Vital Ital Calabash

I’m so sad this place closed. It was really great. The food was amazing and the staff always so pleasant. boo.

drove around for 20 minutes trying to find this place just to discover that its closed for good. I guess I should have figured that out when I called them and the number was disconnected. lame.

Love the casual shack atmosphere of this place. Service is always upbeat, friendly and served with a touch of jamaican vibe. If you have any friends who are against becoming a vegetarian, this place can seriously change their minds.
The Jerk Chicken Burger here is delicious and has a very meat like texture — most people probably wouldn’t even know it was made out of soy. The soy chickenmeat even tears apart like real chicken! I dunno how they do it! The fish burger is also good and tastes like fish, although the texture doesn’t simulate the real thing as well as the soy chicken does. Their fried plantanes here are also pretty good as well.
It’s definitely a place to hit up if you’re in need of some bargain eats and want a unique place to dine in. The hut is small, a bit cramped, and a little dark, but it’s charming and a perfect fit for a place like Berkeley.

Yum!!!
I had no idea what to expect, and that was probably for the best. If you go here looking for realistic meat substitutes, you will be disappointed. If you’re in the mood for tasty food, however, and you’re not in a rush, you won’t be let down.
I had the jerked chicken sandwich and my friend had the barbeque sandwich. Mine blended three sauces into a flavor rollercoaster the likes of which I’d never ridden before. The BBQ sandwich had only one sauce, but what a delicious sauce it was, smoky, sweet, and spicy. The meat substitute didn’t cohere and seemed to be beans rice and vegetables. It was different for each sandwich, though I have no idea how. It was a really yummy veggie grain patty, but nothing like meat.
My friend ordered ginger juice, which if you like spicy things, you ought to try. I ordered apple juice, but they were all out. The waitress brought me a free smoothie instead. It was a solid smoothie, but nothing mind blowing. They did make it from fresh strawberries, and November isn’t exactly prime strawberry season, even in California. We waited about half an hour for our food. Because we were having a good time chatting and had no place to be, this was fine, but it’s good to know beforehand that you’re going to wait for what seems like it should be fast food. Service wasn’t super attentive, but our waitress was polite and friendly.
I’ll definitely be coming back for a lazy afternoon with friends and good food. A five star place for that sort of laid back affair.

I went here once with a friend while running a bunch of errands in Oakland/Berkeley…Its a small place, way easy to miss…
Their smoothies? amazing. simply amazing.
I think i had the jerk chicken sandwich, and fried plantains (which seems so did everyone else who reviewed the place, haha), and they were great. I left feeling more than satisfied.
The only downside was that the service is kind of slow, which i suppose is understandable with only 2 people working the place.

The old man and I came here on a Saturday looking for a new place to eat. He looked at the reviews here on Unilocal and we decided to give the place a shot. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
The pricing, first of all, is great. It was $ 6.25 for the jerk «chicken» (vegan-​friendly substitute) sandwich, which we both ordered. It comes with a little fried plantain, which was yummy.
The service was extremely friendly as well. The girl that took our order and brought out our food– I’m not sure waittress is the right term — was very sweet, and her brother also made it a point to introduce himself to us, which I found refreshing. We told him we were in love with our food.
Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind when you visit this happy little joint:
* If you blink, you’ll miss it. There’s no sign with the name (that we could find) so we just ended up finding the place from it’s Rastafarian color scheme. It’s a tiny little building, so keep your eyes peeled if you haven’t been here before.
* The food does take awhile, but it is soooo worth it. I’m not sure exactly how long it took, because when you’re hungry, any amount of time seems like an enternity, but I promise you, it was worth it.

We were seated out front during the Berkeley Flea Market madhouse that happens Saturdays at Ashby and Adeline. Besides counting at least seven drunk men walk across the street through green lights (one even stopped a bus) and hearing them yell at each other and at cars going by, it was a pleasant afternoon snack.
Good thing I didn’t have anywhere to be, we waited half an hour for plantains and a veggie burger. The burger was more like a sloppy joe made of eggplant, bbq sauce and some grain on a bun. There was one other customer; why the hell did it take so long? I wasn’t impressed with the food, but the menu looks so good and the place is so damn cute I’ll give it another chance.

My most favorite thing about this place was walking around back to the outdoor seating. I set up shop in front of the sun because sometimes, when you’re recovering from random bouts of emotional instability you need sunshine and lots of it. I’m glad ‘dia, the dr. and I made it to the East Bay despite the fact that our original plan to hit up Souley Vegan had failed since I hadn’t taken note that they weren’t open on Sundays.
My bad, but it ended up working in our favor as Vital Ital Calabash was a nice place to spend a lazy sunny afternoon.
Keep in mind they’re not fooling around with the ginger beer, it’s chocked full of ginger, so stir the beverage to avoid ginger sludge accumulating at the bottom of your cup.
The service is friendly and they do remind you that this ain’t McDonald’s and food will take awhile, but really, what’s the rush?
I soaked up some Vitamin D, sipped my ginger and relaxed. There was a cute little chihuahua napping near the back door.
The Jerk «Fish» plate was awesome as was the Jerk «Chicken». The No Meat Treat was great and all of the food left me fascinated by the amazing things people can do with soy & seitan these days.
Get the key for the bathroom from the register even if you don’t have to pee. Say hi to Jesus, he’s hanging on the opposite wall from the sink.

If I lived within walking distance, I would eat here 3 – 4 times a week.
Absolute heaven on a plate. Love the plantains. Love the sauce on the plantains. Love the BBQ veggie burger. My husband loves the Jerk veggie burger.
Enjoy the vegan Caribbean delicacies. The smoothies are sensational. The atmosphere is unique and delightful. Be prepared for slow, friendly service and a parade of characters posing as customers.
Side note: We got the No Meat Treat made completely mild for a child and it was (1) way too much food for a child and (2) really bland, because we had it made that way.
Please open another location down here in the South Bay!

My partner and I ate here before seeing a play at Shotgun Players. We were running late and this was the only place close enough where we thought we could eat dinner and make the play on time. We aren’t vegans and so we asked for guidance on the menu. After a few recommendations we ordered. The place is very interesting — architecturally as well as décor. It smelled awesome.
The food was really tasty and filling but not too filling — just perfect. I recommend this delicious food to everyone! I was very sad to see this place not more crowded on a Friday night — please go check them out.
It’s yummy and adventurous!

I think I’m in love.
Got there a bit late as I was not aware of the new hours.
Daniel was working and kindly offered to make us something to go even though he was closing up shop.
He made us jerk chicken sandwiches and fried plantains.
I highly recommend both.
We’ll be back very very soon :)

recently stopped by for lunch with a friend. For some reason i rarely get to this place even though i drive by frequently and every time i stop by, i have a great meal!
The food is excellent! Well prepared, coloriful presentations, nice sauces and the cook/​owner is a very friendly and warm person who you can easily tell greatly enjoys preparing food for people.
anyways, for that lunch, we had an amazing drink of raw cacao and rice milk with spices that was really delightful! The jerk sauce plaintains were also great as was the homemade veggie burger. Beautiful, tiny space with stunning Caribbean designs, Bob Marley coming out of the speakers. I will keep coming back for lunch!

All I can say is… yum. yum. yum.
Ok, I do have more to say… The food is spectacular. My one critique… can’t they make bigger portions? The first time I ate there, I think I wolfed down my burger (the «chicken» one) in less than 2 minutes. This guy nearby was a little bit shocked when he saw me finish so quickly. I just looked at him thinking, «yes. it was that good.»

Hrm. I love Ital Calabash, but I am CRANKY LIKE WHOA.
I just got the stew to go, and they were like «Oh well we hooked you up because there wasn’t much stew left.» So I’m like, ok. And i get home, and open my little sack of goodies, and there’s a box of ¹⁄₃ stew, ¹⁄₃ beans and rice, and ¹⁄₃ some weird thing. But they charged me a $ 1 more than usual, and I didnt want those things!!! I wanted stew! that’s not «hooking up!» that’s «Not giving me my stew!!!» This is not as good as stew, and I am sad, because it was meant to be my dinner tomorrow, too! WHY, ITAL CALABASH BOYS, WHY?

Another fine vege establishment! Honestly i forgot what i had here, but i remember thinking that i like this place and would travel across the bay bridge to eat here, but did wish we had a place like this in SF area. I do remember the smoothies being very good. Also the always a plus the bathrooms were nice and clean.
Would like them to be open later, 6:00pm is a little bit early to close, but i understand!

YUMMM! Meatless food! Ok I do love meat but sometimes I wanna try something different and damn this place was a great choice!
Jerk Chicken: Tender, great flavor, sauce had a nice tang to it and the veggies on it were fresh and crispy!
Osho Burger: Waaaay better, and different, than those vegetarian burger patties you get at the grocery store! Super flavorful with a nice smokiness to it.
Platains: There were a bit too sweet/​mushy/​gooey for my taste. I think I’d need something crunchy and salty to go with them. They were really good until I killed the whole order and felt sick… =X
Sidenote: The white guy with crazy long dreads and the Jamaican accent is fuckin hilarious!!! «Aye mahn!» Hahahaaa WTF?! I’m still trying to figure out if the accent’s fake…

I found this place before I lived in Berkeley and really appreciated the atmosphere. I don’t think everyone would enjoy it because there is no meat involved and my boyfriend thought it was just plain weird. The music is good there and they have a wide selection of books that I would like to thumb through. I am not sure if a person could read them if they asked but they look interesting. Unique smoothie flavors. Some of which are honestly are not very good but I like that they try. I usually get the fake pulled pork sandwich. Its so good if I get takeout its gone before I get across the street. Or because its small. I am not a big girl but I could eat two and for $ 6 or slightly more each that can be disappointing.

very rarely will i give somewhere a 5 on a first impression, but this place is absolutely deserving. My girlfriend and i were out in berkeley and based on other reviews saw it necessary to come here. I was absolutely impressed.
The jamaican vibe was fun. There was a crazy guy (who i assumed was friends with the owner) hanging out saying a lot of crazy things, who i think scared my girlfriend a little bit, but i thought just added to the experience. We ordered the jerk chicken plate and it was incredible. I was sad to be finished because just wanted more! The tropical smoothie also made a pleasant addition to the meal. I can’t wait to go back again. I will need to find more excuses to go to berkeley so i can eat here again and again!

«Wha– hey, like ¼ of this menu is RAW FOOD!»
…said I-​and-​I, walking hand-​in-​hand by this unassuming colorful pedestrian pit-​stop near the Ashby Bart.
The menu reveals several fresh wraps and a couple of big hearty salads. Their signature and yummy almond pâté is used as a basis for most of these, but I have to say that the Curry Wrap is where it’s at.
The beverage selection is probably the most unique and impressive in town, and I know that’s saying a lot, but it’s true! They carry a homemade ginger beer and a fantastic sorrel drink, not to mention fresh coconut water (yay!) and a wide array of smoothies.
Definitely check out the Cacao Bliss smoothie, for which you can request a couple of replacements to make it more Raw: almond butter instead of peanut butter, coconut water instead of rice milk.
I don’t know how you cooked vegans scarf down all that rice and bean stuff in the other dishes, but if you say it’s good I’ll believe you. There’s a lot of love in this food.

Oh my Jah !
Yum-​Yum Yah !
Off the Hook !
Stupendous !
Wonderful tastes and flavors !
Unbelievable !
Jerk-​licious Chicken !
Ya man… is sooo good !
Good Golly Miss Hungry !
Loved it, and wanted to marry it !
Ginger beer is spanking good !
Love this little place! Great Vibe from the owner and his friends. Sooo nice with the wonderful interior and clean kitchen. Plenty of seats inside or out. Fast service and food from the heart. The ginger beer is real man ! Makes you feel like energy has grown inside you and is expanding. The Jerk Chicken plate with Fried Plantains is sooo good I wanted to eat another plate right there ! Spicy in all the right ways but never covered the great flavors in the food. Go here and bring your friends !