Once he realizes how close he comes to killing us, he waves a sorry only to be flipped off by my cousin. About another 45 minutes later we finally arrive at Oscar’s.
The journey that took nearly two hours and nearly claimed our lives had come to an end and burgers and comics were in my near future. Well, not quite. Apparently Oscar’s didn’t have a quota as to how many copies someone could buy and some jerk off bought them all. So the journey that ate up two hours of our lives and nearly killed us and someone bought them all? The bald white dude who I’m assuming was the owner said «come back tomorrow. We’ll have more of them then.» I told him that it took me nearly two hours to come from San Jose and if there was something that could be done. Anything. He didn’t give a crap.
I ordered a cheeseburger which honestly tasted like a glorified whopper at Burger King. Yup. While not bad, it simply tasted like a Burger King burger for three times the price. Not worth $ 20 in gas. You know, I’m pretty friendly when it comes to my reviews and most business’s have something called HUMAN COMPASSION. The fact that I drove to this rinky dink establishment to give them some business should have showed this dude something. I’m not asking for a freaking free meal, but how about a «I’m sorry for your troubles. Here is a soda» or something different than «next customer in line». Screw that.
I went back up a second time and asked him if something could be done since he apparently had more copies close by. Nope. Guy wouldn’t budge. I even asked him if he could mail me one from his house or anything along those lines. «Not worth the hassle» is what I’m told. Thanks dude for not having a quota. Now some Ebay scalper will enjoy selling those comics instead of someone who truly wanted it. Thankfully this place will soon be out of existence and will be forgotten in a matter of months. This place might have been something forty years ago, but now it’s simply a joke.
We went to Umami’s in Oakland for some REAL burgers right after.

This place is finally closing down after many years of below average food. I don’t think this place has been decent I since 1995. No joke. The staff acts like they are doing you a favor. Oh, and I love the interview with the owner Scott where he say’s «I am not a warm and fuzzy guy» Well, now you can go be miserable by yourself, because clearly he doesn’t deserve a business.
Burgers have zero taste
Fries are Costco crap–
Good Bye and Good Riddance

In a nutshell don’t come here if you have enough time (around 10 minutes) to walk around this area as there are many restaurants that are way better than Oscar’s.
Your options here are: Burger (with cheese, bacon, avocado, each for $ 1 extra), chicken breast, steak sandwich and fries.
I’ve only tried their cheese burger, chicken breast, and hot dog. In general the sandwiches here are dry, and they lack any sort of taste. The fries taste very unpleasant (they have this burnt taste to them), and they are way too greasy. As far as the service goes, it’s low quality (I found McDonald’s to have better service than Oscar’s, and I’m not exaggerating). Usually, the place is handled by 2 people, and one of them sometimes disappears, so for a cup of water you might need to wait for a couple of minutes.
The sandwiches are very over priced. Really! The burnt and greasy fries is $ 2.75, and the not so good cheese burger is $ 7. Like I said before, with the price that you pay here you can get much better sandwiches at many other nearby places. The only thing that this place has is their good location, and their OK hours.

Still on fire.
On the door: «Blazin’ in Berkeley since 1950.»
Apparently so considering my chicken breast was quickly consumed by flames on the grill. It was extremely fresh. And with shredded lettuce and tomato on a bun it was extremely good.
Across the table: My good friend who also happens to teach Bikram yoga. Also an extremely hot and extremely good experience.
He told me Oscar’s and their no nonsense, yet quite friendly burger making staff will be closing forever soon. Catch this well worth it $ 6 and change fire while you can.
It’s still good.

Though I went to Cal in the early/​mid 60s, Kip’s was my go-​to hamburger place when I lived in the dorms. It’s no longer what it was, but even when I lived on the north side Oscar’s wasn’t a frequent destination. Once its closing was announced, though, I wanted to go there one last time. So, it seems, did half the population of Berkeley. When Alan and I walked in about 12:45 today there was a line at the grill to order and many of the tables were filled, one w/​a large group, others w/​parties of 4, 3 or 2. The line moved quickly. Lots of double cheeseburgers, one chicken fillet. I asked the man behind the grill if it was possible to get a burger rare. He said yes. I ordered one, meaning to get a cheeseburger, but didn’t remember to say so. Ordered fries, though I’ve been eating minimal potatoes these days. Alan ordered a steak sandwich medium rare and fries.
I took a seat and after a relatively short wait Alan brought over our food. We had water to drink. The fries come unsalted so I added a little. My fries were crispy and good. I finished them. Alan’s weren’t cooked as crispy. I should have shared mine. My hamburger was good, but more like medium than rare. Val’s burgers are bigger and juicier, but then they’re down in Hayward. Alan reported his steak sandwich was OK. Rare enough but a little tough. Unlike some reviewers I’m not celebrating the closure of Oscar’s, but unlike others I’m not grieving it either. It’s been a Berkeley icon for decades but I find my sentimental attachment is more to the outside than to the inside. The owner is ready to be done w/​this phase of his life and I’m OK w/​that.

God I’m glad this place is closing. I heard it was a Berkeley icon and it’s been around since the 50s, so I decided I had to go check it out before it closed. I was really excited to go, but the customer service was so terrible that I really wish I hadn’t. The food was good, but I could make a burger like that without the dirty looks and bad attitudes. Everyone hates their jobs man, suck it up like the rest of us and stop acting like the world owes you something.
Good luck and good riddance.

Noooo, Oscars! Why??? I wish I had known they wanted to sell because I would buy this place and keep it going forever.
Yummy burgers, fries and shakes. To be replaced by some sort out-​of-​state chain selling quinoa salads. If I wanted to eat that, I would go to Source. Which I don’t.
It’s a sad, sad day.

Old school burger joint in Berkeley; closing after 60+ years. Had to come here for High School memories

It’s sad that I didn’t hear about Oscar’s until they announced that they were closing. This place has such an old-​fashioned diner feel, which makes it the atmosphere very homey. It’s unfortunate that we will lose this special place.
First, I ordered a Cheeseburger and fries at the grill. Then, they sent me over to the cash register to pay. Both guys were very nice, but you could tell they were a bit sad that the restaurant was closing. My food arrived fairly quickly, and my friend’s Steak Sandwich also came quickly. My friend loved their Chocolate Shake, because he said they made it the «right way,» using vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. The size and value and taste of the burger was decent. It was a bittersweet first and last visit.

You can shove your «organic locavore-​type restaurant serving fare like hummus tahina salad with kale, romaine, cucumbers, pita chips, feta, hummus, falafel and cucumber tahini yogurt» up your azz!!! If I wanted those, there are a million places I can go in the bay area.
I’m going to keep eating at this place til it closes. Old school cheeseburger, fries, no frills. MURICA!!!

Oh, so it looks like Oscar’s is closing. I’m sorry, but good riddance. You can’t keep a filthy restaurant and be contemptuous of all your customers and then be surprised when your business goes, well, out of business. I understand Oscar’s has been around a long time, I too am a Bay Area native, but just because something has been around a long time doesn’t mean it is above reproach or that it is incapable of falling short of its previous glory.
I’m not thrilled about the tiny, overpriced, grocery store I imagine is going in in it’s place… but let’s be real; the world is not going to end. Sorry to the folks who will be sad. I liked their burgers too.

Kinda sad that a longtime Berkeley establishment is closing down.
I first heard about this place in high school when one of my teachers (who lived in Berkeley at the time) gave me recommendations on places to eat around campus. I actually lived near this place for a year too, so I would always smell the burgers cooking as I walked home, which was nice after walking through certain other parts of Shattuck.
My favorite thing about this place has to be that they write on their menu «We cheat Dodgers fans.» Any place that bashes any LA-​based sports team gets bonus points in my book.
I like the double cheeseburger here. The burger itself is very tasty, but it’s a bit more expensive than a place like Bongo Burger, especially once you add in fries or drinks. But Oscar’s is arguably more delicious, which makes it a worthwhile stop if you feel like venturing out to this corner of campus.
As for service at the front counter, the guys here are pretty relaxed, although their system could have been a bit more efficient. You order at the grill and then tell the cashier what you wanted, so it kinda creates a bit of chaos at the front counter. You can’t bus your own table, but they have a guy who comes out somewhat frequently to clear tables of empty trays.
It’s unfortunate that a great burger place and iconic sight along Shattuck will be gone soon. The fact that it’ll be replaced by a vegan/​vegetarian place, of all things, is kinda like kicking it while it’s down too.

So sad to hear the news of Oscar’s imminent closing!
Utterly unpretentious with no claim of being a «Berkeley institution» or «Open Since 1950» or anything. The place just is what it is — they never sought praise for being unchanged or for their food being good or for anything whatsoever. No attempt to «engage» the customer or other such silliness — just the confidence to keep making, without pretense or boast, some of the very best burgers and fries around.
A lot of us are going to miss that.

This place is a neighborhood birthright. And the Unilocal hipsters are shutting it down.
Classic, unadulterated, cheeseburgers. Plain and simple. Just like they should be.
I personally think that gourmet burgers are all fads and full of shite. That goes for most burger joints within the surrounding area and in the current popular burger market all over right now. Which is what makes Oscars so special. They’re not trying to be something they’re not.
To put it plainly, the best burger I’ve ever had in my life was in NYC at The Burger Joint behind the Le Parker Meridien hotel. But I will put Oscars right up there with them as their Northern Californian counterpart. I’m a foodie and traveler to the core and understand great food is all around us. But burgers in my opinion should be left alone. New Yorkers get it, (ie burger joint, shake shack) I just wish my Bay Area folks would too. — DON’T FUCK WITH YOUR BURGER. No Gruyère cheese, no siracha, no kaiser roll bun, Leave it alone! Don’t even put ketchup on it. Just all the fixings including the pickle. Mustard, Mayo, Pink in the middle and you’re good to go.
But alas, the Unilocal hipsters have ruined this place online and I just found out they are closing up shop for good in the next few months. Sad this gem will be gone from our lives. And all the out of town transplant students will never know the awesomeness that Berkeley has known for so many decades. When this places finally goes. I suggest you guys try the Red Onion in El Cerrito. Another great long standing mom and pop burger joint. But for now, go to Oscars and eat there before you can’t anymore. Cheers. — H.

Oh no… Oscar’s is closing. They will be closing in the next month or so. Sweetgreens,
a small health food chain, will be taking over this space.
I forgot to mention that Oscar’s was also the place my late wonderful bestie friend, C, ate at after our ESL class. She was pregnant at the time and eating for two. I was eating for two too even though I was not preg. Nothing is better than having a burger and fries at 9pm. Ah yes those carefree days in our 20’s and 30’s when you could eat zillions of calories and they wouldn’t add an ounce to your youthful body.

Burgers fries and shakes! Easy to come and go, reasonable prices. Don’t come here if you’re afraid of a little dust or a worn look. That’s why this place is a landmark. It’s been here a long time.
My only complaint is the televisions… But it’s a sport fan kinda place so I guess that’s part of it.