Anula’s Cafe

I like Anula’s Café and its daily hot food options. I have only ever gotten the vegetable hot food plate of the day. The ingredients and fresh, simple, and healthy. I prefer some meals more than others, but I like knowing there is a place in downtown Oakland to get a healthy and fast meal with lots of veggies. As a bonus, all the women working there are really nice.

Omg the jambalaya was sooooo good! (First Monday of the month menu).
This is a small hole in the wall place where the owner knows all the locals. About 10 – 15 people came by to say hello and see if the food was ready yet. She looks like she cooks the food in her own kitchen with her own pots and pans… just like home made. Customer recommended the Jambalaya which they make on the first Monday of the month.
It came with rice, Swiss chard and corn bread. All were delicious!

Came on a Thursday and had their lamb curry. It was my first time in and I felt very welcomed and at ease. The curry was flavorful and comforting. Great place to grab lunch to go. I love that they have regular specials for each day!

Delicious!!! The Jerk Chicken was scrumptious! The service was outstanding and the desserts are out of this world!
Love this place!
Stay thirsty my friends

My co-​worker told me how awesome this place was and he was right! I went earlier in the week and got their special for the day, jerk chicken. Tasted like home cookin :) I came back today for an afternoon snack. Unfortunately they were already closed. But the owner, I believe, saw me looking inside their store. She was in her car on her way out. She got out of her car and opened up the shop for me so I could have a slice of their delicious banana bread! Wow, what awesome customer service and what a delicious cake!!!

By far the BEST lunch spot in Oakland. The tiny café serves great meals that are big in size and affordable. Anula puts a lot of love into her work, something you can taste. My favs are the roti, lamb, and mango salad. Eat here.

Anula’s is truly a gem. Authentic, affordable home cooked Sri Lankan food with hints of other regions like Jamaican and Cambodian. Anula is the sweetest. Highly recommended.

Anula’s is one of those rare finds that you try once and you know you are coming back. Think grandma’s home cooking, except this grandmother is from Sri Lanka. Anula blends in flavors from her home country with American favorites to create truly unique cuisine. Each day there is a hot food special with vegetarian and fish options. My favorite is the Jerk chicken on Tuesdays, with the roti in Wednesdays as a close second. If you don’t know what a roti is, come and find out (think savory crêpe). If sweets are your thing, she bakes a fresh cake daily; the cheesecakes are amazing. If the pumpkin cheesecake is available, do not pass it up. This hole in the wall is worth the trip, but get here early because she usually sells out of her hot food!

I went to Anula’s on a Thursday and ordered the vegetarian special – Brussels sprouts with tofu and special rice, sauteed potatoes and spinach, lentils, and a nutmeg-​y/​clove-​y dash of pineapple goodness. I was feeling a little spendy and also ordered a slice of the lemon coconut cake (couldn’t resist giving it a try after reading the great reviews of all of Anula’s homemade cakes).
Everything was great – well spiced, pleasantly complex (but not over the top), filling, and healthy. I was more than satiated when I finished the special and couldn’t even find the space in my stomach to finish my slice of cake… something that rarely happens to me!
This is a great place to order lunch out from if you work or live in the area. Definitely give it a try if you’re looking for a ~$ 10 meal with heart and soul. I’ll be back!

I ordered through Unilocal.I went to pick it up and they hadn’t even started putting it in the box. The food was all kind of mushy tasting. Not great at all.

I’ve been going to Anula’s for lunch at least once a week since I started working downtown last year. Anula and her staff are friendly, approachable, and seeing them always puts a smile on my face. Happy to support amazing people!
And, hey, this would mean nothing if the food wasn’t amazing. Different specials every day of the week — one meat and one vegetarian, as well as a full sandwich bar. I love the Jerk Chicken, and the Kabocha Squash with Tofu is also incredible.
Much love!

Anula’s is such a gem! Inspired by Sri Lanka and Jamaica… the food is really amazing and unique. spices are right on and the daily specials are awesome. Generous portions also. On top of that, they serve fresh homemade desserts and a variety of other items: smoothies, soups and salads. AND, Anula and her staff are so sweet and nice that its really a pleasure eating there! they also cater, which I haven’t tried, but its just a matter of time until I do.

I love this place for a quick takeout lunch in downtown Oakland! Everything I’ve had is really tasty and I’m thankful for coworkers for putting me on to Anula’s on my very first day.
So i just ate a piece of cake from here (brown butter/​chocolate/​banana i think with this wonderful gooey sauce on top) that compelled me to write this review. So delicious! Her homemade desserts rotate, and they may seem really simple (like a cheesecake) but they are honestly to die for.
I also love the kale salad and lamb curry on Thursdays. The kale salad has some sort of citrus dressing which is great, and i like that with every hot foot special there is a decent and varied serving of veggies. I’ve gotten a panini a couple of times but they can’t really compare to the spicy and tasty daily specials, although the sandwiches were not bad. I suppose I prefer the variety that the hot food specials offers. What’s also great are the «extra» side items sold on different days, like a coconut roti or the chicken empanda-​like things (sorry I don’t recall their name).
And of course, they have great service, and it never takes too long to receive your order. I believe the pricing is reasonable, especially since i’ve easily spent more at other lunch establishments downtown. Yes there very little seating (a counter inside or two fold up table and chairs outside) but most people take their lunch back to the office anyways.

Wasn’t craving chinese, Mexican, or burgers, so Anula’s seemed like it would be a nice change for Sri Lankan food! This was one week ago, so what I remembered is largely pleasant.
First, there is an option to eat there! Her café may be small, but there’s a bar-​like area with 4 stools facing the window (that got really sunny and hot). She also mentioned outdoor seating on some cute small tables that you can grab foldable chairs from the inside for, but it was a little breezy that day and I had allergies.
So each weekday she makes a house special dish, and the weekly schedule is generally the same. If you like lamb curry, go on a Thursday like we did. However, Tuesday/​Thursday she also makes a coconut salmon. So we ordered one of each. Aside from the daily hot food specials, there are soup, salad, smoothies, coffee, and sandwich options.
I was very impressed with the portions, served on a large plate you would normally find at your grandmother’s house (a very homey and cozy touch) and includes some pineapple pieces, beans, yellow rice, and well-​cooked spinach. You didn’t feel too bloated, salty, or gross after. I feel like she managed to fit all food groups onto that plate. It was really like eating a home cooked meal at grandma’s, if she happens to be Sri lankan. Between the two, my bf and I agreed we liked the lamb more, but the salmon is a good choice if you’re into fragrant food.
We also got suckered into getting a coconut roti for $ 1.28, which she quoted the exact price for haha, and a smoothie ~5.25 that we substituted milk with orange juice since the bf is lactose intolerant and his lamb curry started getting a but spicy. Smoothie tasted legit with real fruit. Total of the lunch was ~$ ³⁰⁄₂ people but could’ve been cheaper without the extras at the end.
Recap: feels like home, great portions, guilt — free eating
Go before the lunch crowd rush as I hear it gets hectic. We went around 11am and service was prompt!

Delicious and homey lunch specials! I got the Monday chicken curry and it was so tasty — I don’t regret at all choosing the special over a salad when I had originally set out to get a salad! The lentils on the side could be better… but they’re lentils, what can you do about them? On the other hand, what I thought were a few chunks of boiled potatoes were actually spiced pineapple, and those are fabulous!
Very nice staff, also the iced tea is strong!

My co-​workers and I stumbled across Anula’s café on a Monday and boy am I glad we did!
Anula’s is a takeout only place which serves home made Sri Lankan-​Jamaican cuisine. What I love is that each dish is hand made fresh everyday — and you can taste the difference — it’s like amazing home cooked food. So hearty and it really hits all the spot. Anula’s is run by a mother-​daughter team and they’re super friendly and fast which is great if you are on a time crunch.
We came in on a Monday and I ordered the Chicken Briyani which was really tasty, and came with huge chunks of chicken, a side salad and some potato cakes. My co-​workers ordered the Monday weekday special which I believe was curried chicken over rice. Everyone loved their dishes, and I definitely recommend this place if you like spicy food! The food was superb, and really great for just $ 9 with tax! They also have a rotating weekday special which sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try their Tuesday Jerk Chicken on Thursday Lamb Curry!
All in all, I would most definitely be back to eat at Anula’s. It’s a great little place to get hearty, delicious food and Anula is so amazing. After she found out it was our office’s first visit to Anula’s, she gave us a generous serving of her delicious Banana-​Pineapple Bourbon cake which was every bit as amazing as it sounds. The cake was the fluffiest moistest cake I have ever had. It was like fantastic, fantastic banana bread of your dreams moist, and the pineapples added a nice citrusy crunch to it.
IT WAS SO AMAZING, I WANTED TO RUN BACK AND BUY THE REST OF THE CAKE WHEN I WAS BACK. Seriously I will be dreaming of that cake for the rest of my life.
All in all, you absolutely have to go to Anula’s, if not for the amazing food, then definitely, most definitely for the amazing CAKE. The cake is not a lie you guys, I promise.

More Like 2.5 Stars.
We ordered the Wednesday Special (Roti Chicken) $ 8.74 with Tax
Note that there is no place to sit so this is to go only.
You get a mixed green salad with a rich balsamic vinegar dresss (this was really good); and bit of seasoned pineapple (note there a bit of a kick to it, but in a real good way).
OK compared to the salad and pineapple, the main course, the roti, was a bit lacking in flavor… you get a good amount of food and the chicken was tender and not dry at all.
So I would eat the Roti first and then go for the sides… that way your taste buds will not be overpowered.

CLOSED DECEMBER 8-​JANUARY 1.
I have eaten here 1 time, and ordered my lunch online. This process was great, and the sandwich tasty.
Today I ordered online again, but when I showed up to pick up my jerk chicken and rice, Anula’s Café was CLOSED! Thanks to Eat24 for calling me and letting me know that they were unable to confirm my order with Anula’s Café.
No thanks to Anula’s Café for not putting any information online stating that their business was on holiday for most of December.
Maybe I’ll try again in January!

I am giving a 1 star review for receiving a ridiculously tiny portion on a to-​go order.
I ordered the kale mango salad and the spinach walnut salad to go for a small office party. I was in a hurry so I did not check the box before tipping the staff and heading out the door. Boy was that a mistake. When I got back to the office and opened the box, my co-​workers and I were surprised by how small the portion for the kale salad was. No one could believe I paid $ 6.50 for such a small salad. There was enough kale to cover the bottom of the box and that was it. The spinach salad had maybe 2 – 3 times more portion in the same size box. If I had ordered only the kale salad for my personal lunch, that definitely would not have been enough for me to get through the rest of the day. I was sorely disappointed by the portion size. My co-​worker had previously ordered salad from this café and his salad box was filled to the brim. What gives? Why was my kale salad so skimpy?

Cute, homey café that serves fresh and healthy daily specials.
I ordered (for pick up):
–The Friday Fish special (tilapia? with curry, rice, and apple chutney, sauteed kale, beet salad.) $ 8. Well portioned, vibrant, and healthy, it was a simple lunch that tasted best with a small bite of each component. Fish was sweet and flaky. The curry was a bit too mild in flavor but the vinegar-​y beets helped a lot. Yummy and light but it needed something a bit heavier to make it more satisfying. Add roasted potatoes with the beets?

–Banana blueberry smoothie. $ 4.5. Kinda pricey but you could taste the greek yogurt and honey in it — so wholesome and delicious.
They’ve been around for a while and have a small cult following. Love supporting small businesses and Anula’s Café has their lunch game on lock.