TOAST Kitchen + Bar

I’ve been here many times because the patio is gorgeous, the drinks are strong, and the happy hour is a good deal and goes until 7. The service however, is just truly bizarre. It is always like this and I feel like they need some serious training.
Do not go here hungry as you will starve before anyone comes to talk to you. You may need to get up and get your own menus. You might even want to bring a water bottle because if you ask for a refill, it will probably be 20 minutes before you get one.
There are about 10 staff members wandering around at any given time, but getting any of them to look at you or notice if you need anything is a different thing entirely. This last time I was there, a woman took our drink orders, told us her name and to let her know if we needed anything, and then disappeared for an hour and a half. No, I’m not exaggerating. Someone else brought our drinks, and then a third person took our app orders. A fourth person brought over the drinks (after about 25 minutes). An hour and a half later, our original server came back and said «Sorry I’ve been gone so long. Did you need anything?» By that point, of course we had flagged someone else down to order something because there was no way we were going to sit there for an hour and a half with no service. I asked for a side of something and had to ask three different people before it finally came.
I should note that it was not particularly busy, but we had to pretty much stand up, wave, and beg any time we wanted a refill, another drink, or our bill at the end. The service is always scattered here and it’s like they don’t even want you to order anything.
It seems like the servers don’t have specific sections, and if they do, they don’t stick to them. Maybe if each server focused on five tables rather than having five servers for all tables, that would help people remember what they’re doing. It’s a mess.
The food is pretty good and the drinks are great, once you get them. I see several other reviews saying the same thing. There’s no excuse for such spotty service, especially when you are tacking on an automatic gratuity.

First time at this restaurant and was looking forward to eating here, however I left completely disappointed and upset. Our server, Lisa, was rude, very unattentive and intentionally ignoring our table the entire time. From the moment we sat down she did not come to greet us much less take our drink order for at least 10 minutes in. If we didn’t have other guests meeting us there, I would have got up and left! Who needs that kind of sh*tty service with so many businesses on College Avenue to choose from?!
She helped everyone else but us! She only came to our table because of the close proximity of the table next to us and because I was finally able to get her attention. Our drinks and apps came out shortly, delivered by someone else. She never came back to check on us. She did not come to take our guests’ drink order either, after they’ve arrived, nor did we get the chance to order our dinner entrees. It was impossible to get her attention when she would avoid eye contact, or not even look in our direction. At one point we asked the bus boy/​runner to tell her to come to our table. She finally acknowledges us but then goes directly to the table next to us!
Finally I asked for the check, paid and left. We all gave up on ever eating a meal at this place after 45 minutes — 1 hr. We decided to give our business to another more deserving restaurant. I was looking forward to the food but unfortunately, I will never go back here again! It’s a poor reflection on the business when you have crappy server working for you.
If you want horrible service and want to be ignored, go here. If you want attentive, nice, appreciative service, go to Osmanthus, two blocks down.

I’ve driven by this place several times and finally had the opportunity to try it. I’m basing my review solely on service alone. Our server Lisa, helped everyone else who happened to be Caucasian, us being Asian was always last to be helped. It was extremely slow. I felt like I needed to order two drinks at once because of how long it took for her to come back around. We never got the opportunity to order dinner because of how little she came by. We ended up finishing our drinks and starters and going elsewhere for dinner. Unfortunate as I don’t think I will be returning.

I am giving this restaurant one star because zero is not an option. I never actually ate there, because when I went there to meet a friend for lunch, I fell on the patio step and broke my ankle. I have never seen a business with such disregard for a customer: when I went back the next day after leaving the hospital, I had my husband stop there so that I could let them know what had happened and to suggest they mark the step in some way to avoid future injuries.
This is what the owner said to me: «Were there any witnesses?» «We have been open for 5 years and no one has ever fallen before.» There was absolutely no concern shown, no follow up phone call (I left my name/​number when he requested it), nothing — only callous disregard for my injury and trying to avoid taking any responsibility. Most businesses would at least have offered a free meal or drink, or called me back to see how I was doing.
I still have the gift certificate that I was planning to use at Toast (given to me by a parent at the school I teach right down the street), as I can not ever imagine eating there given the complete lack of consideration shown to me. I can only assume the food would be prepared with the same lack of concern and be about the profit margin and not the customer.
I have never written a review of anyplace on Unilocal before, but even though it is 5 months after my injury (which is still not fully healed), I am astonished at how callous the owner’s response was.
Today I plan to give my gift certificate to a hungry and homeless person on College Ave and hope they are able to enjoy a meal so that some good comes out of this.

I’ve always passed by this place on my way to Trader Joe’s, and when my uncle came to visit, we had dinner with his college friends here.
The ambiance is great! It’s not too crowded and it’s modern with plenty of space and pretty décor. We ordered some appetizers like the liver pâté and fried brussel sprouts. I’m not a huge fan of liver pâté to begin with so I didn’t really like that particular dish. It just had a weird after taste and I didn’t like the texture of it. The fried brussel sprouts were actually really good! Nice and crunchy and full of flavor. It was a pleasant surprise since I don’t really like brussel sprouts normally. We also got the fried oysters on green tomatoes. I wasn’t sure as to what to expect. I don’t really like the texture and shellfish taste of oysters but it was actually really good! You could taste the oyster but it wasn’t overwhelming and it was nicely crisp on the outside. The green tomato lightened it up by offering a more tart and refreshing accent. I ordered the pan seared scallops with truffled gnocchi for my entrée. The scallops were super good. It’s so easy to overcook them, and they weren’t over cooked at all. Still perfectly soft. I was drawn in to the dish because of the gnocchi. I love gnocchi and haven’t had it in awhile and was so excited for it. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. It wasn’t as fluffy and soft as I would have liked it to be. The sauce was great. It wasn’t too salty and paired really well with the scallops.
The food isn’t terrible but there wasn’t anything in particular that I would remember and come back for.

Came to Toast at noon on Friday. Very cute interior and outside patio — very hipster. We sat and ordered and all was well.
The food was fine. We ordered the truffle fries which were cut too thick for my taste (I prefer thin fries with a crispy exterior). The aioli with the fries was good but there wasn’t enough of it. The ramekin was much too small for the amount of fries on the plate.
My sister got the eggplant sandwich, which she enjoyed. It’s the cheapest on the menu but still didn’t seem worth $ 11. The bread was hard to bite into because of how thick and hard the top was.
I split the crab po boy with our father. Mistake one that our waiter made was just because something can be split, doesn’t mean it should be. The sandwich was okay. The crab was fried well but didn’t have a lot of flavor. The fig spread, though tasty, seemed like an odd pairing with the crab for the sandwich.
After we finished the sandwiches, ran out of aioli for the fries, and ran out of water, we sat at our table for a good 15 minutes because our waiter, Yuqi, disappeared! By the time he came back we just wanted to leave and not even finish the rest of the food. From previous reviews it looks like the service is spotty all the time but disappearing for more than 5 – 10 minutes is inexcusable!
Maybe we came at the wrong time of day. The drink menu is very extensive and it seems like a good place to come and have a drink and a bite. I would not recommend Toast to sit down and have lunch at though. The food was not worth the prices. Maybe I’ll come back for a drink on a Friday night to give it a second chance.

I was tempted to give less stars but since the waitress took a few items off the bill because of the horrible experience we had I added a star. It really is not in my nature to give such low rated reviews, but this experience really frustrated me.
OK, so where do I begin… I went to Toast for the 3^rd of 4^th time the other day and before that my experience had been OK, not great but I did like the place because most of the dishes I tried were good and the ambiance is nice. It’s a great place to have brunch and sit outside when the weather is nice. Service has never been great.
OK, so the other day I was seated with my sister, friend and her 5^th month old. No one came to check on us, or pour us water. I had to hunt someone down and he did bring water, but he just set it on the table and walked away. Is it too much to ask that he pour the water, especially after making us wait. Also, we did want to order, but he rushed off.
Ten minutes later, I had to find someone else and this time the guy was kind of a dick, he had that sarcastic sort of attitude which is cool for when you are in a casual environment, but not as a waiter. He walked over and asked just like this, «What do you want»? so rude. My sis and friend ordered drinks, not me since I am 8 months pregnant, it took awhile and I had to hunt down the same rude guy. He did acknowledge it was taking long since the wait staff were having some sort of meeting, blah, blah. Finally our waitress came and she was nice enough, just hard to find.
Food finally comes and the supposed «dinner soup» was incredibly small and COLD! My sister and I had to send it back, I was pretty upset at this point and hungry!
I wanted to get out of there at this point and we go the bill and the two appetizer soups, totaled $ 18!!! On the menu the price was $ 8 which is still astronomical, for the size the soups were they should be no more than $ 5. I was not going to take this so I had found a waitress and explained the price was wrong and we ordered the starter soups, not sure where any in the world those soups would be considered dinner soups. The good thing is the waitress was more then willing to help and she took the 2 soups off which brought the bill from $ 80 to $ 60.
I do like the location of this place and some of the items are good (friend green tomatoes not being one of them), but I am not sure I will come back, at least not for a long time!

Oh dear.
Let’s start with the good — the patio is great, so it’s aces when the weather is amazing. So I would assume if you’re just getting drinks, you will avoid what I outline below.
The bad is the service, good lord, the service. We showed up for Saturday brunch and should have took it as a sign when the hostess took 15 minutes to give us the time of day even though the restaurant was 50% empty The couple whose table we eventually took over warned us «they’re very slow.» We smiled when we should have left.
We finally got situated on the patio and had to get our own menus and ask repeatedly for our waters. Then…
— They ran out of potatoes… but told us about 35 mins after we placed the order. «you’re not going to believe this. but we ran out of potatoes.» At which time we couldn’t really order anything else.
— We ordered a «Oyster and Shrimp Po Boy». there were no oysters in the sandwiches. We told one server and he said he would «check on it». He never came back. We flagged down another and he called the manager who said «we ran out of oysters». Which means they tried to serve us the sandwich in hopes that we wouldn’t notice half the ingredients were missing. Not to mention the «avocado cilantro salsa» in one of the sandwiches was just slices of avocados.
— We reminded the server about 10 times for our 2 beignet orders that never came. and then they only brought one. Seriously?
— Ordered a hibiscus beverage, it also came about 45 minutes after we ordered it.
We spoke to the manager, who turned out to be the same hostess and her excuse was that they had «more parties unannounced than they were expecting». Is this not the business of being a restaurant? She did, however, remove the two sandwiches from our bill.
Then they started turning people away at the door saying they couldn’t serve people any more because the kitchen was too small.
Anyway. it was an utter mess. I don’t recommend going if you’re into getting what you ordered. Or expect any level of service.

Came here on a Friday. Made a reservation based on the reviews here. The drinks are SPOT ON. They really know what they’re doing with their mixology. A little sweet, full of flavor, but not covered up with sugar. We also ordered the truffle fries and they were amazing with the aioli. The truffle flavor was really well done. Didn’t taste like lighter fluid as some other truffle-​heavy dishes can taste. Agree with everyone else on the service. It was slow and one of the waitresses either had an attitude or just really didn’t understand how to interact with customers. Many of the others were super nice but it was definitely on the slow side. Had to flag someone down for our check and I still took forever. Don’t come here if you’re in a rush. Three drinks and a small plate came to about $ 55 (17% tip already included for parties of all sizes). Not too bad.
Their outdoor seating is really fun and good for people watching. They also have heat lamps AND BLANKETS for when it gets a little chilly. A nice surprise.

Enjoyed the vibe/​atmosphere and the food was great. Cocktails were extremely good and we pretty much enjoyed everything.
The only downside for us was the sub-​par service… everyone was extremely friendly but the service was pretty slow (took 15 minutes before we were asked if we wanted a drink and then it took almost an hour to get one of our main courses served!). Maybe just an off night…
Would recommend and would come back…

I’ve been coming to Toast regularly since they first opened. I’ve rolled with all of their changes and have appreciated many of them (although I’ve always really missed the kid menu). I’ve defended them when my friends complain about the terrible service. Service isn’t always great, but I love the outdoor area and I also love always being able to walk into the bar spontaneously, without a reservation. BUT my experience last week is finally making me rethink my love for this place.
My sister was in town and was unexpectedly free for dinner. I suggested Toast because I knew we could walk in and get a table in the bar, as I ALWAYS do. So we arrive, there are plenty of tables open, and the hostess gives me major attitude about not having a reservation. I say, «Oh, I thought you didn’t take reservations in the bar» and she said they do and I should have made one. I said, «So you don’t have a table available?» And then she admitted they did! So why was she giving me a hard time?! She seats us and it was really windy that night and the wind was blowing in through the open door. I asked if she could please close the door and I offered to do it myself. And again she gave me attitude — rolled eyes, stomps off, and then pointedly whispers to a colleague while looking at me.
Our waitress was really nice and the food was good. But we ordered a bottle of wine and the waitress brought it out to show us and then took it away to open it. Then she brought it back and just put it in an ice bucket. She didn’t offer us a taste. She didn’t pour. This place started as a wine bar and now their servers don’t know how to serve wine. It felt cheap. Very irritating and disappointing evening overall.

Solid service. Short wait. Tasty food.
Sunday at 10 when they opened was an ideal time. I loved the egg sandwich and my friend enjoyed her frittata.
A tad pricey, but worth it.

I love accidentally stumbling across new places that are fab. That was our experience last night for TOAST. BTW — what a great name. I’m assuming there is a double meaning — Toast for breakfast and Toast for enjoying one too many cocktails.
I prefer eating a meal consisting of small plates. They have a handful of entrees here but I enjoy eating a variety of choices for small plates.
Food: We ordered the white bean dip (nothing really special), fried brussels sprouts (a tad salty but otherwise delicious), pork belly (4 pieces), lamb meatballs (3 meatballs), seafood chowder (fried avocado pieces… hello?). Chocolate pot de crème.
We ordered their homemade Lemonade. It tasted really good the first time. The 2^nd time — not so much.
Service: I would prefer servers to write down my order. We had a rather in-​depth conversation about recommendations on the menu. We Had to ask us several times to confirm our order
Seafood chowder came last and only because I think the server forgot about it.
Ambiance: love the wood décor. on a cold rainy night, the place was warm and the windows were all foggy. It felt romantic.
They aspire to provide a living wage and add a 17% service charge (see my pic). You also have the option on the bill to add an extra 3% or 5% extra.
Overall: I would go back. I really liked the ambiance and the vibe. The food was tasty but some items were quite pricey for what it was. For example, the white bean dip was $ 8 and that should be marked as $ 5 in my opinion. Our total with gratuity was $ 88 so it’s not cheap for small plates.

I came here for a brunch on a Sunday. I was pretty intrigued about why this place was so empty on a Sunday brunch, although now I know why.
While here, I ordered a french toast ($ 8) and orange juice ($ 5)
The french toast was alright — I’ve definitely had better. The french toast itself didn’t seem soaked through enough, and was a bit dry. However, I really appreciated the berries that were sprinkled on the french toast — they were fresh, tart, and a great addition.
The orange juice, on the other hand, was an absolute mistake. The glass was miniature (I would say half the size of a standard glass you get at other restaurants), and I’m somewhat sure that the juice wasn’t freshly squeezed, as it tasted like Tropicana. Definitely not worth the $ 5.
Lastly, the service was pretty slow. It took a long time for us to order, to get our food, and to actually pay the bill. The restaurant wasn’t that crowded either (roughly half full), but it just took the servers and waiters some time to get to us.
I probably won’t be back.

Delicious fried Brussels sprouts, and a very yummy cocktail unfortunately named Alternative Medicine. But my butternut squash ravioli was overwhelmed by a bland creamy sauce which for no good reason had braised pork in it. To make matters even sadder, the plate was ringed with raw pieces of lacinato kale. So wrong! I’ve had pretty good meals here in the past, but that pasta dish made me sad. I’m not sure I would chance coming here again.

Totally amazing! The Mac and Cheese was outstanding. A must try when you’re in the East Bay.

Second time here. Did dinner with some friends and then brunch with the family. The venue itself is great… big, fun, great location. And the patio is great too. This place just needs to step back and be honest with itself about the service. The food is good enough for a 4 star and the chef obviously has the capability of 5 stars, but the execution can be lacking. But I suspect the real culprit is the 17% service charge included on every order. If the business wanted to really provide a living wage, then do it. Changing the tip culture all too often impacts service, which I think is why this place is 3.5 vs 4 stars. Don’t think I’ll give this place a third shot unless I read from Unilocalers that things have improved. Too bad, great location.

Food is pretty good, but somewhat overpriced and the last time I went the service was super slow. We waited about an hour for our main course, which is pretty unimpressive.
I ordered the lamb meatballs, which were delicious. The pumpkin soup was also good, but a very small portion. The chicken was okay, nothing special.
Also we could hear loud music blaring from the kitchen in the back room.

Wednesday night, everything is right. Thanks to the TOAST! Food came out quick, service was splendid (checked up on us like 10 times), the place is nicely and romantically lit, and all the patrons were smiling (maybe bc of all of the wine on their tables). I would definitely come back. Oh and the dessert was light and perfect to top off the night.

I could write a book on everything that I love about Toast.
Ambiance: Sophisticated Fun (I just made that up). This place is very fitting for the neighborhood and its fun. The staff from the Owner to the hostess seem to really enjoy being at work and helping their patrons.
Sunday Patio: I went to the their 4^th Sunday Patio event this summer. It was a nice treat. There was a complete grilled menu in addition tot he regular menu. Live music, people of all ages busting a few moves on the patio «dance floor».
Brunch: Brunch is nice. The French Toast and potatoes are to die for. This place isn’t cheap so be prepared to spend a few bucks. But it’s so worth it.
Bar: Interesting small batch liquors and fresh ingredients. My boyfriend likes the food but hasn’t quite grown into the bar menu yet. He likes Patron and other big brands. I love local and small liquor brands, their flavors have character. So just be prepared to try something new when you order a cocktail.
Service: Impeccable. I have been to Toast numerous times, most of the time with a friend or two hanging out having food and drinks. I also had a business meeting with 2 other folks and they loved it. We had coffee, salad and a few appetizers. I also attended a birthday party for my uncle. There was about 40 of us there and the service was still A+.
There isn’t much to not like about Toast. I am so happy that I know about this place. Call me a #SuperFan

Perfect location and gorgeous venue, but lots of potential left unrealized. In particular, I’m hoping Toast is better as a wine bar and dinner destination than it is for brunch, where it’s rather underwhelming.
To start, the brandy-​spiked duck liver pâté sounded nice, but was, well, too liver-​y going down. I’m pretty sure I saw other patrons complaining about it or rejecting theirs while I was there. Next came the fried egg sandwich, which was reasonably OK, but still just… reasonably OK. If I remember correctly, service took quite a while, although I quite enjoyed lounging on the sun-​kissed outdoors terrace for an extended period of time, just watching the world go by.
Again, you can’t beat this particular location and you’ve got to give them kudos for what they’ve done to the venue. Let’s hope the rest of the equation — say, food and service — rises up to the occasion as well.

Decent place to meet up with someone. I can’t review the food as I had none, but the outdoor seating was a great place to gather and discuss.
They did serve us drinks which were tasty, but I’m not sure I’d head back to this place if I were in town without another outside suggestion/​recommendation.

Sitting inside or out on the patio, TOAST Kitchen + Bar is a relaxing brunch spot in the Oakland Rockridge neighborhood. The menu is farm fresh and natural. No artificial ingredients mean no Diet Coke for my friend Jonathan K.
For six of us, the three White Bean Spread apps (with…toast) went fast. Kale salad was very kaley with enough roughage for the week LOL. My Smoked Applewood Bacon Bnh M on a roll was awesomely bacony and filling. It even included a fried egg.
Cocktails were mixed by a cool bartender. My Bloody Mary went down fast! Our waiter soon warmed up to us and how could he not with six friendly guys to serve? Haha.
We had a nice and relaxing brunch with good food. Great brunch choice.

Visit date: July 9, 2015
What I ate: Brussels sprouts, white bean dip with toast, fries and fried avocado, flat iron steak, lemonade
First time? Yes.
This place is bigger than I thought it would be. Super hip and trendy décor, but still very inviting. The staff is friendly and the menu is group /​sharing friendly.
The Brussels sprouts were crisp and salty. The potatoes were a little too large to be seasoned well and the sauce was definitely a downer. I think it was suppose to be chipotle like sauce but it turned out bitter, perhaps a bit heavy on the smokey flavor. The white bean dip was lemony and delightful atop the thin crunchy toasts.
We ordered the flat iron steak medium well, but it came out well done. Turns out the waiter gave us the wrong dish and we didn’t realize it until another waiter tried to give us more steak. Our plate came with asparagus and carrots, both of which were cooked to perfection and had slight sweetness. Our plate was suppose to come with mashed potatoes (I guess the person who’s order we received had requested more veggies instead) so we inquired and they gave us a side order of the mashed potatoes! Most excellent! And well worth the wait; the mashed potatoes were so smooth and buttery.