Zax Tavern

I liked the place, even though it was not really vegetarian friendly. I got some attitude from a worker or two here and there, but overall, it’s pretty damn good… but:
ZAX IS NOW CLOSED!!!
Another restaurant bites the dust. Apparently the investors got cold feet.

I like this place for many reasons. I have been here twice. It is one of the only relatively upscale places to grab a drink and a bite to eat on Telegraph near campus. They have a great selection of scotch, apertifs, and other fine liquors. The bartender is an expert at what he does and he is very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. They have some small plates if you don’t feel like a full-​on dinner but they have full plates of fresh seafood and an amazing dessert menu… Butterscotch Pots De Crème sounded really good. I went for Ice Wine instead of dessert though. The food is quality and the atmosphere is nice. Good place for a business lunch or dessert and coffee. Staff is very cordial. The contrast of marble with real mahogany make a beautiful bar space. A good place to just pop in when you don’t know what you want.

When my friends came in from Manhattan, this is where I took them. The food was great, the service was extraordinary, our waitress was very knowledgeable about the wine, and the ambiance was great. It has an upscale but comfortable vibe. The décor is warm and inviting, and has a very laid back, but upscale, feel to it.
One of the things I noticed is that the staff here acts like they are family but they’re not. The are attentive and professional, but also warm and welcoming. You can tell that customer satisfaction is very important to them. That’s a rare and added bonus. Zax would also be a great place to take business associates or have your family dinners on special occasions, like graduation, engagement dinners, etc.
Prices range from $$-$$$ depending on your beverages… water, wine, cocktails, etc. Attire ranges from California casual to dressy. Parking is easily found on the street, and after 6PM the meters are free.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. I think it’s one of the best in the East Bay.
The vibe is upscale-​casual, always great service, attentive and knowledgeable with no attitude. Very important!
My favorite dish is the beet salad with hazelnuts, green beans and a wedge of delicious cheese in a vinaigrette. I’ve also had fabulous mussles in a delicious garlicky pernod infused broth. One of my other favs is their pasta dish with marscapone cheese, breadcrumbs and cauliflower. Yum!
But really, it seems they do all of their dishes well and you can tell that they take the time to do it all right. They also have a nice wine selection.
My only complaint is that they don’t change their entrée selections around enough. But really that’s pretty minor.

In a word, (okay, two words), SPOT ON. This is everything a quiet neighborhood bistro should be. No fuss, no pretension. Just excellent dishes elegantly prepared and politely served. We took our time to enjoy the meal, and were treated so respectfully. No attitude in the service, just a quiet confidence because the food speaks for itself.
I love the simplicity of the menu and the wine list. Only seven entrees and half dozen or so first courses, three or four desserts. You know you’re in trouble if the menu stretches beyond a single page. And If you have a short menu, you better do each dish perfectly. Zax does exactly that. I enjoyed everything we tried.
So If you want to be astonished by culinary wizardry and opulent quasi-​French presentations — this is not the place for you. Zax is worth going out of your way for, but it is not a destination restaurant and I mean that in the very best way possible. But why you should expect, or even want culinary experimentation in a local place? There’s absolutely no reason to attempt Danko/​Keller impressions at the corner restaurant. But far too many Bay area restaurants suffer from Panisse envy — trying to walk a gastronomic high wire only to fail miserably when they could be doing something just as wonderful for different reasons. No, I get the feeling the Zax folks said, «Fuck that. ‘That’ isn’t us and we’re not go going try to be That.’ We’re going to do what we want to do, and do it well: simple.» Every neighborhood bistro needs to take a queue from Zax.
My kudos, and five stars.
Highlights:
Great drinks. Nice wine list that isn’t overflowing with choices, but some usual suspects with other more unusual choices — reasonably priced. Tip for a great deal — bring in a bottle and order one from Zax and they wave the corkage fee. Nice route to go for a foursome.
For dinner we shared a green salad and the goat cheese soufflé, which was spectacular. Comes with a lovely salad of shaved fennel and julienne apples — perfect combination of flavors.
I had the burger, which I have to say was one of the best I’ve ever had. What makes it so great are the homemade pickles and preserved red onions on the side. You can tell they didn’t just open up a jar — and if they did please tell me where to find! Great baked fries that weren’t too overly seasoned or flavorless which baked fries often suffer. Again, simple food, executed well.
We were waffling on dessert initially, but so impressed by the rest of the meal we splurged and were not disappointed. Seasonal strawberries with cream and a pressed pannini cake.
I could write the food we ordered another way: a salad, burger and fries with a strawberry shortcake — but it was so much more than that — really.

Solid is the word that comes to mind when I think about Zax Tavern. Its the kind of place you would love to have in your neighborhood because it has something for everyone and is dependable.
You could bring at date, co-​worker, or parents here and it would fit the bill. Not too casual and not too fancy. Kind of a Goldilocks place… just right.
I have been on several occasions and have enjoyed the twiced baked goat cheese soufflé which is a staple of the menu. Its really an ideal starter. It contrasts the hot soufflé with a cold salad. The soufflé is creamy and the salad crisp. The contrast in temperature and textures really works well.
For entrees, the pork chop is typically well done, as are the duck legs. The menu changes every few months but there typically is a steak dish, pork dish, fish dish, vegetarian, etc. In addition, a burger and some pressed sandwiches. Again, you would be hard pressed not to find something to enjoy on the menu.
The food isn’t cutting edge, and for the most part the dishes are things that a competent chef could replicate at home. But for an enjoyable, dependable, and tasty night out Zax Tavern is an all around performer.
Food: 3.5 stars
Atmosphere: 3.5 stars
Service: 3.5 stars
Rounding up to 4 stars overall.

Zax has some of the best burgers in the E-​bay (I like it w/​Point Reyes Blue, which is drippier and greasier but oh so good), and awesome fries to boot. The twice-​baked goat cheese soufflé is not to be missed. Really excellent service, great stuff on the booze list, and a nice, crisp environment.
It’s a little too fancy for an everyday tavern — which that part of Berkeley /​Rockridge is sorely missing — and the few times the wifey and I have been, the bill came back higher than we thought it would. But that’s more a mark of the fact that so many things looked worth trying, not because the wait staff pressured us into expensive items. My only complaint is that it feels like a hangout for retirees — it’s subtle, not like cruise-​shippy or anything like that — but I feel out of place since I’m the age of the waitstaff, and decades younger than anyone else in the joint.

I love this restaurant –we are not fancy people, and I avoided this place for the longest time because of the valet parking in front — i thought it would just be too fancy for us. However, eating at the bar, and in the front room of this restaurant is a casual, fun and delicious experience.
The food is great. drinks are great, and service is great!
I highly recommend Zax.

I love Zax! It is absolutely, hands-​down, my favorite restaurant in Berkeley. I get the duck liver salad everytime (warm duck liver, poached egg, «lardons» over frisee) and the goat cheese soufle is another starter people rave about. One potential downside is the minimalist menu, but they do every entrée well. I’ve had the short ribs and risotto and even the Zax burger and it’s all delicious. Best of all, it’s also affordable and so starters, entrée, dessert and wine won’t completely break the bank. And while Zax is popular with loyalists, it isn’t packed out the door like other well-​reviewed Berkeley favorites. It’s very possible to call early Friday or Saturday to secure a reservation for the same night.
It’s absolutely passable on Telegraph, but don’t miss out on trying Zax while you’re in the area!

Mmm, beefy goodness. Last night I dined at Zax and had the beef short rib entrée and also tasted the steak frites. Both were excellent but the surprise hit of the evening was the endive/​walnut/​beet salad with a horseradish dressing. It sounds like a weird combo but somehow it worked. Another nice touch-​in addition to wine by the glass and bottle they also sold it by the 500ml carafe which turned out to be the perfect amount to share, especially since I was fighting a cold and needed a little something (for medicinal purposes only of course!)

I have eaten at Zax a handful of times and have always been surprised to find such a place in Berkeley of all places. Good grief.
The goat cheese soufflé is DIVINE and the drinks are quite stiff. Their cream of mushroom was full of flavor and I had a pleasant time speaking with my waiter, and on a romantic birthday dinner for my now ex-​boyfriend, we were catered to our every need.
The food is decent and semi reasonable, although I have eaten better but paid more for it.
Its nice if you’re a student looking for more of a «grown up» place for dinner that doesnt require you to cross that treacherous of things the Bay Bridge.

Three and a half stars to Zax.
overall not bad, but not «OMG I need to have _​_​_​from Zax’s!».
Service was really good, which carries it into the half star.
We asked for the absence of shallots in our mussels in Pernod. The server announced «mussels, no shallots!» and placed the dish on the table. As my BF dished me up, I saw … shallots. Mmmmkay. The mussels were plump, fresh and the broth good, but they only served it with one crostini. Come on, you can at least give us one crostini for each person, hm?
The goat cheese soufflé was the best part in the meal, thanks Unilocalers for recommending it over & over. Nicely browned, lovely warm scent of eggs and butter as we broke the crust, great texture. It went well with the apples and celery in the accompanying salad but the shaved fennel was a little too limpy to compete with the rest of the textures.
My pork chop rib was already salty and almost cooked to the point of being too done but it luckily there were still some juices in it to keep it from being too dry. The polenta cake wedge it came with however was so salty I could barely eat it with the pork, and instead I tried to mellow it with some of the fruit chutney!
My BF’s steak frites was good, grilled nicely on the outside, tender and very juicy inside, but I didn’t like their style of pomme frites here– too dry inside. There was no warm, mealy potatoey goodness at the heart of the fries– all moisture was completely absent and it felt like I was eating a thicker cut of the Pik Nik shoestrings you get out of a can.
The apple galette with caramel ice cream was a nice finisher though, with a light, flaky crust and tender apples that weren’t too sweet. The ice cream had a slight hint of caramel that didn’t overpower the galette and was a nice contrast to the warmth.
the interior and ambiance was nice and refreshing for Telegraph Avenue, the service and staff friendly so I’m willing ot give it another try.

Bitchy McBitcherson answered the phone when I tried to make a reservation. Yes, I WAS checking to see if they had any last minute cancellations, no need to get miffed that I didn’t ooh and ahh and make reservations WAAAY in advance. Or act like this was eating mecca. SO hostile in her tone. She told me they didn’t have any. I said okay great thanks. (Though I thought C U Next Time!) And she added «this IS a zagat rated restaurant» blah blah. Ugh lady, Chevy’s is Zagat rated and often because it’s the over 45 crowd, portion size, not taste sways the vote. Sigh. She turned me off so much, I have not had the desire to go back.
And this is in comparison to Chez Panisse which IS the eating MECCA, is always nice, and will try to fit you in. I’ve been a few times having gotten last minute reservations and they were happy to have me plunk down my Gold Amex and smile and tip well. And yes I might not get the exact time I want, but I’m pretty flexible considering you have to make reservations so far in advance.
To have a girl like that answering the phone is just bad business.

On Telegraph Ave, one freezing cold night
my girlfriend wanted to go out for a bite.
«I know!» She said. «I want to try Zax!»
«I’ve been meaning to go there, so lets make us some tracks!»
A design-​challenged logo (created in MSPaint?)
hid a rather nice restaurant, with décor very quaint.
We entered, were greeted, and shown to our seats
a menu was given, and also bread treats.
I ordered some wine, I thought it was nice.
My girlfriends wine also seemed to suffice.
We ordered some appetizers, a goat cheese soufflé
and mussels sans shallots, my girlfriend did say.
I wanted the steak, my girlfriend the pork.
When the mussels arrived, I picked up my fork.
«Laden with shallots!» my girlfriend said. «Look at that!»
One crostini for two people also left us quite flat.
The soufflé was tasty, and the steak done just right.
But the pomme frites were dry and like cardboard that night.
Her pork chop was adequate, nothing too bad
but not such that one says «best one I’ve had!»
In short, Zax is fine, a good upscale place
but kind of expensive for just stuffing your face.
Their service was great and helped make up for the food
which wasn’t the best but it still suited my mood.
(Apologies to Dr. Seuss)

The goat cheese soufflé was killer (that’s a quote from our waiter — he was right), the lemon drop was stiff, the steak frites absolutely sated my red meat craving. Delish. The staff is always so nice here, especially tonight when that heavily-vodka’ed martini was making me slur my speech a bit, our waiter totally didn’t make me feel like total lush. He even overheard that it was my b-​day and brought dessert with a candle in it. Hurray! At my age, that’s pretty cool, and quite enough excitement after a work week/​the holidays/​34 years. (Yeah, pathetic huh? These days, just give me my Netflix and pajamas and I’m a happy camper.)
I’ve been to Zax several times with friends and enjoy the atmosphere as well as the food and wine. A great place for a wine tasting, a girls night out, a birthday dinner (all the occasions when I’ve found myself at Zax)!

Twice-​baked goat cheese soufflé, mmmmmm!

RIP Zax. It’s been a good ride. Tonight is their last night. Maritime East will open at this location in 3 weeks. The Zax people will start a new venture somewhere in 6 months. Why are they closing? They need a break from the restaurant industry.
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Five stars for the excellent romaine salad and steak-​frites. Five stars for the service, which was helpful and friendly without being in anyone’s face. Bonus points for the wine service, which has many options and quite a few unusual wines. I liked the fact that wines can be purchased in carafes of 250ml or 500ml as well as by the bottle. Also, there are an unusually large number of wines available in half-​bottles. Good selection of wines by the glass!
One standout on Zax’s list was the 2002 «pur sang» by Didier Dagueneau for only $ 75. Not that I ordered it, but I could see that it was a bargain. (Current retail prices for the wine are higher, according to the Net.) I do recommend trying Didier D’s wines, by the way. I first heard about them in a wine column in the NY Times and was delighted to discover them in the French sauvignon blanc section of the Berkeley Bowl. K&L Wines carries them. According to the K&L web site, the two other famed cuvees of DD are the Buisson Renard and Silex. These are definitely worth seeking out for special occasions.

A favorite place with good food, attentive service and fair prices.
the menu is somewhat small (six entrees), but always excellently prepared. the wine list is well-​selected and fairly priced.
this is one of those places, that after you’ve returned to, you say «why don’t we come here more often?»
don’t forget to try the goat cheese soufflé. mmmm
oh, and the bar is really fun — great negronis!

I bought my mom her first mojito here (maybe her second and third, as well, the night was a bit of a blur and we had a driver to deliver us home.)
The food here is fabulous, pretty much everything I want in a restaurant– great food, charming service, warm and cozy feeling. Only flaw? It’s not walking distance to my house, or accessible by MUNI. A shame too for if it were, I’d be a frequent diner.

This is actually Zax 2.0 — the original was somewhere in North Beach.
Zax serves really delightful food! Two friends of mine who are French and who practically lived at Zax before they moved to the city swear that the food at Zax is primarily French, but I tend to argue that Zax serves food inspired by a wide variety of cooking traditions.
The dining room is really lovely and the whole restaurant has many fresh flower arrangments,. If you reserve a table ask for one in the main dining area rather than one in the bar area.
The goat cheese soufflé and the apple galette are the two menu items of which Zax seems to be most proud. The soufflé is an especially scrumptious goat cheese soufflé. The apple galette is very good but sometimes I think other dessert options outshine it.
Zax has a beautiful marble bar and a fantastic bartender. It is very common for people to eat at the bar and, though I love the dining room, eating at the bar is my favorite way to enjoy Zax. You can have a great meal so casually and the bar is so spacious, the staff so professinal, that you don’t feel like you are giving up anything.
Zax serves the full menu at the bar but they also have an ever-​changing selection of warm sandwiches if you aren’t that hungry. All of Zax food is reasonably priced but the sandwiches are an amazing value at $ 7 – 9.
I am no Bilal A (see his Unilocal reviews!) but it seems to me Zax has some nice wines. They have Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon (Anderson Valley, not Napa) and at a good price too.