Barlago

Barlago is the best kept secret for Oakland Brunch. They have the best burger in the East Bay. And for brunch, the steak and eggs Is melt in your mouth good. Today though I had the breakfast pizza. The dough was perfect and it was covered in thin potatoes, cheese and an amazing arugula salad. On top, 2 perfectly cooked eggs. I was in heaven. It was enough for 2 meals. To top all off, this place Hassan heated dog friendly patio and they provide water and treats. Good for people watching. Go here for brunch soon.

What a phenomenal meal. The pizzas were cooked perfectly, the kale salad was dressed delightfully, and the dessert platter was simply out of this world. If you want a hearty, fairly priced Italian dinner, Barlago is the perfect pick.

Fantastic dinner here tonight with friends. Get the short rib — served over creamy polenta with a great mushroom sauce as well. Service was fantastic and friendly, the food was hearty and in good portions — what more could you ask for?
Also got to try a few other dishes — the kale caesar is excellent if you’re in the mood for salad — the pizzas are a nice thin-​crust pizza with a great melty mozzarella, and the desserts were absolutely fantastic.
Great place and definitely worth a try if you’re in the neighborhood!

Awesome Bloody Mary! I love ‘em. They come with an entire little appetizer on top of them, and are decently strong. In general, this is a great spot to get boozy on a Sunday. I mean, finding a place where you can actually just show up and sit for brunch without waiting an hour in this fairly trendy part of Oakland is a big deal! (Read: I hate going to Portal for Brunch).
The food needs to either improve or get cheaper. I had a $ 13 cheeseburger that was completely unremarkable. And no, a cheeseburger isn’t just a cheeseburger. The potatoes it came with were great, but the meat was completely unseasoned. The toppings were fine, but in no way justified its price. On the subject of price: those of us that don’t like mimosas would appreciate an bottomless deal for some other kind of drink (like Bloody Marys :-D). In the future, I’ll probably just start off with one Bloody Mary, saving the topper app for mid-​boozy munchies, and then have beer thereafter.

I came here for a friend’s birthday during Oakland Restaurant Week. For $ 20 we got the Misto salad, choice of homemade pasta, and a craft cocktail. The salad was well dressed and the perfect portion (a good sized starter but not too much that you’re too full for the upcoming pasta). I ordered the carbonara pasta and it was enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day. The noodles are made fresh so they had a wonderful texture. The sauce was rich and creamy but not overly heavy. Lastly, I ordered the El Chapo, a horchata style cocktail.
Overall, everyone in my party was very pleased with our meal, especially for the price. Our server was very attentive and friendly. I’d definitely consider coming back for another special occasion.

Great find for drinks on a rainy Saturday! I especially loved the Bloody Mary which was served with an entire hour d’oeuvres skewer of antipasti meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Service was very attentive and my friend commented that the waitress’s friendliness seemed a little forced/​phony — but hey, that is way, way better than the opposite. We had just eaten elsewhere so were not hungry, but I look forward to coming back and trying some of their menu.

Service is always good, staff is knowledgeable and friendly.
The Polpette ($ 11.50 — beef and pork meatballs with tomato sauce/​parm/​parsley) is always SO delicious. Arrives piping hot always! It’s a good app to split between 2 people.
I always order the Carbonara ($ 17). It’s not necessarily made the same way everytime… and this time there were onions and parsley and they used something more like a prosciutto (a while ago it was a diced piggy part). Carbonara doesn’t require onions or any kind of garnish, so I’d be pretty stoked if they took those things out. It’s super tasty though, so they’ve got that part down! My tab with a glass of Rose, split app, and the carbonara came out to $ 34. Took home some leftovers too.
My friend ordered the Kale Caesar $ 8 for a small which was big enough for 2 — so good! I wish I had ordered my own. Will definitely order again. Never thought to have kale in a caesar, but it’s so good. She ordered something else, but I can’t remember what it was. Maybe the clams?
Glad it’s in the neighborhood. I was confused at first about why we needed an Italian place, but it’s nice to pop in for a quick dinner and drink or when you’re craving pasta desperately.

Went for dinner during restaurant week. It was packed and I didn’t have a reservation but they were incredibly accommodating. Within 2 minutes we were greeted by multiple servers who were welcoming and super friendly. The food was delicious!

Barlago was pretty empty when I walked in for dinner the night before New Year’s Eve, so I got a table right away. I had already glanced over the menu displayed outside so I knew I wanted pasta, and went with the Pollo — chicken with penne and mushrooms in a light, creamy thyme sauce.
For a little over $ 17 I feel like the portions could’ve been bigger, but I’m also used to being served very little pasta for the money in restaurants. But I wanted more pasta especially because this dish was delicious. Despite being a cream sauce I didn’t feel stuffed or heavy afterwards and just loved how the flavors came together, especially those mushrooms and the thyme in the sauce.
Very dim, low key ambiance here and friendly wait staff. Nice place to spend an evening and grab some dinner, but a little pricey for what you get.

This review is for home delivery of Barlago via Caviar.
It was a rainy Friday night and our plans to go out for dinner were out the window. As a fallback option, we ordered dinner from Barlago on the food delivery site Caviar.
First, the standard delivery time for Caviar is about an hour. Our food arrived in about 40 minutes.
Second, upon initial examination, the portion sizes were fantastic. Real dinner portions. Sometimes with Caviar, I feel the restaurants are delivering «tasting menu» sized portions, not actual dinner portions. Not the case here. A massive hunk of Carne Brasato and a Italian grandma sized portion of pasta. Desserts were the same. Probably twice the size of typical desserts from other Caviar restaurants.
Third, and most importantly, the food was DELICIOUS. Not delivery delicious, sit down restaurant delicious. Tucking into a huge plate of fork tender short rib covered in a rich mushroom gravy on a bed of perfectly cooked polenta on a cold, rainy Friday night was a real treat.
Now, if they would just deliver those amazing Bloody Marys that they serve at weekend brunch!

My sister and I came here for a Sunday afternoon meal. Pickings were slim! Not many restaurants open at 2:30. We were pleasantly surprised. They were not busy at all. The server was attentive, personable, and recommended a great dish on the menu– steak and eggs. After we had ordered we mentioned that we would like the poached eggs done lightly. They said it was too late. BUT they came out perfect! There were a few too many potatoes on the plate, but other than that everything was delish! Skirt steak was nicely grilled. Good carafe of a red wine.

Buyer beware. My partner and I were charmed by the location, suffered from a momentary hunger-​induced lapse in reasoning and went in without checking Unilocal first. Truly, one of the worst breakfast experiences of my life. The Bloody Mary was over dressed and under seasoned. I ordered the breakfast panini and it came out on a WHITE HAMBURGER BUN. A WHB!!! Truly obscene. And don’t even get me started on the eggs. A desecration of imperial order. This place was truly disappointing.

Time at the Restaurant: Early Dinner 5:30pm on a Friday
Party: 2
Seated: Inside, Near the Window
Traffic: Slow
Spent: $ 65 Included 1beer, 2entrees, 1sparkling water and tip.
The service was great. I notice the server always had an eye at our table, but made sure to insert herself during moments we were not heavily conversing. If it’s one thing I hate, is being interrupted while I am talking and eatting .
The FOOD:
His: CARBONARA $ 17
tagliatelle, pancetta, spring red onion, egg, parmesan
The boyfriend enjoyed it. Pasta was cooked good. Cheese sauce was good. I can’t really critique the dish as it’s not my cup of tea. But, he finished his plate, so it had to be good.
Mine: CARNE BRASATO $ 24
boont amber ale braised short rib, mushroom, broccolini, polenta-​parmeasan fonduta
I LOVED this dish. So did my boyfriend. The servings of shortrib was HUGE and very tender. The sauce was great, I wish there had been more. I was dipping the bread into a little bit of sauce, man I could have ate just that. The broccoline was cooked perfect, had a great crunch and had a grilled element to it. Everything on the plate went well together. I could order this all the time. Serving could feed 2 of me, I have leftovers that I’ll be eatting today.
Bread was brought to the table prior to the entrée’s.
@THE END:
All in all, I thought it was a great meal. It is a tad bit pricy. But, you have to remember you are paying for quality and a great ambiance. On the menu it states that they try to incorporate as much organic foods to their menu. We all know that is not cheap. So, yes I would come here again.

I’m pleasantly surprised! My boyfriend and I wanted Italian for dinner and the original place we had in mind wasn’t open even though it’s Unilocal hours and physical location said otherwise. Thank goodness! We ended up coming to Barlago.
I ordered the Frutti di Mare, which is a pasta with seafood (shrimp, salmon, clams and calamari) and he ordered the bolognese. My pasta was so yummy and tasted fresh and seasoned/​flavored. It didn’t taste like eating raw seafood in a dish.
Will come back again!

There was a lot of hype around this restaurant so I think I was expecting more. I came during the lunch hours so it could be that the dinner menu is one step above what is offered midday. With on pasta on the menu, I ordered an arugula beet salad, funghi pizza with an egg, and a seafood skewer. Pizza was done well, salad and skewer were good, beer menu has some ways to go.
Worth checking out at lunch… though I suggest heading back when the dinner menu is in full effect.

Went here for the first time the final game night win for the Warriors (so you know this place will also have a special place in my heart). I was with a big group so we were able to sample a lot but my new favorite drink is the Mezzo Guzzi — Mezcal, Cucumber, Mint and Bitters — the drink is rimmed with a volcanic black sea salt, which makes it the perfect yumm-​ness. The other item I will definitely also be going back for is the clams. Be sure to get extra bread to soak this intoxicating elixir up. Warning the bill does add up fast (minus one star) and some of the food does fall flat (pizza included) but I will be back for the two above mentioned items for sure.
Also, the people who work here are outstanding! The night was busy crazy and somehow they managed to pull it all together with a smile.
Happy hour Tues — Fri 5 – 6:30 — with $ 2 off cocktails and appetizers.

The absurd amount of oil running off the pizza made it impossible to taste anything else. I cannot comment on the quality salmon because of this. I barely ate half and immediately regretted it – I couldn’t get the taste of oil out of my mouth. The pizza dough itself was poorly made and undercooked, with pockets of raw flour. Easily the worst pizza I’ve had on either coast.
The eggs al forno had the opposite problem — utterly destroyed by heat. The yolks had the textural quality of a sweaty stress ball.
The extra star is purely a courtesy to the staff.
Do not waste your brunch time or money here.

Dinner 5÷10÷15
3.5* Barlago was the solution to Mother’s Day dinner as most restaurants are packed. Consider the great location by the lake I was surprised it wasn’t full. Anyway, they have a great bar and you can sit outside with a drink and take in the view.
Both drinks are above expectations: Cosmopolitan and Moscow Mule are tasty, although on the pricier side ($ 10) for Oakland.
Organic Mixed Greens ($ 6.5) is a tiny plate of salad with onions and balsamic vinaigrette
Bolognese ($ 17.5) is tagliatelle served on a skillet with beef, pork, pancetta, ricotta salata, and fresh herbs. The sauce is way too rich and has a burned taste to it. It’s not what I like in a bolognese.
Piccata ($ 20) is lemony enough, but bathed a very thick white wine sauce. Seared chicken breast is tender enough. The gnocchi is pretty good.
Overall, food is nothing to call home about. Portions are small for what you pay for. Oh, did I say they didn’t even bring us bread?

A great choice to eat some tapas before go dancing. We went there with a group of friends to grab some bites.
It was good, we ordered meatballs, bruschetta, a plate of prosciutto and cheese, and pizza. Everything was delicious and fresh.
The only thing was that we wanted pinot noir but they didn’t have it. But the house red wine ended up to be good.
In overall, it’s a really good place with an amazing view to the lake.

Another place I’ve been meaning to go to and it’s in my neighborhood too!
I got to meet the lovely Lorrayne here for dinner last Friday. Originally, we were sitting in the dining room, but a couple brought their crying baby so we moved to the bar. The bartender was flirtatious, but made for a good evening. L ordered wine and I ordered the Aquarita (Tres Agaves Silver, Cointreau, Jalapeño, and Lime). There is suppose to be watermelon in it too, but it’s a little out of season so they didn’t have it. The margarita was still very good!
For starters, we got the burrata and the clams. The burrata was so good. And the clams were great. The broth was so delicious, but there wasn’t enough bread. For the main, we got the kale caesar and the Polpette pizza (Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Meatballs and Jalapeños). The caesar was really good and so was the pizza. The tomato sauce was very tasty and the sausage complimented it. The crust is very thin and the pizza seems more like a flatbread so don’t expect to come here to get full on pizza.
We really enjoyed the food here and had a good time. Next time I’ll try out the pasta!